You’ve probably heard it said that change is the one constant in business currently, and that’s true, it’s also true for our lives outside of work.
Many people will say they don’t like change, it makes them uncomfortable or it’s something they fear, but if you break things down a little, you’ll find that we all deal with change on a daily basis.
You experience delays on your way to work – the time you arrive changes. You fancy something different for lunch – another change. You chose a different colour outfit on your last shopping trip – a change.
What many people mean when they say they don’t like change, is that they don’t like change being put upon them. Every day something changes, the weather, how we feel, what we wear, what we choose to eat.
Over the years we change where we live, how we learn, our appearance, perhaps even our jobs and our relationships. Change happens around us whether we like it or not – the difference is whether we notice and embrace the changes or we fight against them.
And, despite everything, change makes total sense.
Change makes total sense because it keeps us moving forwards, it helps us to grow, it provides challenge and opportunity and something to aim for.
Many athletes will attribute their latest win to the change in their routine or their coach, businesses that are successful will often talk about a change in strategy or direction and people who are successful will often talk about the turning point in their life, a change in thinking and attitude.
Without change, we stand still – for a while, before we start falling backwards. The way you worked ten years will be very different to the way you work today. And if you’re still trying to work the same way as you did ten years ago, the chances are you’ve not progressed.
So why do we often feel the need to apologise for change or make excuses or provide reasons?
Even a house move calls into question why anyone would want to move – and we give the reasons or upsizing, downsizing, job relocation, closer to family etc. Why can we never just fancy a change and give that as our reason?
Changes is the size or shape of our structure can be difficult, having led and managed many it’s never an easy process, yet if the business didn’t need to make the changes they wouldn’t be being made. Leaders don’t choose to restructure for the fun of it. There is a clear business case for decisions such as these and whilst hard, we shouldn’t feel the need to apologise for needing to change. We do of course because the changes involve people and emotions and lifestyles and job roles, but it’s a necessary task.
We don’t apologise when we fancy doing something different at the weekend, or when we want a different radio station on, or when we book a different destination for our holiday.
Like the seasons, change is a constant, and it makes sense to recognise this, embrace it and run with it – or else apologise for holding ourselves back and never moving forward.
This article is brought to you exclusively by The Business Transformation Network.
