Resilience In The Face of Change

Is resilience a skill that you have focused on and developed?

Q: My Company is going through tons of changes right now because we’re implementing new operational standards. A lot of my coworkers and I are really struggling with accepting these changes. What tips do you have that might help us to adjust without so much anxiety?

A: “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” ― Winston Churchill

I love this quote by Winston Churchill because it really drives home the point that change is critical to our success. And that’s true in every aspect of our lives, including the workplace. So if we know this, how do we identify the things we can do or understand about ourselves to make adapting to change a little easier?

Let’s learn about resilience in the face of change, one of the key traits we need to have or cultivate in order to deal successfully with change.
Resilience is often defined as “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change”. Now, I hate to lump change and misfortune into the same sentence, but most people tend to think of them as one and the same! And that’s a big mistake.

Don’t get me wrong—being resilient doesn’t mean you won’t get stressed, because that’s pretty unavoidable and understandable.

But being resilient means that you won’t be so overwhelmed by change that you become catatonic. It means you can cope with change and you’re able to see the opportunities that come with it.

The key here is that you are looking for those opportunities to leverage as opposed to finding fault with the situation and becoming a “victim” of change.

If you’re thinking, well I’m just not the resilient type, don’t despair. You can develop resilience in the face of change through conscious effort. If you can accept that change in the workplace is inevitable and that resilience is required to handle changes, then you can take the following actions and encourage your co-workers to do the same.

• Be proactive. Pay attention to what’s happening with your company, your department, your job. Watch for upcoming changes and take the time to prepare for them with your managers and teammates.
• Stay organized. Once you know about the changes, you can prepare for them, develop a plan of action and work with your team to anticipate problems. By doing so, you can prevent chaos and come up with solutions that address or prevent problems.
• Be flexible and open to more than just one way to approach a challenge.
• Be patient and keep your sense of humor when faced with change.
• Stay focused. Make sure that you understand the goal or the vision of the future that the change is intended to support, and use this focus to guide your actions.
• Be positive. Take the stance that change is challenging and potentially rewarding. Take a “can do” attitude and view disruptions as part of the normal course of events. Share your concerns in a productive way that lets others know that they’re not alone if they’re feeling stressed, but that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Developing resilience in the face of change and profiting from it is the ultimate goal and I know you can do it!