Deal with Change Better
Change is the One thing that is constant through life. Our comfort zone very often hinders our ability to deal with change. I have worked with effective macro-managers. On the other end of the scale, I have worked with great delegators.
The macro-managers are obsessed with detail as their own way of coping with change. Those whose preference was delegation focused on direction. Provided you were successful in delivering the expected outcome you could be as innovative as you chose. A long serving Mayor keen on specifying precisely what was to be done was quickly followed by another who was stronger on expected outcomes than on how they were arrived at.
Organisations are restructuring and changing strategies faster than ever before. Change throws our brain into a state of chaos. It’s like the brain has an alarm that’s on all the time. The following will help manage the effects of change.
Maintain a master diary
Having a diary that’s dynamic and monitored helps us to keep well organised. Maintaining a diary has continually been a weak point of mine. As I have been learning to monitor my master diary managing competing demands for my time in periods of rapid change has become better
Avoid overcomitting at work or in social life
Cut back in areas where you comit to activities. Your default response in periods of change should be ‘no’. There has got to be sufficient reason for an activity, otherwise we become slaves to the urgent. I have been in too many groups that thrive on meetings without giving sufficient time to act and evaluate.
Write down your negative thoughts daily before sleeping.
This helps you focus on the things to eliminate, improve upon. I tend to think about this as batching for disposal. These thoughts don’t move me forward, therefore I must provide some form of gate-keeping.
Let Go of the Past
Hanging on to the past can either make us bitter or puff us up with pride. Experience may inform us of where better to channel our resources. Hanging on to them at an emotional level, however, hampers our dealing with change.
Expect a worthwhile result always
Motivation is a strong key to progress. The unexpected often happens but the strong vision you have of successful outcomes will drive you to innovate. I have been through numerous events I could not see the end of once I started. Yet my strong expectation of a favourable outcome has always seen me through. This leads me to the next point.
Be Open to fresh ways of seeing and doing
More important than what happens to to you is what happens within you. I tell myself to handle the unexpected with an open mind. Handling disappointment has opened me to fresh ways of seeing and doing. No one succeeds without others wanting them to succeed. This tells me that I have to be open to the input of others.
Maintain Focus
The direction set by authority you have accepted is the most effective way of maintaining focus. In periods of uncertainty and rapid change, unity of purpose is essential. This of course means you must have a way of influencing the authority you have accepted.
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