Managing New Transformations

A complex aspect of becoming a manager and in one’s life as a whole, is accepting change. A lot has been documented on methods of dealing with change and how we can accept it so that it amplifies a person’s personality rather than bringing him/her down.

The most significant thing to remember is that change is unstoppable and perpetual in nature. Whether talking of a person’s personal life or his career, nothing will ever remain unchanged, and if something did, it would eventually result in becoming boring, monotonous, repetitive or regressive.

In managerial ranks, change is often observed to have a negative consequence because it brings about severing of many communication chains and operating networks. However, change is not always bad; in fact, what may seem a tough change, can be managed and forged into a positive one.

Excellent managers actually peak in a transitioning environment, rather than being intimidated by it. The ways of handling change may differ from person to person, as most people tend to struggle with it (or at least tend to be cautious or hesitant around it), but a manager may have the capability to do just the opposite.

Dividing A Big Change into Small Changes

The two most significant points the managers should think about when a change occurs are −

• The possible ways the change will affect them and
• In what way the change will affect their team.

Keeping this in mind, the next step would be to evaluate the change by breaking it down into numerous pieces. Since change may vary from a major downsizing of the corporate, to simply adjusting the way the team turns in reports, a manager needs to find out the threats and/or the change may inflict on the present scenario. Some of such threats that a manager needs to be prepared for are −

• The extent to which the changes with respect to layoffs or procedure will be and
• The impact of the change – directly related or tangential – on the team.

The manager also needs to find out whether any change will practically occur and if it does, then at what speed. Finally, he needs to know the agent behind that change, because it will help him in understanding the objective of the person. By dissecting the core anatomy of change, a person starts to accept it better.

While change can initially look as either positive or negative, with proper analysis and planning, such scenarios can be avoided or molded in such a way that the effects may not be so dramatic, or forged in the person’s favor. While some transitions maybe entirely out of a person’s reach, the way in which the person may choose to handle it is entirely his choice.

Understanding the Nature of Change

Once a person understands the nature of the change, he may avoid being stressed about the change before anything actually happens. It only intimidates the person and overshadows his thinking or judgment. Once the direction of the change has been determined, work should be carried with it not against it.

This, of course, is only possible if the person has confidence in himself. He needs to recall that he had earned this position by efficiently handling change many a times in the past. He should welcome a change in something without overanalyzing it. However, that doesn’t mean that he blindly follows instructions. He should keep asking questions to get a clear cut idea about the change or can suggest his own strategy, if any, to deal with the change.

Managers know that change is unstoppable, so they work in coordination with it, in spite of resisting it. This approach towards change will help a manager stand apart from others.