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Dealing with Change…From the Inside Out

Mary-EllenSposatoRogers

Agenda • Definingchange• Consideryourreac?ontochangeinyourownlifeandcareer•  Whydoweresistchange?•  TheKubler-RossChangeCurve•  Somecommonreac?onstochange• Adjus?ngtochange• Changeanditseffectonyourhealthandwellness•  Thrivingduringchange• Assessingyourtransi?onresiliency

Three types of change: • DevelopmentalChange-whenaneedisiden?fiedtomakeenhancementstothecurrentcircumstances.Youarenotrecrea?ng,butsimplyenhancingtheexis?ngstatetoimprovethesitua?on.

•  Transi?onalChange–whenaneedisiden?fiedtoimplementanen?relynewcourseofac?on.Transi?onalChangetendstobewell-plannedandcarefullyexecuted.

•  Transforma?onalChange–occursastheresultofthefailureofanotherchange;itcanberefinedasitdevelops,butitisnotgenerallyaplannedprocess.

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Consider changes in your life

Think back to your earliest memory of change: Myfirstclearmemoryofchangewas_________________________________________AtfirstIrememberfeeling:

q Terrified q Apprehensive,buthopefulq Excited

Finally,thingswere:

q OK,butittookawhileq Fineq BeYerthanever!

Which is your immediate reaction to change? q Beinac%ve/non-par%cipatory–Sitbackandhopethatthechangemayresolveitselfor“goaway”,orsay“It’snotfair”andassumethatforthatreasonthechangewon’thappen

q Bereac%ve–Outofsheerpanictendtoover-react,butnotinanecessarilyprudentfashion

q Beproac%veandop%mis%c–Dotheresearch,focusontheposi?veandwhatyoucando,fromaconstruc?vestandpoint

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An example of an inactive response to change Sue’shusbandreturnsfromworkonedayandsays“I’vebeentransferred,weneedtomoveacrossthecountry”–Sincethefamilyonlymovedthreeyearsago,theideaofsellingtheirhome,packingup,findingnewschoolsforthechildrenandanewpart?mejobisnotappealing…soshewaits…perhapsifshedoesn’treactshewon’thavetomove.FinallythedayarrivesthatSue’shusbandmustbeatworkinthenewloca?on,andsheis3,000milesfromhim,tryingtofigureouthowtogeteverythingdone.

An example of a reactive response to change Garyhears,viathegrapevine,thathisemployermaybemakingsomesweepingchanges.Garyhasbeeninhisposi?onfor10years,iswellregarded,lovestheworkhedoesandhispreferencewouldbetostaywiththecompany.Hehastwochildrenincollegeandamortgage,plus,hehelpstopayforhomecareforhismom.Newsthatchangemaybeimpendingsendshimintoafrenzy–hesendsout50resumes,goesonanumberofinterviewsanddespitehisbestefforttokeepthingsquiethismanagerfindsout…

What influences our initial reaction to change? • Howchangesinthepasthaveworkedout• Ourfamilyvaluesandthereac?onofourparentsandoldersiblingstochangeaswegrewup

• Religiousbeliefs• Howthechangeiscommunicatedtousandbywhom• Age–peopletendtobecomemoreresistanttochangeastheyage•  Timing•  Theleveloftrustwehaveintheini?atorsofthechange• Ouraftude–glasshalfemptyorhalffull?

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Why do we resist change? • Wefeelalossofcontrol• Wefeartheunknown• Wearereac?ve-wejustlikethings“thewaytheywere”• We’refearfulthatwemaynothavethecompetenceforthe“newway”• We’reuncomfortablewithchangesinourrou?ne• Weweren’tconsulted• We’reoverwhelmedtobeginwith• Wefeelalackoftrustinleadershipor“thesystem”• Weareterrified,and“panicandstands?ll”

Change occurs in stages… •  Evenorganiza?onalchange,becauseitrepresentsini?al“loss”,parallelsthegriefstagesoflosingalovedone,ascitedbynotedpsychologistDr.ElisabethKubler-Ross

•  Thestagesinclude:•  Shockanddenial•  Guilt•  Anger•  Acceptance•  Withorganiza?onalchangeanaddi?onal“nego?a?ons”stagecanoccur,whentheaffectedindividual(s)workhardtopreventthechange

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In the words of Charles Swindoll: “Lifeis10%ofwhathappenstomeand90%ofhowIreacttoit”

Some inspirational quotes… •  Ifyou’reinabadsitua%on,don’tworryit’llchange.Ifyou'reinagoodsitua%on,don’tworryit’llchange.JohnA.Simone,Sr.

•  Ifyoudon’tlikesomethingchangeit;ifyoucan’tchangeit,changethewayyouthinkaboutit.MaryEngelbreit

• Whenwearenolongerabletochangeasitua%on,wearechallengedtochangeourselves.VictorFrankl

•  Ifnothingeverchanged,there’dbenobuCerflies.AuthorUnknown

Adjusting to change • Understandandrecognizethestages• Doaselfassessment-behonestwithyourself• Workatbeingflexible–ittakesprac?ce!• Don’tletrumorsfester–communicate,andencourageotherstodoso

• Understandthatchangewillhappen• Beposi?veinwhatyousayandinwhatyouthinkanddo• Con?nuetowork–don’tusechangeasanexcusetoslackoff•  Looktothebiggerpicture

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Change often comes with stress: •  Thestresscausedbychangecanbehelpfulinmo?va?ngus,butwealsoneedtobemindfulofthepoten?allydetrimentaleffectsonourhealth

•  Prolongedstresscancauseanxietyandevendepression

•  In1967,psychiatristsThomasHolmesandRichardRahedeterminedthatstressfuleventsmaycauseillness.Interes?ngly,themajorityofthestressfuleventsinthescaleinvolvechanges–evenposi?vechanges–these43stressfullifeeventsarecapturedintheHolmesandRaheStressScale(alsoknownastheSRRS)

TheHolmesandRaheStressInventory

Dr.ThomasHolmes&Dr.RichardRahe

Scoreof300or>–SignificantriskofillnessScoreof150–299–ModerateriskofillnessScore<150–Slightriskofillness

When faced with the stress of change: •  Toberesilientit’simpera?vetotakecareofyourself–eatprudently,getplentyofexerciseandrest–alsohavesomefun!

•  Summonyoursupportsystem–rela?onships,especiallywiththosewhowilllendanobjec?veperspec?ve,areespeciallyimportant

• Monitoryourmentalhealth–stress,anxiety,anddepressioncanresultfromachallengingchangesitua?on

• RememberthatyourEAPisavaluableandcompletelyconfiden?alresource!

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Thrive during change! • Makeyourselfindispensable!•  Thinkofyourselfasaperpetualconsultant•  Stayup-to-dateontechnologyandnewprocedures,processesandpolicies•  Beapartoftheinnova?on;becomeachangeagent•  Seethebigpictureandtheendgame•  Communicate,communicate,communicate!•  Findthehumorinthings!•  Focusonthesolu?on,notontheproblem,oronyourfears…•  Don’tplaytheblamegame;viewchangeasanopportunity!

Assess your transition resiliency on a regular basis:

LifeAdvantagesTransiFonAssessment

Always SomeFmes SeldomIac?velylistenwithanopenmind

Iviewchangeasanopportunity

Ipridemyselfinbeingflexible

Iworkatbeingposi?ve

Imakeeveryefforttounderstandtheperspec?veofothers

Iamateamplayer

Ifocusontheissueortheproblemathand,andnotonmypersonalfeelings

Icanfindhumorinmostsitua?ons

Iamaninnovator

Itakecareofmyphysicalandmentalwell-being

Thank you so much for joining us!