Why has the word CHANGE become taboo in many organizations?  Beats me. Our entire lives evolve around change. We are born, morph into adolescence and into adulthood. We enter the world of work, change jobs, start families etc.  Every chapter, every journey is almost never like the last – this is change. Why then is this any different from organizational change? Organizations change; they must or they die. Period. Accept this and move on.

The challenge is for us as individuals to be able to adapt quickly to these changes.

In June I started a 30 day “try something new” challenge. Around that time, I was doing a 30 day body transformation challenge (never mind asking how that is going). The main question I got asked was, “why did you decide to do the 30 day try something new challenge?” To be honest, I needed to be more adaptable to change. Many of us say we adapt quickly to change but do we?  If you’re not willing to go outside your comfort zone on an individual level, how then can you be expected to lead others down that path?

Mind you, I did nothing extravagant during the 30 days. The goal was to do something I hadn’t done before. It allowed me to step outside of my comfort zone and change from my everyday routine to do things that: (1) I never really thought of doing and (2)  to do things I avoided doing because I just felt out of my element doing it;  for example yoga. I have avoided yoga like the plague for no reason other than I never thought I was flexible enough. Had I tried it before? No. So how could I have come to this conclusion if I haven’t tried it? This is precisely the roadblock many of us encounter in life and in the workplace – we jump to the conclusion that we cannot or that the change will have negative consequences for us. My advice:

1. Be adaptable – the more adaptable you are the better able you are to manage change
2. Keep an open mind – before you say no, ask yourself why are you resisting
3. Get information – speak to someone (the right person) who can provide more information about the change
4. Accept it – understand that change is inevitable
5. Attitude is everything – with a positive attitude you can do anything. Who knows you just might have fun through the process! I know I did.

Lorraine Darcheville has been working as a Human Resources Generalist for the past 3 years with a Software Development company in Mississauga.  Prior to that she worked for 2 years in a Training & Development company.  She holds an MBA in Consulting from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax and is a Certified Human Resources Professional. She is passionate about coaching and is a few months away from becoming a Certified Life Coach. When she is not focused on HR, she can be found speaking at her Toastmasters club in Mississauga.