The LIGHT Center, T-90, College of the Redwoods (476-4290) - March 26, 2000

GOT SOME EXTRA CHANGE?

The other day a staff member brought me a book that he had read and thought I might be interested in perusing it. At the time, the topic was one that struck terror in my heart…CHANGE!  Ah yes, a word we all know and love.  The actual title of this book is A Survival Guide to the Stress of Organizational Change by Rice Pritchett and Ron Pound. As I got to looking through the book it seemed to me that it was useful not just for the challenges associated with organizational change, but with any kind of change.  The book refers to the folks undergoing change as “refugees” from change.  It also stresses some basic rules of dealing with inevitable change.

1.      Surrender  - The authors suggest that neither of the body’s reactions of flight or fight are useful in the case of change, rather surrendering to change is the key to winning. Surrendering does the most to relieve stress.  It allows for a breakthrough rather than a breakdown.  They say that rather than being “against” the change, one should align with it and use it.

2.      Wise up – We need to pay attention to how we are making life more difficult for ourselves.  Self-induced stress is a waste of energy.

3.      Toughen up – Circumstances dictate that there are times when our tolerance to stress must be heightened. Beyond these basic premises, the authors break their survival guide into fifteen basic mistakes, and their subsequent solutions.  Just listing these makes one realize how easy it is to fall into one or most of these when  under the stress of re-organization, new schedules, or any other alteration in one’s life.

Basic Mistakes– and Basic Solutions

*Expect someone else to reduce your stress. Instead, realize that you are ultimately the only one who knows how to best lighten your psychological load.

*Decide not to change. Rather than taking a hard line and saying, “I won’t change”, realize that organizations must change.  Practice instant alignment in being able to adjust quickly to the changes within.

*Act like a victim. Instead, accept the situation and let it go.  Stand proud, pick up whatever pieces need to be picked up and move ahead.

*Try to play a new game by the old rules. Figure out how the game has changed and decide how to restructure your own priorities in response.

*Shoot for a low-stress setting. No work setting is low stress.  If it is, it is either ineffective or fails to provide a challenge for the employee.  The key word in this is…alignment.

*Try to control the uncontrollable. Rather than exhausting yourself over trying to change things you have no power to change, nobly accept what you can’t change and work productively on what you can change.

*Choose your own pace of change. Keep in step with the intended rate of change so you’re not playing catch-up.

*Fail to abandon the expendable. Reengineer your job by eliminating unnecessary steps.  Focus on doing the “right things” and ditch the stuff that doesn’t mean much in the long run.

*Slow down. Speed up instead, putting your faith in action, mobility and maximize personal productivity.

*Be afraid of the future. Instead of worrying about all the bad things that can happen, focus on developing the future you want.

*Pick the wrong battles. Jonathan Kozol said “Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.”

*Psychologically “unplug” with your job. Don’t let stress drive a wedge between you and your work.  High job commitment is a gift you should give to yourself.

*Avoid new assignments. Reach for new assignments that will broaden your skills and experience.  It will make you even more highly employable.

*Try to eliminate uncertainty and instability. Be willing to “wing it.”  Think of your job as having movable walls, and you’re able to adapt to meet the changing situation.

*Assume a “caring management” should keep you comfortable.   Be careful in what you use as evidence as to how much the organization cares.  High stress and pressure may provide the best proof that the management cares a great deal about all staff.                                         

Comments?  mailto:trish-blair@redwoods.edu