There is no denying that change is often difficult and stressful. However, being able to cope well with change is a key tool for success.

The rate of organisational change has not slowed in recent years, and is ever increasing. The rapid and continual innovation in technology is driving changes to organisational systems and processes. Witness for example the startling growth of the Internet, which is enabling much faster and easier access to knowledge. Add to this the increased expectations of employees as they move more freely between organisations. And, of course, globalisation has seen the tearing down of previous international market barriers. It is no wonder that relentless change has become a fact of organisational life.

In spite of the importance and permanence of organisational change, most change initiatives fail to deliver the expected organisational benefits. This failure occurs for a number of reasons, including:

    • Absence of a change manager or one who is too junior in the organisation
    • Poor executive sponsorship or senior management support
    • Poor project management skills
    • Hope resting on a one-dimensional solution
    • Political infighting and turf wars
    • Poorly defined organisational objectives
    • Change team diverted to other projects.

Failed organisational change initiatives leave in their wake cynical and burnt-out employees, making the next change objective even more difficult to accomplish. It should come as no surprise that the fear of managing change and its impacts is a leading cause of anxiety in managers. Change and how to deal with it

When change is imminent in your organisation:

    • You may help the process along by making sure that you understand your organisation and by matching the initiative to your organisation’s real needs.
    • Accept that there are no normal or abnormal ways of reacting to change, but that you must start from where you are.
    • See change not as something to be feared and resisted but as an essential element of the world to be accepted.
    • Understand that adapting to change is not technical but attitudinal. Change is not an intellectual issue but one that strikes at who you are.
    • Recognise that before you can embrace the way things will be, you must go through a process of grieving, and of letting go of the way things used to be.
    • See change as an opportunity for self-motivation and innovation.