Embracing change for the best
By Anita Bruzzese
Let's face it: Change can be hard.
We human beings are often stubborn, opinionated and resistant to anything out of our comfort zones. Is it any wonder, then, that many managers are so frustrated with intractable employees that they sometimes feel they are trying to herd cats?
It cannot be ignored that the boss often values more those employees who more easily accept new ideas or processes. For example, if your boss has to spend months getting you to fully accept and implement a new process while another employee embraces it in weeks, whom do you think he will see as costing him the most? Do you think he will appreciate your stubbornness if he has to explain to his boss why his department still has not fully moved toward a new goal?
If you think back to your childhood, you'll probably remember learning to ride a bike or fly a kite or even conquering some new academic challenge in school. At the time, figuring out a way to succeed was half the fun.
Then, of course, there was the exhilaration of racing down the street without training wheels, seeing a kite soar into a cloudless sky or writing a really great term paper that earned you a top grade.
Maybe it's just time you stopped looking at change as an enemy in your life, and instead embraced what it can bring you. In other words, instead of seeing it as a threat, see it as an opportunity to keep growing.
In my book, "45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy ... and How to Overcome Them," I've provided some ways to help you become more valuable to your boss during times of change:
Change can be a scary thing. But it also can be a chance to grow and experience new things. Think of all the things you learned as a kid — how to fish, how to make sandcastles and how to skateboard. Are any of those experiences something you wish you never had?
Don't look at new challenges as something to be feared but something to be embraced. You never know when that next learning-to-fly-a-kite experience is right around the corner.
Write to Anita Bruzzese in care of Business Editor, Gannett News Service, 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22107. For a reply, include a self-addressed stamped envelope.