Change

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future - John F Kennedy

The current downturn has brought about very many changes in everybody's life. For those, who have been laid-off, the changes they are going through is enormous. However the people who still have a job are also subjected to many changes. The uncertainty of when the markets would turn-around, job insecurity if the company does not do well in this downturn , all impact them.

With the reduced workforce, the expectation from the existing employees is higher. Employees may be expected to put in longer hours. Organisations are going through many restructuring changes. The workplace is not what it used to be. These restructuring steps may move you to different groups. You may have to report to a new boss. The new boss could be your peer or a person who has less experience.Your peer-group will change. Long term visionary activities take a back seat. You are expected to deliver to the short term goals. The team size is becoming smaller and the clout of being a manager for a big group no longer holds any glamour in the new order. You should get used to leading smaller teams. Many cost containment initiatives will be undertaken by the management. You will be asked to justify every expense you or your team makes. You will be asked to give repeated forecasts that shows cutbacks in the spending, to the point that you may get extremely frustrated. The management may come up with new metrics to measure the progress. You may have to go through the extra overhead of generating these metrics, eventhough some of them may sound ridiculous and waste of time. Reduction in force, in the support organisations, affects the efficiency of your team. The cutbacks in IT infrastructure / hardware would affect the throughput of your team. The decision process could slow down. On the personal front, some of you would have seen your wealth eroding. As you can see, there are many changes that will happen and you, being the centre of all this maelstorm, have to be prepared to face it through.

Change is inevitable and also painful. The butterfly goes through extreme pain when it metamorphoses from caterpillar into a butterfly.The caterpillar begins to feed and grow. The joints between its body segment distend and this activates hormones.The caterpillar huffs and puffs as its skin splits and the worm-like insect steps out of the skin. It begins eating again, non-stop, until the process is repeated, in all, five times.The animal puts on an enormous amount of weight during these 'feasting' sessions. The caterpillar's cells and tissues rearrange themselves to form the adult butterfly. Such is the painful change the caterpillar has to go through to become a butterfly. The changes we go through during these tough times are miniscule compared to what the butterfly goes through.

Change is a huge mindset issue; it is human nature to want transformation without suffering. And though you can resist that change and potentially be swept away by it, you can also choose to cooperate with it, adapt to it, and benefit from it.

There are a few ways you can prepare yourself to lessen the pain caused by change. Many of these changes call for behavioral changes in you.

ACCEPT Change : The first and foremost thing you should do is "NOT" resist the change. Many of these changes are beyond your control. The only control you have is how you "REACT" to these changes. Accept that the new world is different from one you are used to.

ADAPT to Change : You need to adapt to the changes. Develop mental strength to accept and adapt to changes brought about due to restructuring. Understand the new norms and expectation in the changed world. Equip yourself with new skills needed in the new world.

BE POSITIVE : This recession is deeper and longer and it is easy to get distracted and feel demotivated. On the contrary it is during these times that you have to tap into the hidden potential of yours and strive to be "POSITIVE" day in day out. Shy away from the peer circles that are dull and low on energy.

WORK HARDER: These are the times when you should work harder to exceed the goals. You should work harder to make your team and manager successful. Working harder also keeps your mind occupied and will not have room for any negative thoughts that may creep in, because of the recession.

BE PATIENT : You have to be more patient during this time. With economy slowing down, there will be fewer products produced. The pace of work, the decision process could be on the slower side. You need to be patient. Some of the cost containment actions taken by the management may seem riduculous, but you need to be patient and put up with it.You may also have to put up with extra overheads required by the management.

Introspect - Use the change as an opportunity to self introspect. Take stock of your current skills. See how it matters in the new order. You may have to unlearn some of them as they may be irrelevant in the new order. You may also have to pick up new skills so that you can be successful during the upturn.

When you embrace change wholeheartedly as an inevitable part of life, looking for ways to use new changes to make your life richer, easier and more fulfilling, your life will work much better. You will experience change as an opportunity for growth and new experiences.