Build Anew
Change is never easy. It is difficult to accept and challenging to experience. But if recent times have taught us anything, it’s that versatility is not an option–it’s a need. The ability to embrace change is necessary for both our professional and personal success. The ability to lead change, though–that creates success for us and others.
Regardless of setting, whether at work or at home, leading change takes a particular magnitude of courage, the intrepid daring to look around and say, “This needs to be different” –but also the willingness to make things different. It’s inevitable that we might find ourselves submerged within an environment arbitrarily boasting a modus operandi of stagnation. Kat Boogaard of the Daily Muse writes how some office cultures stubbornly resist change, no matter how it may improve job satisfaction and life quality.
If we find ourselves in an unsatisfying personal relationship, logic would dictate that we move on despite emotional murkiness. Indeed, the Great Reshuffle saw many people transferring that methodology into the world of work. Unwilling to sit back and wait for leaders to make positive change, people pursued it for themselves—by way of seeking amicable environments elsewhere.
Just like in our personal lives, we can lead change in the professional setting. But–just like with warming up to the idea of a new fitness routine–if we wish to ameliorate our workplace culture, we must prepare for resistance. As goes John Heywood’s popular proverb, “Nothing ventured; nothing gained.” Our suggestions might not be readily greeted with open arms. But a healthy dose of optimism should always be kept on hand.
In this TED Talk, Jim Hemerling of Boston Consulting Group expresses the notion perpetual transformation. Hemerling observes that while personal change can be empowering, change at work is often seen as exhausting. When we lead change in our personal lives, it’s with a firm focus on how we benefit–emotionally, mentally, and physically. Personal change is about improving quality of life.
Thus, to lead change in our work environments, we must focus on the quality of life for our colleagues and teams. Delineated by this segment, from the Disney-Pixar film Inside Out, people need to be heard. Real, impactful change begins with an open ear.
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
– Socrates
Author
by Faraz Gafoor
Faraz Gafoor is a content strategist, writer, and human-data aficionado. His passion for scientific analysis of everything—from the presentation of data to the way we communicate—is driven by a deep love of understanding how we process and make sense of our surroundings. His curiosity and a never-ending search for prolific and poetic perfection poignantly fit his Prism Personality of a double Scientist.
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