Resistance or resilience?

There’s no question that many of us are facing tremendous change right now in our work and/or personal lives.

With the economic situation and current job market, dramatic change is impacting us or someone we know.

Change is a disruptive force and is often immediately met with resistance by many.

Fear of the unknown, movement out of a comfortable situation, or lack of perceived benefit are often drivers of resistance.

Given that change is inevitable and extremely prevalent today, it is much more beneficial to react to change with the characteristics of resilience.

Resilience is defined as the ability to withstand shock without permanent damage or rupture, tending to recover from and adjust easily to misfortune or change.

People who demonstrate resilience in the face of change typically:

-Assess the situation at hand.

-Consider solutions and actions.

-Select the best choice.

-Take action.

-Learn what does and doesn’t work.

-Modify actions or behavior to get better results.

Try walking through these steps next time you are faced with a difficult change.

And remember, the action you take may not be the best one, but by taking an action you are exerting control and you can evaluate your choice and determine if it was the right one and if not, repeat the process.

This is a much better option, in my view, than resistance to the change, which simply leads to frustration.

Source: 360 Solutions/Center for Organizational Design

Gene Lewis is the owner of Empower Strategies. He can be reached by e-mail at glewis@empowerstrat.com or by visiting www.empowerstrat.com.