Navigating through change – What are your options?

Whilst change is inevitable the way we approach and cope with change is something we have some control over. There are several ways we can navigate change such as by ‘going with the flow’, fighting the change, or by changing the way we think about change which can include:

• Approach dealing with change as a process
• Reframe how you think about change
• Breathe, and be flexible

Six tips for dealing with change:

1. Ask yourself how much you can control
2. Celebrate the positives
3. Take action
4. Accept and reframe
5. Manage your stress
6. Seek support

The change curve

The change curve is a popular and powerful model used to understand the stages most people go through as they adjust to change. It can help predict and understand how people may react to change, help navigate their response to change, and point to stages where they may need guidance and support.

People will move through this curve at different rates and possibly stay at different stages for longer than others. By understanding the change curve, you can work and plan on how to minimise some of the negative impacts of the change, and yourself and others to adapt more quickly to it. The aim is to make the curve shallower and narrower. Stages need to be acknowledged and not unduly “rushed through” but if you can support yourself to move into the learning stages it will make the change process easier.

Moving through the curve

• Making sense of what is going on, or will happen “on the other side”
• Sometimes, people can get “stuck” in a phase of the curve
  –Resilience helps us to move from one stage to the next
• Perceived lack of control also drives our stress responses and multiplies the negative effects on the individual
• People run the risk of making emotional decisions to protect themselves
  –“When emotion is high, intelligence is low”

Steps to help through the change

1. Manage yourself: be aware of what you are going through now
2. Be aware of others response to change: Accept others where they are on the curve, but don’t try to argue them out of their position
3. Avoid hearsay (“fake news”): Get your facts about change from trusted sources
4. Review your future: See this period as an episode in the journey for you achieving your goals – we can learn from our experiences
5. Be pragmatically optimistic: It helps your brain to find solutions
6. Be aware of anxiety: Fear of unknown can strike when your emotional energy resources are depleted
7. Focus on activity: Be aware of your locus of control – what can you do?
8. Build your resilience knowledge: Understand your emotions, thinking, physiology and personality

Communicate with others

Supportive people can help you manage stress in times of change:

• Workplace leader
• Friends and family
• External supports
• Writing things down/journaling
  –Focuses your attention
  –Clarifies thoughts – helps decision making

Resilience in times of change

Resilience is about bouncing back from change – but also about performing during times of stress and pressure:

• Finding opportunities within the chaos
• Constantly learning, evolving and updating strategies (positive coping)
• Mindset; change is a chance to grow, learn, do things better
• Emotional intelligence
• Letting go and moving on
• Building support networks

Embrace the change

• Trust the process
• Be open to possibilities
  –What does this change give me that wasn’t possible before?
• Affirm:
  –“I am strong and will manage”
  –“I can deal with change and can learn from this”