Episode 36 | Managing Change at Work

Welcome to the Better Work Day podcast, with your host Niamh Moynihan. When it comes to business, and life in general really, things rarely stay the same for long.

 

Change is always round the corner, but that doesn't mean we don't still struggle to deal with it. Niamh, what are some ways we can look at change to help reduce the stress and anxiety that comes with it?

 

Hello, hello, and welcome back to the Better Work Day podcast. How are you doing?

 

This week I want to talk about something which is constant in the workplace, and that is change. Because whether it's a leadership change, a strategy change, a team restructuring or your own internal movements, there's always something going on.

 

And with that much change happening, it's easy for us to get caught up in it and to feel like we're being pulled along. And so for this episode, I just want to give you, or share rather, my very simple framework for managing change or for getting clarity during times of change, so you can take back the reins and feel like you can take some steps needed to make sure you can be successful.

 

And I know that change sometimes impacts us directly. Let's say, for example, your team might be restructuring or you might be getting promoted or something like that. But sometimes, it's more of an indirect change, so perhaps it's not you that's being promoted, it's your work bestie, and that's going to change things for you.

 

So it's not always the obvious things that cause the most problems or worries, and so for this I want you to consider any change at all that might be happening that you want to pay a little bit more attention to.

 

When it comes to change, I think the first thing to know is that it impacts everyone differently. So, there might be a change happening in your team, for example, and everyone in your team is going to be impacted differently by it.

 

Some people might not be fazed by it at all, and others might be really stressed or worried about it. Others could be super excited. And I think that's not only because of the roles that we hold within a team, but also everything else that's going on outside of work.

 

Everyone has their own set of circumstances, and work impacts all those other areas of our lives. If you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you know I'm a big fan of the Wheel of

 

Life, which is a simple tool where you outline each of the areas of your life, for example, career, finance, family, friends, fun, health, physical environment, spiritual, personal development, you know, all those different elements. And we all have our own versions of those, and so I think it's really important to understand change is different or experienced differently by everyone.

 

And so if you're finding it tough, that's okay. You know, like, you don't have to be as okay with it as everybody else. There's other things that could be going on for you.

 

And so with that in mind, I think it's really important to understand what the change is and what its impact is on you and on your life.

 

So here's a couple of questions that you ask for any change that's going on. The first is, what is changing?

 

Really, really straightforward, but sometimes that's the hardest question to answer, especially if communications throughout the company hasn't been very straightforward or very clear.

 

So you want to understand what exactly is changing, and maybe what isn't. What is staying the same? And then the second question is, where in your life is that going to have an impact?

 

So again, it could be, for example, it could be a financial impact, positive or negative. It could be a wellbeing impact if, for example, you're going to be working a lot more. Maybe there's a massive new project, or maybe you've got to take on more responsibility. Or maybe they're moving to a four-day work week and you're gonna have time back.

 

Okay? So what other areas of your life could be impacted by this change? If it's one of your work besties, it could be friendship that's going to be impacted.

 

So really think that through. And then understand when is the change happening. So has it already started? Is it planned for next year? Is it going to be a period of change? So is there going to be a process that's going to be ongoing for a couple of months?

 

If that's the case, you might want to manage your expectations around what's that going to look like in your week.

 

Or is it going to be a straight cutover? Just think through what the timeframe is going to be like, and is there anything that you need to consider for yourself at work during that time?

 

And then the next one I always ask is, who is leading or triggering the change? Because I think this is really important in terms of how we feel about the change. So personally, I always feel more comfortable when I'm the one who's triggering the change. Let's say I applied for the promotion or

 

I applied for the internal job move or I suggested the new project, because of course I feel like I'm more in control. It was my decision. You know, contrast that to, you know, my manager or a leader coming to me and saying, "Oh, Niamh, we're restructuring the team and I need you to move into a new role." Ugh. Now that's something I'm going to have to respond to. It wasn't my choice.

 

And it's not that either is inherently good or bad, because the outcome for both could be very good. It's just to understand that it's okay to feel a little bit differently depending on who is leading the change.

 

And sometimes even owning those feelings and ex- kind of exploring what that's making us feel or think or do is, is a good thing to do. So definitely check who's leading or triggering the change.

 

And then ask yourself, why is this change happening? Why is it necessary? And I know it can be hard for us to know all the nuts and bolts or the grand plans, especially when it's a bigger change, but could you, you could always ask yourself or ask somebody else, what's gonna happen next?

 

So going back to the example of maybe your work bestie moving on, you know, what's gonna happen next? Well, first of all, they're probably going to have an excellent opportunity, which is great.

 

You might have a slight shift in your role, which could mean more growth, and there might be somebody new coming in who you could make friendships with. So always trying to think what's happening beyond the change, what's over the horizon, just in order to help us keep a little bit of perspective.And they're the kind of questions that I feel allow you to take a handle on the change that's happening and clarify what you know.

 

And that leads me to the next very important consideration when it comes to change, and that's you're not going to know everything. And I don't know about you, but when change is happening to me, my imagination can run wild

 

. You know, all the different scenarios, good, bad, in between just goes racing through my mind, and that can be really distracting. And it can... To be honest, it can be quite stressful, a bit distressing as well.

 

So a great question to ask is, what do I know for sure? And after going through the questions I just shared with you, you should know quite a bit for sure.

 

And then after that, you can ask yourself, "Well, what do I need to clarify?" So instead of saying, "Well, I think this and maybe that," just say, "Well, what do I need to clarify about these changes happening?"

 

And you can then ask yourself, what's the next step you can take? So you might not be able to get clarification or answers to all of your questions, but maybe the next step you can take is to ask your manager for a meeting, or ask HR for a meeting, or ask for an update. You know, there's always something you can do once you know what you're clear about, what you're unclear about, and then what the next steps could be.

 

And again, this is all about putting you back in control of the situation as best you can. The final thing I would say about change is it's always better when you can talk to somebody else about it, whether that's somebody in work or somebody at home.

 

Because there could be a lot going on and sometimes it's good just to get things off your mind or maybe to get another perspective, to get someone else to help you answer the questions that I just shared with you on this episode.

 

And it's always easier when you go through things together, in my opinion. And, look, if it's a change that you don't feel comfortable talking to people about yet, a good alternative is to journal. So get all your thoughts down on a page and then go out for a good long walk and come back and revisit them, and even that can really help. It's all about just really taking a step back and getting a different perspective, if possible.

 

So I hope this episode has been helpful for you. Maybe take a moment after this to consider any changes that are going on in your working life and whether or not going through the questions I shared would help you in those.

 

And until next time, stay well and have a Better Workday. Thank you for tuning in. We hope you enjoyed this episode. The Better Workday Podcast is about helping you have a better workday, so we'd love to hear your thoughts and questions.

 

You can find our social media details as well as any references from this episode in the show notes.