Taking Small Steps to Become More Adaptable to Change

Change is not the exception anymore, it is a fact of life - especially given our economy and business environment.  That being said, change is still as scary as it ever was.  Some people are more adaptable to change than others but most people seem to like routines.  In this post I'm including a few simple steps you can take to help yourself and your team members become more adaptable to change in the workplace.


1.  Change normal routines such as the time of your staff meeting, what time you come in the office, when you respond to emails and voicemails, taking the stairs instead of the elevators.  Some people have such defined routines they know exactly what they are having for lunch each day.  
2.  Have a team contest and have each person volunteer what they did different in the past week during the staff meeting.  Have a prize for whoever is voted the "Greatest Change Initiator."
3.  Take a different route to work - use different streets.
4.  Park in a different location.  
5.  Celebrate team successes in adapting to change.
6.  Openly discuss how change feels and why we resist it. 
7.  Find some great change quotes and post them within your work area.  Better yet, encourage your team to find some good quotes and put them up to help inspire the team.  
8.  Have a frank discussion regarding what things could change in your department to make you even better.  This will get people thinking of the positive influence of change.  
9.  Discuss times in history where a change effort made a significant positive influence on our history.  
10.  I love the quote by Gandi - "Be the Change You want to see in the World." It starts with you, the leader.  Be the change you want to see in your team.  Get that accomplished and then you can take on the world : ).


Mari