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Coping with Change

Processionary Caterpillars

Processionary Caterpillars feed upon pine needles. They move through the trees in a long procession, one leading and the others following - each with his eyes half closed and his head snugly fixed against the rear extremity of his predecessor.

Jean-Henri Fabre, the great French naturalist, after patiently experimenting with a group of the caterpillars, finally enticed them to the rim of a large flower pot. He succeeded in getting the first one connected up with the last one, thus forming a complete circle, which started moving around in a procession, with neither a beginning nor end.

The naturalist expected that after a while they would catch on to the joke, get tired of their useless march and start off in some new direction. But not so.

Through sheer force of habit, the living creeping circle kept moving around the rim of the pot - around and around, keeping the same relentless pace for seven days and seven nights - and would doubtless have continued longer had it not been for sheer exhaustion and ultimate starvation.

Incidentally, an ample supply of food was close at hand and plainly visible, but it was outside the range of the circle as they continued along the beater path.

They were following instinct - habit - custom - tradition - precedent - past experiences - "standard procedure" - or whatever you may choose to call it, but they were following it blindly.

They mistook activity for accomplishment. They meant well - but they got no place.

Improvements are not made by those who follow the beaten path. Improvements come from those who believe that every job can be improved and then take action to improve it.

Coping Effectively with Change

Change is never easy, even if it is welcome. Whether personal, in day-to-day work, or on an organizational level, change can be difficult. We like to hang on to what we know best. We also adapt to change at different rates. It can sometimes be frustrating to feel that you are not able to keep up, or have those around you not changing at the same pace.

So how do we begin to get comfortable with looking at making changes? Consider the following:

Things are the way they are because they got that way.

There were good reasons for the way systems were set up. Make sure you understand the history before you work toward the "new way". At the same time, help everyone understand that the reasons for establishing systems in the past may not be relevant, or even productive, today.

Unless things change, they are likely to remain the same.

Pay attention to the systems. Improve where needed and leave other things alone that work well.

Change would be easy if it weren't for all the people.

People are the organization. Pay attention to the people as well as the systems. Listening to employees and customers before problems arise makes any change easier.

People don't resist change, they resist being changed.

Involve people in every step of the improvement effort, identifying the need for a change, planning and implementing the change, monitoring and acting on the results. Ask for their opinions: What do they fear? What do they hope will happen? What suggestions can they make to ensure the success of the project?

There are many reactions to change. Consider the following as you ask others, and yourself, to change.

Habit - Most people are creatures of habit and enjoy routines in their lives. When something interrupts their customary ways, they resist.

Uncertainty - The unknown threatens most people.

Self Interest - If people feel that a change will be inconvenient or entail more work, they have little incentive to adopt the new way of doing things.

Not invented here (NIH) Syndrome - Leads people to resist new ideas or procedures if the changes are not their idea. Sometimes the NIH syndrome occurs because people believe that going along with the change is an admission that some of tier previous decisions or beliefs were wrong.

Misunderstanding - Misunderstanding the reasons for a change.

Lack of Trust - When employees mistrust management's motives or are suspicious of the official explanations, change is difficult to sell.

Peer Pressure - Even highly independent individuals are susceptible to work group pressures in opposition to the alterations.

Little Amount of Time - When the amount of change is considered excessive or the pace too rapid, people will talk.

Short and long term goals are important as change happens. Reaching some of the smaller goals makes the larger ones less overwhelming. Help each person establish attainable personal, as well as group, goals. Breaking these goals down into three-month intervals can make the transition easier. It also gives the group a chance to meet quarterly to see how well the changes are coming together.

The change process has stages just like many other phases of life. It is important to help people understand the normal process of change so that they do not think they are having a harder time than others. By identifying normal reactions, it makes the process the focus, not the individual.

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