Loading...Madame HR helps us all cope with the changeover to Been & Going. New logo! Ack!
In HR you are often expected, by those who can’t be bothered, to be the “agent of change” for an organization. And here we are, my loyal friends, you may have noticed that HorroR Stories no longer appears on Fierce and Nerdy, but here, on Been & Going. That sounds like change. I’m terrified. No, wait, this isn’t terrifying, this is fantastic, I am optimistic about this change. All will be good! All will be well. I will light the way, dear readers, as you make this journey with me. I will shepherd you, my poor lost shivering flock as we embark on this new adventure together.
As “Who Moved My Cheese?” taught us about ten years ago, change is hard and unsettling and stressful, and well, sucky. But it’s also good, right? Good! Yay change! I mean, from an organizational standpoint, that’s how we grow and be successful. If we don’t adapt we will die sayeth the Lord Darwin and he was right.
To help us all cope with the stress of this recent change, I consulted one of my co-workers who happens to head up what we like to call Training and Development here at my current organization. She trains people on how to deal with change all the time. She instructed me that there are three phases of change.
Phase 1: Shock/Numbness. When we received word that Fierce and Nerdy was no longer a community blog, I was shocked. “You’re kidding!” I thought to myself. “Well surely this is a mistake.” My colleague indicated that many feel angry during this stage. “How dare Ernessa focus on her own professional goals and her growing family, I have HR advice to give. The public needs me!” might have been what I said, if I had felt angry, which I didn’t! <if you could see me right now you would see that I am giving you all a thumbs up sign!>
When she does her Change Management training, my colleague asks her groups why they think people resist change. People say lots of things; I’ll let you ruminate to yourself for a moment. I think it all boils down to change is, well, evil. Yes, evil and we should all fight evil all the time right? I mean that is our duty as citizens of this world, to fight evil in every incarnation that we see it—wait, no, that’s the wrong answer! I was tricking you! Yes, that’s it, one big goof. I imagine everyone has their own reasons to resist change, just because mine happen to align with certain super heroes out there, well, draw your own conclusions.
Phase 2: Sorrow. In this phase, my colleague says, communication is helpful. People need to talk about their feelings regarding change, whether positive or negative. I am sad to no longer be a part of Fierce and Nerdy <quiet sobbing>. Most people, she says, tend to feel negatively about change. So, let’s talk people, how do you feel about this change? What scares you?
Phase 3: Resolution. Here is where we begin to see change in action and realize it ain’t so bad. I like this new Been & Going (dot) com. I love that changy picture thing on the homepage! And look, I recognize some of these other bloggers- California Seething, Amy Robinson, Jeff Rogers! Ok, if Ryan Dixon is somehow involved than I know everything will be ok. Is Ryan Dixon involved? Call him now!
So, ok, good news, I’ve bought into this change. Problem solved. I don’t even need to hear about some of the challenges change brings. But for those of you who care, here they are:
- Change is stressful
- Change is a never ending situation
- Change brings insecurity out of individuals.
On a side note, I have to ask you all, did you miss me? I mean, you did right? All of you have been out there just floundering without the sage advice of little ol’ me. I know you have, just please say so in the comments. Please…love me?
For those of you who are still struggling, here is another numbered list for you. Enjoy:
Tips on Adapting to Change
- Control your attitude
- Change is never ending- expect that it will happen
- Overcome your negative feelings
- Reframe unproductive thoughts and beliefs (forgive me for a sec, but what the eff does this mean?)
- Arrange encouraging consequences to keep yourself motivated (another side note, this is why I hate anything that calls itself “development” in the corporate world. You get shit like this. I mean, inspirational stuff like this, but still, shit like this. I feel inspired and cynical at the same time)
- Continue doing your job
- READ BEEN & GOING EVERY FREAKING DAY! Or every other day. You feel me.
And yes, hello, we are back. Thanks for reading!
Good luck out there,
Madame HR
Questions Madame HR? Submit them via the handy contact form to the right, or email me here. All questions and stories will be kept confidential!
