Let’s Get Clear on How you React to Change

A tree falls - what do you do?

On a recent Sunday morning, I woke up at 6 a.m. to my kids jumping up and down by my bedside with unusual excitement.

“Look out the window, mama! Look!”  

I glanced outside to find that a tree had fallen down during the heavy wind and rain storm the night before—right ON OUR CAR, taking out the side view mirror and denting the hood before it hit the ground. 

The kids were ecstatic. Giddy with laughter, they raced to put on their coats and go outside to investigate. I overheard one say, “I can’t WAIT to tell my class about this!”

I felt less enthusiastic. I wanted to climb back under the covers and ignore everything.

But I couldn’t return to my blissful slumber.

My mind was buzzing with questions and logistics. Does the car still work? What does car insurance cover? How are we going to get this tree out of our driveway? @#$%!

With sleep elusive, I reluctantly got out of bed to figure it out.

We don’t all react to change in the same way. As leaders, our responses to change can be just as diverse as our reactions to the tree in the driveway. One person might approach change with energy and enthusiasm, while another will approach the same change with avoidance and fear—or anything in between. Getting clear on how you react to change is critical to leadership development. Let’s talk a bit about what influences how you react to change.

1) What’s your leadership style and approach to change?

Our leadership styles and individual identities—our gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and class—deeply impact the way we are socialized to relate to change. 

The more we keep that in mind, the better we can guide ourselves and others through change. So let’s take a step back to deepen your awareness of how you relate to change. 

Ask yourself, “How do I tend to handle change? What coping strategies am I drawn to? What do I avoid?”  Like everyone, you learned certain behaviors to navigate change while growing up and beginning your career—but they may not be the most effective ones.

Here are a few common ways of dealing with change in organizational leadership. Which behavior best describes you?

Pretend it’s not happening.

Do you ever find yourself trying to deny that a change is happening (or is needed)? Be honest here. Hoping to stay in one’s comfort zone, many people refuse to believe that a change is occurring until they simply can’t deny the reality any longer.

Resist the change.

Others realize that change is afoot, but might see it as a negative imposition rather than an opportunity. Consciously or not, they may act to prevent the change from happening. This can look both like passive resistance or very active efforts to stop the change. Resisters can channel a lot of energy towards derailing the change, rather than looking for proactive ways to make it work for them and their organization. 

Respond too rashly.

When feeling panicked about the need to do something, some leaders will make quick decisions about how to deal with the change. Rather than taking the time to analyze the situation and gather input, they act reactively from a false sense of urgency.  Of course, we sometimes need to make quick decisions, but more often than not there’s time to do a little legwork to make a thoughtful choice. 

Act with enthusiasm and initiative.

Other leaders embrace transition and rally their team behind a chosen method of handling a change. They get input from others (fellow leaders, board members, team members, outside experts) on how to navigate the change and then boldly move forward. They build a strategic vision for how to handle the transition. Naturally, they tend to get the best results!

Key Takeaway: Get clear on your instinctual reactions to change and then focus on becoming adaptable, which will strengthen your ability to navigate change. Start right now with the smaller or medium-size changes you’re experiencing. Try on a new attitude and approach, and when it comes time to address the bigger changes, you’ll have already developed your capacity.

2) How do you use emotional intelligence with your team?

How you feel about and approach change may also depend on where you are in the transition cycle. Keep in mind that you might be in a different place than your employees within this cycle, so meet your team where they are. By the time you introduce a change to your team, you may have already come to terms with it, whereas your team will just be beginning the process of adapting to the change.  

Key Takeaway: Cultivate empathy for how your team may be feeling when you introduce a change. Don’t assume they’re on the same page as you—yet. Help them get there by being patient and addressing their valid concerns! Create opportunities to have open, honest conversations about how they’re feeling about the change. This will boost teamwork and collaboration, helping you move through the change as a cohesive unit.

3) How resilient are you as a leader? 

Resilient leaders recover from setbacks and move through challenges more effectively. Being resilient starts with believing that you can handle the change. Nurturing your capacity for resilience means working to keep stress in check while also caring for your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. 

Try a mindfulness technique like emotional pulse practice to help yourself become more fully present in the moment. By finding your center no matter what’s happening around you, you’ll become more dialed in to what’s happening and how to respond.

Key Takeaway: Work on building your resilience so that you’ll never feel like you’re in over your head.  You’ll have tough moments, sure, but staying grounded will help you move through them adeptly.  

Change is tough and we all react to it differently. 

To navigate others through change effectively, we need to take a step back to assess our own reactions. When we begin with ourselves, we strengthen our ability to support others. Three key steps that you can take to grow your change muscle are: increase your adaptability, cultivate empathy, and build your resilience. Beginning with any one of these will support your ability to show up for your team skillfully. 

Are you ready to take your ability to navigate change to the next level? Book a call with Amanda Silver Consulting to see how we can help.