My brand new book, PIVOT Principles, is finally available and I just delivered the PIVOT keynote to a group of HR professionals in State College, PA. I had so much fun with the audience and worked hard to disrupt their comfort zone before talking about the principles.
The only thing we can say for certain about change is that it is constant and inevitable. We experience change in our personal and professional life whether we like it or not. Often, we look forward to change and sometimes we do not. The rate of change in this world is certainly accelerating. It seems as if as soon as you become familiar with a piece of technology, that technology is obsolete. I have a teenager in my house, every day he shows me something new. Usually, something that he has found or seen or heard about online. There is so much information everywhere and still 24 hours in a day!
At work, employees are dealing with restructuring, acquisitions, mergers, downsizing, new product lines, growth, new equipment, global customers, remote co-workers, five different generations in the workplace and a million other changes.
The biggest mistake that I have seen during my 20+ years of consulting with organizations is that leaders don’t pay enough attention to the human side of change. A change is announced and then leaders expect everyone to follow along. It just doesn’t work that way. When a change occurs, there is an ending and a new beginning. Employees need time to say goodbye, to adjust, to adapt, to grieve before they can move forward. No leader can change employee behavior by announcing a change.
The employee must decide that he or she is going to change their own behavior.
Employees change their behavior when they are good and ready, not a moment before. Not everyone likes change and some people actually dig in their heels and resist change even when they have no choice. The new beginning that change brings is often exciting for many, but not for everyone.
This book was written to help people conquer change with less stress and more joy instead of just getting through change.It doesn’t matter if you are experiencing personal change, professional change., small change or life altering change. Change is change and change is disruptive.
The book is available on Amazon. Enjoy!