The View From Taft
By Crystal Justine Tan
How do you react to changes in life, may it be a career change or change in the organization? Do you accept it wholeheartedly? Or do you shy away from change to stay in your comfort zone? I am a person who always seeks opportunities, looks for change and sees the bigger picture life has to offer.
However, I won’t deny that I am afraid to face new challenges, changes and opportunities. There were times I doubted myself, asking if I was good enough. Can I really do this? If I were not good enough, what will happen to me? But, while reading the book Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, I realized that “Change is the only thing that is certain.” No matter what happens in life, change is inevitable. And all we have to do is learn how to manage and adapt positively with change.
Personally, I always feel safe when I am in my comfort zone. There are times, when faced with an opportunity, that I turned it down. I prefer to stay where I will be comfortable. But, eventually I have realized that these changes and challenges will help me to achieve my goals. In an organization, we may encounter changes as our firm undergoes acquisitions, mergers, a management change, or simply adopts a new policy or hires a new supervisor. Often, we are not ready for these changes and sometimes, we choose to resist the change that the organization is trying to offer us. But understanding those changes has made me realize that it will be easier to handle if we positively accept it.
ENGAGE WITH YOUR CO-WORKER
One of the reasons employees stay is because workmates turned into family. For me, teamwork is important and I appreciate being with my team because we support each other in terms of doing our job responsibilities. I realized that whenever we face new changes in the organization, we should not be afraid to accept these new challenges as there are people along in our journey who believe we can make it. In my case, I was given an opportunity to apply for a higher position. At first I was hesitant to accept the new role and questioned myself if I was really qualified enough. But I am so grateful that my support system in the organization encouraged and believed in me. Because of their encouragement, I have gained confidence and was able to step up to a bigger role.
BE OPTIMISTIC
As I’ve said, sometimes I doubted myself, but realized that it is better to accept positively the change in our workplace. Accepting new job responsibilities is not as bad as we think; rather it may surprise us with new opportunities and success. So, if we ever felt impatient or irritated with our boss because of the voluminous work or new projects he just gave us, let go of your bad feelings. Be optimistic. Challenges are often not as hard as we think. Remember, success isn’t rewarding if it’s easy.
ADAPT AND ACCEPT
Change happens, so instead of resistance, why not accept and find the benefit of it? Say for example, in our company, a merger has happened and there are changes in top management as a new president is appointed. At first it was difficult for us, but looking at the positive side, the merger made the company sustainable on the triple bottom line: people, profit, and planet.
KEEP MOVING
There are always tough times. All I can is just keep on moving and never give up. It takes time to grow in the organization, but as Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group, once said, “Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.” We will never reach our destination if we give up. What’s important is we keep on doing what we do and know best, and success will come naturally. Life brings unexpected surprises, just keep pushing through the finish line.
As we continue our journey through life and career in the organization, we learn that change is inevitable. We should never be afraid, but rather enjoy the ride, assess these changes and weigh their pros and cons. Who knows, maybe it’s all for the best. So, grab new opportunities and savor the experience throughout our journey. It prepares us to reach our goal. For all we know, these changes are “blessings in disguise.” So, instead of being reactive and resistance to changes, pause, be proactive, then embrace the change.
Crystal Justine Tan is an MBA student of the De La Salle University Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. This article was part of the requirements of the course, Strategic Human Resource Management.
