Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

by Tom Miller

I’m a “change person” – new ideas, new surroundings and new experiences energize me.  In my role as the leader of a company that helps clients develop employee engagement strategies, I’m usually on the side of the change equation that is creating the vision for what the future could look like and then facilitating the change.  I get to see the change before it happens.  Recently, the “change tables” have been turned and I learned something in the process.

All of us are aware of the new technologies and applications that are prevalent in business today (internet based apps, social networking, communication tools).  I have been working to adapt to the “new tools” and to become proficient with them.  It’s been a struggle…  I have so many “old school” habits that I am forced to change – the way I think, the way I communicate, the way I spend time – and it really feels awkward to me.  There have been times my resolve has weakened and I’ve said to myself, “forget it…I’m far enough along in my career that I don’t need to worry about this stuff” – bad thinking and I’m trying to banish those thoughts.

I’m experiencing what it feels like to have change “forced” on me.  It’s uncomfortable, it takes time to adapt, to learn how to think differently, act differently, speak and write differently… Going through this process has not made me any less inclined to seek out healthy change and to be a change agent; but it has reminded me that people need time to process change.  How much time?  I don’t know – it probably depends on the type of change and the severity of the change.  I know that I will be more aware of the need to plan for a “grace period” during times of change to allow people to deal with the complex emotions around doing things differently than they’re accustomed to.

Tom

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