“The Key to success is often the ability to adapt” ~ Unknown
As we all know change is inevitable, whether it is in our personal life or our work life change is going to happen. It is difficult when change happens in the workplace, and you are not the cause of it, but it is something that is going to affect you and your job it can be a bit stressful and even scary. We are going through a time of change in our practice as one of our physicians is moving. This was a sudden event with not much time for us to plan. Once our Senior Physician found out he told us so that everyone was aware of what was happening. By bringing it out in the open immediately this allowed everyone to ask questions, hear the answers, and no one felt left out or unsure of what was happening. We discussed in what ways would things change in the office and how we would handle the transition. The first key step to handling change is to lay out for all involved what the change will look like to dispel the unknowns. Change is difficult, but it is more difficult when everyone is unsure of what is going on and what the effects are going to be. Being able to talk openly with each other about this change also has allowed us to continue working as a team as we work through it. All of the employees have had their work patterns set for several years and now they will change, for some people this can be stressful and upsetting. The second key step is for all team members to understand that everyone handles change differently, for one person they may blow with the wind when it comes to change and for other who maybe a perfectionist the change can be very difficult. Open communication with one another needs to be encouraged during this time to make the transition smoother for everyone. The third key to managing change is to look for the positive in the change. Sit down and make a list of what are the positive changes that can come out of the change. By changing everyone’s focus from the disruptive breakup of the office pattern to looking for what good changes we can make by having this change, we are directing our attitudes to look at the situation in a more positive way and this is a great thing for all of us and our office.
“There is nothing wrong with change if it is in the right direction” ~ Winston Churchill
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