Dealing with change
You have to be flexible and willing to have change in the work place. Without change it will become stale
Good point Shirley. In our experience change represents opportunity. Sometimes change comes when we don't want it and in the form of a problem. But it does direct you to look at what works and what doesn't. So you and your team can put in more effective policies to increase success. The trick for marketing, for example, is to see what is working to bring in quantity and quality leadsa and then makes changes to increase quality. Thanks, Susan
So true change is good in most cases
Change is a fact of life. We can create change, go with change, or fight change. We can determine if change is good or creates challenges to address. If there is no change then the organism, organization, or entity will create change in one way or another. Something to watch for and deal with and benefit from. Susan
inflexible is static. static electricity gives you an unwanted shock. No one wants thats. Keep moving, and allow flexibility.
This is a good philosophy and outlook. Can you tell us how you implement the concept at your school. Also your expectation of your staff in light of this change theory. Thanks, Susan
SO true, but how much change is too much change?
moving forward requires change
James,
You are so right James. If you do things the same way then why expect different results. Can you describe the changes you will be making in each area of your school or department? They don't have to always be huge changes. Sometimes just a different way of doing things, presenting information, or talking to people can make a big difference. Or focus more on the written word than the spoken when explaining things. Many ways to make a change. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
1) You're making changes for the sake of change. - Sometimes people just want things to change, so they will implement change and then, when those changes "don't make things better", more changes ensue. It's a vicious circle.
2) When the stakeholders are unable to keep up with the changes, to the point where they don't know what's going on. - Change requires buy-in from lots of different people. But when change is happening so fast that people don't know what changes are being made, it's time to slow down.
3) When change is unnecessary. - There is some truth to that "don't fix it if it isn't broken" philosophy. Make sure changes align to needed, justifiable requirements that are then verified to make sure the change satisfies the requirement.
-R
Rick,
Interesting point about change for change sake. Not a good idea. The goal is to teach people to watch for trends that need to be addressed and challenges that need new solutions. Change does need buyin - agreement about the change. That does help in new implementation. As you point out, it is often hard to keep up with new policies and procedures. Organizations have developed many methods like announcements, teaching moments, issuing of new written policies and procedures, and more. I doubt there is a solution that works 100% of the time. The don't fix unless broken policy is helpful too. Since people are resistant to change you don't want to make so many changes that could cause people to not act at all. Lots of challenges. Perhaps a solution is to keep asking people how they want change to be implemented. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
This is very important. We tend to get comfortable in what we're doing on a daily basis. Eventually we end up looking back and saying "we should of done that differently". It's better to stay in front of it and change to grow and expand on what you're doing
Brenda,
Very well said. We do get comfortable with the day-to-day. It lulls us into thinking that there is only one way of doing things. We forget about watching for trends and change. We lose sight of the fact that we can be creative and imaginative in the way we serve our students and employers. The goal is to create a culture to invite new ideas. That's our opinion, anyway! Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
