MANAGING CHANGE

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

 

 

Change is the only constant thing in the world today and one thing we must deliberately embrace. Imagine a business that got established in the 90s, and coming with the technological innovation and the emergence of the internet; we would only be expected of such business to adapt to the change occurring already in the world such that we have many business already on every social media pages allowing customers and end users have easy access to the product but take in your imagination, that the company refused to adapt to such societal changes, they will only be left as a mediocre in the society because people will go to businesses  that are easy to reach; the company will many times make more profit whilst the other company will lose much customers. This is not just important to business but very important tom individual. Age is automatic but change is deliberate. If you’re going to live an inspiring and effective life you must learn to adapt to change and sometimes refuse some changes.

Change management is one critical skill every individual must learn. Change management is a systematic approach to dealing with the transition or transformation of an organization's goals, processes or technologies. The purpose of change management is to implement strategies for effecting change, controlling change and helping people to adapt to change. Such strategies include having a structured procedure for requesting a change, as well as mechanisms for responding to requests and following them up. We all must understand that change is very systematic; it doesn’t jump on a person. In this post id be focusing more on personal changes, and when I say changes you’d love to either see it as growth or retardation.

Changes occur to every one of us. The first step in personal change management is realizing that something in your life is not the way you want it to be or the way it needs to be. Once you understand that, you must make a firm decision to change. The issue many times is either that many of us are overly comfortable with where we are or we are unaware of the fact that changes need to occur. Self Awareness is very key to change in a person’s life; if you’re in a dark about who you’re or what you want, you might not want to consider changes yet. Being mindful of yourself and your surroundings is very important here.

Psychologists often break self-awareness down into two different types, either public or private.

1. Public Self-Awareness: This type emerges when people are aware of how they appear to others. Public self-awareness often emerges in situations when people are at the centre of attention, such as when giving a presentation or talking to a group of friends. This type of self-awareness often compels people to adhere to social norms. When we are aware that we are being watched and evaluated, we often try to behave in ways that are socially acceptable and desirable. In short we display our best behavior, which may not be reflective of our true personality. Public self-awareness can also lead to ‘evaluation anxiety’ in which people become distressed, anxious, or worried about how they are perceived by others.
2. Private Self-Awareness: This type happens when people become aware of some aspects of themselves, but only in a private way. For example, seeing your face in the mirror is a type of private self-awareness. Feeling your stomach lurch when you realize you forgot to study for an important test or feeling your heart flutter when you see someone you are attracted to are also good examples of private self-awareness. Close family members and friends are privy to some aspects of our private self as we let our guard down in front of them. Hence, they become invaluable aides in helping us assess ourselves.

Self-awareness is about being honest with yourself. Self awareness is the foundation of personal growth and success. Daniel Goleman calls it the 'keystone' of emotional intelligence. The Importance of Self Awareness in Change management is such that without knowing who yourself and the direction you want your life to go, you cannot in anyway effect changes in the world around you. Before you can make changes in yourself you have to know what there is to work with. Becoming self-aware is about the process of understanding yourself.

There are information around that you might not be needing at the very moment, and also there are changes you need not to effect yet. Not being aware of yourself can be very costly as you’d not know when and how implement changes in many facet of your life.

Here are few quotes;

“Success comes from the inside out. In order to change what is on the outside, you must first change what is on the inside.” ― Idowu Koyenikan, Wealth for All: Living a Life of Success at the Edge of Your Ability

“Changes are inevitable and not always controllable. What can be controlled is how you manage, react to and work through the change process.” ― Kelly A. Morgan

“Every success story is a tale of constant adaption, revision and change.” —Richard Branson

“One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.” —Abraham Maslow

“The way must be in you; the destination also must be in you and not somewhere else in space or time. If that kind of self-transformation is being realized in you, you will arrive.” —Nhat Hanh

In my next blog, I would be talking more about change management in the business world! You should anticipate.

Do you have any question? Or Something you’d love me to write about? Kindly drop it in the Comment Section.

Cheers!

VICTOR AYO OLUWOLE