Michelle Ray

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managing change

Celebrating the Opportunity of Change (Part 5)

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As leaders, you already know the importance of not only managing change, but embracing it as well. I want you to consider how you can celebrate the opportunity that change represents. Think about it, you used to wait hours or maybe even days for information to be transmitted and printed on a scroll of thermal paper.

Today, that happens in seconds. You used to travel over oceans to meet with clients and counterparts. Now, you can conduct so much of your business virtually. And think about all the information you have at your fingertips today, thanks to the internet.

So we all have a lot of experience with change. It’s not like it’s foreign to us. With awareness, we can reflect on the times when we felt we could never overcome a particular challenge. Yet we rose to the occasion. We were able to demonstrate agility and willingness to try new things. Just as athletes develop muscle memory, your ability to navigate change will become more instinctual with practice.

The most powerful choice you can make is to focus on the aspects of change that are within your control. At any point, you can choose to decipher how change unfolds. How you give meaning to the challenges that come with change will ultimately influence the outcome. When you hit your next bump in the road, ask, why am I being disrupted by change, and how can I embrace it.

That’s the leadership mindset.

This post is a transcript of https://youtu.be/VHlM080bCb8 on YouTube

(Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

Change Management Ep. 1 – Assessing your Internal Lens

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MichelleRay-Leadership-Insights-Change-Management-Episode-1

The famous poet Anonymous once said, “Nothing changes if nothing changes.” Reacting to and resisting change initiatives is nothing new. Most of us are uncomfortable with change because it represents confronting the unknown, posing a threat, whether or not that threat is real or imagined.

In business, anticipating change is essential for survival. New realities regarding the pace of technological change, changing workplace demographics, and an ever changing economic climate necessitate acceptance.

There isn’t an industry that hasn’t been impacted by the need to confront an ever changing landscape. Standing still while burying one’s head in the sand is not an option. Ready or not, evolving with the times is essential. Without awareness and information, you’ll invariably continue reacting to change rather than anticipating changing market conditions.

During this video series, you’ll learn how to overcome the fear of change and alter your entire perspective regarding situations that are outside of your control. You’ll be equipped to lead your teams and organizations with greater confidence. Let’s begin by assessing your internal lens, as well as the lens you use to view the world.

We need to be asking ourselves, if we’re leading ourselves, are we being the best possible example that we can be?

We manufacture a lot of our own fear. All of us should look at leadership as being a mindset, it’s about being the leader of your own life, and we all have the choice to be able to do that.

Change. Crisis or opportunity? Well, it all depends on how you see it. Why is it that our primary reaction to change is driven by fear? That’s the main emotion that stops us in our tracks. You see, we manufacture a lot of our own fear. We often worry about things that don’t even happen. We just think that they will. For this reason, our perception regarding change determines how we see reality.

We all remember the demise of Blockbuster video, a company that viewed change through the lens of fear. Even though they were at the forefront of internet technology, they chose to stand still. It wasn’t that they didn’t make a move to change, it was the fact that they didn’t move at all that ultimately led to their demise.

Fear is a paralyzing emotion. It clouds our assessment of possibilities. When we’re stuck in the fear, we just can’t see opportunity. The question is, what lies behind our fear and why does this stop us from embracing change?

Well, this is largely due to the fact that our thoughts are driven by a fear of loss, and it’s very important to understand why this will stop you from pursuing new opportunities.

Fear of loss; what are we afraid of? We’re afraid of becoming irrelevant. We’re afraid of losing our job. We’re afraid of losing our purpose and our meaning in the grand scheme of things. And that is why we can’t see past the fear to embrace change.

I want you to ask yourself, is your fear of change real or imagined? Because when we are immobile, we can’t see the possibilities.

Here are the key things to remember about the fear of change and seeing change as an opportunity. Know yourself. Understand the core reasons behind your learned behaviors and reactions, and make a decision to reassess and reframe your attitudes to change.

 

This post is a transcript of https://youtu.be/Tqib3woP73M on YouTube