Coping with Change A Practical Approach to a Common Organizational Challenge A Presentation for the

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Coping with ChangeA Practical Approach to a
Common Organizational ChallengeA Presentation
for the 2009Lake Local Schools Convocation

• Kendall L. Stewart, MD, MBA, DFAPA
• August 24, 2009

1Thank you for your kind invitation and your
commitment to educational excellence. 2I hope to
offer practical advice you can put to work in
your personal and professional lives
today. 3Please let me know whether I succeeded on
your evaluation forms.
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Why is this important?

• Change happens.
• We dont always embrace it.
• In fact, we often resist it with all our might.
• Organizational change is a source of significant
  stress at work.
• Some of us deal with change better than others.
• This presentation will help you cope.
• You can start using these strategies today.
• I understand that each of you is making a
  personal commitment to your organizational vision
  this year. (This may not be the principal change
  on you minds.)

• After mastering the information in this
  presentation, you will be able to
• Give three reasons why we tend to resist change,
• Identify three ways we resist change, and
• Detail three practical strategies for coping with
  change more effectively.
• Change is not going away.
• Coping with it more effectively can make a world
  of difference in your life.1,2,3

1We often refuse to change even when its clear
what we are doing is not working. 2I once
counseled a husband about what to get his wife
for their anniversary. 3A farmer in Georgia was
not pleased with his wife.
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Why do we resist change?

• Change is often uncomfortable.
• We may not see whats in it for us. (WII-FM)
• It may seem silly and pointless.1,2
• We may not have been consulted beforehand.
• A compelling case for change may not have been
  made.
• We know how often proposed changes fizzle and
  poop out.
• The change may require extra effort on our part.
• We may view the change as unfair.
• We may view the proposed change as a very bad
  thing.
• It just seems to be part of human nature.

1Do you know the difference in the Golden and
Platinum Rules? 2I learned a hard change lesson
about administrative rounding.
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How do we resist change?

• We experience strong feelings.1,2
• We seek out others who share our feelings.
• We talk behind others back.
• We spin and exaggerate.
• We attack those who feel differently.
• We pout and withdraw.
• We indulge in passive, aggressive posturing.
• We create dissention and set organizational back
  fires.
• Unfailingly civil and gracious, we challenge the
  case for change with dispassionate clarifying
  questions.
• Yeah, right.

1When SOMC administrators announced a change I
didnt like, I became upset. 2Then I calmed
myself and figured out a better way to cope.
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What practical strategies will help us cope more
effectively with change?

• Recognize your emotional arousal.
• Calm yourself.
• Become a reporter ask clarifying questions.
• Clarify whether you are being asked permission,
  being consulted or being informed.
• Figure out exactly how the change will affect
  you.
• If the final decision is still pending, make the
  case for and against the change.1
• Take a thoughtful position.

• Suggest other options
• Suggest a pilot study.
• Ask for metrics that will prove the change
  produced the desired results.
• Focus on results.
• Limit pointless rumination.
• Engage in healthy distractions.
• Stop trying to reason with unreasonable people.
• Reframe the change as a personal opportunity to
  grow.

1I made a vigorous case against labeling average
employees.
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What have we learned?

• Change happens.
• It does not always happen easily.
• Most of us would admit that change is one of our
  principal challenges in the work environment.
• And most of us would admit that we could cope
  with change better.
• We now know what to do.
• But knowing what to do is rarely the problem.
• Doing it is.1

1Lets use losing weight and keeping it off as an
example.
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What results have my changed behaviors produced?
Began SparkPeople
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Where can you learn more?1

• Examine a British perspective by reviewing Judith
  Bells, Teachers Talk About Teaching Coping With
  Change in Turbulent Times, Open University Press,
  1995.
• Read Susan Jones, Coping With Change at Work,
  Thorsons Business, 1995.
• Consider the grief reactions that workplace
  changes trigger by reading J. Shep Jeffreys,
  Coping With Workplace Grief, Revised Edition
  Dealing With Loss, Trauma and Change, Crisp
  Learning, 2005.
• Review some additional practical tips from Sharon
  L. Mosenkis at http//findarticles.com/p/articles/
  mi_m0FWE/is_10_6/ai_92839910/

1Please visit www.KendallLStewartMD.com to
download related white papers and presentations.
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How can you contact me?1
Kendall L. Stewart, M.D. VPMA and Chief Medical
Officer Southern Ohio Medical Center President
CEO The SOMC Medical Care Foundation, Inc. 1805
27th Street Waller Building Suite B01 Portsmouth,
Ohio 45662 740.356.8153 StewartK_at_somc.org
KendallLStewartMD_at_yahoo.com www.somc.org www.Kend
allLStewartMD.com
1Speaking and consultation fees benefit the SOMC
Endowment Fund.
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