Last week, we got a message from our office landlords to let us know that we would all need to vacate the building in the next fortnight as it's being flattened to make way for a new one. It wasn't much notice and it seems like only yesterday I sent out a newsletter letting you know that I'd just moved in to a new office and inviting you to
visit - which some of you have wonderfully done. As the old (and slightly annoying) cliché goes, the only constant is change so here I am contemplating another move.
The last couple of years have tested and stretched all of our capacities for change, especially the sort which we are not actively seeking. The pandemic and lockdowns forced all of us to change our habits and patterns, the way we worked, our relationships with our colleagues and those closest to us, even our relationships with our local area. For a brief period, the pandemic even changed the U.K. into a nation of committed al fresco
diners - sipping cocktails and eating pizza with each other outside, even in the depths of winter!
With the start of the new academic year in the West and the change of season, this last month has brought even more change and, for some of my clients, it's felt relentless - new roles, new responsibilities, new relationships with new colleagues, new line managers or direct reports, new structures, new locations,
new investors, new targets**...even for those of us with a large appetite for change, the temptation to hide under the duvet until it's all gone away can feel pretty compelling! But, as the famous reading from Ecclesiastes 3*** reminds
us, "there is a time for everything", and that includes change. That passage is
often read at funerals but it is a good one to meditate on at times of big change at work.
My clients often come to me in times of transition and, in the course of our work together, they always develop in their ability to respond to unexpected change.
Change is part of the contract at work and being aware of and
intentional about how you respond to it makes all the difference. Both planned and unplanned change teach us big (sometimes difficult) lessons about ourselves, our assumptions and the way that we work. The good news is that we can cherish and use those lessons to our benefit and to the benefit of our colleagues, customers and clients, even while we bemoan the change itself.
Are you aware of how you
and those you work with tend to deal with different sorts of change and how that impacts others? Over the next couple of weeks, might it be worth asking yourself (and, if you're feeling brave, others) "What do I do well in the face of change and what might I do differently?" And then, when you have some answers, might it also be worth thinking what that means for your development going forward? How can you change the way you face change? What little steps
can you take in the right direction?
Given the relatively short time that I've worked in this office, I'm surprised by how much I've grown to love the atmosphere and the community here (not to mention the lovely terrace pictured above and the stunning views of the spire of Westminster Cathedral one way and the towers of Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament the other way). Given what else is going on at work and more
broadly, this is not the time I would have chosen to make this change.
However, I know that if I take my own medicine and approach this unplanned change with humility, curiosity and an openness to learn, what I learn will be valuable and make me a better coach to those of my clients who are facing much bigger changes and challenges.
If you're still intending to visit me in my
current office, you're very welcome but make sure that you book something in for next week. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you in my next office once I work out where it will be! Thankfully, there are a few options...
