Changes related to organizational transformation can be difficult to accept and embrace. Because, it can be emotionally intense, sparking confusion, fear, anxiety, frustration, and helplessness. Research says that the experience of going through change at work can be as similar as that of people who are suffering from the grief of the loss of loved ones. The reason behind it is that change highly affects emotionally as well as physically, which mostly puts a person into an insidious cycle that leads to even greater resistance to change. In this article, we will walk through 4 ways to Embrace Change with the help of Emotional Intelligence.

Ideally, no one wants to be an obstacle to any new initiatives taken or any effort to be made towards any new initiative. But people do this because they are tired and frustrated with the change that is coming on their way, every time they are trying to settle with their past changes. People are tired of feeling frustrated and angry thinking about changes at work, and they want to be seen as adaptable rather than resistant.

Hence, next time when your organization introduces the change for organizational transformation, try considering the below-given steps:

• Search for the source of resistance:

Try searching and understanding your resistance towards change. Many a time a person resist because they are worried that the change might make them look incompetent or the change will interfere in your autonomy. For this, a plan can be created to learn the skills one might need in order to be successful or one can even take the guidance from who are leading the change efforts.

• Question emotional response towards change:

Ask why one is resisting the change & which emotions are leading to that? Is­­ it fear, anger, frustration or something else? Once you identify which emotion is leading towards resistance, ask what is it about? This kind of questioning helps to illuminate the reasons driving emotions and influencing perceptions.

• Own one’s part in the situation:

It’s not easy to fess up to the part one plays in creating a negative situation. A self-aware person reflects on how one’s attitude and behaviour contribute to the experience of change. Any kind of negativity is going to impact any individuals’ behaviour, performance, and well-being which won’t be in a good way. Hence, by knowing about how one initially reacts to any change related event, it’ll be easier to adjust the attitude – to be more open to considering new perspectives, which changes the way one reacts to change.

• Have a positive approach over negative:

Research shows that having a positive outlook can open us up to new possibilities and be more receptive to change. Ask questions which can help one think more optimistically. For example: what are the opportunities with this change? How will these opportunities help me and others?

The ability to quickly and easily adapt to change is many a time a competitive advantage for a leader. Next time when you feel yourself resisting towards change, use the approaches mentioned above to build momentum and psychological energy for you and others. Hence, make the intentional choice to positively propel it forward along with embracing the change.

Written & Compiled by Faber Priyal & Faber Aakash