Change Management
By FLTLT Delwyn Neill, Director of Psychology (Air)
We live and operate in a constantly changing and evolving environment—such is the nature of continuous improvement. Even so, the next couple of years are going to see change on a scale that most of us are unfamiliar with. So what can you do to make it easier for yourself and those around you?
Whether you’re in a leadership position or one of the troops you can be thinking about how your unit could be delivering its services more effectively and efficiently. While structural changes will be decided upon and announced by senior command, within the units there will still be scope for you to work together as a team to map out how you’re going to bring about the changes expected of you. As a team, you can harness each other’s creativity to develop new vision and mission statements for your unit that are motivating to you, as well as aligned with the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s future direction. Also, understanding that there are phases of change that you’ll likely encounter can help you accept what’s happening. When you look around, you’ll probably see a whole range of reactions that people are currently experiencing.
Phase One—Initiation
In the first phase of change, known as initiation, people realise that change is underway, so how they work and think about their job is shifting. This can generate a wide range of emotions from enthusiasm and optimism to fear and resistance. Some people love change because they love the variety, the constantly altering tasks, and the spontaneity that changing circumstances can evoke. Others like familiar routine and knowing what’s expected of them and when, so change can be seen as threatening and disruptive.
Phase Two—Disorientation
The disorientation phase comes next, when even the most committed individual might lose some confidence in the process.
Phase Three—Reorientation
Ideally this phase is quickly replaced by the reorientation phase, when people start to feel more comfortable with the change as they gain competence and confidence and see their efforts starting to pay off.
Phase Four—Integration
In the final phase, known as integration, changes have become simply part of the routine and are no longer viewed as extra work or a matter of choice—it’s simply how we do things now.
Understanding these phases can help you realise that it’s completely normal to feel a little unsettled or disconcerted when you know your work and the expectations of you are going to morph into something potentially unfamiliar.
So, keep your eye on the end goal—being an integral part of the high performing team, in a unit that will be operating more effectively than it is currently.