HIDING UNDER THE STAIRS OF CHANGE

I read in Professional Manager magazine another article advising us to care for our employees as they struggle with the rate and pace of change. All that stress they’re suffering…The writer was a business psychologist, so you could see his point, I think.
This babyfication of grown adults has been an unintended (I hope) side effect of the “people are your most important asset” thrust of the last 15 years. It is now unquestioned that it is part of a boss’ job to protect me from pain – as opposed to allowing me to construct a mature set of responses to the reality of pain in the world. That protection-instinct feels good for the giver and the taker perhaps, but is not the healthiest long term choice.
How about some different places to run when change comes knocking, instead of always under the stairs where we can convince ourselves that change is hard and the boss ought to make it better. How about:
Responsibility: “No matter how I choose to respond to change, last time I looked I was still drawing a monthly salary from this company that is changing. The salary is a reward for me giving of my best – in any set of conditions…”
Duty: “I have a duty to confront the complexity of change head on, to work out its workings and our contributions to it, good and bad. By doing so I increase my company’s capacity for coping with change in the future. In other words, how I choose to respond to change – as baby or adult – is a legacy I leave. (And what do I show to my children of resilience, courage and creativity?)
Enjoyment: “And in this way, I might even begin to break away from the pack and suggest that change is fun, bringing as it does opportunity, challenges, growth and new life.”

But you won’t see that if you’re under the stairs.