LINDEN — Jeff Iorg is considered by many to be an expert on the topic of “dealing with change.”
Even so, Iorg admits that adapting to something new can often be a challenging assignment.
“My wife will tell you that I don’t always do well when change happens to me,” said Iorg, president of Gateway Seminary in Ontario, Calif., and author of Leading Major Change in Your Organization.
Speaking to attendees via Zoom during the final segment of his four-part seminar at the TBMB’s recent Focus Days staff retreat, Iorg addressed the topic of “what to do when change happens to you.”
During this segment, Iorg noted that “change is sometimes thrust upon us.” In these instances, he said, change is often something that “we are not necessarily on board with.”
Among the different scenarios that lead to change, Iorg said the following can be the most difficult to handle:
• We were not anticipating change. Iorg noted an example of this is the COVID pandemic that changed and impacted lives in so many ways.
• We did not create the problem mandating change. Iorg said these situations can be often be the most frustrating. This would include, for example, a new company-wide policy that all employees must comply with — even those who did not violate the previous policy.
• We do not see the need for change. Iorg said these are things that sometimes simply “get dropped in our laps.”
When dealing with these three situations, Iorg said there are “five realities that can be expected.” He said he has experienced each of these on a personal level, especially in regard to overseeing a location change for Gateway Seminary roughly 10 years ago.
Iorg said the following are the five realities that can be anticipated:
• You will go through a grief process. Iorg said people often react to change in the same way that they react to grief, and that most will need to work through several different stages. “You will experience shock, anger, denial, bargaining and exploration.” After that, he said, comes the final phase — the adjustment phase.
• You will process change emotionally. Iorg noted that we are likely to react emotionally more so than rationally, logically and/or factually. He said we will react more with our hearts than our heads. The key to this, however, is learning to move through the process as rapidly as possible by getting beyond the emotional reaction and begin focusing on logical adjustments.
• Your resistance to change will be based on your perception of the significance of the change proposed. This includes examining and comparing your core beliefs with the potential reasons for resistance. The areas in which change might occur include “actions, methods, goals, structures, values, vision and mission.” The last three areas on the list are likely to invoke the most resistance, Iorg said.
• Your change tolerance is in proportion to your relational trust of the change agents. If you do not trust those who are implanting the change(s) — especially in regard to their motives — the likelihood of resistance increases substantially.
• You may make the changes and transitions required, but then again, you might not. Iorg noted people often say “I have no choice.” He said this is rarely the case. “You can always step out,” Iorg said. “You may pay a high price for that decision, but if you are willing to pay that price, you always have the option of stepping out.” He said this was not to encourage quitting, but rather to empower people and remove potential despair regarding change. B&R