How to Manage Change in the Workplace

At present, we live our lives as part of a system where we, public servants contribute
much of our time and effort for the protection and safety of our fellowmen. We are called Fire
Fighters or the heroes of the new generation. It is our duty to serve and protect as stated
repeatedly in our mission, vision and slogans. However, it is also implied in our mandate the
realities that we must face, and that is Change.
What is change? Its certainly not the first time that weve come across this word.
Somehow, it instantly comes to our mind the effects it makes in our lives, our families, our loved
ones. But what is it exactly? It can be anything! Broad to be exact
Specifically, it pertains to the changes that we as public servants are resistant to. As
humans, we develop a certain familiarity and attachment to things, places and people. Comfort
zone may be the proper term used to describe it. Although, Change is necessary for the existing
system that we are part of to work, resistance to it may be justified or its necessity means for the
betterment.
Examples of these are transfer of assignments and designations, addition of
responsibilities, loss of manpower, changes of procedures of work, etc.
One of the attributes that all public servants must develop especially in the uniformed
service is the ability to Adapt to Change. Everyone is not exempted from it and one must
embrace it as it is.
In the Fire Service, just like any governmental agency or instrumentality, everyone is
moving around from one unit or office to another. It is not a right that is inherent and vested in
us, but as a right to an office which we, in our capacity and knowledge are needed in order to
provide the services that is expected of us for the general public.
We have come to accept all these as none of us remain in one position for life, and one of
the challenges that come with it is the ability to handle new situations we havent faced before.
In order to overcome the difficulty in handling change in the workplace, here are ten tips
for you:
1. Maintain a positive attitude. You always have to be optimistic and maintain a good attitude,
regardless of what new Station, Department or Office youre working with. Come to terms that
your new situation might not be perfect but your previous situation probably wasnt either. Think
about how you can best leverage your skills, experiences and network to maximize your new

role. If you have a negative a attitude, your new supervisor and co-employees will notice it and
they wont want to work with you.
2. Recognize that change is constant. Most public servants in the Fire Service have several
changes of designations and assignments in their lifetime and our bureau are constantly moving
employees from place to place to address on current needs. Change will most likely happen to
you whether you like it or not so you must accept that reality. The good thing about change is
that it prevents you from getting bored in your current role and challenges you to work on
horizons that you havent before.
3. Stay connected to previous co-workers. Never forget about the people youve already had
the chance to work with because they could become extremely beneficial to you down the road.
If they are staying with your previous co-employees or moving around, you could tap them to
help you on a certain situation. They could also become your lifeline back to your previous group
or a different group within the bureau.
4. Communicate with others to learn your new role. After you get moved into your new role,
you should quickly find all of the stakeholders that you rely on and connect with them. Find
those that have already been in your role and get them to teach you everything you need to know
so you can get up to speed. Become good at asking questions because the more you know, the
better equipped you will be in this role and the easier your life will be. If you wait too long to
reach out to them, your performance will start lacking and people will notice.
5. Be optimistic even though you might not be currently happy. Regardless if you like your
new role or not, you need to make the best of it. Who knows what a year or more in this role can
really do for you. You might also move again soon after starting. Think about the tasks you like
in your current role and how to best use your strengths and increase your performance.
6. Self-reflect. Take some time to relax and think about what youve already accomplished and
what your goals are for your new role. Think about what skills you need to acquire, who you
need to meet and assess your entire situation. Talk with your supervisor so that they realize what
youre looking to get out of the role and set expectations for the deliverables youre going to be
working on.
7. Learn new skills. You naturally are forced to learn new skills based on the type of work you
have to do for your new assignment. Make a list of skills that are required for your new role and
invest time each week in developing those skills. For each skill, give yourself a deadline to
master it so that you can quickly become an expert and increase your value.
8. Over communicate. Whether youre working from an office or in the operation, you should
constantly be in touch with your new colleagues. They need to know that youre responsible, that

youre getting the work done and that you exist. When youre emailing them, or in a meeting,
make sure to clarify what you or they say so that everyone is on the same page.
9. Ask as many questions as possible. There are no bad questions unless you ask something that
has already been asked or explained. Come up with a list of questions and as you receive the
answers, write them down. This way, you can show people that youre paying attention to what
they have to say. Asking questions will help you further develop yourself in the new role.

10. Look for ways to help others cope with change. One of the best ways to deal with your
new position is to help others get situated while you are trying to yourself. By doing this, you
feel more comfortable because you realize that others are going through what you are. In
addition, by helping others in this way, they will be more inclined to want to help you in return.

60 Thought Provoking Change Management Quotes

The following collection of quotes looks at both sides of the argument.
All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a
part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.
~Anatole France
Resistance at all cost is the most senseless act there is.
~Friedrich Durrenmatt
I'm not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything.
~John Lennon
Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.
~Arnold Bennett
Change has its enemies.
~Robert Kennedy

He who rejects change is the architect of decay.

~Harold Wilson
We cannot change anything until we accept it.
~Carl Jung
Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.
~Shunryu Suzuki
If you want to make enemies, try to change something.
~Woodrow Wilson
In times of rapid change, experience could be your worst enemy.
~J. Paul Getty
Future shock is the shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by
subjecting them to too much change in too short a time.
~Alvin Toffler
Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for
things to remain the same but get better.
~Sydney J. Harris
When it becomes more difficult to suffer than to change... you will change.
~Robert Anthony
The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.
~Charles Kettering
If you feel like it's difficult to change, you will probably have a harder time succeeding.
~Andrea Jung
I shall not change my course because those who assume to be better than I desire it.
~Victoria Woodhull
The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be
always kept alive.
~Thomas Jefferson

After an argument, silence may mean acceptance or the continuation of resistance by other
means.
~Mason Cooley
The path of least resistance is the path of the loser.
~H. G. Wells
Resistance to the organized mass can be effected only by the man who is as well organized in his
individuality as the mass itself.
~Carl Jung
I developed a resistance to authority. Not to discipline, I learned that. But to authority. I like to
think for myself. And I like to cause trouble.
~Hal Holbrook
Paralyze resistance with persistence.
~Woody Hayes
We live in a moment of history where change is so sped up that we begin to see the present only
when it is already disappearing.
~R. D. Laing

Change Acceptance
The difficult journey from change resistance to change acceptance.
The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.
~Nathaniel Branden
The world changes in direct proportion to the number of people willing to be honest
about their lives.
~Armistead Maupin

People want change but not too much change. Finding that balance is tricky for
every politician.
~Eleanor Clift

Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It
clears out the old to make way for the new.
~Steve Jobs

What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other
resistance, is understanding fear; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly
into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it.
~Jiddu Krishnamurti

The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small
favor wish that he might have done you a greater one.
~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Change Management Strategy

Insight into strategies for change.
It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to
learn to fly while remaining an egg.
~C. S. Lewis
All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.
~Ellen Glasgow

Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.

~Confucius

Change before you have to.

~Jack Welch

I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must
change if they are to get better.
~Georg C. Lichtenberg

For changes to be of any true value, they've got to be lasting and consistent.
~Tony Robbins

Change in all things is sweet.

~Aristotle

Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes.
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

One must change one's tactics every ten years if one wishes to maintain one's
superiority.
~Napoleon Bonaparte

You're only as young as the last time you changed your mind.
~Timothy Leary

You must welcome change as the rule but not as your ruler.
~Denis Waitley

True change takes place in the imagination.

~Thomas Moore

Change is such hard work.

~Billy Crystal

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain
to miss the future.
~John F. Kennedy

If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts.

~Albert Einstein

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that
survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.
~Charles Darwin

The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence it is to act with
yesterdays logic
~Peter Drucker