Change Because of environmental needs, innovation, or matters out of one's own control, change can be sudden, frequent, and stressful. The way a leader responds to change can set the tone for others, affecting both the attitude of the group during the change as well as how successful the transition will be. So, leaders must be flexible and positive but must also be able to adapt quickly so that processes and procedures have a quick and smooth transition and others can move forward and adjust to a new way of being.

Vignette Rochelle is the student manager of Freeze, the frozen yogurt food stop on campus. Freeze is a small operation, with only three employees and a fairly small budget. Rochelle just learned that all campus food stops will have a 4 percent budget reduction for the following year. Because of this, the director of food services, Rochelle's supervisor, has decided to cut back on staff at Freeze so that instead of having two employees working per shift there will only be one. Because demand will continue to be high and staffing lower a new self-service yogurt machine will be available so that the workers do not need to prepare every single serving.

This is a big change for Freeze, and Rochelle needs to demonstrate to the other two employees that they can move forward successfully and productively with this change. So, Rochelle first talks with the other two employees to share the positive aspects of this change as well as try to address their concerns so they feel more comfortable with the change. In addition, the three work together to develop new processes so that having one less person on a shift and having a self service machine is seamless to the customers and becomes ingrained in the culture for the employees of Freeze.

Consider Understanding strategies that assist one in quickly, positively, and smoothly transitioning oneself and/or others in response to a known or unknown change. (Knowledge) Believing that it is important to quickly, positively, and smoothly transition oneself and/or others in response to a known or unknown change in an effort to move oneself, a group, or organization forward productively.

(Value) Being able to quickly, positively, and smoothly transition in response to a known or unknown change.

(Ability) Quickly, positively, and smoothly transitioning in response to a known or unknown change.

Reflect, how open do you think you normally are to change? How would you rate your general receptivity to change? What are some strategies that can help us on our personal acceptance of change? What are some strategies that we can use to help others better embrace change?

Can you think of a time when you were made aware of an unexpected change that was drawn out and/or methods to deal with the change were not provided? What was the experience like? What could have been done differently to make the transition smoother? What could you have done to help those around you who might also have had difficulty with the change?

Why is change so difficult for many? What are we afraid of? How are people who like change different?