Hansel and Those Who Fret All

Hansel and Those Who Fret All

There once was boy named Hansel who worked in an organization were everyone feared change. Hansel always looked at the bright side of things, and whenever change presented itself Hansel only saw opportunity. Hansel knew that there was no growth without some discomfort, as he had seen change come to several organizations before.

Hansel knew often times that discomfort proved to be painful to those who feared it. All he heard everyone say was. “If my job changes, what am I going to do? I fear I may lose my job,” or “what am I going to do if they change what I do?” “I just got comfortable, I have been doing the same thing for over four years and I like what I do. Why do they have to start changing things?

He even heard someone say, “No one knows how to do my job, there is no one else who can do it but me, they will never be able to get rid of me.” To which someone else asked, “What is it that you do?” To Hansel it seemed like all his co-workers only wanted to do the same thing every day and then wait around for the next day to come.

So he turned to his co-workers and said,”Why don’t you think of this as an opportunity to share how you would like things to change. Instead of fearing change why not think of it as an opportunity to do the work you think will bring more growth to yourself and the organization?” Several of those co-workers who were fearful changed their perspective and did find new ways to do things that provided more value to the  organization. The few who still resisted were let go.

The Moral of the fable: Change is not for everyone. For some, adopting to change can be very difficult and full of fear.  However, for those who are ready for it, it can be a life saver. There is never any growth without change, change often means discomfort, yet change can also offer plenty of opportunity.

NOTE: Growth occurs at many levels, but the most striking changes happen at the personal level.

Helping others to overcome their fears can alleviate the concerns of worried peers.