How can you take advantage of organizational change?

Oh, no.  Yet another org change!  Just when you finally got comfortable with your position/role/boss/colleagues.

How can you turn this from threat to opportunity?

By accepting the fact that it probably means you need to change as well.

“In what way should I change?” you ask.  “And what will it mean to my career?”  “What’s going on in this organization anyway?”

Good questions, wrong sequence.

The way to deal with organizational change is to first understand why the organization is changing.  Odds are that your organization is responding to changes in its environment.  Clients are asking for different services and solutions.  Competitors are changing.  Technology is changing (duh!).  And of course, everyone is being affected by the economy.

So answer these questions, in this order:

· Why is my organization changing?  (at the Business Unit level)

· What does my organization need to succeed? (at the profit center level)

· Where would my organization benefit from some leadership and vision?  (at the group level)

· How do I need to change and grow to provide that leadership and vision?

The way to change this personal threat into a personal opportunity is to start with the big picture first, and make the personal decisions within that context.

Then go for it!