October, 2007
by Denise P. Kalm, DPK Coaching
Denise Kalm has 30 years experience in IT including application programming, enterprise systems management and performance management/capacity planning at Pacific Telephone and Bank of America. She moved to vendor land in 2000, spending 5 ½ years with BMC on the EPA product line, then recently became the senior product marketing manager for enterprise job scheduling products at CA, Inc., formerly Cybermation. She is a regional officer of CMG, has held many volunteer positions within that organization and is a frequent contributing author. Prior to entering the IT profession, she was a biochemical geneticist. Her hobbies include flying, Jazzercise, writing and scuba diving. Her book, Lifestorm, on the Oakland Hills fire, is available on Amazon. She is an executive and personal coach as well, offering phone and in-person coaching.
About the Author
Denise P. Kalm, CA, Inc. formerly Cybermation
Change assaults us daily, very little of which we have chosen. When you have found a comfortable rhythm, you probably want it to continue, at least until that rhythm bores you and you feel like mixing it up. But this isn't the way our profession works. Industry analysts speak optimistically about "disruptive technologies," but this is just a small component of the change tsunamis we attempt to sail across every day.
In this article, managing chaos in the workplace is the topic, but the approach can be applied to many other situations. It begins with 4 steps, a path to understand the impact first, then plan your reaction second. Once you understand how this works, you can then employ it ahead of time - planning for the future before it happens.
Chaotic workplace situations could be layoffs, reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, bad bosses, horrible co-workers or assignment to a task that just doesn't fit with your skills. All of these situations cause feelings of stress and in many of us, a tendency to catastrophize, to see the worst possible outcome. Each of us has our own default reaction to stress, a visceral response to a situation you feel you cannot control. Denial, panic, fear, and anger are very typical. In most cases, this reaction doesn't serve us very well, stemming as it does from a place of fear. Our brains are hard-wired to react without thought to stress - this is called an amygdala hijack and it prevents us from employing rational thought. Though you cannot prevent this from happening, you can recognize it, and follow the steps to manage your reaction back into the rational zone.
Getting control back or at least managing to wrest control over the part that affects you can turn your response from fear to action. And while you cannot keep change from happening, you can control your response to it, and ideally, marshal a plan of action that turns the situation into a win for you.
Let's look at a few examples. Large scale reorganizations and layoffs threaten our feelings of security - one of the most basic needs on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It is almost primal. For some, it is the financial threat, for others, it is the fear of losing a job you really love. For others, it is a wake-up call - you do not like your job and there is no way you want to have to go looking for another one just like it, and trying to convince someone of your passion for this work.
Step 1 - Understand the situation. In most cases, everyone around you is experiencing the same feelings - reorgs and layoffs usually threaten everyone. In both cases, management has determined that the status quo is not working - is not serving their business needs - and that they must change something. The problem is that the call to action doesn't always mean that management has complete clarity on where they need to go, or the impact of short-term choices on the future. Often, decisions from the C-level suite do not take into account the importance of certain functions or certain people to the success of the company. And communication is often less than optimal. The bottom line - this is not personal, however personal it feels. Make an effort to gather as much information as possible - try to identify what they are trying to achieve with this action. Cutting employees is only one way to cut costs - in most cases, they would rather avoid it, if they can see a better way to manage it. And most business analysts will say that you cannot cost-cut a company to profitability.
Step 2 - Note your default response. What are you feeling about the information you are hearing? Do you hear one thing and transform it into a worst-case scenario? What are you afraid of? This is a great time to get coldly analytical about it. If the bottom line is that you are afraid of losing your job and ending up homeless, acknowledge that. Write it down.
Step 3 - Reality-test your fears. Do you have enough liquid income to last 3-6 months without a job? If not, how could you get that much money together? Can you cut back expenses now, to build some savings? Who do you know at other companies? Analyze your network. If you hate your current job, what do you love? What would you rather be doing? Not only do you tend to get what you put most of your energy into (even if it isn't something you want), you also do tend to get the best results from your efforts when you are working on something you love.
Step 4 - Look for the opportunity. What can chaos bring you? On example is inherent in step 3 - if you don't love your job, and you take the time to figure out what you would love, you now have a chance to work yourself into a position to do just that. If you love what you do, focus on adding value and throwing yourself into it. Many people when faced with chaos go into hibernation, as if hiding will protect them from changes. Others just freeze, like a wild animal faced with rapidly approaching headlights. Unfortunately, when management is trolling for people to cut loose, both reactions tend to attract their attention. Someone who puts their head down and leads with their heart - their passion - will also stick out, but in a good way. If you've ever wondered why some people get ‘rescued' in layoffs or end up in a better group, look at how they behaved while everything was going down. Take 10 minutes alone to pound a wall, scream or cry, then figure out what you can actually do that highlights your value.
As you become more aware that others are in the same boat with you, you may notice that a new boss is also experiencing a challenge with the chaos. They may be assigned a new group, but with no charter, no idea how to begin. If you know what you want and what you are good at, you are perfectly positioned to help your boss. Craft a statement of work - the things you want and can do.
The shared kind of chaos is actually a powerful opportunity for the savvy person who can transcend their discomfort. Find out if training is an option - often, while chaos reigns, they are more willing to offer you training. What would you like to learn? How can you take your skills to the next level?
When departments get jumbled through reorgs or layoffs, it is often a time to recraft your job into something better designed for your skills and interests. Most companies only do some things well - there are often holes or deficiencies, and your competencies may offer solutions. It's like interviewing for a job - what do you bring to the table that they need? If you are great a negotiating and known as a diplomat, you might love to help mediate between groups, helping both to be more successful. Are you good at teaching people what you know? What about being more involved officially in training? Can you document processes? Most companies have very little well-documented, so each new employee struggles to learn the basics.
Most jobs require a mix of skills but often the one you have doesn't favor all your best stuff - the things you love to do. Offer your manager a plan of action to use your skills more effectively. When change has been initiated by the company, it is more acceptable to ask to change your role. This is a way to be seen as change-resilient - a career-lifter.
In layoffs, sometimes nothing you can do can avoid the hatchet. If the whole department goes, your job is gone. But the secret is that in every layoff (unless the company is in dire straits and you are better off gone), some people survive. Jobs are created or found for them. Assuming you want to be one of those, what can you do? Get back to work, make sure people know what you have accomplished and re-engage with your network. This is the time to really hammer out those short-term, highly visible deliverables. Look at your skills - what best serves the company as they go through this transition? Layoffs have been known to result in positions arising that are much better suited to what you want now. Even a transition, such as decommissioning all mainframes, is not the kiss of death for all mainframe experts. Such technologies as virtualization and managing a complex environment are your forte. You just need to get the word out there.
For a less shattering case, such as a boss you have issues with, again, work the steps. What is really going on? Is it you? Or is something else going on? Even if the person has been given a view of you that is highly negative, there are ways to turn it around, once you understand what is really going on and what you want instead. Figure out what part of this problem is yours - what do you own? And then ask your boss for time to discuss what's going on. Assess yourself first and understand what issues may be really yours to own. Be ready to listen. And then, bring your story in - what you can offer the company. What you already are offering the company. Managers hate having unhappy employees just as employees hate having an intolerant boss. They succeed when you are at the top of your game - make them an ally.
Chaos is a cosmic wake-up call. It favors the prepared, the ones most honest and aware of their skills and the applicability of those skills to the current environment. To be better able to deal in the future, start now by disaster-proofing yourself:
If life never changed, you might never be shaken up enough to assess where you are. We all work too many years not to take a look at all the new opportunities and options that present themselves (if we were only looking...) Opportunity knocks - not when you are looking - but often when you would rather not answer the door.
Stay tuned next month for another issue of "Your Career Coach." If you have ideas or suggestions for topics, please let me know at .