Posts
The Only Constant is Change: Why Embracing It Beats Fighting It Every Bloody Time
Change terrifies most people, yet here's what seventeen years of consulting across Sydney's corporate landscape has taught me: the organisations that thrive aren't the ones trying to preserve the status quo—they're the ones who've learnt to surf the waves instead of building bigger seawalls.
I used to be one of those managers who thought stability meant success. Back in 2008, I was running a mid-sized consultancy when the GFC hit like a freight train. While my competitors were scrambling to maintain their old service models, we pivoted completely. Started offering crisis leadership training instead of general management courses. Best decision we ever made, even though it felt like jumping off a cliff at the time.
The thing about change is this: it's happening whether you're on board or not. You can either be the person steering the ship or the one getting dragged behind it, complaining about how choppy the water's become.
Change Isn't Just About Business Transformation
Most articles about change focus exclusively on organisational restructures and digital disruption. That's missing half the story. Personal change—how we adapt our mindsets, our habits, our reactions to unexpected situations—is equally crucial. And frankly, it's where most professionals fall short.
I've watched brilliant technical experts become irrelevant not because their skills disappeared, but because they refused to evolve their approach. Meanwhile, I've seen mediocre performers surge ahead simply because they embraced new ways of thinking. The difference? Adaptability beats expertise when the rules keep shifting.
The Three Types of Change Response (And Why Two of Them Are Useless)
There are three ways people typically respond to change: resistance, passive acceptance, and active engagement. Guess which one actually works?
Resistors are easy to spot. They're the ones muttering about "how things used to be better" while simultaneously becoming less valuable every quarter. These people exhaust themselves fighting currents they can't control. It's like watching someone try to hold back the tide with their bare hands—impressive dedication, terrible strategy.
Passive accepters are trickier. They nod along with changes but never really internalise them. They'll attend the training sessions, use the new software, follow the updated procedures, but they never genuinely adapt their thinking. They're change tourists—they visit the new landscape but never actually move there.
Active engagers are the ones who not only accept change but actively seek to understand and leverage it. They ask better questions: "How can this benefit our team?" instead of "Why do we have to do this?" These are the people getting promoted while others are getting managed out.
Here's what's controversial: I believe most resistance to change stems from laziness, not fear. We've convinced ourselves that being set in our ways is somehow noble, but it's often just intellectual convenience. Learning new systems requires effort. Developing new relationships takes energy. It's easier to complain than adapt.
The Melbourne Merger Lesson
Three years ago, I was brought in to help a Melbourne-based firm navigate a merger with a Brisbane competitor. The Melbourne team spent six months focusing on what they'd lose—their office culture, their established processes, their Friday afternoon drinks tradition. Meanwhile, the Brisbane team immediately started identifying opportunities—new client bases, expanded service offerings, combined expertise.
Guess which office became the headquarters for the merged entity?
This taught me something important about change psychology. When we frame change as loss, we become defensive. When we frame it as opportunity, we become proactive. It's not just positive thinking—it's strategic thinking.
Why Change Resistance Is Actually Self-Sabotage
Nobody talks about this, but resisting change doesn't preserve what you value—it guarantees you'll lose it. Companies that refuse to innovate don't maintain their market position; they lose it to more adaptable competitors. Professionals who won't update their skills don't preserve their expertise; they watch it become obsolete.
The irony is brutal: the very desire to maintain stability creates instability.
I've seen entire departments eliminated not because their function wasn't needed, but because they couldn't demonstrate how their function added value in the new environment. They were so busy protecting their old role that they never developed a new one.
Practical Strategies That Actually Work
First, stop asking "Why is this happening?" and start asking "How can I make this work for me?" The why question keeps you stuck in analysis paralysis. The how question moves you toward solutions.
Second, identify what you can control versus what you can't. This sounds basic, but most people waste enormous energy trying to influence things completely outside their sphere of influence. Focus your adaptation efforts on areas where your actions actually matter.
Third, develop what I call "change stamina." This means building your capacity to handle uncertainty without becoming overwhelmed. Some people can handle one major change but collapse when faced with multiple simultaneous shifts. Stress management becomes crucial here—not just for mental health, but for professional effectiveness.
Fourth, practice small changes regularly. Don't wait for major disruptions to develop your adaptability muscles. Take different routes to work. Try new restaurants. Use different software tools. These micro-changes build your comfort with uncertainty.
The Networking Advantage During Transition
Change periods are networking goldmines, but most people miss this completely. When organisations restructure, when industries evolve, when new technologies emerge—these are precisely when new connections become most valuable.
During uncertain times, people are more open to forming new professional relationships because everyone's trying to figure out the new landscape together. I've built some of my strongest business relationships during industry transitions, not during stable periods.
The key is approaching these connections with genuine curiosity rather than desperation. People can smell agenda from kilometres away, but they're drawn to authentic interest in understanding shared challenges.
What Companies Like Atlassian Get Right
Some Australian companies have mastered change management in ways that put international competitors to shame. Atlassian, for instance, has built change adaptability into their corporate DNA. They don't just manage change—they expect it, plan for it, and use it as competitive advantage.
Their approach isn't complicated: they hire for adaptability, not just technical skills. They reward experimentation, even when it doesn't work out. They communicate changes as opportunities rather than necessary evils. Most importantly, they give people the tools and support to succeed in new environments rather than just announcing changes and hoping for the best.
The Personal Cost of Change Avoidance
Here's what the positive psychology crowd doesn't want to discuss: avoiding necessary changes has real personal costs. Your stress levels increase because you're constantly fighting reality. Your professional opportunities diminish because you're not developing relevant capabilities. Your relationships suffer because you become that person everyone has to work around.
I've watched talented professionals become progressively more isolated and bitter because they couldn't adapt to evolving workplace expectations. It's genuinely sad, but it's also avoidable with the right mindset shifts.
The 73% Rule
Recent data suggests that approximately 73% of successful change initiatives involve some form of managing difficult conversations during the transition phase. This makes sense—change creates ambiguity, and ambiguity generates conflict.
The organisations that handle change best aren't the ones that avoid these difficult conversations; they're the ones that plan for them and develop frameworks for navigating them constructively.
Change isn't something that happens to you—it's something you participate in shaping. The sooner you accept this reality, the sooner you can start using change as a tool rather than seeing it as a threat.
The professionals thriving in today's environment aren't necessarily the smartest or most experienced. They're the ones who've learnt to find opportunity in uncertainty, stability in adaptability, and strength in flexibility.
Related Resources:
Because at the end of the day, change is the only reliable constant we've got. Might as well get good at it.