Shift Happens: 5 Ways to Handle Change as a Lawyer

Jamie Spannhake says change often feels like a problem to solve, or an obstacle to overcome. But the real obstacle is our belief that things will remain the same. Here are five ways to handle change gracefully and with less stress.
The post Shift Happens: 5 Ways to Handle Change as a Lawyer appeared first on Articles, Tips and Tech for Law Firms and Lawyers.

Change often feels like a problem to solve or an obstacle to overcome. But the real obstacle is the belief that things will remain the same. They won’t. They don’t.

Sometimes It’s a Good Shift

Shift happens. Here are five ways to handle change gracefully and with less stress.

1. Expect it.

Nothing stays the same. Everything in life is a phase. This can be great to hear when we’re going through uncomfortable phases —those times when “this too shall pass” is a comfort. But when things are going great? Knowing things will inevitably change can be stressful. In part because we fear we won’t be able to handle the change, and in part because we like the way things are.

But here’s the truth: Whether you try to stop change or create change, change will happen. Sometimes it will be a shift for the better, and sometimes it will be that four-letter word that is similar to “shift.” No matter the change, you will handle it. You have a lifetime of evidence that proves it.

The key is to expect change without attaching stress to it.

2. Recognize it.

Given the speed of change today, and the chaos and disruption it brings, we can forgive ourselves for not immediately welcoming change, even small ones, with open arms. But there’s healthy scepticism, and there’s stubborn resistance.

It is important to recognize that your negative reaction to certain situations may be simply a negative reaction to the mere fact that things are changing. It may not be that the change is bad. It may only be that you are holding on to the way things were.

3. Embrace it.

Once you recognize you might be reacting to the fact of change, not the substance of the change, you can work on adapting to — even embracing — the new situation. Look at the facts of the change. Will they make things better in the long run, even though it will mean you must work through the change itself? If so, get to work on the change with that end in mind.

If the change will be substantively negative — the loss of a client, a change in leadership, a merger, a personal loss — you still must accept it. Focus on working with the change, not against it.

Of course, you can try to stop the change — that is sometimes possible. But some changes are inevitable, no matter what you do.

When presented with an inevitable change that will have a substantively negative result, be pragmatic. Apply your creativity and resourcefulness and start working on ways to make things as good as they can be. For example, if your client is filing for bankruptcy and you will lose them as a source of revenue, you can start working on ways to assist in that proceeding, and you can ramp up business development efforts.

If the changes you see around you are ethically and morally unacceptable to you, doing something positive — volunteering, pro bono work, fundraising — can be the best way to reduce stress and channel your energy.

4. Welcome it.

This one can be really hard. It is for me. I can expect change and embrace it, and move forward from there, but I still do so with a sigh of regret. I don’t want change to come along and “mess things up,” especially when they are going well. But a failure to welcome change ultimately causes stress, which makes the change itself, as well as the handling and resolution of it, much more difficult.

Reframe your thoughts about change to view it as an opportunity — an opportunity to problem-solve, an opportunity to be creative, an opportunity to help someone, an opportunity to grow.

5. Learn from it.

When you view change as an opportunity to grow, you can learn from it. As time goes on, you will become a master at handling and accepting change.

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Illustration ©iStockPhoto.com

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