Charae Gibbs Consultant Highlight
As we look towards the end of the COVID-19 crisis, "Returning to Normal" is at the forefront of everyone's minds and hearts right now. Welcome as it may be, we are all dealing with the changes this new challenge is bringing, both at home and professionally. Our Change Management consultant and ProSci Change Management practitioner, Charae Gibbs, shares her thoughts on change, and how we can continue to serve those around us as they manage through that change.
We hope these ideas will help you in your organization through this challenging time.
Why did you get into Change Management?
I wish I could say it was a lifelong dream of mine, but this path was more of the perfect intersection of opportunities and newly discovered interests.
A number of years ago, I took a class at the company I was working for on how to facilitate accelerated change, but it wasn’t until a number of years later, when I decided to pursue a master’s degree in psychology, that I became fascinated with how we as human beings each experience change.
Merging my communications background with this new psychology work, I realized just how much I loved helping people on their change journeys and just how necessary this topic had become in the business world. It also became apparent how much “change management” I had already been doing personally and professionally! It was a perfect fit.
What I love most about this work is that it applies to everyone. No one is immune to change – as the adage goes, change is the only constant. Our very cells are constantly regenerating! So it truly is a matter of when changes will happen.
At the end of the day, the only thing we can control is how we will respond to - and help others through – change.
As a fellow human being, I get to draw on my own experiences of change in my work and personal life as I help others through change. Which means we are all essentially change managers in our own right, and with the right tools and knowledge we can all successfully (and hopefully painlessly) navigate change for ourselves, our families and our teams.