[ad_1]

Restructuring is tough, usually because it’s imposed change. We are rarely in control of the process. If we decide to stay, we ride it out, and are relieved when the ride ends. As you have decided to say, this means your employer has the right to expect you are all in. By that I mean that you will keep to the rules around post restructure. These rules are:

· No harking back to the “good old days” – and no saying “that’s not my job”. It just might be now!

· No saying “that’s not how we used to do it”

· No negative comments about who got which new job and why – idle gossip is bad full stop.

· No sighing about who or what you are missing

· Be the standard bearer for the new ways and new structure

· Remember why the change has been made and promote the benefits.

· Be warm and welcoming to those who are new – they need to feel they fit

· Missing people and places is normal, but give vent to those feelings outside the office

So where’s the good news? The opportunity is in the word new. New means just that – a chance to reflect and rebuild. It means the possibility not just for the business, but also for your career. So, here are the ideas for making the restructure work for you.

Reinvent yourself – once people work with you, they have a picture of you in their mind. Unfortunately, people have a really hard time allowing for change in those around them. Think about your image. Think about the words people associate with you. Think about who you associate with. What do you want to be different? Then be the difference. It can be a simple as dressing up for a move up the career ladder. Read more and contribute more to your team meetings. Consider who you have your coffee breaks with – do you want to be with people outside your team from time to time? If you are not much of a social butterfly, this is the time to go out with co-workers once and a while. Remember, you can change people’s expectations and beliefs about you, as long as you start with yourself first. Working with new – or mostly new people – is the ideal time.

Reinvigorate your career – this follows on from the reinvent yourself, and it is thinking about where do you want to be in the next few years. Personally, I did think about this one when I got through the restructure. I moved into a management role for the first time, and it really made me look hard at myself and my career. Get involved with projects and speak up – it will help with the reinvention of yourself, and show you to be a contributing member of the organisation. Find out what is going on in the community around you and get involved. It may be both officially through work or as a volunteer/interested community member. Then remember to feedback what you learn. This lets people what else you are doing and to see you as a whole person.

Reinvent procedures – post restructure is not “throw the baby out with the bathwater time”, but a real chance to review how things are done. Everyone has ideas of how to improve how things are done. This is your chance to put them forward and make changes. Best of all is if you think through how your ideas will impact across the business – make a business case for it. This will also make you stand out a bit, feeding into the reinvent yourself/your career as well.

Restructures are painful because both people and things are lost – the office I worked in was close and none of the people I worked with in that office stayed, so it was like starting all over again with a team of people who did know each other and resented the organisation for the pain they were feeling. You can’t change how the people around you feel – only yourself. Use the opportunity of the new, and grow both yourself and your career. Doing this will mean when the next restructure happens, you will be in a stronger place to make decisions from.

[ad_2]

Source by Beth Peakall