In today's episode I am going to share with you how to handle a restructure in your organisation with 3 key tips that will help you remain relevant.
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Show notes and the transcript can be found here: https://michellekevill.com/podcast
In today's episode I am going to share with you how to handle a restructure in your organisation with 3 key tips that will help you remain relevant.
Get on the waitlist here for my Epic Work & Life Program.
A 6 month transformational program for high achieving corporate women like YOU that wants to ENJOY going after their big career goals AND have an even more fantastic life.
Sign up to my mailing list for free workbooks to help you love your job again!
Follow me on:
Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
Show notes and the transcript can be found here: https://michellekevill.com/podcast
00:00
Hello, everyone, I hope you're well. And if not, I got you at least you are here. My name is Michelle Kevill. And I help high achieving corporate women feel passionate about their job again. I hope you're doing well, I'm doing really well, I am getting back into it. I have had a few health issues pop up, which you'll hear about eventually, I have not been active on any of my social media platforms. I've just been getting back into my corporate job back into helping my clients. And I think you heard the potentially the latest or the other episode, I got a second dog during our little break. And her name is Leia. She's a little black Caboodle and she is just an absolute sweetheart. And she is sitting in the corner of the room right now having a little sleep. It's very cute. So it's been busy getting back into things. And I am just planning out this year and these coming quarters. And I'm excited for what I have planned. But I'm also feeling feelings, I'm a little bit tired today, my older mewn condition has kind of flared up with some other health stuff. And we are just going with it and figuring it out. And that is okay. Today's episode, I wanted to chat to you. Now I did touch on this a little bit. In a previous episode I did around like how to manage and handle a redundancy. However, I had a listener reach out and who is going through currently there is a restructure at their job and wanted to know a little bit more around how I have handled it as I as well have been through it myself. And I just want to say it's common. I think everyone, every employee and corporate job has been through some sort of change and restructure. And I feel they are becoming more common. They can be minor ones, they can be major ones. And that is okay. And it might not feel okay, but that is fine. And I'm going to show you how to kind of just gonna give you three key tips that I myself have used my own coaching work over the years to help me when it comes to shifts and changes. Firstly, office, obviously with a restructure comes redundancies. And that can of course can be very, very scary. Go listen to that previous episode where I talk more about that, including if yourself have been made redundant. But obviously seeing changes in the business sitting here wondering if it's you or not, etc, is going to naturally elicit a bit of a fear response that is completely normal. Hence, my absolute first tip that I am going to give you which is probably I'm giving you the most important one because I'm just going to do it and I've kind of tied all these points into it is you need to accept that it's going to feel like shit. Okay, and I'm just gonna say it how it is because you're going to hear all the corporate bullshit around all the changes and stuff like that, how the good of the company, etc, I get that. But let's just look at you as a human right now. And right now if I can sucks, that's okay. That is allowed. However you wishing it could be something else you wishing that certain people aren't maybe leaving the team being redundant, etc. isn't going to change that. So when I say accept it, I don't mean because look, I feel like the corporate spin on it is to be like, focus on the positive and stuff like that like like more kind of shift your mindset. And here are the benefits for the company. That short? That's important that comes later. Okay, when I am speaking with my clients, when I'm speaking with you guys, my follow is one on one, what I'm hearing is you yourself are afraid Do I have a job or not? Or if you do have a job? What is this new structure going to look like? I don't have any info on it yet. I don't know if I still have the same manager, Am I still on the same team? Am I going to like the new manager and I'm going to like the new area that I'm in? Should I be looking for a new job, all these questions pop up. So when I say accept it, I mean except how you are feeling right now it is totally okay to not be onboard, super excited about it super positive about it or to be even putting on a brave face of the company. But inside, you're not feeling that great. That is completely normal. And what I find for a lot of clients is when they can accept and even myself when I can accept that I'm not enjoying this. And this kind of sucks. And I don't like the change. It can feel a lot better, because you're not resisting it. You're not resisting the reality. This is a reality, and it's not great. And you handle and then you can address the uncomfortable feelings that are popping up the fear, the guilt that maybe you have a new job, wondering what your new manager is going to be like, and then from that place you can then look at, well, why is this all popping up for me? Right? Is it just naturally because you know, change sucks like me myself. I saw someone on LinkedIn profile, say how they absolutely like love and adore change and it made me want to vomit. And that's because of my own insecurity. I am very planned and very organized. And over the years I've really had to stretch myself when it comes to changes which is funny enough why restrictions over my career have been great, because it has allowed me to prove to myself Hey, this restricts has happened, I'm able to navigate it and get through it. Change for me. And if I look back, and even a lot of my clients and people that I kind of attract to this podcast, it usually means like the unknown. We don't know, I always say universally change is scary. And humans are wired to not like change, because back in the prehistoric days change potentially meant you got eaten by a bear. Right? Hence why in mindset stuff, they start and they talk about positive focusing on the positive stuff, which is what I find a lot of corporate do, obviously, as well to kind of, you know, set the scene, obviously, you know, the top going in saying, like, Oh, this sucks, is not going to make you feel very good, right? Of course, they want to build up the energy and the people and be like, hey, you know, come up with like, a good front, I don't even want to say front, like it's fake. It's just, they're saying, Hey, these are the changes as a structure, we're still figuring it out. Right? They don't want to be scaring people even further. But of course, you as an individual are going to feel naturally inclined to be like, Oh, my God, I do not enjoy this. And so accepting it, or just accepting where these emotions are coming from losing really important and using it instead as an opportunity to be like, how can I get closer with all these shitty emotions, get more comfortable with it. And frankly, restrictions I'm sorry, I'm just gonna break it to you restructures are part of the corporate world, okay? They bloody are as a person who's worked in HR. And it's come on the other side, as an analyst, they are check companies are changing all the time. It is something that is important, I think, for everyone to just not, like be okay with what I say be okay. I mean, manage your emotions about it, you can still have any thoughts you want about the company and what they're doing, that's fine. But managing your emotions is key and crucial during this time. Because that is going to lead to my second point. Before I get into that, though, I'll mention what I was trying to say you can use this as an opportunity to look at insecurities that are popping up with you with this change, like you're getting a new manager may just be bringing up things that you already had with your previous manager or things that, you know, two new personalities are now meshing together. And now you have to work that out, maybe you have to be more potentially vocal around how you're feeling or your capacity, etc. And that's going to challenge you hence why that change is going to be scary, but it's a good thing, because it actually in this case is going to stretch you write this is again, why change is so hard. Because my second tip is accepting that the pace will slow down. Now, here's the thing, I do not care, I know, potentially, every company is different, right? That's what might be saying, Hey, we're going to continue and stuff like that what I have found in my, what is it now 11 years, I say 10.
07:48
But you know, whatever my 10 years of corporate experience, is that an ever there is a change, everything slows down just a little bit because I have to adapt to the change. So that is natural. And that for someone who is high achieving, very driven, loves to get things out there who is using that, to validate their self worth, and to, you know, be obviously like, show that that either their team or manager, whatever it is for you that the work is getting done, etc. That can be really challenging for someone, because now the environment is not matching, you're kind of darker and darker, oh my god, deeper thoughts, right, I talk about this all the time. If you are sitting there thinking, oh my god, I have to do this. So my manager doesn't get angry at me, etc. If you listen to my previous episodes, if you need to go further down the line, and you will find that it all relates to you is likely something to do with like, I don't feel good enough. I don't want this person to be mad at me, I don't want to be mad at myself for not getting this done. And now what's happened is you've been pushed into an environment where things are going to slow down, and you're not going to be able to meet your own expectations, your own very high expectations. Lower your goddamn fucking expectations, right now, it will save you so much drama, okay. And a separate tip is to communicate really clearly with your one on one manager at your team in a very calm, but open and constructive manner around what is happening around you and to highlight that as much as you can, right? To highlight that, hey, this structural shift here has meant ABCDE here is what I can do, I can do ABCD like etc. That does take a certain level of growth to be open to say that this is a challenge here because of the structure that's you know, being reinforced by the top and this is what's happening. And I suggest coming up with solutions around Hey, this is how we could work around it because it also shows your pragmatic thinking there. Here's the thing that you can only do that when you're detached from the outcome. You're not you. Okay, so one the first my first point accepting that everything is shit. like you feel shit, the thing things are changing, it is shit right now, if you do not like change again, that first point is so goddamn important. I don't mean accept it as and be happy about it, I mean, accept how you feel about it. So important. Second is accepting that you might need to lower your expectations. And how do you manage that? How do you make that also known to the business, this is just a tip that I am giving, it has helped me so much during these restructures that I've had over my career. And before thought work, I wasn't very good at articulating what was in my way, what was stopping things from happening? Because I felt, well, no, I should just be able to do it anyway. Like, even with these genuine circumstances that are outside of my control, I should be able to get this done in this specific type of order. And it all came down to my thoughts and not wanting to ask for help and not wanting to be seen as inadequate, etc. Versus being when you start to become I would say more secure in yourself, right, which is the coaching that I've done with my coach and also what I do with my clients in my one on one, six month program. It's allowing yourself to kind of come to your boss pragmatically and be like, Hey, these are the things that I need support in such a way that you come off as calm and confident you're not feeling like you're inadequate or anything like that. And you therefore get the support that you need, because of not just the way you've articulated it, but the way you feel about yourself as well. Okay, you're not sitting there worrying, and then overworking and then trying to like figure it out. versus just being super open. Yeah, a certain level of vulnerability, which I think is important. I talked about this in a previous episode, vulnerability is your biggest goddamn strength. And accepting that this person may have whatever reactions to it, that's fine. This is what you need. You're advocating for yourself in a way that does feel good without any shame, without any fear without over apologizing for it or anything like that just confidently being like, this is delayed because of ABCDE in the restructure, and this is what we could do or shift that I swear to god is that is what companies want. Okay, that is smart, pragmatic, complex thinking that is, hey, here's a boulder. And here's how we can get around it. And it's also highlighting in a very common, articulate manner. These are things that are impacting and feedback that can go back to the top. There's a lot of what I've heard before in my career with my clients, thoughts around the fact that the top don't want to hear this type of stuff. They don't want to hear any bad news about it. And I would say that's not true. I'd say it's how you articulate it. Right? If you are coming in from this very kind of Blamey negative, like I hate absolutely hate everything. And this comes from resistance. I don't care what anyone says, comes from resisting the reality that you're in now. No, they don't want to hear that. Because it's very egocentric. It's very, you it's very much like, what I'm hearing is like, this sucks, this isn't working versus you're articulating it in a way that like this is a change that yes, I'm not enjoying and sucks right now. But what can we do to mitigate it, shift it and stuff like that, basically, you're layering it with more kind of positive pneus, if that makes sense to you about yourself when someone comes to you. And they are giving you like this really kind of sad, depressing kind of story. And of course, you want to be with them with their emotions and stuff like that. But sometimes you might give them advice. And maybe they don't take that advice or something like that. It's kind of like, you know, it's like the banging on about it, you're like, Oh, my God, it's the same thing here as well. Right? I'm not saying for you to be fake positive about it, I'm just saying do not be coming in with that really kind of hating energy, because that is not just off putting for them. It's the energy spreads, which is why from the top down, they're coming in with such a conference, even if the structure still hasn't been said or shared, etc. Because if they're freaking out, then I get a guarantee everyone else would be freaking out right now. And it'd be it would be made even worse, right? So you want to be contributing to that culture, which takes like I've have found in the past, including my clients, the best thing to do is to again, just accept where you're at and how you feel, because then you can be more constructive about it, then you can filter feedback up to the top in a way that is genuine. And if you're detach from the outcome, because maybe they don't accept that feedback, that's fine. You still been able to advocate your needs, etc. And share that. I think that's still an important factor to do. And the number might be a third so first step one, accept it, just accept it. It's it sucks. You feel like shit, that's fine, except where you're feeling right now to lower your expectations sheet is going to slow down and you're going to need to be good at articulating that. Okay? It's really important and the only way you get good at articulating that is when you can do With some of those insecurities that are holding you back that are making you feel shame and fear about I need to get more support, etc. Hence why I go on about my one on one six month program, because this is exactly in my 10 STEP program where you go in to these types of meetings. And you can articulate your needs in a really common competent manner. Not only just get that support, but guess what, it's just bumped you up in getting a promotion. Why? Because they don't want, they want people who can think pragmatically right they want. This is a problem like seriously, the best thing you can do for your career is to detach yourself from from your job, I mean that so sincerely. Because when you are detached from the job, you are not placing all this internal pressure on yourself to get it right. And then you can start using your thinking brain and think about these problems pragmatically, and come up with really good solutions for the business that get you noticed, I do that in my one on one program, you should check out the link in the show notes to get on my waitlist, because I will be opening up the cohort in the next few months. So the third tip, you're going to need to accept that you are going to need to start again. Right? What I mean by that is if you are in a new team with a new manager with a new products, guess what, yeah, you might need to be rebuilding some of those relationships. Again, you might need to be starting from scratch. And that sucks. I really I empathize with you. That sucks when you have to start like almost from the bottom and almost start like promoting your name and all that a cat. And obviously this depends on the type of free structure, how big it is, etc. But obviously it can feel very frustrating. Hence my first point which is to be accepting that it's going to feel uncomfortable. But if you were sitting there thinking you absolutely cannot get through this, oh my god, this is terrible, etc. Look at how that's making you feel and then what you're doing from that, because it's likely not going to be anything constructive. That doesn't mean you don't process your feelings about it. But I on this podcast and through my program teach you how to do that in a healthy constructive way so you can move through it and get back into going for that promotion that you want, how to rebuild yourself in that new environment in that new restructure. So they are my top three tips. That is what to serve me and I've just escalated my growth, post coaching and I wanted to share it with you. And I will leave New now and I will see you next week.