Last week I got a meeting invite from my manager with the subject “quick touch base” and no additional information.
My monkey brain immediately went into panic mode and was convinced I was getting fired.
I tried going through all of my meetings notes and reviewing my todo’s but I could not figure out why I would be in trouble so my heart rate started to slow down and my brain eventually became more logical.
The meeting was only for 15 minutes. If I was in trouble, it would be longer. A 15 minute meeting almost always means one thing – Reorg.
They happen all the time at work. In my 7 years, I think this is probably my 10th or 11th reorg. I honestly can’t remember.
My colleges all got a similar invite and like any normal team, we started to speculate over IM what the changes were going to be.
Our “touch bases” came and went and we all knew what was going down.
It was fascinating to watch the difference reactions. Some people freaked out because they no longer felt like their work was valuable to the team. Others were pissed we were changing directions again and immediately started searching the job board. I just kind of sat back and took it all in. Again, I’ve been through this a few times.
I decided to just look at the facts and decide how I wanted to feel about it. I have to be honest with myself at all times so I was not in a place of joy and excitement, but I could get myself to just be curious and open to the change so that’s where I focused my thoughts.
Instead of stressing about all the unknown to current and future projects, my involvement, and reporting structure, I decided to focus on how I could add value with the shift. How I was going to learn so much with this new strategic pivot and that it was going to give me so many opportunities to partner with other teams, which I love doing and am great at.
So here we are in week one of the reorg, and guess what. The people thinking they are no longer valuable are not adding much value. The pissed people are still mad and pushing against reality.
But I’m just overhear doing my job. And when it really comes down to it, not much has changed. I still have most of the same projects and a few new ones, but it’s just another day. I’m still in control of how I feel at work and I’m still choosing to be open and curious and I’m loving where it’s taking me.
Want help applying this to your specific situation? Sign up for free coaching here.
