[Sharon]

Think of a time of difficult change in an organization that you were part of or affected you. What was the reason for the change?  Did you resist the change? Where did you see yourself during that change – as an innovator, early adopter, early majority, late majority, laggard or a rejecter?

Using the above questions as a guide, reflect on a change that happened in your work environment.

[Barinder]

A time of major change within the private practice organization I worked for occurred during Covid. With the onset of Covid, there was an abundance of changes being implemented to ensure health guidelines were being followed. This created some resistance in the team as there were many unknowns and gaps in knowledge. Furthermore, there were limited resources at the time, thus increasing the level of difficulty for both staff and clients. For example, since the chairs in the waiting room of the clinic were made of fabric, which is very difficult to sanitize after each use, there was a week of limited seating available, only for clients who required it. I believe I was apart of the early adopter as I was willing to aid in implementation of the new guidelines, without resistance.

[Alhasan]

I can relate to your experience with the significant changes implemented during COVID. We faced similar challenges while rolling out COVID vaccines to our clients, many of whom could not tolerate mask-wearing and were therefore unable to attend regular clinics. This necessitated innovative approaches to support individuals with developmental disabilities. Our team had to overcome resistance and logistical hurdles, much like yours, to ensure the safety and efficacy of our vaccination process.

[Claire]

Hi Barinder

I like how you explained your behavioural response to the planned change of Covid protocols by describing yourself as an “early adaptor”. I remember those early Covid days well, where the world in which we knew was changing so rapidly due to this medical crisis that was enveloping the world. I would have describe myself as most often an “innovator”, yet in the case of Covid I took on more of an “early adaptor” behavioural response. The situation was unprecedented and intensively serious as millions were dying, and my naturally forward thinking perspective was stunted and shrouded with uncertainty. I felt I need to be open to change and receptive to change, but not excited and charged by tackling this challenge and galloping forward as a leader. I am grateful for those who rose up as ” innovators ” at this troubling time. Thank you for your post!

[Carmen]

Thanks for sharing! It’s impressive how you adapted quickly to the significant changes brought on by COVID-19. Your willingness to embrace new guidelines despite challenges such as limited resources shows strong leadership and adaptability. In a situation like this, early adopters help guide teams through challenging times and ensure a smooth transition.

[Janet]

I agree, the COVID-19 pandemic brought significant changes for everyone, including us at the military retirement home. I vividly remember the day we were first informed of a COVID case. When I went home and told my family, I was already aware that the situation had escalated from one case to ten.

We were all scrambling to learn and adapt to the new policies, striving to keep ourselves and our residents safe. Each day brought new challenges with evolving rules and regulations. It was a constant struggle to explain these changes to families and residents, especially as the situation continued to shift daily.

[Alhasan]

During the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, our organization faced the daunting challenge of vaccinating approximately 3000 individuals with complex medical needs and developmental disabilities. This immense responsibility fell to a small team of 6-8 nurses, including myself, who had to manage this task alongside our regular full-time roles in case management and director positions. The primary driver of this change was the urgent need to vaccinate a vulnerable population swiftly and efficiently while maintaining safety and control over the process. The individuals often could not tolerate wearing masks, making it impossible for them to attend public clinics. Initially, there was some resistance due to concerns about logistics, safety, and the additional workload on an already stretched team.

I saw myself as an innovator during this period of change. Recognizing the necessity for a controlled environment, I devised a plan to use an empty wing of our facility, consisting of eight bedrooms, as vaccination stations. Clients entered through a side emergency exit door, were registered into the COVAX system, and assigned a room where nurses had vaccines pre-drawn and ready. After vaccination, clients were escorted to a living room area for a 15-minute observation period, accommodating those who could not sit still. This setup ensured a smooth and efficient vaccination process, allowing our small team to vaccinate 150-200 people per day while addressing the unique needs of our clients and maintaining a safe environment.

This experience highlighted the importance of innovation and adaptability in managing significant organizational changes. By implementing this creative solution, we overcame initial resistance and logistical challenges, ultimately ensuring the successful and safe vaccination of a highly vulnerable population.

[Melissa]

Hi Alhasan,
I can definitely relate to your experience with changes implemented during COVID. It was definitely a scary time with lots of uncertainty for many and there was a lot of pressure put on the healthcare system. Just like you I also worked with a vulnerable population during the pandemic mine being the elderly. We also had to overcome many hurdles in order to come up with a plan to vaccinate our home with keeping our residents safety in mind as well as the burn out our staff were feeling from completing numerous doubles due to the issues of being short. There were definitely numerous hurdles that we as a facility and team had to work through and although this large uncertain change was difficult we all made it through.

[Claire]

We have recently had a significant organizational changes at our facility that has affected our work culture greatly. This tremendous cultural change within my organization also occurred at a time in my life that I was going through significant personal and professional change. Therefore I feel that can speak about how I responded in all three types of change!

We recently have a complete overall of our leadership team. Our ED was the only member of the leadership team which remained, which I was at the time grateful for as I have historically fallen into a laggard behavioural response of clinging to tradition due to fear of not trusting the abilities of those unknown! We obtained a fresh new crew of staff for our DOC, team lead, volunteer coordinator, facility manager and kitchen manager positions within a very short period of time. This also happened at a time when my nursing partner resigned and I was left to have a revolving door of capable but infrequent casual staff to work closely with. Therefore, nothing was the same except for my ED, who is present and accessible but is also not on the floor and influencing our team clinically or culturally, for that matter.

The reason for this organizational change was due to retirement and a desire in the “steps to change” process to acknowledge and encourage a more culturally sensitive and inclusive work place for staff, volunteers and residents. An organizational change was determined to be needed to “solve the problem “of low diversity and inclusivity. The community and our society in general is rapidly changing and we needed to adapt to give the best care possible.

I had personally over the past year had tremendous personal change in how I approached my health and wellness. I had successfully adapted new strategies that were effective evidenced by maintained weight loss and better lab results. This success bolstered me to re evaluate and focus new attention and effort towards professional development through courses and increased engagement at work. I was faced with ill health and some professional dissatisfaction that forced me to face realities that made me feel I had no choice other than to change. I felt I was an “innovator ” in my response to this necessary and unavoidable new adaptation because I was energized by the challenge and embrace the changes I was creating in my life. I feel these positive changes were instrumental in fostering an “Innovator ” behavioural response to the organizational changes at work as well because I saw the benefits of embracing change vs. sticking with a laggard or rejector approach. I embraced this new team and supported them with their goals of modernizing the culture of our faculty.

I always seem to fall back to the holistic nature of everything in my life and within my nursing practice . Therefore my open minded and optimistic “innovator” response is directly related to have I view and reflect on the many facets of all a situation and possible solutions.

[Sherri]

Hi Claire, I like how you’ve become adaptable and motivated in your personal and professional life. I hope that I can adjust that well. I am normally an adaptable and positive person just like you. It was great to see your changes. Super!

[Carmen]

One change that affected my professional life was when my workplace implemented a new policy to follow up with students on a leave of absence. The reason for the change was to improve student support and ensure timely updates regarding their return and creating better communication and support.

I did not resist this change because I thought it was something that needed to be implemented and would help better manage our workload and keep communication open. During that change, I believe that I was an early adopter.

[Rebecca]

Hi Carmen,
I experienced a similar change which heavily impacts my role and I feel very similarly to you, in the sense that the change would better manage our workload and why not become an early adopter to support the changes and it seems for both of us this was a change that was not going anywhere, so why flight the inevitable. Another note taken from the earlier modules, we are adaptable and in our roles as leaders, this is plays in changes and our support/influences.

[Melissa]

A large change that recently took place at the organization I work that affected me along with my colleagues was switching pharmacies. The contract our organization had with our previous pharmacy was up for renewal or termination therefore my place of work came up with a team of individuals to look into new pharmacies, conducting meetings with these pharmacies and asking necessary questions to find one that matched up with our priorities and facilities needs as we had many issues with our previous provider. Obviously change can be difficult in any situation as we become accustom and comfortable with the policies and procedures we are used to. I was personally excited and did not resist this change at the time due to the fact of numerous issues and poor relationships with our previous pharmacy. During this change I believe I was an Innovator as I recognized that the organization was in need of a new pharmacy and was willing to learn new procedures and policies in order to implement and transition into the new pharmacy smoothly and overall provide better care to our residents and cater to their needs. Overall though I believe for the most part I’d usually fall into the “Early Adopters” section just due to the fact that I am a creature of habit, but I am open to change when necessary.

[Rebecca]

Hi Melissa,
I appreciate you sharing this story of your experience with change and how you identified to be an innovator as well as early adopter. Making any change I agree with you can have its difficulties and the fact that you were so willing although you identified as a creature of habit, learning new policies and procedures can also be a great way to expand. I enjoyed that you shared you saw the future benefits to the change as well and likely made for the early adopter eager to try something new. I hope it continues to go well.

[Rebecca]

A recent change we rolled out across the organization was making the switch to a new HR program, this program was rolled out for operational support to make things quicker, faster and easier. We were excited for the change as this would become one central platform for the many tasks that were not all located in one spot. We are currently still in the process of becoming familiar with this change and I can say I was not resistant to the change as this was not a choice and why resist the inevitable. I found myself to be an early adopter as I would also have to guide and support my team with this change so best to be supportive and positive and make this new change the best I can. We continue to find out new things and find ourselves still asking questions, but I feel this change will become the new norm soon enough.

[Sherri]

This is co-incidental that I am enrolled in this leadership course , as change is upon me right now ,as I speak. I have rejected the change, but not to the point of sabotage. I find myself to be in a laggard situation; whereas, I have gone to a respected and influential manager/employee, community member. Firstly, I should explain that the organization would like to change our hours of shifts. To be honest I ‘m not sure if it is the organization calling for this change or the DOC. The hours involved 6-2, 2-10,10-6. The DOC did send out a quorum email. While I have asked other co-workers there response was “not happy”. I believe the quorum was 50/50. In my opinion, the change is inevitable, it was just a cordial way to include everyone. Reasoning for the change is to improve efficiency and reduce workload. I believe the exact opposite will intervene. So unnecessary and stressful. Importantly. not only cease to conserve our sovereignty it could despair. As the nursing profession is already critical, we need all the help that we can get. We are one of the last few homes whose nursing hours have not followed. A drive out of the city is 35mins, to our small community and that’s not including winter driving. This has yet to be evaluated. A challenging and uncertain time for sure.

[Ruth]

I was a college student during COVID-19. The collage delivered the course in person. After the COVID-19 pandemic, everything switched online. I am not fond of online learning; thus, it was a difficult period for me. Every lesson was given virtually. Students are required to record videos and upload them in during demonstrations. I spend more than eight hours a day sitting through lectures, completing assignments, and taking tests and before submitting them, I occasionally record videos of demonstrations more than a dozen times. No social interactions there is nobody nearby with whom I may talk or interact. In my opinion Accepting the transition was a huge step. But when it comes to how I react to change, I consider myself to be an early majority in this situation. I don’t want to be left behind; I adopt change.

[Janet]

I worked at a retirement home for nearly nine years before it closed for ten months due to renovations and a change in management. When I returned, everything had changed—the environment, the management, the policies and procedures, and even the residents. With all these changes, adapting to the new expectations became a challenge. We were faced with a greater number of residents and a significantly reduced staff. The ratio became 55 residents to one staff member, making it difficult to provide adequate senior care.

As the situation became more challenging, I found myself increasingly resistant to the changes and frustrated with my work experience. I felt unheard, as did the rest of my team, and we were deeply concerned about the safety and quality of care. Despite our best efforts to voice our concerns respectfully, they were not always well received.

Things changed when the owner visited our dining room and saw my colleague and me engaging with the residents, smiling, singing, and dancing to make the best of a difficult situation. He placed his hand on my shoulder and encouraged me to continue doing what I was doing, assuring me that the residents would benefit from it. I responded that we were simply trying to improve their experience. Following this, some of our suggestions were taken into account, and additional changes were made.

[Kristina]

Think of a time of difficult change in an organization that you were part of or affected you. What was the reason for the change? Did you resist the change? Where did you see yourself during that change – as an innovator, early adopter, early majority, late majority, laggard or a rejected? Using the above questions as a guide, reflect on a change that happened in your work environment. Share your change story on the online discussion forum. (L1 – Module 5 discussion 1)

A time I found difficult at my place of work was recently in the summertime. My work is under major reconstruction to due expansion. The construction had closed down our serveries in our LTC home, and residents on the 2 locked units were now going to have to dine in our center dining room. This was a hard concept to grasp at first, due to the majority of our residents from both locked units either had responsive behaviours and change was a big trigger for them, or we had a few residents that attempt to elope quite a bit, and the center dining room is located near the front public entrance way. I was skeptical of first of this idea, however quickly looked at the positives of the situation, which I believe makes me an early adopter type of leader. I divided a plan with the PSW’s on how we could provide our residents a safe and enjoyable dining experience in a new environment, and it has since been going well. We still continue to serve residents in the center dining room for meals due to construction, but most residents like it better due to them being able to see the large koi fish pond outside the windows in our courtyard while they eat.

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