I'm All Ears

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Change and no-change is often a tug-of-war we face at work. Delving into the change sometimes reveals a distinct air of "let's do it because we can" - but does it really accomplish what we want or are we just rebranding or rediscovering something that already exists? It also can bring out the "don't change a thing" attitude from co-workers. Rather than beat on each other about it, it's important to move the process forward by listening.

Jessica Olin over at Letters to a Young Librarian recently addressed aspects of this issue.  She concludes, "The main thing I'm thinking about, though, is that I'm starting to understand why more experiences library professionals say things like, "we've always done it that way." I know it's easy to hear that phrase and think the speaker is stuck. But at this stage of my career, I can hear nuances in that much reviled statement. I can hear when someone means "but I really want to change it" versus when they mean "and I'm scared to try something new." More importantly, though, I've noticed an undercurrent of "I'm not afraid of change so much as I'm scared of uninformed progress for the sake of progress."

Things change. It's a fact so true that it sounds a bit cliched. But change without awareness of history can be worse than no change at all. Knowing where we came from can be a road map of sorts. After all, you want to void those million dead-end streets, don't you?"

I think in any situation of change and moving everyone to the same place of yes, it's important to listen to the many voices and to figure out what a change really means. Listening both to the yes and no perspectives and moving towards consensus is time consuming but worth it. Listening can make all the difference.