Dealing with Conflict and Change
Over the past week, I have been assigned to update many old and outdated policies which have been in place for about 20 years for my office. While the task was tedious, I was determined to get the job done so I could move on to a more exciting and interesting projects. The contents of the policies are obviously confidential, so I can not discuss their contents, but many of the policies and reports were written by individuals who still work with the Comptroller’s Office and obviously they take great pride in their work.
Due to the fact that the overwhelming majority of the office either played a role in implementing these policies or have been using these policies in their daily work life for a number of years, even though I was assigned to update them, I did face some pushback. On a number of occasions, an employee voiced their displeasure with the changes to either me or my boss, but my boss insisted that the changes were warranted and long overdue. At first I was a bit taken aback by the pushback, and at times a bit of tension could be seen between employees and my boss, but after number of meetings to get everyone on the same page, a resolution was found.
While I would have preferred a more uneventful time working on this project, I am thankful that I got to experience some workplace conflict and dealing with change. I wholeheartedly respect that many employees take pride in their work and do not want an intern to make changes to practices they have used for over a decade in some instances. I am also thankful that my boss trusted me to lead this project considering the large impact it has over the operations of the office, and how much the employees care about the procedures. Seeing how my boss handled the pushback for initiating these changes and having the confidence to constantly bring about positive changes were truly eye opening for me. I believe it takes a special type of natural leader to handle adversity from their followers and continue on because they truly believe they are doing the right thing.