Saturday Catch-Up: Change Managers Between Roles

Kerrie Smit
Apr 27, 2024
2 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

There's growing pressure in the market right now. Our governments are working hard to keep our economies steady, businesses are still dealing with the post-COVID market and grappling with automation technologies. Consequently, many of our Change Managers—a skillset that can make a true difference—are looking for work and between roles. At the same time, our in-house change management teams are being stretched to provide more with less and work harder than ever.

In this Saturday Catch-up, we look at how this is a regular cycle, and what change managers can do in their downtime to remain productive and buoyant.

Navigating the Downtime Cycle

We first explored this idea in Market Corrections in a Flexible Industry: Fine-Tuning Change Management (9 March 2024). Since the early 2000s, the market for change management has often found itself in a state of fluctuation—something like a seesaw swinging between demand and supply. Amidst the corrections, one recurring theme has stood out: the variability of rates and opportunities for contract change managers. This flexibility speaks volumes about the underlying issues within the industry, highlighting the reasons for occasional market corrections and the need for intentional fine-tuning or disruptive innovation.

Strategies for Staying Buoyant and Ready

During our downtime, there are many options for change professionals to build skills in anticipation of the roles that will come in the next cycle:

Building a Career in Change Management: 5 Skills to cultivate (11 Feb 2024) provides insight into some essential skills for change managers that might surprise you! Use this time for targeted professional development.
Managing Self-Belief: Time spent in a flatter market can affect our self-belief. Impostor Syndrome? Try Finding your Community (14 Jan 2024) examined how experiencing self-doubt, feeling nervous in performance situations, and nasty self-talk are all potential symptoms of Impostor Syndrome, and discusses what can be done about it.
Embracing Uncertainty: Moving beyond uncertainty (19 March 2024) discusses the steps we can take to face prolonged difficult circumstances. It encourages us that the secret to moving beyond the uncertainty of change is not in adding greater control, but rather in opening up and letting go.
Challenging Your Narrative: Finally, Self-Limiting Beliefs and Change: what’s holding you back? (published earlier this week) is a gentle encouragement to question the stories we tell ourselves that hold us back from realising our full potential. These beliefs influence our decisions and actions—challenge them now, while you have the space to reflect.