12 early warning signals of change

The pace of change at work is inexorably rising, with the demands of globalisation and use of technology. However, it's crucial to your workplace survival that you spot those changes that are likely to affect you. Staying awake in the workplace is important if you are to spot when something is afoot. You may not know exactly what's coming, but at least you'll realise that something is. Then you can prepare yourself for it , instead of facing immediate change that you then have to work with.

Here are 12 signals to look out for, that if you see early enough will give you time to prepare your response to.

1. Significant work decisions are put off without good explanation, and projects previously viewed as important are hit by delays.

2. Outsiders start to tell you something is going on. The coffee shop conversation becomes more interesting than the team meeting does!

3. Posts remain vacant, with no explanation. There is no official recruitment bar, but nothing seems to be going on.

4. Lunch time conversations become more frequent. The rumour mill heats up, even when there are official denials that anything's going on.

5. Work problems are not dealt with when brought up - even though the solution to the issue looks obvious. Something unseen appears to hold things up.

6. Decisions don't seem to make sense (or make less sense than they usually do!).

7. There's an increase in closed door or off-site meetings, and key people become less visible than normal.

8. People start asking wierd questions, that you normally would never expect them to ask.

9. You see changes in the behaviour of key people in the workplace.

10. Different people start to visit your workplace, and some of these 'different' people become regular visitors (They may be consultants).

11. You start to get hints that may be obscure on the face of it ('if you get my drift').

12. Responses to questions become evasive (or more evasive than before), or cryptic.

If you see more than five of these going on at any particular time, it's time to prepare for change, work out what's going on, and gear your reaction to it. The overriding principle is that things tend to quieten down before change, just as a flock of sparrows quietens as a bird of prey appears. The earlier you see these signals happening, the greater your chances of avoiding becoming the prey.

Best of luck……live long and thrive!