When you’re scanning the environment for dinosaurs, don’t forget to look for the rainbows.

One of the most human responses to any workplace change is fear.

Fear of what this change may mean to me.

My job role
My title
My self-esteem
The tools I currently use in my role
My confidence if I can’t learn the ‘new ways’

Because we are naturally wired for threat detection, we only tend to scan for and find the negative aspects – the dinosaurs – in change.

But what if we also opened our eyes to the rainbows?

In change there is always opportunity.

Over the past two years, we have had unprecedented change on nearly every level imaginable. Yet most people, hand on heart, will tell you even through the dark days there have been rainbows.

Many of us have learnt to be more comfortable with ourselves and not so externally focused. Some of us have saved money with lockdowns, realising just how much of our salary goes on dining out.

Many of us have found new soul-enriching hobbies or new wellbeing practices.

In any change there will be opportunities:

⭐️ Opportunities to learn new skills.
⭐️ Opportunities to stretch and perhaps move out of a comfort zone into a growth zone.
⭐️ Opportunities to challenge your thinking and reframe the way you respond to change.
⭐️ Opportunities to strengthen your communication skills to ask more questions about the business reasons for the change.

There will also be choice.

Choice in how you respond.

You can continue to just scan for and find all the scary dinosaurs. Or you can choose to open your eyes to new opportunities, new possibilities… and start to see the rainbows.

Tan xx

Tanya Heaney-Voogt

Director & Principal Consultant
MBA, ICFACC, MAHRI, Dip Mgt, Dip Coaching, Prosci® Certified Change Practitioner
E: tanya@tanyaheaneyvoogt.com

Recent Blogs

The Real Cost of Interruptions

The Real Cost of Interruptions How long does it take to get back into the ‘zone’ after an interruption? By the “zone” I mean that sense of flow, where you are productive and totally absorbed in the task at hand. Researchers at the University of California found it...

Navigating the Blind Spots of the ‘Empathy’ Clifton Strengths Talent

Sophie always knew she felt things more deeply than others.In meetings, she could sense tension before anyone spoke a word. When a team member was struggling, she was the first to notice. People gravitated to her when they needed someone to confide in. And as a...

Navigating the Blind Spots of the ‘Responsibility’ Clifton Strength

Victoria was the person everyone relied on at work. If a deadline was in jeopardy, she stepped in. If a team member was struggling, she picked up the slack. She prided herself on being dependable, always delivering on promises, and ensuring everything ran smoothly....

Bringing the Outside In – Using Nature in the Office to Boost Mood

There is no end of evidence that proves nature is good for our mental and physical wellbeing. What we have often felt has now been proven as fact, that sense of soul restoration, of mental clarity we get if we lose ourselves in a forest for a while for example. Or...

The Importance of Post-Incident Support for Minor OVA in the Workplace

Written By: Alexandra Heaney As a Mental Health Nurse who spent many years working in a large metropolitan public mental health facility, I have seen my fair share of OVA. It’s interesting when I reflect on some of the things that occurred in my time there, and I...

Struggling to Activate Your Psychosocial Safety Initiatives? Understand the WHY

I caught up with a legal colleague recently and we spent some time discussing how psychosocial safety initiatives still lack traction in many Australian workplaces. We mused over the fact that workplaces are change saturated, resource lean and struggling to CREATE...

Is Change Resistance Taking Up Space? How I finally embraced AI to create space

It’s 2025 and hasn’t the year has gotten off to a cracking pace? Those I was meeting with in mid-January were talking about the lack of "ease back in" time this year. Of course, in many ways we perpetuate this. It’s helpful to now and again stop and ask: How might I...

FISH – An Omega 3 Boost to Your Culture

Pardon the bad pun but it's not only our brain and skin cells that can benefit from a healthy dose of FISH. But our mindset, our positivity and our overall team culture can get a boost of goodness too! And pleasingly, you don't have to catch a smelly FISH or stink...

Struggling with the ‘C’ Word? Try These Tips!

Change. Yes, yes, it's a constant. But it doesn't mean it's easy to accept, particularly given it's not change itself that causes us angst, it's the uncertainty associated with change. What might this future state look like for me? How do I know if I can...

Boost Your Team Culture by Breaking Down the Silos

It's common to have various teams across a workplace focused internally and not looking at the inter dependencies with other teams. We quite rightly refer to that as 'working in silo's'. And it's problematic. However, one of the things we don't talk about so openly...

Dinosaurs, Rainbows and Change. What’s the connection?

When you’re scanning the environment for dinosaurs, don’t forget to look for the rainbows.

Tanya Heaney-Voogt

Recent Blogs