This is a guest post from John Baldoni. John is an internationally recognized leadership consultant, coach, author and speaker. This excerpt is adapted from his newest book, The Leader’s Pocket Guide.

One reason we fear change is because we feel a loss of control. And while you cannot control the change process, you can control how you and your team react to it.

Assert your ownership. Doing so shifts the emphasis from something being done to you to something over which you have control. Consider these three questions to help you take charge:

1. What do we do now? Understand that you have a choice; you can opt out and not accept the change. Of course you may feel that for financial reasons you cannot do this, but understand that, unless you have been sentenced to jail, you are free to decide what to do. Making decisions to stay for whatever reason means that you have made a decision. Likewise, if you decide to leave, that is your decision.
2. What do we do next? Make your teammates aware of what you have decided to do. If you are staying in, you want to make certain your boss knows that you are still part of the team. If your disappointment is evident, as it might be with a loss of promotion, acknowledge it but do not dwell on the negativity. Reassure the boss that you are still in the game and want to be considered as a contributor. Such behavior will mark you as one who has a strong sense of self and can deal with disappointment.
3. How can we make this work for us? Consider how you can turn the situation to your advantage. Look for ways to turn the change into new opportunities. Find ways to assert your can-do spirit. Be proactive. Look for ways to make a positive difference.

Owning the change process and making it work for you is critical to demonstrating resilience as well as an ability to move forward. It is very definitely a mark of leadership.

P.S. I highly recommend my readers to get Mr. Baldoni’s Leadership pocket book guide because it is full of useful to the point advice like this on a variety of leadership and management topics.