At Cornell, staff and faculty members work in an environment of constant change. While this can bring uncertainty, it also opens the door to new ideas, collaboration, and personal growth.
No matter your role at the university, the following resources are designed to support you—offering tools, guidance, and encouragement to help you navigate change with confidence and to help others do the same.
Resources for Individuals
Everyone experiences change differently. Whether you need to adjust to new roles, learn new systems, or simply find your footing in a shifting environment, this space is here to support your personal journey. Explore resources that help you reflect, build resilience, and move forward with purpose.
These online lessons are available for free through LinkedIn or Skillsoft. You will need to log in to access the material. (Note that the videos will open in a new window.)
Watch: Why is Change so Hard? (4 min)
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A changing work situation can create a period of uncertainty while you adapt. In this course, identify the reasons why organizational change is difficult, as well as explore the positive results that can come out of it.
Watch: Six Stages of Reacting to Change (4 min)
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Your experience and emotional makeup affect how you react to change, whether in your private or working life. Discover how the six stages of emotional reaction can affect your response to change.
Watch: How to Prepare for Change (2 min)
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Learn how to prepare yourself to get the most out of change.
Watch: Change Management Tips for Individuals (15 min)
Learn how to wield organizational change to your advantage. Gain strategies for how to adapt quickly, tips on what is and isn't in your control, and advice for how to show your bosses that you are a can-do, make-it-happen team player.
Watch: Making Change More Comfortable (4 min)
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In this video, find out how to make change more comfortable.
Watch: Tackling Change (2 min)
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By accepting change, understanding what is in your control, and taking clear action, you will be better able to influence a positive outcome.
Watch: Handling Workplace Change as an Employee (2 hours)
Workplace change is hard. In this course, explore why people struggle with change, techniques to manage change, and strategies to help you thrive with your career.
Watch: How to be an Adaptable Employee During Change and Uncertainty (35 min)
The most valuable skill you can cultivate is adaptability, so you're ready for anything. Learn how to cultivate an adaptable mindset and build the right skills, including communication and open-mindedness.
Watch: Three Mindsets to Embrace Change (4 min)
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The three mindsets include a growth mindset, an opportunity-seeking mindset, and healthy detachment.
Watch: Make Change Work for You (4 min)
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Find the seeds of opportunity in change, which you can plant to grow your career.
Watch: What To Do if You Are Upset by Change (3 min)
Get suggestions about how to cultivate is adaptability, so you're ready for anything.
Watch: Become a Change Agent (1 hour)
If you've spotted a process that could use some retooling—or you want to build an entirely new process from scratch—learn how to become a change agent within your organization by improving these business processes.
Leaders and Managers
Leading teams through change requires clarity, empathy, and adaptability. This page provides support to leaders at all levels as they guide their teams through transitions—big or small. Explore strategies, tools, and insights to help you communicate effectively, foster resilience, and create a positive environment where people feel supported and empowered.
Project Managers
Project managers play a pivotal role in turning change into action. From planning and execution to communication and stakeholder alignment, your leadership ensures that change initiatives stay on track and deliver value. This page provides information and strategies to help you manage change and project activities -- effectively balancing timelines, resources, and team dynamics while keeping people at the center of the process.
Navigating Ambiguity
Tools and Strategies
In the workplace, ambiguity can show up when information is incomplete, evolving, or unclear—especially during times of rapid change. It’s natural to feel uncertain about what’s happening, what’s expected, or what outcomes to anticipate.
While ambiguity can sometimes lead to stress or confusion, it also presents an opportunity to build resilience, adaptability, and confidence. These resources offer practical strategies to help you navigate uncertainty with greater ease and effectiveness, especially during periods of organizational transformation.
Watch: Remaining Grounded in Change and Ambiguity (2 min)
Executive coach Henna Inam leads you in guided exercises that expand emotional intelligence, grow self-confidence, and learn how to manage change.
Watch: Accepting Ambiguity (1 min)
Leadership trainer and coach Mike Figliuolo covers the four types of ambiguity you'll face so that you can recognize what you don't know in order to reduce risk and plan for contingencies.
Watch: Navigating Ambiguity (51 min)
Dr. Eric Zackrison shares how ambiguity can unlock all kinds of new opportunities. After watching this course, you'll be prepared to confidently navigate ambiguity and use it as a skill to help yourself and others.
Watch: Resilience Skills to Navigate Disruption and Uncertainty (70 min)
Dr. Taryn Stejskal explores strategies to transform uncertainty and disruption into opportunities for growth. Ultimately, you will learn to develop a resilient mindset, identify personal resilience strengths and areas for growth, enhance your emotional intelligence to boost resilience, practice resilience in daily situations, and build your unique resilience blueprint.
Watch: Embracing Times of Uncertainty (14 min)
Creativity consultant and best-selling author Sam Bennet shows you how to learn to live with uncertainty, embrace it, and find your own ways to thrive in its midst.
Change Management Training
Applying the Prosci ADKAR® Model
Prosci trains and empowers people to navigate the human side of change. The company developed the ADKAR model, a framework to help individuals and teams adopt new technologies, processes, and systems with greater success.
Prosci offers a structured, research-based approach to managing change, aiming to ensure that the organization can embrace and sustain organizational solutions. If you are curious to review Prosci materials or explore change management more deeply, please review these resources.
To access the full site content, sign up for training in the Prosci approach to change management.
If you've already had your training, you can access Prosci directly. (Contact Tanya Grove if you need to renew your access.)
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