PLSO Oregon Surveyor July/August 2020

4 Vol. 43, No. 4 The Oregon Surveyor  | Change You KnowWhat They Say About Change From the PLSO Office Aimee McAuliffe PLSO Exec. Secretary I f your life has ever taken a quick 180-degree turn, chances are you have heard someone say, “Change is the only constant in life.” Right now, I’m guessing everyone’s life has changed whether they were ready for it or not. And that’s not a new human feeling, because this saying is credited to the Greek philosopher Her- aclitus, who lived 500 years before Jesus Christ. He is also credited for inspiring the work of Aristotle and Plato. If a saying lasts through 2,500 years of massive an- thropologic, historic, and global change, it’s probably true. It also means that we are not terribly special going through what we are experiencing right now. It just hasn’t happened to us before. Things change constantly. People die, jobs end, money is made and lost, pandem- ics arise, religions begin, empires rise and fall, social issues demand attention and people throughout history have had to constantly learn how to adapt their life for it to continue to make sense. It is not a secret that we, as a professional community, have had a lot to deal with the past fewmonths. Our resiliency has been challenged and comfort levels stretched. One thing that has not changed is our mission, which states that PLSO “strives to promote high standards of practice and ethical conduct, holding paramount the interests of the public.” This mission is as true today as when it was written. We deal in facts and protect the rights of the public. Discrimination would be inconsis- tent with who we are as an organization, and as our Anti-Harassment & Discrim- ination Policy states, “We are dedicated to providing a safe, hospitable, and pro- ductive environment for everyone who wishes to participate in PLSO activities, without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gen- der identity, marital status, religion, age, or disability.” But other things may require change, and whether it is in our personal or profes- sional life, adapting to it can be hard. If it is a good change, we often feel like we are undeserving. If it is perceived as neg- ative, it’s difficult to know when or how to adapt our course. According to the article “The Adaptive Or- ganization: Fostering Change in Five Areas” by the AmericanManagement Association (AMA) included in this issue, a good place to foster change is to focus on five key ar - eas: People, Process, Strategy, Structure, and Technology. When thinking of these five areas for PLSO, it’s important to ap - ply it to how we can maintain a sense of professional community during a time when it is difficult to actually be with our community. When looking at the first area listed in the article—people—PLSO needs to get a more diverse group to volunteer as lead- ership. Whether at the committee level or board of directors, having different view - points on how we can bring more value to people at various levels of their careers as well as a different demographic of our community can only be a positive thing. This is most likely to happen by shoulder tapping specific people and telling them their voice is valuable. One thing that has not changed is our mission, which states that PLSO “strives to promote high standards of practice and ethical conduct, holding paramount the interests of the public.” This mission is as true today as when it was written. We deal in facts and protect the rights of the public.