Overcoming Resistance to Change: Top Ten …



Overcoming Resistance to Change: Top Ten Reasons for Change Resistance

by A. J. Schuler, Psy. D.

Top Ten Reasons People Resist Change:

1. THE RISK OF CHANGE IS SEEN AS GREATER THAN THE RISK OF STANDING STILL

Making a change requires a kind of leap of faith:  you decide to move in the direction of the unknown on the promise that something will be better for you.  But you have no proof.  Taking that leap of faith is risky, and people will only take active steps toward the unknown if they genuinely believe – and perhaps more importantly, feel – that the risks of standing still are greater than those of moving forward in a new direction.  Making a change is all about managing risk.  If you are making the case for change, be sure to set out in stark, truthful terms why you believe the risk situation favors change.  Use numbers whenever you can, because we in the West pay attention to numbers.  At the very least, they get our attention, and then when the rational mind is engaged, the emotional mind (which is typically most decisive) can begin to grapple with the prospect of change.  But if you only sell your idea of change based on idealistic, unseen promises of reward, you won’t be nearly as effective in moving people to action.  The power of the human fight-or-flight response can be activated to fight for change, but that begins with the perception of risk.

2. PEOPLE FEEL CONNECTED TO OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE IDENTIFIED WITH THE OLD WAY

We are a social species.  We become and like to remains connected to those we know, those who have taught us, those with whom we are familiar – even at times to our own detriment.  Loyalty certainly helped our ancestors hunt antelope and defend against the aggressions of hostile tribes, and so we are hard wired, I believe, to form emotional bonds of loyalty, generally speaking.  If you ask people in an organization to do things in a new way, as rational as that new way may seem to you, you will be setting yourself up against all that hard wiring, all those emotional connections to those who taught your audience the old way - and that’s not trivial.  At the very least, as you craft your change message, you should make statements that honor the work and contributions of those who brought such success to the organization in the past, because on a very human but seldom articulated level, your audience will feel asked to betray their former mentors (whether those people remain in the organization or not). A little good diplomacy at the outset can stave off a lot of resistance. 

3. PEOPLE HAVE NO ROLE MODELS FOR THE NEW ACTIVITY

Never underestimate the power of observational learning.  If you see yourself as a change agent, you probably are something of a dreamer, someone who uses the imagination to create new possibilities that do not currently exist.  Well, most people don’t operate that way.  It’s great to be a visionary, but communicating a vision is not enough. Get some people on board with your idea, so that you or they can demonstrate how the new way can work. Operationally, this can mean setting up effective pilot programs that model a change and work out the kinks before taking your innovation “on the road.”  For most people, seeing is believing.  Less rhetoric and more demonstration can go a long way toward overcoming resistance, changing people’s objections from the “It can’t be done!” variety to the “How can we get it done?” category.

4. PEOPLE FEAR THEY LACK THE COMPETENCE TO CHANGE

This is a fear people will seldom admit.  But sometimes, change in organizations necessitates changes in skills, and some people will feel that they won’t be able to make the transition very well.  They don’t think they, as individuals, can do it.  The hard part is that some of them may be right.  But in many cases, their fears will be unfounded, and that’s why part of moving people toward change requires you to be an effective motivator.  Even more, a successful change campaign includes effective new training programs, typically staged from the broad to the specific.  By this I mean that initial events should be town-hall type information events, presenting the rationale and plan for change, specifying the next steps, outlining future communications channels for questions, etc., and specifying how people will learn the specifics of what will be required of them, from whom, and when.  Then, training programs must be implemented and evaluated over time.  In this way, you can minimize the initial fear of a lack of personal competence for change by showing how people will be brought to competence throughout the change process.  Then you have to deliver.

5. PEOPLE FEEL OVERLOADED AND OVERWHELMED

Fatigue can really kill a change effort, for an individual or for an organization.  If, for example, you believe you should quit smoking, but you’ve got ten projects going and four kids to keep up with, it can be easy to put off your personal health improvement project (until your first heart attack or cancer scare, when suddenly the risks of standing still seem greater than the risks of change!).  When you’re introducing a change effort, be aware of fatigue as a factor in keeping people from moving forward, even if they are telling you they believe in the wisdom of your idea.  If an organization has been through a lot of upheaval, people may resist change just because they are tired and overwhelmed, perhaps at precisely the time when more radical change is most needed!  That’s when you need to do two things:  re-emphasize the risk scenario that forms the rationale for change (as in my cancer scare example), and also be very generous and continuously attentive with praise, and with understanding for people’s complaints, throughout the change process.  When you reemphasize the risk scenario, you’re activating people’s fears, the basic fight-or-flight response we all possess.  But that’s not enough, and fear can produce its own fatigue. You’ve got to motivate and praise accomplishments as well, and be patient enough to let people vent (without getting too caught up in attending to unproductive negativity).

6. PEOPLE HAVE A HEALTHY SKEPTICISM AND WANT TO BE SURE NEW IDEAS ARE SOUND

It’s important to remember that few worthwhile changes are conceived in their final, best form at the outset.  Healthy skeptics perform an important social function:  to vet the change idea or process so that it can be improved upon along the road to becoming reality.  So listen to your skeptics, and pay attention, because some percentage of what they have to say will prompt genuine improvements to your change idea (even if some of the criticism you will hear will be based more on fear and anger than substance).

7. PEOPLE FEAR HIDDEN AGENDAS AMONG WOULD-BE REFORMERS

Let’s face it, reformers can be a motley lot.  Not all are to be trusted.  Perhaps even more frightening, some of the worst atrocities modern history has known were begun by earnest people who really believed they knew what was best for everyone else.  Reformers, as a group, share a blemished past . . . And so, you can hardly blame those you might seek to move toward change for mistrusting your motives, or for thinking you have another agenda to follow shortly.  If you seek to promote change in an organization, not only can you expect to encounter resentment for upsetting the established order and for thinking you know better than everyone else, but you may also be suspected of wanted to increase your own power, or even eliminate potential opposition through later stages of change.  

I saw this in a recent change management project for which I consulted, when management faced a lingering and inextinguishable suspicion in some quarters that the whole affair was a prelude to far-reaching layoffs.  It was not the case, but no amount of reason or reassurance sufficed to quell the fears of some people.  What’s the solution?  Well, you’d better be interested in change for the right reasons, and not for personal or factional advantage, if you want to minimize and overcome resistance. And you’d better be as open with information and communication as you possibly can be, without reacting unduly to accusations and provocations, in order to show your good faith, and your genuine interest in the greater good of the organization.  And if your change project will imply reductions in workforce, then be open about that and create an orderly process for outplacement and in-house retraining.  Avoid the drip-drip-drip of bad news coming out in stages, or through indirect communication or rumor.  Get as much information out there as fast as you can and create a process to allow everyone to move on and stay focused on the change effort.

8. PEOPLE FEEL THE PROPOSED CHANGE THREATENS THEIR NOTIONS OF THEMSELVES

Sometimes change on the job gets right to a person’s sense of identity. When a factory worker begins to do less with her hands and more with the monitoring of automated instruments, she may lose her sense of herself as a craftsperson, and may genuinely feel that the very things that attracted her to the work in the first place have been lost. I saw this among many medical people and psychologists during my graduate training, as the structures of medical reimbursement in this country changed in favor of the insurance companies, HMO’s and managed care organizations.  Medical professionals felt they had less say in the treatment of their patients, and felt answerable to less well trained people in the insurance companies to approve treatments the doctors felt were necessary.  And so, the doctors felt they had lost control of their profession, and lost the ability to do what they thought best for patients.  

My point is not to take sides in that argument, but to point out how change can get right to a person’s sense of identity, the sense of self as a professional.  As a result, people may feel that the intrinsic rewards that brought them to a particular line of work will be lost with the change.  And in some cases, they may be absolutely right. The only answer is to help people see and understand the new rewards that may come with a new work process, or to see how their own underlying sense of mission and values can still be realized under the new way of operating.  When resistance springs from these identity-related roots, it is deep and powerful, and to minimize its force, change leaders must be able to understand it and then address it, acknowledging that change does have costs, but also, (hopefully) larger benefits.

9. PEOPLE ANTICIPATE A LOSS OF STATUS OR QUALITY OF LIFE

Real change reshuffles the deck a bit.  Reshuffling the deck can bring winners . . . and losers.  Some people, most likely, will gain in status, job security, quality of life, etc. with the proposed change, and some will likely lose a bit.  Change does not have to be a zero sum game, and change can (and should) bring more advantage to more people than disadvantage.  But we all live in the real world, and let’s face it – if there were no obstacles (read: people and their interests) aligned against change, then special efforts to promote change would be unnecessary.  

Some people will, in part, be aligned against change because they will clearly, and in some cases correctly, view the change as being contrary to their interests.  There are various strategies for minimizing this, and for dealing with steadfast obstacles to change in the form of people and their interests, but the short answer for dealing with this problem is to do what you can to present the inevitability of the change given the risk landscape, and offer to help people to adjust. Having said that, I’ve never seen a real organizational change effort that did not result in some people choosing to leave the organization, and sometimes that’s best for all concerned. When the organization changes, it won’t be to everyone’s liking, and in that case, it’s best for everyone to be adult about it and move on.

10.  PEOPLE GENUINELY BELIEVE THAT THE PROPOSED CHANGE IS A BAD IDEA

I’ll never forget what a supervisor of mine said to be, during the year after I had graduated from college, secure as I was in the knowledge of my well earned, pedigreed wisdom at age twenty-two.  We were in a meeting, and I made the comment, in response to some piece of information, “Oh, I didn’t know that!”  Ricky, my boss, looked at me sideways, and commented dryly, “Things you don’t know . . . fill libraries.”  The truth is, sometimes someone’s (even – gasp! – my) idea of change is just not a good idea.  Sometimes people are not being recalcitrant, or afraid, or muddle-headed, or nasty, or foolish when they resist.  They just see that we’re wrong. And even if we’re not all wrong, but only half wrong, or even if we’re right, it’s important not to ignore when people have genuine, rational reservations or objections.  

Not all resistance is about emotion, in spite of this list I’ve assembled here.  To win people’s commitment for  change, you must engage them on both a rational level and an emotional level. I’ve emphasized the emotional side of the equation for this list because I find, in my experience, that this is the area would-be change agents understand least well.  But I’m also mindful that a failure to listen to and respond to people’s rational objections and beliefs is ultimately disrespectful to them, and to assume arrogantly that we innovative, change agent types really do know best.  A word to the wise:  we’re just as fallible as anyone.

Using the Change Curve

Accelerating change, and increasing its likelihood of success.

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Initially, many people want to cling to the past.

© iStockphoto/gunnar

Here's the scenario: You have invested vast amounts of time and dollars in the latest systems and processes; you have trained everyone; and you have made their lives so much easier (or so you think.) Yet months later, people still persist in their old ways: Where are the business improvements you expected? And when will the disruption you're experiencing subside?

The fact is that organizations don't just change because of new systems, processes or new organization structures. They change because the people within the organization adapt and change too. Only when the people within it have made their own personal transitions can an organization truly reap the benefits of change.

As someone needing to make changes within your organization, the challenge is not only to get the systems, process and structures right, but also to help and support people through these individual transitions (which can sometimes be intensely traumatic, and involve loss of power and prestige... and even employment.)

The easier you can make this journey for people, the sooner your organization will benefit, and the more likely you are to be successful. However if you get this wrong, you could be heading for project – and career – failure.

The Change Curve is a popular and powerful model used to understand the stages of personal transition and organizational change. It helps you understand how people will react to change, so that you can help them make their own personal transitions, and make sure that they have the help and support they need.

Here, we first look at the theory behind the Change Curve. Then we look at how you can use it to accelerate change and improve its likelihood of success.

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Note 1: 

The Change Curve is widely used in business and change management and there are many variations and adaptations. It is often attributed to psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, resulting from her work on personal transition in grief and bereavement.

Note 2:

Here we're describing major change, which may be genuinely traumatic for the people undergoing it. If change is less intense, adjust the approach appropriately.

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The Change Curve:

The Change Curve model describes the four stages most people go through as they adjust to change. You can see this in figure 1, below.

When a change is first introduced, people's initial reaction may be shock or denial, as they react to the challenge to the status quo. This is stage 1 of the Change Curve.

Once the reality of the change starts to hit, people tend to react negatively and move to stage 2 of the Change Curve: They may fear the impact; feel angry; and actively resist or protest against the changes.

Some will wrongly fear the negative consequences of change. Others will correctly identify real threats to their position.

As a result, the organization experiences disruption which, if not carefully managed, can quickly spiral into chaos.

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For as long as people resist the change and remain at stage 2 of the Change Curve, the change will be unsuccessful, at least for the people who react in this way. This is a stressful and unpleasant stage. For everyone, it is much healthier to move to stage 3 of the Change Curve, where pessimism and resistance give way to some optimism and acceptance.

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Tip: 

It's easy just to think that people resist change out of sheer awkwardness and lack of vision. However you need to recognize that for some, change may affect them negatively in a very real way that you may not have foreseen. For example, people who've developed expertise in (or have earned a position of respect from) the old way of doing things can see their positions severely undermined by change.

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At stage 3 of the Change Curve, people stop focusing on what they have lost. They start to let go, and accept the changes. They begin testing and exploring what the changes mean, and so learn the reality of what's good and not so good, and how they must adapt.

By stage 4, they not only accept the changes but also start to embrace them: They rebuild their ways of working. Only when people get to this stage can the organization can really start to reap the benefits of change.

Using the Change Curve

With knowledge of the Change Curve, you can plan how you'll minimize the negative impact of the change and help people adapt more quickly to it. Your aim is to make the curve shallower and narrower, as you can see in figure 2.

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As someone introducing change, you can use your knowledge of the Change Curve to give individuals the information and help they need, depending on where they are on the curve. This will help you accelerate change, and increase its likelihood of success.

Actions at each stage are:

Stage 1:

At this stage, people may be in shock or in denial. Even if the change has been well planned and you understand what is happening, this is when reality of the change hits, and people need to take time to adjust. Here, people need information, need to understand what is happening, and need to know how to get help.

This is a critical stage for communication. Make sure you communicate often, but also ensure that you don't overwhelm people: They'll only be able to take in a limited amount of information at a time. But make sure that people know where to go for more information if they need it, and ensure that you take the time to answer any questions that come up.

Stage 2:

As people start to react to the change, they may start to feel concern, anger, resentment or fear. They may resist the change actively or passively. They may feel the need to express their feelings and concerns, and vent their anger.

For the organization, this stage is the "danger zone". If this stage is badly managed, the organization may descend into crisis or chaos.

So this stage needs careful planning and preparation. As someone responsible for change, you should prepare for this stage by carefully considering the impacts and objections that people may have.

Make sure that you address these early with clear communication and support, and by taking action to minimize and mitigate the problems that people will experience. As the reaction to change is very personal and can be emotional, it is often impossible to preempt everything, so make sure that you listen and watch carefully during this stage (or have mechanisms to help you do this) so you can respond to the unexpected.

Stage 3:

This is the turning point for individuals and for the organization. Once you turn the corner to stage 3, the organization starts to come out of the danger zone, and is on the way to making a success of the changes.

Individually, as people's acceptance grows, they'll need to test and explore what the change means. They will do this more easily if they are helped and supported to do so, even if this is a simple matter of allowing enough time for them to do so.

As the person managing the changes, you can lay good foundations for this stage by making sure that people are well trained, and are given early opportunities to experience what the changes will bring. Be aware that this stage is vital for learning and acceptance, and that it takes time: Don't expect people to be 100% productive during this time, and build in the contingency time so that people can learn and explore without too much pressure.

Stage 4:

This stage is the one you have been waiting for! This is where the changes start to become second nature, and people embrace the improvements to the way they work.

As someone managing the change, you'll finally start to see the benefits you worked so hard for. Your team or organization starts to become productive and efficient, and the positive effects of change become apparent.

Whilst you are busy counting the benefits, don't forget to celebrate success! The journey may have been rocky, and it will have certainly been at least a little uncomfortable for some people involved: Everyone deserves to share the success. What's more, by celebrating the achievement, you establish a track record of success: Which will make things easier the next time change is needed.

Adjusting to Changing Organization Culture

| |The work culture represents the ideologies, principles, policies and beliefs of the organization. The individual’s style of working, his behaviour and ways of |

| |interaction also contribute to the culture of the organization. |

| |There are several reasons which lead to a change in the organization culture. Change in management, poor financial conditions, revisions in goals and targets |

| |bring a change in the culture of the organization. |

| |Accepting changes in the work culture is the toughest thing to do for an employee. Not all employees can happily adapt to organizational changes. |

| |Employees need time to cope up with a new culture. Miracles can’t happen overnight and habits do not change all of a sudden. The employees must spend some time to|

| |understand and adjust to the new culture. One should work with an open mind and willingly accept things. Don’t always crib as it leads to no solution. The |

| |employees must try their level best to accept the changes with a smile and work accordingly. One should never be in a rush. The management must also give time to |

| |the employees for them to gel with the new culture. Don’t pressurize anyone to accept changes all of a sudden. |

The employees must design new strategies, new plan of actions and policies to meet the new challenges. Try to find out the exact reasons for the change. The ideas which were successful earlier might now fall out of place. One should not be adamant. Sit with your team leader, discuss all possible options and try to implement something which would work best in the new culture and benefit you as well as your organization.

An employee must change his behaviour and thought process as per the culture. It is essential to be flexible. Being adaptable at the workplace always pays in the long run. Remember everything happens for the best. One should always try to look at the positive aspects of life rather than cribbing on things which are beyond anyone’s control.

Janet worked with an organization of repute. Her organization followed a culture where the employees never reached office on time. There were no strict rules and regulations for the employees. Janet found her work culture very comfortable as there was no pressure on her to reach work on time.

Very soon her organization hired someone from its competitor to take charge of the organization. He made several changes in the work culture, the first and the foremost being fixed timings for all the emloyees.Everyone irrespective of the designation had to reach office on time. All the employees had to adhere to the guidelines and policies of the organization.

Condition A

Janet found it very difficult to adjust to the new culture. She could not accept the sudden change in the work culture, cribbed amongst her fellow workers and found her work as a burden.

Condition B

Janet happily accepted the change and tried her level best to adjust to it.She was intelligent enough to understand that after all the change was for the benefit of the organization. She got up little early everyday and reached office on time. She gave her best everyday and won the appreciation of her superiors as well as the management.

Which situation do you feel is better ?

Obviously Situation B

One should always remember that a little change in one’s behaviour can make the organization a better place to work.

Few tips to adjust to the changing organization culture.

▪ Give time to adjust

▪ Be flexible

▪ Work with an open mind

▪ Never crib

▪ Look at the positive side

▪ Develop alternate plans

▪ Don’t get too attached to someone at the workplace

8 Steps to Managing and Implementing Organizational Change

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By kathyclark

8 Steps to Managing and Implementing Organizational Change

Change is a word that provokes uneasiness for the majority of people. The definition of change is “to become different, to become altered or modified, to be transformed or converted .”

Since we are creatures of habit, change is a difficult thing for most people. We would all agree that change can sometimes be good – a new job, a marriage, children or a new house are all examples of positive changes for us. So then, why is it so difficult for people to adapt to change at work?

When a change is presented in the workplace to challenge the status quo, employees will inevitable resist it. I worked with a woman years ago who we moved from a small cubicle to a large shared office. The new office was at least twice the work space and had new furniture. We mistakenly thought she would be excited about this change but she was very upset and kicked and screamed her way into the new office. She told us over and over again that she “did not like change.” Fortunately months later, when she was settled in and adjusted, she thanked us for the new work space.

This is a good example of how we all perceive and process things differently and what is exciting for one person may be a major upset for another. We all have the tendency to get comfortable, set in our ways and resist change because it disrupts our fine tuned daily habits.

Research of successful organizations tells us that continually doing things the same way produces the same results and often it requires changing things to help get an organization to the next level. Examples of workplace changes are changes in benefit plans, new workplace safety procedures, an office change or perhaps a new computer software program - the management of change dictates its ability to be successful.

So if the saying is true, “change is constant”, why do so many people resist change? Many times it is fear of not knowing how the change will affect them, and not knowing, makes people feel like they have no control. Organizational leaders are responsible for minimizing the negative impact on employees by managing the change efforts. This is done by communicating as much information as possible in an effort to help people understand the reasons the change is being made.Employees will be less resistant to change if they are communicated with in a timely manner and really understand the reasons for the change.

8 Steps to Change Implementation

1. Making a Case for Change

Changes should only be done when there is a data-driven reason for making a change. There are many sources of data that can drive change. It could be product defect rates, customer comment cards, employee satisfaction survey results, customer satisfaction survey results, workplace safety issues, business goals or budgetary pressures. Utilizing available data is the best way to find areas that need improvement.

2. Senior Leadership Support

One of the most important aspects of change management is having senior leader support. It is critical for senior leaders to help communicate the reason for the change and interact with employees through the change implementation. Employees will be less resistant if they see senior level leaders supporting the change process.

3. Communication Plan

The process of change communication should be systematic and structured. Employees look to their leadership to inform them of changes whether global or area specific. Poor communication fuels the rumor mill which can create resistance to change. Proactive communication about change initiatives help employees feel like they are part of the process and valued.

4. Employee Partners

A major mistake many organizations make is not involving frontline employees in change projects. Whether a change is large or small, the reason behind it needs to be appropriately communicated as well as how the change will impact the way an employee does their job. Employees are the knowledge experts in how work gets done and offer a wealth of information that can help with the planning andimplementation of changes. Whether it is looking for ways to reduce costs, improve customer satisfaction or changing a work process, employees can add much needed value to planning the change process.

5. Removing Barriers

For successful change implementation, barriers need to be removed. Barriers can be other departments, poor preparation or training, lack of equipment and supplies or resistant employees. In these situations management is responsible for stepping in to help resolve issues. This may include dealing with resistant employees or removing other obstacles that affect successful implementation. There are occasions when some employees don’t adjust to changes and just need to be moved on.

6. Change Initiative Implementation

The implementation of the change initiative should be put in a timeline that shows the order of the implementation. A well planned timeline will ensure that any new equipment, needed supplies or training takes place before the change is fully implemented. Failing to do so can create frustration for those affected employees. An example of this would be upgrading an employee’s computer software before the employee has gone through the software training. This could create employee frustration as well as a slowdown in work processes.

7. Change Assessment

After a change is implemented, there should be follow-up to see if the change delivered the desired results. Change often exceeds desired results but occasionally a change does not work as planned. When this happens, management should acknowledge what failed and try to make adjustments until target results are achieved.

8. Celebration

It is important to acknowledge and celebrate success as changes are made. Celebrating even small changes can help build momentum for bigger changes. These celebration moments help make employees feel engaged and want to participate in the process.

Successful change implementation comes when employees have a good understanding of why a change is needed and are given the opportunity to be part of the planning and implementation of the change

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