Resistance to change is inevitable and natural: it is part of the process.
In this brief analysis on Resistance to change I seek to give an initial and general framework on this topic incorporating some basic considerations in this regard. I focus on people's resistance to organizational change, although you will inevitably find
organizational changes even though you will inevitably find some points of connection with individual changes.
I sincerely hope it is of value to you who are undertaking some change initiative in your team and organization today.
As an initial frame of reference, resistance to change refers to when a stakeholder opposes change driven by an initiative or project. And in terms of change management, it connects to "resistance management" which is the process by which opposition to change is addressed. For the same reason, it is key to normalize resistance to change as something inevitable and natural: it is part of the process.
It is important to start by recognizing that each of us experiences change in a different way and that our resistance to change depends on many factors. For example, for some people it is faster to adapt or promote changes at work than personally or vice versa. First of all, I invite you to invite, from wherever you are, not to 'demonize' resistance, and for no reason to leave out those who openly show their opinion opposed to this initiative of change.
It is possible that those who openly oppose change are showing you an unseen blind spot or it may even be that incorporating these people is a valuable opportunity to mobilize that part of the organization that is not yet convinced of the change. Listen without judgment and find out what you can incorporate from that vision in the change proposal and/or make them part of the design of actions to advance and incorporate their points of view in the change initiative.
Second, identify those who do not openly tell you that they are opposed to change but that their actions or results show that something is wrong. Even when they tell you that they support the change and that you can count on them. This group is very difficult to map but it is key to do so and take action. Not taking care of them can be like a "false negative", i.e., it seems that everything is fine but unexpectedly all the symptoms are expressed at key moments of the project.
I will give you some examples to identify this second group: teams or people who show themselves available and open but the numbers or their results say otherwise (a classic example is that a low rate of use of a new tool that is part of the change initiative is detected); or that some of the team members do not answer e-mails or do not come to agreed work sessions but politely apologize, do not have time (i.e. it is not a priority or they cannot or many other reasons). This group may be having a "hidden resistance" for different reasons (e.g. the management is not convinced of the change so communicates something that "supports the change" but does not give space for it to be incorporated).
incorporation). These reasons will not disappear only because of the progress of the change initiative, therefore it is key to raise the alerts and design the corresponding mitigation actions.
It is important that you go deeper into why this is happening. To do this, promote one-on-one conversations with different people in the team, highlight this paradox and with open questions (and without giving you the answers), explore and investigate to achieve a good diagnosis.
and with open questions (and without giving the answers), explore and investigate in order to achieve a good diagnosis. Remember that it is not only because they do not want to do it, there are many different reasons to resist and it could be that the team is having a hard time (because of a possible cognitive dissonance, a concept that talks about the psychological tension when an individual must do something that goes against their beliefs and values). Once you have that diagnosis, process that information because it will surely be of value to nurture your change management plan.
And thirdly, it is very, very important to take care of those who are always available to support change initiatives. Many times this enthusiastic and valuable group of people who can always be counted on is overburdened pushing many initiatives at once.
overloaded pushing many initiatives at the same time. Having them on board is key for the change initiative to start picking up speed and momentum. But pay attention, if this group is overloaded with many fronts this will sooner or later impact their level of optimal support for the change and, worse yet, you run the risk that very talented people will not be able to support the change initiative.
There is a risk that people of great talent and value to the organization will jeopardize their personal health and well-being.
I hope this analysis I share will help you to nurture your change management plan. Please share your experience in the comments: What are the most frequent reactions you are seeing in your project? Do you find it more difficult to deal with the first or second group described?
As a result, if you are interested in learning more about Change Management, at The Change Lab we have dedicated ourselves to creating a learning community and certifying more than 200 people throughout Latin America in Applied Change Management.
Soon we will start a new version of Certification, accredited by ACMP Global (Association of Change Management Professionals globally).
Find out all the details HERE
A hug,
Gabriela Prado
Founder The Change Lab
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so that it can reach more people, Thank you very much!