Here are 5 key aspects to dealing with resistance to change:
(1) Factual aspect of dealing with resistance to change
A well-executed communication strategy is vital to a successful change management initiative, and is integral to dealing with the factual aspects of resistance.
People need facts. They need to know the rationale and the logic for the change. They need to hear the specifics about the intended organisational benefits that will be realised through the change. The structural and content aspect of your communications will benefit greatly from the discipline of a programme-based approach to leading and managing your change initiative.
(2) Emotional aspect of dealing with resistance to change
The idea of the importance of the human and emotional dimension of change is now increasingly mainstream as most of the main thought leaders in the world of change management and change leadership are now speaking vociferously about this. This is also an integral aspect of a well-executed communication strategy, and is a key function of change leadership - "primal leadership" as Daniel Goleman now defines it.
(3) Personal aspect of dealing with resistance to change
If your people don't like you - if they are resistant to you - you've got problems. An frequently overlooked and ignored factor is YOU as change leader.
Given that the primary causes of failure in change initiatives are all people related, it seems fairly self-evident that change leadership requires some very special qualities in the person[s] leading the change. So getting this component right yet another critical element of leading a successful change initiative.
(4) Individual and collective capacity for change
There is a point beyond which individuals and organisations just cannot change - even if they want to. This is yet another often over-looked factor. It is assumed that given enough information and support just about anything is possible. In theory it may be - in strategic reviews and planning exercises - but in practise it isn't.
There are very real limits as to how far and how fast people and organisations can change. In very simple terms those limits are to do with the degree and level of individual and organisational evolution. There is an evolutionary path of progression that we all follow as our awareness and capabilities expand in response to increasingly complex changes in our external environment.
So to take a simple example, an individual cannot jump from childhood to adult maturity in one step and without evolving through all of the intervening stages of development. To make practical use of this understanding it is necessary to have a cognitive map and simple tools of analysis to facilitate our understanding of this.
In a change leadership and management context, this can be cultural mapping and analysis and also the selective use of a range of maturity models. For example, this could include project, programme and change management maturity models
(5) Acceptance of the limitations of change
One final dimension that is rarely, if ever, discussed in dealing with resistance to change, is that however well a change initiative is prepared and delivered, "stuff happens" - often unexpected "stuff"! The unpalatable reality is that regardless of whether we accept it or not, there are significant aspects of our personal and organisational lives that are out of our control.
In the context of an organisational change, the experience for many, many people is that change is imposed upon them, and even senior management often find that they are considerably constrained by factors totally beyond their control. All of these things are frequently very stressful and often not fully resolvable. And so the remaining necessary skill is learning to recognise and accept the limitations of the situations we find ourselves in.
As the old saying goes, we need to figure out what we can change and also what we can't change and have the sense and grace to know the difference and live with it - something that is rarely, if ever, taught in management training!
Find out more about: Dealing With Resistance to Change.
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