Embedding adaptability into the natural processes of the organization will be largely dependent on also embedding a change mindset into the organization’s core values and DNA. In this section, we further explore the change mindset through the elements of systems thinking, resilience, grit as well as a revisit of change resistance.
McKinsey & Company (Keller and Schaninger) (2019) made the point that “the need to shift mind-sets is the biggest block to successful transformations. The key lies in making the shift both individual and institutional—at the same time.”
In human systems, they help to achieve the same effect as the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly or a tadpole into a frog: when employees become open to new ways of looking at what’s possible for them and their organization, they can never return to a state of not having that broader perspective, just as butterflies and frogs can’t revert to their previous physical forms. To achieve such a metamorphosis, leaders must first identify the limiting mind-sets, then reframe them appropriately, and finally make sure that employees don’t revert to earlier forms of behavior.
Hamel and Prahalad also noted a wider truth about organizational life—namely, that mind-sets ingrained by past management practices remain ingrained far beyond the existence of the practices that formed them, even when new management practices have been put in place.
These often lead to “root-cause” mindsets. The key is to reframe these beliefs and expand the range of reasonable behavioral choices employees can make, day in and day out.
There is also the need to reshape the work environment (Keller and Schaninger 2019):
Victor Frankl summed up, in a compelling way, the full picture of what it takes to achieve caterpillar-to-butterfly-like personal change when he wrote: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.” We find it helpful to use a shorthand version of Frankl’s idea: S (stimulus) + T (how you choose to think about the stimulus) = R (response).
The S in this equation is vital for the aforementioned work on the T to fully take hold: the work environment is a particularly powerful shaper of employee mind-sets and behavior, albeit a relatively slow-acting one.
When it comes to changing the stimulus (the S)—the work environment—employees are exposed to, we find that the four levers in McKinsey’s “influence model” offer the most practical and proven guide (below). Research and experience demonstrate that changes in thinking and behaving will be significant and sustained if leaders and employees see clear communications and rituals (the understanding and conviction lever); if supporting incentives, structures, processes, and systems are in place (the formal-mechanisms lever); if training and development opportunities are combined with sound talent decisions (the confidence and skills lever); and if senior leaders and influence leaders allow others to take their cues from the leaders’ own behavior (the role-modeling lever).
These elements will help embed the change mindset within teams and organizations. It is important to remember that the change mindset needs to be embodied throughout the organization. A strategy for an organizational leader can be to begin the socialization and adoption of a change mindset first with middle management at large. Suffice it to say, if middle management adopts the levers mentioned above, then the role-modeling behavior will have a multiplier effect throughout the organization, thereby reducing time between the stimulus added and the response expected. For example, if considerable time and attention is given by a CEO in sharing, transferring, and encouraging a change mindset among the senior team, then the senior team is more likely to adopt the change mindset and pass it on throughout the organization. A leader who edicts change without bringing managers “on board” with the change is likely to be limitedly successful in encouraging a mindset shift. As previously discussed, transparency and continuous reminders of the reason and method of change (the formal-mechanisms lever) will give the organization the greatest chance of long-term change that “sticks.”
Source: McKinsey & Company (2019)
Westover (2020) noted that in essence, good organizational change and development require a systems-thinking mindset and an interdisciplinary, holistic approach to tackling complex organizational challenges.
Six Themes of Systems Thinking
Although systems thinking may be considered a talent, there is a lot of supportive theory and a stack of tools to use when applying it. Leyla Acaroglu, a systems-thinking educator, points out six key elements to creating a systems thinking mindset: (1) interconnectedness, (2) synthesis, (3) emergence, (4) feedback loops, (5) causality, and (6) systems mapping.
Interconnectedness and synthesis relate to the dynamic relationships between various parts of a whole, the process of obtaining expected synergies between parts of the company. This includes the idea of circularity, which stresses the requirement of a mindset shift from linear to circular. Similarly, the concept of emergence relates to the outcomes of synergies that can come about as the elements of a system interact with each other in nonlinear ways. In the workplace, this often takes the form of the push and pull that happens due to organizational politics and competing priorities. Organizational leaders with a systems-thinking mindset will see this as an opportunity for enhanced collaborations and innovation.
Balancing and reinforcing feedback loops within an organization serve as guidance for making adjustments as we learn more about the interconnectedness of the elements of the system and their outcomes. Additionally, causality refers to the flows of influence between the many interconnected parts within a system. As we better understand the casualty and directionality of these elements, we will have an improved perspective on the many fundamental parts of the system, including relationships and feedback loops. In the workplace, a skilled systems-thinking leader will ensure that mechanisms for multiple feedback loops are established and effectively communicated to their employees. Furthermore, they will understand correlation versus causation as they use the data gathered from the feedback loops to enhance workplace practices.
Finally, systems mapping is a tool that systems thinkers can use to identify and visually map out the many interrelated elements of a complex system, which will help them “develop interventions, shifts, or policy decisions that will dramatically change the system in the most effective way,” as Acaroglu explains it. By visually laying out the key inputs and outputs, all of the stakeholders and the directions of the flows of information and influence, you can visually start to see and more deeply understand the nonlinear complexity of the given system, which can help you make appropriate adjustments to workplace policy, practice, and associated systems in your organization.
Contemporary businesses operate in ecosystems full of interconnectedness and constant feedback loops. Mapping such complex systems helps organizational leaders navigate into adaptive strategies. The ultimate gain is the ability of organizations to be responsive to the changes in ecosystems and to be prepared to fine-tune and adapt parts of their organization on the fly. With this understanding, systems thinking provides clear benefits to organizations. It helps in framing complex problems, which are often being misdiagnosed when using linear thinking. It shows alternative directions for improvement with respect to the company’s inner and outer connections. It gives a significant advantage in increasing the organization’s capacity for change and, as a consequence, to fulfill the vision of business sustainability. Although it requires some talent and a deeper understanding of complexity and ambiguity, systems thinking can be successfully introduced and utilized to strengthen organizations.
Resilience
Resilience is the ability to bounce back from a difficult challenge or from a less than positive experience. Resilience allows employees and the organization to face a problem or challenge, overcome it, become more confident, adaptable, and wiser from the associated learnings. Because change is so engrained in this “speed of now” environment, leaders need to find ways to embed resilience in the organization.
This starts with awareness. Leaders need to be aware of how the organization and staff typically respond to change. Insights (n.d.) notes that most staff handle many relatively small changes on a daily basis and manage to keep making it through their days relatively unscathed; but if leaders stop to pay attention, they will notice that all these changes have an impact on staff. We may also notice that change impacts staff members differently.
For some people change is an energizer, a motivator; in fact, these people may seek out change and appear to thrive on change. For other people, it is just the opposite, and change is experienced as exhausting and demotivating, something to put up with and be endured.
Knowing how change affects the organization and staff can help determine the change strategies that will allow the organization to be resilient in the face of the often constant changes we face.
Proctor (2020) notes:
The real value of resilience for organizations lies in the ability to successfully implement business imperatives. Most change projects fail because the people involved are just not resilient enough to deal with the perpetual change loading—where change projects continue to be undertaken without any assessment of whether the change capacity exists to deliver them successfully in the organization. And our research continues to tell us that people are feeling overwhelmed by change—in fact, even before recent levels of disruption 48% of people felt their own organization was facing too much change.
Proctor (2020) offers seven key characteristics of resilient people (see the figure below):
1. Optimistic: Resilient people believe that change will have a positive outlook. They are able to analyze even an apparently dire situation in a way that gives them hope for the future.
2. Self-assured: Resilient people have a strong but realistic belief in their own capabilities. As a result, they tend to control change, rather than the change controlling them.
3. Focused: Resilient people have the focus needed to be able to prioritize activities effectively. They can pursue goals successfully, even in the face of adversity.
4. Open to ideas: Resilient people have an open mind to different tactics and strategies. They tend to be good at generating alternative approaches and solutions to match the changing situation.
5. Seek support: Resilient people actively seek the support of others during times of change. They look for opportunities to involve the skills and experience of other people as well as their own.
6. Structured: Resilient people are able to analyze the situation and create an effective plan to implement change, with enough flexibility built in to cope with the shifting situation.
7. Proactive: Resilient people are prepared to step out into the “unknown” and take the action necessary to make change.
Akins (2020) notes: “Resilience is the ability to adapt well in the face of threat, adversity or significant stress. A critical survival element to assimilate to ongoing change, resilience allows oneself to bounce back after hardship.”
In the face of fluctuating regulations, disruptive competitors, and emergent client requirements, learning professionals and people leaders can employ five strategies to build resilience:
1. Steward your mind and emotions
Change is a journey to a place you and your peers have never been before. This is risky business. Rather than moving straight from current state to goal state, the path of change curves with emotional dips, including fear and anger, as employees leave the status quo behind for the great unknown. People often take change personally. Fueling this emotional dip, per the NeuroLeadership Institute, is a sense of social threat—fear of how the change will impact oneself and their interactions with others. In today’s age of blurred lines between life and work, employees take into further consideration how professional changes will affect their personal life and choices, thereby increasing the feeling of threat to the status quo on both planes. Without a growth mindset, new and uncharted paths increase that sense of threat.
Take for example the omnipresent dialogue in most workplaces in 2021—to telecommute or to return to the traditional office, in part or in whole. This discussion has hit a crescendo like never before and, given its change implications, has caused due and undue stress to employees who feel this is as much an infringement of personal choices as it is of the workplace. As previously discussed, our world has blurred the lines between the personal and the professional. The flexibility that comes from “working from home”—be it perceived or real—speaks to the core of why change going forward is likely to almost always strike to a personal emotional point for employees and leaders alike.
The growth mindset, characterized by Dr. Carol Dweck as a bent toward true learning, includes a willingness to embrace challenge and persist through adversity—qualities essential for successfully navigating change. As you travel through the change curve, allow for progress rather than perfection. Individuals with growth mindsets stretch themselves, accept feedback, and take the long view. An openness to hard work, risk, and even the prospect of failure provide foundational aspects for cultivating change resilience. Developing these traits take time within a team and organization at large. For example, an organization with a previous leader who was not open to failure and learning will struggle with a new leader eager to take the fail and learn approach to growth. Even when expressly stated by leadership as a preferred new way to work, most employees will take time to trust that failure will be embraced as a means of constant improvement. Endemic to this, once again, is the reality today that work and life are deeply intertwined. What was previously only a risk on the professional front is not a risk to both profession and personal life.
To develop a growth mindset, become aware of the personal narrative in your head. If you notice that you quickly approach problems with fixed answers or solutions, open yourself up to alternatives. During times of challenge, speak statements that make room for growth. For example, if a new opportunity is bungled, rather than remarking, “Wow, that was really bad,” try saying, “Guess I am not there quite yet. I need more practice.” Allowing for growth relieves pressure and enables you to set appropriate expectations. Repetition and constant reinforcement of this new mindset is key as employees might see this as only incidental or part of the beginning of change, reverting to their old behaviors. While at times it may seem to a leader as overkill, providing constant, predictable, and continuous reinforcement of the new mindset will provide a sense of stability amid a lot of change.
Through their words and actions, leaders either communicate a sense of hope for the future or foster stress and fear. The most effective leaders of change develop their emotional intelligence in order to leverage the power of positivity as they move their people through change. Emotions are contagious, so be careful what you spread. Similarly, consider multiple vehicles of communication. In a hybrid work environment, relying solely on communicating in-person might at first seem more personal and emotionally open, but it does not take account of modern methods of communication. The modern leader will communicate with employees and middle management by embracing in-person, e-mail, social, and corporate online networks as a multiprong means of communicating while also adding personal opportunities for connection outside of work. While this may seem all encompassing and at times overwhelming to leadership, it is quickly becoming a staple of leadership in C-suite board rooms.
2. Exert agency by taking action
Agency, as defined by the social sciences, is the capacity of individuals to act independently and make their own choices. Taking self-directed action, or exerting agency, can lower one’s threat meter.
When experiencing change, start by asking yourself what you can control in the present situation. For example, in the case of a reorganization, you might familiarize yourself with new org charts, meet your new boss, and discover their vision, recall how your personal strengths have served you through past changes and tailor your experience to align with the new environment.
Even in situations where you have little or no control, you can find actions that move you toward small wins. At the very least, determine to control your response to change by beginning with your attitude. Do you need to come to terms with the change by practicing acceptance? Aim to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Comfortable is nice, but it’s not a necessity.
As a learning leader, help employees exert their agency by giving them opportunities to weigh in on strategies for managing the change at hand. Give team members options when possible and invite them to think creatively and take ownership of the change journey. Once again, repetition and modeled behavior is the key here. One of declarations or invitations for input followed by little to no additional invitations will open a leader up to questions of resolve and throughput. By taking action on a continuous basis, you are able to reinforce the change as the newly adapted normal.
3. Clarify the why and create a way
Understanding the why behind a change helps secure a sense of purpose and set a shared strategy. It is important to know the organizational rationale for change and be able to share it with your team. On a personal level, discover how the organizational “why” aligns with your personal why—your vision, values, and purpose. This enables you to honor yourself and your principles in a world of change. In this speed of now world, employees not only consume information around the “why” at a rapid pace, they are also able to compare and contrast change initiatives with their personal and professional networks outside your organization. As such, a competitive advantage to have is to be able to gain the confidence of your employees by being transparent about the “why.” At the same time, a distinction should be made in your mind about how you explain the “why”; this does not need to be a justification of your decision process. Rather, it is meant to be a rationale for how the changes will benefit the business, and thus “why” the changes are taking place.
Beyond why, you need a way. The way is not a detailed how-to but a broad overview of where you are heading and how you plan to get there. The Heath brothers call this a “destination postcard.” You don’t need to know all the turns, but you do need to know you are going to California—not New York or Chicago. As a learning leader, this means identifying the most important actions while leaving room to work through the details later. Having a sense of where you are going and why you are moving in that direction combats concerns that escalate change fatigue. In the absence of explaining the way in which you are achieving this and the why, employees and middle management will be left to fill in the blanks of rationale on their own. This is likely to contribute to erroneous and at worst, false narratives for your presumptively well thought out direction.
By way of illustration, as part of a global training project sponsored by the Department of State, a group of international government and nongovernmental organization (NGO) leaders from a developing country worked together with experts in the United States to expand their understanding of governance, transparency, and citizen participation. The intent was that, upon their return home, these leaders would further develop these capacities in their country. Trust between government and the new NGO entity was fledgling, so they began to identify the rationale for working together that made sense to both groups, illustrating the value of NGO work and the benefit of government partnership. The U.S. team provided guiding principles like collaboration, minimal force, and checks and balances. Then they identified some critical actions to get them on their way. With access to local programs, the global leaders saw firsthand how police, the legal system, and nonprofits collaborate to address issues such as domestic violence.
A year after the project, the team learned that a training program for an entire division of their federal police force was rewritten to implement these principles in the participants’ home country. This solution could not have been prescribed initially. By clarifying the why and creating a way that provided a general direction and identified critical moves, the international leaders could do the rest.
4. Coach by leaning in
Reframe resistance. Resistance—the refusal to accept or comply with someone or something—is normal, and it is not necessarily negative. It indicates that people need more time, information, or support to process the change. That is where your role as coach comes in. Rather than trying to avoid or squelch resistance, leaders who foster change resilience lean in and investigate the reasons for resistance. The primary mode for investigating the source and reasoning for the resistance should be to listen and complete a thorough intake. Presumptions in resistance situations create more issues and make it difficult to bring everyone “onboard” with change.
Consider your reaction when a team member expresses uncertainty or a lack of support to change. Are you quick to defend, or do you explore their reluctance? Often, what looks like resistance is an expression of concern rising from their commitment. In order to coach your team through the change, you must first understand where they are coming from.
Ask more questions and make fewer statements. Have transparent, one-on-one conversations. Be curious and adopt an attitude of openness—contributing to a sense of equity. As The Change Lab recommends, ask employees about their best experiences with the change at hand, collect their ideas of what success looks like, and gather suggestions on how this might be actualized.
5. Create a culture of caring
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, create a culture of caring. What is the biggest drain on resilience at work? A Harvard Business Review article reported that 75 percent of the British employees surveyed feel the biggest workplace drain is not the speed of change but managing difficult workplace relationships and politics.
Similarly, research by Dr. Rebecca Erickson demonstrates that the emotional context of the workplace correlates with burnout. Employees working in environments with low trust and high levels of agitation, frustration, and futility report stress levels and burnout rates nearly three times higher than employees who work in positive emotional environments. Positive, stable emotional work environments serve as an inoculation against burnout caused by workplace stress.
To foster change resilience, create a space where it is safe to voice opinions, share ideas, and make mistakes. Practically speaking, one of the most powerful things you can do for your team is create personal connections and a psychologically safe work environment. A culture of caring that says, “We are in this together,” strengthens change resilience in yourself and among others. Ask the magic question: “What do you need and how can I help?” Become intentional about investing in relationships with your coworkers.
The speed of change continues to accelerate, but it is the quality of change leadership that drains or sustains. By employing the aforementioned five strategies, leaders can foster the ability to bounce back from change quickly, implement change readily, and sustain ongoing resilience continually.
Building a resilient workforce will provide the organization with the tools needed to move forward in today’s changing landscape. This will not only increase organization’s readiness for change and productivity but will also increase innovation and creativity as well.
Leaders of resilient organizations do not allow their employees to get distracted by the stress or tension in times of change. They realistically acknowledge the challenging conditions, learn from mistakes, and find creative ways to overcome. Resilient leaders know that success in business is never assured and failure is never final.
Grit
Perlis (2013) notes that grit, in the context of behavior, is defined as “firmness of character; indomitable spirit.” Duckworth, based on her studies, tweaked this definition to be “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.”
Perlis states that while a key component of grit is resilience, resilience is the powering mechanism that draws your head up, moves you forward, and helps you persevere despite whatever obstacles you face along the way.
Duckworth (2016) also notes: “Grit is having stamina,” she continues. “Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality.”
Grit is important because it is a driver of achievement and success, independent of and beyond what talent and intelligence contribute. Being naturally smart and talented are great, but to truly do well and thrive, we need the ability to persevere. Without grit, talent may be nothing more than unmet potential. It is only with effort that talent becomes a skill that leads to success (Duckworth 2016).
She offers five common characteristics of grit:
When you think of courage, you may think of physical bravery, but there are many other forms of courage. After all, courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. Examples of courage include taking a chance when others will not; following your vision, no matter where it takes you; standing up for what you believe in, especially when your beliefs are unpopular; or simply doing the right thing even though easier options exist. The qualities of courageous people include patience, the ability to believe the unbelievable, and the guts to say “no.” They are not afraid of taking an unpopular stand, nor of asking for help. They are able to forgive and move on quickly but also to stay the course when everyone else has abandoned ship.
2. Conscientiousness
Conscientiousness is defined as the personality trait of being thorough, careful, or vigilant. Conscientiousness implies a desire to do a task well and conscientious people are efficient and organized, not resting until the job is done and done right. Generally, the conscientious have strong moral principles and values: they want to do the right thing and opinions and beliefs on any subject are rarely held lightly. They also tend to be perfectionists who like to do everything “the right way.” In addition, the conscientious person is dedicated to work and is capable of intense, single-minded effort. They like the appearance of orderliness and tidiness and are good organizers, catalogers, and list makers. Finally, conscientious people stick to their convictions and opinions—opposition only serves to strengthen their dogged determination.
3. Perseverance
“If you are going through hell, keep going,” Winston Churchill famously said. Indeed, to many people, perseverance is synonymous with pain and suffering but those with true grit are able to flip their perspective on perseverance 180 degrees and view struggle as a doorway to pleasure. Essentially, to persevere means to start and continue steadfastly on the path toward any goal you set and frequently this factor alone is the difference between failure and success. However, one of the distinctions between someone who succeeds and someone who is just spending a lot of time doing something is this: practice must have purpose. That’s where long-term goals come in. They provide the context and framework in which to find the meaning and value of your long-term efforts, which helps cultivate drive, sustainability, passion, courage, stamina, and grit.
4. Resilience
In one word, resilience is “toughness”—the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. In general, those who are extremely optimistic tend to show greater resilience. They approach life with a sense of humor, are able to laugh at themselves, and to reframe situations and experiences to see a lighter side. Resilient people also tend to have a strong moral compass or set of beliefs that cannot be shattered. They don’t compare themselves to others, knowing instead that they are their own yardstick of success. They also see difficulties as stepping stones to transformation. Finally, they do not try to control their lives. Instead, they cultivate self-awareness and practice mindfulness. They surrender themselves to life’s ups and downs and adjust their attitudes and goals according to the size of the wave they are currently riding.
5. Passion
Passion creates excellence when mediocrity will do. Passionate people have a deep sense of purpose and are often selfless in their actions. They also know themselves—they have a clear sense of their values and beliefs, and they live by them. They generally accept themselves as imperfect and growing, seeing life as a series of choices and options. They are driven by goals and are result-oriented. They don’t let anything stop them—they have a “will to find a way” attitude and don’t accept “no” for an answer. By the same token, they are also enthusiastic about the success of others. Finally, they take responsibility for their lives but are not afraid to ask for support. Passionate people recognize that they are in the driver’s seat as they travel on their journey of life.
Grit is “sticktoitiveness”; a diligent spirit; the nagging conviction that keeps you pressing on when it’d be easier to give up. Grit is what makes you get back on the horse after you’ve been kicked off. Grit is the realization that achieving one’s greatest potential comes from running a marathon, not a sprint.
Clear (n.d.) noted that mentally tough leaders are more consistent than their peers. They have a clear goal that they work toward each day. They don’t let short-term profits, negative feedback, or hectic schedules prevent them from continuing the march toward their vision. They make a habit of building up the people around them—not just once, but over and over and over again.
Reframing Resistance
Murphy (2016) notes: “the key to successful change management is getting people to let go of the status quo and reach for something bigger and better.”
Given how infrequently employees are asked to participate in originating a change effort, it makes sense that they would evidence more pessimism about leaving the status quo than top executives. As is in most cases of good leadership, transparency and inclusion in big changes help abate much of the anxiety and concerns that come with change. In today’s world, work and life are considered heavily connected. As such, the insecurity that comes with change affects employees personally in greater ways than ever before. Smoothing out these anxieties in a planful way will position a leader for success.
If you’re going to persuade employees to leave the status quo and reach for something bigger, you need to clearly explain three things: why this change is necessary, where this change will take us, and how we’re going to get from here to there. The “why” creates a need and urgency for change and stops people from eulogizing the past (“the way we used to do it was so much better”). The “where” provides positive forward direction that turns the anxiety of “why” into excitement. And the “how” gets people comfortable with the idea that they can be successful.
Alsher (2015) offered these five “truths” about resistance to change:
Truth #1: Even when you are making a “positive change,” you will encounter resistance.
The fact that you are dealing with a “positive change” has nothing to do with the levels of resistance you will encounter. Instead, the level of resistance is directly linked to the level of disruption created by the change. Not from your Frame of Reference (FOR) but from the FOR of the individual Targets. Remember, FORs are different! What’s “positive” to one group is not necessarily positive for another. The ongoing challenge is to understand all the FORs affected by the change.
Truth #2: The greatest resistance to change is usually in the middle to upper levels of management, not from the “front lines” of the change.
Often, one of the biggest shocks to our clients is that resistance to a transformational change will be greatest in the middle to upper layers of their organization, not at the front lines of the change. While at first glance this is surprising, we have yet to find clients who don’t agree this is the case in their own organizations. The AIM (Accelerating Implementation Methodology) principle says, “you can expect the highest level of resistance from those people with the greatest interest in things remaining the same.” Who are these people? They’re the mid- to high-level management personnel. Why are they resisting? Because it’s often these individuals that have the most to “lose” in terms of power and prestige.
Truth #3: Resistance to change is cumulative
The frustrating truth is that the resistance you encounter today may be due to a change that failed several years ago. In fact, you can find that you are still dealing with resistance years after a project is supposedly complete! Whether leaders recognize it or not, your organization is always learning lessons. For example, the lesson may be “If I resist this change and continue to do my job as I have always done it, this change will go away, too.” The truth is poorly managed implementations often have a long-term, residual impact.
Truth #4: Communication alone will not eliminate resistance
The assumption is that if we just tell people about the change, and tell them more often, we will eliminate resistance. But the truth of the matter is you will never eliminate resistance by piling on logical and rational explanations for why the change will be good for people. A sound change management methodology like the Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) certainly includes communication planning, but if you take a look at the AIM roadmap, you will see that communication is only one of the 10 elements for managing organizational changes! Bottom-line: A Communication Plan is not an Implementation Plan!
Truth #5: You will never be able to eliminate resistance. Instead, you need to manage it.
You will never combat or overcome resistance to change. Sure, it’s frustrating, especially when you think your change will make things better for the people who are affected by it. But if you are looking to drive innovation or transformation into your organization, you should anticipate upfront that you are going to create high levels of disruption and consequently high levels of resistance to change.
Heathfield (2021b) stated resistance to change is the unwillingness to adapt to altered circumstances. It can be covert or overt, organized, or individual. Employees may realize they don’t like or want a change and resist publicly, and that can be very disruptive. Employees can also feel uncomfortable with the changes introduced and resist, sometimes unknowingly, through their actions, their language, and in the stories and conversations they share in the workplace.
As discussed in the previous chapters, in our current day, such publicly shared dissatisfaction will spread quickly and harm both the process and potentially the organization, whether deserved or not. With employee acquisition and retention both becoming and ever-increasing arms race, such dissatisfaction should be addressed quickly and preemptively whenever possible.
In a worst-case scenario, employees can be forceful in their refusal to adopt any changes, bringing confrontation and conflict to your organization.
Resistance to change is evident in actions such as:
• Criticism
• Nitpicking
• Snide comments or sarcastic remarks
• Missed meetings
• Failed commitments
• Endless arguments
• Sabotage
Source: www.pinterest.com/pin/1407443609558340/
Heathfield (2021b) states when employees are poorly introduced to changes that affect how they work, especially when they don’t see the need for the changes, they may be resistant. They may also experience resistance when they haven’t been involved in the decision-making process.
Resistance to change can intensify if employees feel they have been involved in a series of changes that have had insufficient support to gain the anticipated results. They also become weary when changes happen too frequently, becoming a flavor-of-the-month instead of strategic action.
Organizations are constantly evolving, which means change is inevitable. But introducing changes without consulting the people they affect, explaining the need for change, and providing support through the process will alienate your employees and drag down morale.
When a change is introduced in this environment, with a lot of discussions and employee involvement, resistance to change is minimized. Resistance is also minimized if there is a widespread belief that the changes are needed and will have a positive effect.
Nobl (n.d.) states that organizational and cultural change succeeds when:
• Change is safe to try. When someone feels threatened, they are far less likely to take risks and change how they work. Our process creates environments where change is “safe to try” both to bolster individual courage and to ensure no single change can risk harm to your overall business.
• Change is cocreated. People are far more willing to embrace change when they have had a hand in deciding and shaping the change itself. Our process invites your teams to ideate and respond to the changes required for your market.
• Change becomes a habit. It’s both cliché and accurate to say that change is the new normal for most industries. We train your teams to continually sense external forces and mount internal change programs long after we’re gone.
• Change acknowledges loss. Any change, even when it’s clearly the right change to make, triggers feelings of loss: loss of pride; loss of control; loss of narrative; loss of competence; loss of time; loss of familiarity. Our change process includes key moments to recognize and address those feelings of loss.
Tams, (2018) argue that the flaws of the traditional change management model are themselves a symptom of a larger problem. Many organizations are simply not set up for agile change. While managers are busy relentlessly communicating about the change imperative, the design of many organizations slants the playing field toward controllability, stability, routinization, risk-avoidance, zero-tolerance for error, or deference to authority. It’s like pushing the accelerator and the brakes at the same time. The result is friction, fatigue, and cynicism. If we push change onto an organization that is built for stability, nothing good will come of it. Pushing harder won’t do the trick. If, instead, we get the organization ready for change, we must worry about resistance much less.
Alsher (2015) notes that resistance is not all bad. It’s a natural part of the change process and can actually be a sign of organizational health! A good change agent will take advantage of resistance and use it as project feedback. If it is purposefully managed, resistance can increase communication, promote genuine involvement, build resiliency, and create opportunity for buy in to occur.