Managing Resistance to Change

Resistance is a normal part of the change process; you can't get around it. The secrets to managing it, say TEC speakers Del Poling and Joni Daniels, lie in knowing what to expect, identifying the various kinds of resistance and putting plans into place to deal with them. First, however, it helps to understand why people resist in the first place.
According to our experts, people resist change for many reasons, including:
Not involved in planning the change. In most change scenarios, senior management spends weeks or even months planning the change. This allows them to mentally work through the change and get used to the new before discarding the old. Front-line employees don't have that luxury. Instead of helping to create the change, it happens to them, which causes feelings of powerlessness and loss of control.
Personal disruption. Change makes people angry because it contradicts their perceptions and expectations of the way the world should be. When those expectations are deeply held, people resist change even when it is positive and/or they know resistance is futile.
Not understanding the benefits. CEOs usually do a good job of communicating what needs to change. However, they often fall short when communicating how the change will benefit those it impacts. When people don't understand what's in it for them, they resist.
Disagreeing with the change. Many times, employees simply disagree with the need to change and/or the nature of the change.
Fear of the unknown. Change takes people out of their comfort zones. Most people have to be dragged out of their comfort zones kicking and screaming. This is especially true when they feel they don't have enough information about the change to understand their roles and what the organization expects of them.
Dependency, Fear and Grousing
Although people resist change in many ways, Poling identifies three specific types of resistance as the primary culprits in torpedoing change initiatives:
Dependency. Employees who exhibit passive dependency sit around and wait for people to tell them what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. They refuse to take any initiative and expect management to solve all their problems. Employees who engage in active dependency refuse to accept responsibility (denial) and project it onto others (blame). Either form of dependency can kill a change initiative in a hurry.
Counter-dependency. Counter-dependent employees refuse to follow rules and procedures even when they make sense for everyone involved (i.e., the programmer who refuses to document his work just because he doesn't like to). Full of defiance, counter-dependent employees resist on the stubborn and immature principle that, "Nobody is going to tell me what to do!"
Fear. When people get scared, they resist. Your job, says Poling, is to help them get "unscared" by providing plenty of information about what will happen and when and how it will affect them.
To manage dependent and counter-dependent behavior, suggests Poling, simply confront the employee, explain that those kinds of behaviors are not acceptable in your organization and try to get them to grow up. This may require some coaching and plenty of positive reinforcement for engaging in adult behaviors (such as accepting responsibility for their actions). If they refuse, however, let them act like a four-year old in someone else's company. Managing fear, which manifests itself less obviously through grumbling, griping and grousing, requires a different approach.
"Any time you ask people to change, they will complain," explains Poling. "In fact, griping and grousing are good signs because it means your employees care about what is happening. So don't try to eliminate all grousing. Instead, manage it and use it to learn what is going on at lower levels in the organization.
"Start by reassuring people that they have some control over their destiny. Let them know that you have charted a firm course and their captain has a firm hand on the helm. Reassure them that they will have some input into how the change will affect their individual jobs. When necessary, provide additional training and education in order to reduce their fear."
Poling also recommends conducting "grousing management sessions" -- regular meetings that allow employees to voice complaints and concerns related to the change effort.
At least once a month, convene your people in groups of eight to 10 (no more than 10 or the grousing gets unmanageable) . Provide lunch and let people know in advance they will have an opportunity to express their concerns.
Start the session by asking employees, "How's it going?" Let them air their gripes for 20 minutes or so. Then ask, "Where are we making headway?" This subtly shifts the focus of the session from the negative to the positive.
After employees have voiced their complaints, bring them back to reality. Review why the change is necessary and why things will get better as the change effort progresses. When appropriate, tell them what actions you will take to address the issues they have raised. Conclude the session by publicly recognizing people for helping to move the change initiative forward.
Have a senior manager facilitate each session to keep it solution-oriented rather than problem-oriented.
"People often have legitimate concerns that you haven't thought of," notes Poling. "In that respect, grousing sessions can uncover some very useful data. When you discover something of real concern, problem-solve the issue as quickly as possible. Otherwise, simply allowing people to verbalize their gripes will go a long way toward defusing their resistance."
Before undertaking any major change initiative, Poling recommends asking:
What kind of resistance do we anticipate?
Do we understand normal "grousing?"
What plans are in place to deal with the resistance?
Are we prepared to deal with people who will sabotage this change?
How can we deal with them productively?
How do we help our people become "unscared" about the change?
Honoring Resistance
When first hit with change, says Daniels, people tend to react in predictable ways. They:
Feel awkward, ill at ease and self-conscious
Think first about what they have to give up
Feel alone, even if everyone else is going through the change
Become very self-focused
Fear that they don't have enough resources
Rarely, however, do people openly express these feelings. Many can't even identify their feelings. Instead, their resistance manifests itself indirectly, through behaviors such as:
Avoiding responsibility for doing the things necessary to implement the transition
Attacking the change
Compliance (I'll do it, but....)
Changing the subject
Silence (does not equal agreement and commitment)
Wanting management to make all the decisions and solve all the problems
To combat these change-killing behaviors, Daniels offers the following strategies:
Learn to honor resistance. Encourage it. Get in front of your people and say, "Okay, you know what's going on better than I do. Tell me why you think this change won't work." Then list all their reasons on a flip chart and say, "Thanks for your feedback. We need to know these things in order to move forward. Now, how are we going to jump these hurdles?""The goal here is two-fold," explains Daniels. "One, you want to get all their concerns out on the table so you can manage them. Two, acknowledging that people have a right to question the change gives them a feeling of empowerment, which they need to start moving forward. If you castigate people for resisting, you only increase their resistance."
Don't personalize the resistance. Resistance to change is rarely personal. During change, people focus on themselves and what they are losing. Their resistance has nothing to do with your abilities as a leader and everything to do with what the change means to them as individuals.
Identify the available resources. During major change efforts, people tend to hoard resources rather than share them. To prevent this subtle but powerful form of resistance, reassure people that they will have the resources needed to get through the change.
"People can get very creative in sharing resources, but you have to draw that creativity out of them," notes Daniels. "When people feel stressed, as they often do during transition, they become more rigid, not more flexible. Your job is to help them relax, step back and carefully assess the situation before coming to the conclusion that they don't have enough resources."
Manage according to the change phase. During the endings phase, people tend to hold on to the old and see the new as overwhelmingly negative. At this point, providing information, building awareness of the positive aspects and helping people resolve conflicts will minimize their resistance and allow them to move forward. During the neutral zone, people begin to accept the fact that -- like it or not -- the change will happen. They start to explore the process and look at the possible advantages if they cooperate. Your job is to help them with exploration, continue the problem solving and support them in goal-setting.
In the beginnings phase, the majority of people have reached commitment and have embraced the future state as the new reality. However, you will likely still encounter some resistance. To minimize resistance in this phase, publicly praise the progress people have made so far and emphasize the advantages of reaching the promised land. Become a "change cheerleader" who waves the flag for people to rally around and aim for.
Recognize your personal advantage. You have a major advantage over your people because you have already worked through the change and your own resistance to it. By the time you announce the change, you're ready to jump right into implementation yet your people are hearing about it for the first time. Don't expect people to move at the same pace as you.
"It's easy to get frustrated because everyone else is just starting the change and you have mentally completed it," points out Daniels. "But think about how long it took you to get through the change even though you had all the information and helped to plan it. Your front-line people haven't had weeks or months to think about, absorb and prepare for the change. Slow down and give them a chance to catch up. Otherwise you will only add to their resistance."
Keep pushing. Gently but firmly keep your people focused on the future. If you take the pressure off, they will revert back to their old behavior. People tend to gravitate to the status quo because it feels comfortable. Even after they have accomplished the change they will revert back to their comfort zones unless you keep pushing forward.
Ultimately, managing resistance often comes down to what Daniels calls the "three C's":
Carry people who don't want to make the change.
Coach people to deal with the change.
Can (fire) those who refuse to make the change.
"All three represent legitimate responses to resistance," says Daniels. "In a perfect world, you would coach everyone. In the real world, however, you may not have the time, energy, resources or coaching skills to help everyone in the manner you would like. And carrying people who refuse to make the change can cause serious rifts in your workforce. Termination should always be a last resort, but don't hesitate to use it when appropriate. If you must fire people, do so in a timely but humane manner.
"The difference between managing change well and managing it poorly often depends upon how well you plan for and manage the resistance. By understanding that it is a natural part of the process and taking it into account every step of the way, you will dramatically improve your chances for success."