Handling Resistance In Change Management
Friday, September 3rd, 2010Anxiety, reluctance and fear – these are the three things that people immediately feel the moment they hear change management. Therefore, change management should not be taken lightly by either management or the people involved. The biggest challenge of change management is overcoming resistance, especially in already comfortable organizations that have worked for many years and want to continue working as they are regardless of change.
Most of the problems in change management are related with resistance. Because even when the change is for something wonderful and to the advantage of the employees and the company as a whole, there will always be a certain level of resistance and there will always be questions about the motives behind the change.
Resistance can take a lot of forms – from a direct or indirect challenge, to lack of action, even to open hostility. In order to effectively battle resistance, you first have to understand where the resistance is coming from and why. In order to properly handle resistance in the workplace, there are certain techniques that might help. So if you are planning to invite everyone at the conference room for coffee and ask them to open up to you and explain why they think the change is unnecessary and a waste of time, you might want to reconsider.
One way to evade resistance is by making sure that the change management is applied correctly right from the start. Although resistance is a normal human reaction, it is no excuse to let resistance hinder the change. Simply put, if you do change management right the first time, you can prevent much of the resistance from ever occurring.
Another tip is to expect resistance. Regardless if the change solves a pressing problem that has been bothering the employees or the company for years, resistance to change will always be there. Perhaps because employees do not want to give up their comfortable lives prior the change or they fear being in an unknown future state. But if at the beginning you expect some resistance, your change management teams will be able to prepare strategies to address and minimize the conflict.
But the ultimate key in handling resistance is to address it formally. Managing resistance should not only be considered as a reactive scheme for change management. It should also be seen as a chance for change management heads to formulate proactive steps to handle and minimize resistance. When resistance is formally addressed, you will be assured that it is understood and dealt with as long as it is in effect. By formally addressing resistance, one will be able to transform it from a mere reactive reflex into a more effective tool for gathering support and addressing objections.
Find out more about change management and the application of learning management system as delivery medium.
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