Resistance to Change Assignment

Resistance to Change Assignment

Resistance to Change Assignment

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Resistance to Change Resistance to change is to be expected for a number of reasons: lack of trust, vested interest in the status quo, fear of failure, loss of status or income, misunderstanding, and belief that change

CHAPTER 5 • INITIATING AND MANAGING CHANGE 63

is unnecessary or that it will not improve the situation (Yukl, 2009; Hellriegel, Jackson, & Slocum, 2007). In fact, if resistance does not surface, the change may not be significant enough.

Employees may resist change because they dislike or disapprove of the person responsible for implementing the change or they may distrust the change process. Regardless, managers continually deal with change—both the change that they themselves initiate and change initiated by the larger organization.

Resistance varies from ready acceptance to full-blown resistance. Rogers (2003) identified six responses to change:

● Innovators love change and thrive on it. ● Less radical, early adopters are still receptive to change. ● The early majority prefer the status quo, but eventually accept the change. ● The late majority are resistive, accepting change after most others have. ● Laggards dislike change and are openly antagonistic. ● Rejecters actively oppose and may even sabotage change.

The change agent should anticipate and look for resistance to change. It will be lurking somewhere, perhaps where least expected. It can be recognized in such statements as:

● We tried that before. ● It won’t work. ● No one else does it like that. ● We’ve always done it this way. ● We can’t afford it. ● We don’t have the time. ● It will cause too much commotion. ● You’ll never get it past the board. ● Let’s wait awhile. ● Every new boss wants to do something different. ● Let’s start a task force to look at it; put it on the agenda.

Expect resistance and listen carefully to who says what, when, and in what circumstances. Open resisters are easier to deal with than closet resisters. Look for nonverbal signs of resis- tance, such as poor work habits and lack of interest in the change.

Resistance prevents the unexpected. It forces the change agent to clarify information, keep in- terest level high, and establish why change is necessary. It draws attention to potential problems and encourages ideas to solve them. Resistance is a stimulant as much as it is a force to be overcome. It may even motivate the group to do better what it is doing now, so that it does not have to change.

On the other hand, resistance is not always beneficial, especially if it persists beyond the planning stage and well into the implementation phase. It can wear down supporters and redirect system energy from implementing the change to dealing with resisters. Morale can suffer.

To manage resistance, use the following guidelines:

1. Talk to those who oppose the change. Get to the root of their reasons for opposition.

2. Clarify information, and provide accurate feedback.

3. Be open to revisions but clear about what must remain.

4. Present the negative consequences of resistance (e.g., threats to organizational survival, compromised patient care).

5. Emphasize the positive consequences of the change and how the individual or group will benefit. However, do not spend too much energy on rational analysis of why the change is good and why the arguments against it do not hold up. People’s resistance frequently flows from feelings that are not rational.

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