In the previous two weeks, we covered the first two common resistance responses to change: I can’t and I won’t. What’s left once you’ve cleared those barriers? The toughest one of all: I’m afraid.
Consider what accompanies the fear response:
- Narrowed vision
- Survival mentality
- Avoidance
It’s pretty hard to get someone to adapt when they consciously avoid it and only see a threat. And compounding the fear of change is the fear of being exposed as afraid. A conundrum for leaders. But if we know our people, fear is easy to identify: People who are generally cooperative are not moving. They look to their peers to see what they are doing first. They hesitate. Why?
1. History
If their past experience navigating change has been unsuccessful, they won’t easily move ahead.
Remedy: Find out when they have succeeded with change in the past. I like to ask, “What new skills did you learn during the pandemic? How about baking, using new spices, learning a language, or just learning to use virtual meeting technology like Zoom to connect and build relationships?” Many learned to be teachers. We all learned how to social distance. By reminding people of how they have succeeded in the past, I build their confidence to succeed again today.
2. Loss of Power
In every department, there is a person that people go to for help. They have mastered the software or dealt with all of the tough situations. When a process or technology changes, everyone has to learn something new. No one has an advantage. The “go to” person no longer has the same level of influence and that is a threat that can cause resistance through fear of loss.
Remedy: Identify the influencers early on and make them enablers. They can act as super users or change agents. Get them involved early. When the remaining employees see that their peers are jumping in and embracing change, they are more likely to do it themselves.
3. Loss of Face
The only thing worse than walking into a post is walking into a post in front of your friends. Knowing that I might try and fail in front of my peers when navigating change can be a powerful demotivator. That’s why role-plays are so unpopular.
Remedy: Normalize failure. When leaders proclaim that mistakes are expected and can be fixed, it makes it easier for individuals to take that first step and get help when they mess up. And if the future is extremely daunting, keep their attention on the first few steps that they can easily conquer. Quick wins bolster confidence and build momentum. Reward each step along the way.
I expect resistance on every project. We can’t anticipate that some will say they can’t, they won’t, or they are afraid. But knowing this I can prepare my approach to maximize the probability people will embrace change through acts of clarity, competency-building, and coaching.
If you would like to learn more about how to do this, check out the book. You’ll be dancing in no time!
Thoughtfully yours,
Jeff Skipper
