Overcoming — NOT Being Overcome By — Resistance

Frequently, leaders are confronted with obstinate employees, co-workers, and sometimes bosses. Employee turnover occurs when people don't want to get on board. The average cost of recruiting, hiring, and training new employees are continuing to increase, and the costs of quality production and customer service, likewise, increase with resistance to change. What can we do to reduce the resistance and increase the support for changes?

Explain "why". When confronted with doing the unfamiliar, adults usually believe they have a right to know the reason for such changes. Modern employees want to be partners, not just subservient doers. They seek to understand. When you explain the reasons for the change, you will gain more support.

Involve employees in developing implementation plans. As the Chinese proverb states, "The mark of a good leader is when the people say, after the job is finished, 'We did it ourselves'"

Be willing to alter plans. More often than not, plans for effecting change require adjustment. Always approach a project with this in mind. Avoid resisting it; embrace the opportunities to improve and let the project emerge. This allows you to open the it up to new possibilities and will allow others to influence the process, as well as the results.

Track and report progress. Good project management requires tracking progress and then sharing the news (both good and bad) with all of those involved. Seeing the status and benchmarks of change will help those working to focus on the mission and to achieve desired results.

CommunicateÐInternally and Externally. Rarely does anyone say during a period of change…"Wow! I've got too much of the right information, in the form that meant the most to me…It was delivered at the right time and by the best person in the organization…And, to top it all, my ideas are sincerely being heard and considered…" During times of change, it is crucial to ask often, listen well, and communicate thoroughly. Resistance is a source of evaluation. Never dismiss it outright; look for value in other's perspectives.

Seek to understand where resistance may occur and develop strategies to deal with it. Everyone who has tried to make some change in his or her life has most likely encountered resistance. Not making the change proves there was some factor of resistance. Identify the reason for the resistance and address it. For instance, if you have the desire to sleep rather than go to the health club, you can switch your workout time to the evening. If you've tried to diet but can't, you might try eliminating certain "bad foods". The same is true in the work environment. Identify the cause(s) for resistance, and address the underlying beliefs or values. Modify the initial expectations.

Reward acceptance. When change targets and participants move to a state of acceptance, always acknowledge them and their achievements. Don't take them for granted. Rewarding results is imperative.

Continually remind those affected of the benefits of the change. Knowing the benefits of the "new way" will help see the value in altering relationships, behaviors, and processes from the "old way".

Provide opportunities to learn and grow. Meet the challenges of the future. With change, comes the need to learn new skills and gain confidence. It takes time, patience, direction, support, and coaching to learn the new way of functioning and to adjust to the new relationship.

Allow resisters to exit gracefully. If a person is not able to overcome their resistance to the change, they may decide to remove themselves from the change–check out and leave. There may also be a need to remove them from the team or organization. In either case, insure a graceful departure.

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