This is one of the questions I'm asked most often -- how can leaders get people to overcome
their resistance and accept change? And that's what we're covering in this episode of Results Rule!
[Intro Music]
Author Peter Senge wrote "people don't resist change
they resist being changed." And that's mostly true but not always. Have you ever
known someone who knew that making a change would make their life better and
they still just couldn't bring themselves to do it? Well if you have, you
know that sometimes the natural resistance to change can be so strong
that people just can't take the action they know needs to be taken. At work
resistance to change shows up in a number of ways. Some of them are out
right in your face like The Argumentative. This person complains
about everything and every idea is a bad one. Others are more subtle like
The Shy Clam who keeps their mouth shut and never gives an opinion. Now this person
is frustrating because you never know exactly where they stand.
Then, there are manipulators like The Know-it-all.
This is the team member who tries to impose his or her will by sharing the
best way to accomplish the change. This one's tricky because sometimes this
person can be legitimately trying to help and other times they're just trying
to slow down or derail the effort. We've identified seven different types of
resistance and you'll find detailed ideas to deal with all seven in the
Make Change Work value pack. You can find the link in the description below.
You can also find the link to the episode we did on Getting Buy-in for Change in the
description. That's a great resource for general ideas for getting employees
to accept change. But for now, we'll zero in on the most difficult type of acceptance --
the one that shows up as resistance.
Let's start with what you shouldn't do or, at least initially, and that's show your frustration or get angry. But, that's
what you want to do isn't it? I mean after all they push you and you want to push back.
You're the leader. That's your right -- right? Well, yes it is your right,
but the best it will get you is malicious obedience, and that's not
the commitment that you want to make the change work. The even bigger problem with
pushing back is that you can't really be sure how the resisters will respond.
They might increase their resistance or, they might go underground with it and do just
the minimum to keep you from realizing that they're resisting. In some cases
they'll even go guerrilla, and this could be out front aggression or it could be
that subtle sabotage. Either way these folks are actively working to undermine
your success. My guess is that at some point you've tried some or, even all, of
these approaches for dealing with resistance and getting people to accept change.
You've reasoned with them and explained
all the good business reasons why the change makes sense.
They might listen. They might even agree with you,
but then they counter with something for which
there's really no good response.
You bargained with them and offered them something for their support. In essence saying, if you support this or at least
don't openly resist it, I'll give you something else.
Bargaining can buy you the support you need from that person or group, but the
potential for negative reaction is huge if word gets out that you're bargaining
over support. You've tried to manipulate them by managing their circumstances so
that the resisters have no choice but to stay neutral or even support the change.
This is a high-stakes game that will result in even greater resistance and
long-term mistrust not if, but when, it's discovered. Or maybe you've ignored them
and directed your energy toward the vast majority who support the change in hopes
that the resisters go away. The problem is many resisters respond to
being ignored by talking louder. There's one thing that
no one ever tells you about dealing with resistance in getting people to accept change.
Stop pushing back.
Here's the most important question you can ask: Do the people who work with you want to do a
good job for your customers or not? I've asked that question over 500 times, and
the response is always the same. Your team or, at least the vast majority of them,
wants to do a good job and help the company succeed. And if that's true,
that means every piece of resistance represents a legitimate fear or a
legitimate concern. And why wouldn't you want to know that so it can be addressed?
Resistance is your friend. You don't have to celebrate or throw a party for it, but
you should embrace the idea that it's natural. If there's no resistance there
is no change. Rather than push back or manipulate or even ignore the goal is to
pull the resisters into a discussion where you listen to their concerns and
then pivot by asking them for their ideas on how to prevent or overcome them.
There still might be a few times when you have to give direction to move on.
But using resistance as your friend earns you the credibility to be viewed
as a leader who's trying to involve people in change that affects them.
Well, that's it for this episode.
Most people will accept change if you work to get their buy-in. For those difficult cases, and those are the ones
you really worry about isn't it? The answer is to use resistance as your friend.
Pull don't push.
Next time we'll talk about the characteristics of a great company culture.
Make sure that you hit the subscribe button and the bell to never miss an episode of Results Rule!
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And remember, the heroes in every marketplace are known by their results.
We'll see you next time