Resistance to change is often cited as one of the greatest obstacles to change. However, it doesn’t need to be. You can prevent it.
The challenge is that leaders can easily fall into traps that cause them to interpret normal responses to change as resistance. When that happens, they can unintentionally create a toxic cycle that makes change more difficult.
Here are three traps that can deceive leaders into believing their employees resist change.
Chaotic.
That was how John described the changes in his organization.
Just as he started to gain traction and feel like he was making progress, the organization appeared to switch direction or add a new change initiative that felt like it was undoing the progress he had made.
Employees could never get anything done. There was no stability.
If you’re thinking, Wait a minute. We can’t stand still. We must constantly move or we’ll stagnate. Consider this:
Communication is one of the most challenging—and essential—elements of enabling organizational change.
Every leader must determine what to communicate, to whom, and when. Yet even when those decisions are made, there is still another challenge: ensuring the intended message is actually received and interpreted as intended.
If you’ve ever said:
“He knew precisely what I meant.”
“I was perfectly clear when I told her.”
“I’m an open book.”
…only to discover your message was misunderstood, you’ve experienced what social psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson calls the transparency illusion.
What makes communication during change effective?
When I ask that question, employees and leaders consistently respond with the same qualities: consistency, accuracy, relevance, clarity, timeliness, and transparency.
The foundation for building that level of communication is your change communication strategy.
Communicating to create healthy and sustainable change involves much more than simply giving and receiving information. It is the way we interact and engage with people, interpret data, make meaning, develop understanding, and build—or, in the case of poor communication, destroy—relationships.
Communication is the thread that weaves through every aspect of your change efforts and your organization. It is reflected in what you say, what you do, and even what you don’t say or do. It is an essential element of every change.
Although communication serves many purposes throughout the change process, it has one overarching purpose:
The value of any toolkit isn’t in the tools themselves—it’s in the knowledge and judgment of the person using them.
That idea came to mind as I flipped through our new The Readiness Mindset® workbook. It’s filled with fresh insights, tools, and techniques designed to support healthy and sustainable organizational change. I’m excited to put it into the hands of our clients as we explore these approaches together.
One question we’re often asked is: Why can’t the workbook be purchased on its own?
The answer is simple. A toolkit, by itself, is not enough to help you develop and adopt a Readiness Mindset. In fact, relying too heavily on tools alone can introduce real risks to your change efforts.
Let’s explore those risks, and more importantly, what you need to build an effective organizational change toolkit.
