We often face a frustrating challenge in leadership: integrating new ways of working into the existing ones, so that the change is sustainable and all the benefits are realised. We will explore how to overcome the resistance to change and ensure that it sticks.
How many of your New Year’s Resolutions have you kept? In 2024 only one out of six Britons will have followed through with their good intentions. Saving more, spending less, getting fit and losing weight are all obvious benefits, but people struggle to maintain positive changes.
It is the same in the workplace. It is expensive to invest in change within an organization. Every year, millions of dollars are spent on new systems and operating models, as well as training and development programs. Yet, only a small percentage of the change is actually implemented.
After many years of research the 30 percent success rate is still unchanged. We now know that successful transformations can still be valuable.
Why do so many change programs fail?
We’ve collected the top reasons why organisations don’t implement change or reap the benefits.
- Leaders do not have a shared vision about what is needed and why.
- Employees who are not engaged in their work
- There is not enough emphasis on the ‘how.’
- Failure to recognize and overcome resistance
- The impact of culture on the organization’s performance
- You can overwhelm your team by bringing in too many changes at once or by rushing to implement them.
What is resistance to Change?
Employee resistance is one of the biggest obstacles to change. We are frequently asked to help a client implement a new change program or strategy that has been in the works for a while and wants to get everyone on board.
They feel that they have effectively communicated their change – through team briefings, town halls and other methods – but they are still struggling to convince teams to adopt new attitudes and behaviors.
Many reasons exist for why people resist change. People may resist change because they are uncomfortable with unknown or perceived risks. They may not agree with or misunderstand the goals of the change initiative. They may be afraid of what the change will mean for their role, or even job security. They may not trust the management team.
Like our New Year’s resolutions, resistance is often rational (I cannot afford a gym subscription; or the cost of fresh food) but is more often emotional or unconscious (I am afraid I will look out-of-place at the gym or I do not feel confident in cooking from scratch). We often leave our emotions unresolved when we’re busy juggling work and home demands.
Five steps to overcome resistance towards change
Step 1: Don’t rush through the awareness stage
Leaders often forget that, after spending months determining what changes are needed and why they were necessary, it takes only a few short hours to engage the rest of the organisation in the vision and rationale behind the change.
It may seem that a lot of communication is required to make this meaningful for all employees, customers, and the organization.
Step 2: Consider colleague experience mapping
Not all changes are created equal. Change will have a significant impact on some teams and not others.
An exercise called a colleague experience mapping puts leaders of change in the shoes and perspectives of different groups that will be affected by the change. The exercise encourages a “best possible” approach and determines different engagement strategies and concrete actions required for each group.
Step 3: Focus your attention on ‘How?’
People want to understand what a change in plan means for them. What will be different, and what will remain the same? They want to know that the important things have been taken into consideration. What will be the impact on customers? How will I do my job? How long will it take me to complete my critical tasks?
It is possible to make the change real in advance by holding a Day in the Life Workshop. This is a highly energising, experiential session in which teams experience (physically or virtual) their new model days and learn what they mean for processes, systems, and handoffs. The session also highlights subtle, but crucial improvements that need to be made before change implementation.
Step 5: Monitor the different responses to change
People will react differently at every stage. Some people will act as immediate ambassadors while others might be stubborn skeptics. Some people may be indifferent, while others are quiet reflectors.
Use a stakeholder map to identify where the people are located and then adopt tactics that will move them in the direction of most productivity (or least damage). Don’t make assumptions. Some people are more interested in change than they seem. They may just need some help.
Step 4: Don’t skimp on embedded support
All the effort and money can be spent on designing and implementing change programmes. We are repeatedly told that the support will disappear as soon as a new system and structure is in place.
McKinsey research revealed that up to 20% of the financial value was lost after implementation. Our experience confirms this.
The output of previous steps can be used to identify the support needed for new working methods, new attitudes and behaviors. These should be put in place, and regular review sessions are held to assess progress and resolve remaining issues.
The cost of engaging the people and overcoming their resistance to change will be dwarfed by trying to implement a change that won’t stick.
To get more inspiration about how to lead change in a brilliant way:
