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Why do we persist in thinking
things won’t change?
Perhaps it is human nature
to believe that when we step out
of the bed in the morning, the
floor will be there, sturdy as
ever, so that we can fumble our
way to the kitchen to turn the
coffee on. That seems like a pretty
safe assumption, doesn’t
it? Certainly, for many years,
we
could have assumed that our daily
lives would be, for the most part,
the same—we’d rise
early with the sun, tend to our
chores and our plots of land,
help our children grow, watch
the sun set on the horizon. In
fact, prior to the Industrial
Revolution, our lives—in
terms of economic, social or occupational
status—did not change significantly
from year to year or even generation
to generation.
But, all this changed, of course.
And, if we’re honest, it
was always changing; no matter
the almanac considered, there
was always the weather we couldn’t
perfectly predict! It is the pace
of change in current times that
has us spooked. It is in our ability
to respond to the new day beyond
the trek to the kitchen coffee
pot that has us cranky. In fact,
we really don’t hate change
at all, we just don’t like
feeling as if we have no say in
it. Think about it: if you wanted
to change something, like your
hairstyle, the color of your living
room walls, or your city of residence,
you’d just do it. You’d
change in a snap and be happy
about it! Our challenge is that
some changes require strategy
and contingency planning. But
mostly, if we think the change
is going to be for the better,
we’re all about moving forward
with it. It’s when we feel
like we are being changed; we
are the passive receptors or victims
of change, which makes us unhappy.
It Can Be helpful to gain
a little perspective on change
Here are some suggestions
for why we resist it:
- Fear. This
is number one for a reason.
Primarily, fear of the unknown
and fear of loss are some
of the first indications of
resistance. Even if the change
is for the better, it’s
going to be different, and
we don’t know how to
deal with different yet, so
we’d rather have this
old thing we know about. At
least we know about it! Or,
we fear losing status, routines,
co-workers, responsibilities,
etc. We become attached to
people and routines and we
create our perceptions of
the way things are around
their consistency. We lose
those familiar things and
now what do we do?
- Resentment.
This could be a close cousin
to fear, but it begins to
manifest itself in behaviors
or attitudes toward the change.
It can specifically be directed
at the person(s) instituting
the change, like a new boss
or supervisor, or it can be
more globally directed, as
in "the government" or "headquarters"
or "Administration". So, instead
of responding to whether the
change itself is for the better,
the resentment is focused
specifically on the change
agent, i.e. kill the messenger.
- Disagreement.
Sometimes we're not afraid
and we're not resentful, we
just believe the change is
wrong! We think whoever made
this crazy decision is hanging
out in the ozone, hasn't thought
it through, or has become
disconnected from the real
work. It's just a stupid decision
and worthy of complaining,
moaning and lost time of productivity.
What's almost worse is when
this disagreement response
is perpetuated by a lack of
information; it can lead to
apathy and malicious compliance.
Well, none of that sounds good!
What if you are the change agent?
(Why does this bring to mind some
secret squirrel activity with
hushed conversations, dark sunglasses
and after-hours meetings?
Uh-oh, here comes the change agent
to make us do something we don’t
yet know about!)
How can you help impact the quality
of the change process?
This is so simple; you’re
not going to believe it!
- Information.
In my experience with clients,
teams and leaders, this is
the number one issue-the perception
of a lack of information as
it relates to the daily workings
of an organization. So here's
my suggestion: share all the
information you can. Make
it readily available in a
variety of forms or forums.
Give everyone an opportunity
to know the specifics of the
change, anticipated timelines,
and expectations. Err on the
side of more information rather
than less, and if some information
is confidential or sacrosanct,
tell them you can't tell them
all the information right
now. Be honest.
- Inclusion.
I'll start right up front
with a caveat: don't do it
unless you mean it. When you
can include employees in the
decision-making process about
the changes to occur, it creates
a smoother path for buy-in
to the change and therefore
less resistance. Sometimes,
because of timeliness, nature
of the proposed change, etc.
inclusion is not possible
or practical. Shared governance
is a lovely idea, but not
everyone needs to be in on
the conversation about compensation
packages or which toilet paper
to put in the restrooms-it's
not a prudent use of people's
time to be in on every decision.
However, if you examine the
big picture of the situation
and you decide that participation
in the discussion, or a survey,
or another query of some kind
would benefit the change process,
do it. However, don't institute
an exercise of inclusion and
then ignore the feedback.
This doesn't mean that you
have to include every crazy
idea, but you can create a
way to value input and respond
with logic and effectiveness
aligned with your mission.
Think long-term. Think about
the next change when you'll
try to gain buy-in again.
- Follow up.
This is the ongoing practice
of sharing and receiving information.
Create a way to gather feedback
during the change process.
Create a way to respond to
feedback. Communicate in person,
in writing, in groups- any
way to assist people to adapt
while minimizing fear, resentment
and disagreement. If you don't
follow up, you're simply setting
yourself up for resistance
again.
Told you it was simple-not easy, but simple!
Most often, it is the way we perceive change that steers us in our responses. If we see change as a learning opportunity, a challenge or a way to know something different about ourselves, we can feel confident that we can deal with it, even if it wasn't our idea. We always have choices:
- We can choose internal
acceptance;
- We can choose to externally
influence the situation;
- We can remove ourselves
from the situation entirely.
We are not slaves to change. We can partner with change to create work and lives that we have not even imagined!
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