Overcome Resistance to Change

Perhaps you have recently taken a new managerial position and are looking to create some positive changes within the office. Or maybe you are just looking to create change in general in your workplace, school or organization. Though some people may be onboard with your new plan, others might demonstrate some resistance, making it hard to do your job effectively. However, you can overcome this resistance if you work to address the issues that exist, create a positive environment, and enlist the talents and skills of others.

Steps

Addressing the Issues

1. Communicate the need for change. The first step that you should take in creating change in your organization is to communicate the need for it. Perhaps your office has high staff turnover or burnout. Maybe sales have been dropping for years. Perhaps you can’t get people to attend the programs that you put on. Whatever the issue, communicate this to your audience or staff so that they acknowledge that something is not working.
   • For instance, you might say “I think that change can be a scary thing sometimes, but to me, what’s even scarier is being ineffective and not reaching our true potential. The issues that we have didn’t appear overnight and nor will the effects of these changes, but we have to try our best.”
   • Try to put a human face on the situation by sharing story that illustrates the need for change. This may make it easier to get through to your audience or staff.
2. Communicate early and effectively. Once you begin to implement changes within your office or organization, communicate these changes to your team as soon as possible. Don’t allow them to find out through others; they should be hearing about any changes straight from you.
   • Consider holding weekly staff meetings to update your staff on any changes. If the information is sensitive or urgent, send an email or call an emergency meeting.
   • Be honest when asked any questions. Remember that lies can poison morale and trust.
3. Present the pros and cons of the change. Talk to them about the potential good that can come from the changes. Do not be overly optimistic, however. It’s important that you are real with them and explain to them the cons, as well. Empower them to assist you in battling the cons.
   • For instance, perhaps you are a coach and you are implementing a new workout routine that has been proven to help in performance. However, these routines might make practices longer. Be honest with your team about the reality of any changes to be made so that you can be more trustworthy.
4. Address individual concerns. Should anyone on your team have a concern with the changes presented, don’t allow their disgruntlement to fester. Address it quickly and empathetically with them. Most of the time, people’s concerns are fixable, so work to create solutions when possible.
   • For instance, perhaps you have an employee who is concerned about being laid off. If you know that this particular employee is not a risk and there will be no changes to the budget, assure them that their position is safe as long as they continue to work hard.
   • Make sure that everyone is aware of how they can contact you with their concerns. You may have to repeat it several times. Also, you may want to meet with people individually or in small groups as the changes happen. This will help you to identify and address problems early on. Don’t wait for people to come to you.
5. Resolve conflicts quickly and effectively. In addition to having some potential anger or frustration with you, there might arise some conflict between your employees. Perhaps some of the changes made seem to benefit certain employees more than others. Address these concerns with them and seek solutions to the issues.
   • Schedule a meeting to discuss these issues with your staff. Remind them of the necessity of the changes so that they can come to think of them with reason rather than emotion.
6. Accept feedback. Though your changes might be good and might truly help improve your office, there are kinks in every plan. Should one of your staff identify one of these kinks, acknowledge their foresight and thoughtfulness and work to implement their feedback. Enlist them to help you on this project so they have more buy-in in the process.
   • You may even consider an anonymous method for people to provide feedback, such as a comment box or an anonymous survey they can complete online.

Creating a Positive Environment

1. Demonstrate passion. During the process of creating change, you might become tired or frustrated. Though it is important to be honest with your staff, it is also important to model the way for them. Show them your passion and confidence in the new changes so that they feel enthusiastic about them as well. Refrain from making pessimistic or critical comments. Instead, remain hopeful and excited for the future.
2. Maintain a positive and supportive attitude. In addition to your passion, it is important that you encourage a positive environment in the workplace. Come in each morning on time and with a smile. Greet everyone you see warmly. If someone has an innovative new idea, support them rather than shutting them down. Encourage and incentivize your staff to work hard.
   • Encourage good morale in the office by doing team builders and social outings with your staff.
3. Develop confidence in your audience. Compliment your staff when they do well, particularly in the midst of this change. If you have added new responsibilities to any of their roles, then consider paying for training related to this new job. Doing so will ensure that your staff feels competent in their ability to do their work well.
4. Implement change in stages. When putting any changes into place in your office, consider doing so in stages. People can be overwhelmed if everything changes at once, but if you do so incrementally, it can feel much more manageable and tolerable. Develop a multi-staged plan over the course of a few months or even years.
5. Ensure that workloads are equitable. During this time, be very mindful of the allocation of work within your organization. Perhaps you have shifted roles and responsibilities and now some have much more to do than others. Be mindful of this and make any changes necessary and possible. Ask your staff if they feel comfortable handling the work they’ve been given.
   • Make sure to acknowledge their concerns about their new job description. Then, appeal to their sense of teamwork and your company’s vision statement to encourage them to be flexible and adaptable.
   • You might find also that some staff are looking for more to work on. Enlist them to help.
6. Address negativity at its source. A workplace can become toxic quickly due to one person because misery loves company. If you become aware that someone is gossiping or spreading negativity, then address it right away by speaking with that person one-on-one. This will help to prevent the negativity from spreading.

Empowering Others to Act

1. Get at the issues others care about. In working to create change, be sure that you are doing so in a persuasive way. Appeal to people’s emotion and logic when asking them to switch up how things are done. For instance, if you have recently taken over a restaurant that could potentially be shut down soon, and are looking to change things, appeal to your staff’s need for a job as well as their desire for the establishment to have a good reputation and serve good food.
   • Find out what issues your staff wishes to tackle.
   • You may also want to enlist their help to develop a mission statement and a set of values for people to stick to. Then, when people express fear of change, you can direct them to this mission statement and values.
2. Set clear and realistic goals. In working with your staff and planning for the future, set clear and realistic goals. If you made $100K in profit during the first quarter, consider setting a goal of making $150K during the second after you implement the changes. Ask your staff for feedback on and assistance in achieving these goals.
   • Avoid making outlandish goals or you might become discouraged when you don’t achieve them.
   • Be very specific with your goals so that you can make them more actionable.
   • Have your staff set individual goals for themselves.
3. Hold them accountable. During this process, hold your team accountable for their role in the work. Check in with them periodically and give them deadlines for assignments that are time sensitive.
   • You might consider setting up one on one meetings every so often.
   • Make sure to provide employees with written feedback on their performance. This will be a helpful resource for them to read over and use to improve their work.
4. Structure your group to achieve its maximum potential. Perhaps you have some staff who are not being utilized as effectively or strategically as they could be. Have conversations with them to see where they think they fit in this change and if there are any other kinds of assignments they’d like to be working on.
   • For instance, perhaps one of your goals is to have a greater social media presence. Use those in your organization with experience or knowledge in this area.

Overcoming Your Own Resistance

1. Talk about the problem. Sometimes the resistance to change is not occurring in others, but within yourself. Perhaps you have found yourself in a situation where everyone else seems okay with the changes but you are not. Consider whether you may have inadvertently taken steps to sabotage the change, such as by dragging your feet, purposely underperforming, or making negative comments to others. Rather than ruminating over your negative feelings, talk about the issues at hand. This will help you think about the problem with reason rather than emotion.
   • Find a trusted coworker, friend or family member to talk to about your issue. The more you talk, the more you might realize that there are opportunities for compromise or change within yourself.
2. Find humor in the situation. Though you might be feeling particularly upset about some decisions that were made, choose to find the humor in it or the humor surrounding you. Laughter tends to make even the tensest situation feel a bit lighter, so find some way to laugh.
   • Look for ways to laugh alongside your coworkers. This will help to foster teambuilding.
3. Avoid negative stress. Some stress, like the kind you feel while preparing for a presentation, is good stress because it helps to propel you to success. Other stress is avoidable. If, during this process, a particular person is being very toxic and negative towards you because of your resistance, spend less time with that person. Be mindful of who you give your time and energy to.
4. Make a plan. After successfully destressing and working through the issues in your mind, begin coming up with some potential solutions. For instance, perhaps you have been tasked with taking on a new set of projects at work that you don’t feel comfortable with. Think of how you can feel more confident and prepared to take on this new role.
   • For instance, perhaps you can schedule a meeting with the person who previously did this job.
   • Read any files or articles about the information and talk to your boss about your concerns. Remember that it is okay to speak up if you do not understand something or if you need help. Don’t try to figure things out all on your own and suffer in silence.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Feel Confident
• Love Yourself
• Be Strong
• Gain Confidence
• Fight Insecurity
• Be Okay with Being You
• Be Elegant
• Accept Who You Are
• Appreciate Yourself More Than You Do
• Determine Your Face Shape

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