1. Lecture 6 Resistance to change
Change Management
Lecture 6
Resistance to change

2. Dilbert
The goal of change management is to dupe slow-witted employees into thinking change is good for them by appealing to their sense of adventure and love of challenge
This is like convincing a trout to leap out of a stream to experience the adventure of getting deboned

3. Signs of Resistance to Change
Active signs of resistance
Being critical
Finding fault
Ridiculing
Appealing to fear
Using facts selectively
Blaming or accusing
Sabotaging
Intimidating or threatening
Manipulating
Distorting facts
Blocking
Undermining.
Starting rumors
Arguing
Passive signs of resistance
Agreeing verbally but not following through (“malicious compliance”)
Failing to implement change
Procrastinating or dragging one’s feet
Feigning ignorance
Withholding information, suggestions, help, or support
Standing by and allowing change to fail

4. Why Do People Resist Change?
Dislike of change
People don’t resist change, they resist pain!
Boredom can be pain, too.
Discomfort with uncertainty
Low tolerance for ambiguity
Perceived negative effects of interests
Authority, status, rewards, salary, social ties
Attachment to the established culture/ways of doing things
Perceived breach of psychological contract

5. Why Do People Resist Change?
Lack of conviction that change is needed
Lack of clarity as to what is needed
Belief that the specific change being proposed is inappropriate
Belief that the timing is wrong
Excessive change
Cumulative effects of other changes in one’s life
Perceived clash with ethics
Reaction to the experience of previous changes
Disagreement with the way the change is being managed

6. Why do people support change?
Security
Money
Authority
Status/prestige
Responsibility
Better working conditions
Self-satisfaction
Better personal contacts
Less time and effort

7. Managing Resistance – The Situational Approach
The classic steps:
Education and communication
Participation and involvement
Facilitation and support
Negotiation and agreement
Manipulation and cooptation
Explicit and implicit coercion
Which ones did Hightower use?
Phelan case

8. The Resistance Cycle
Resistance is a natural (even necessary) psychological stage in any change:
Denial / Shock
Resistance / Anger
Exploration / Mourning
Commitment / Acceptance
Do we just ‘let nature take its course’ then?
Can people get stuck in a stage?

9. Behavioral Strategies
Creative counters (Karp)
Prepared counters to blocks, stalls, rollovers, threats, etc.
Thought Self-Leadership
Based on RET
Activating event -> (Beliefs) ->Emotional Consequence
Change dysfunctional beliefs and thus change emotional consequences
Assumptions, self-talk, mental imagery
Rooting out: Shoulds, musts, oughts
From ‘obstacle thinking’ to ‘opportunity thinking’
Monitoring self-cognition

10. Behavioral Strategies 2
Tinkering, Kludging, & Pacing (Abrahamson)
The reconfiguration of existing practices and business models rather than the creation of new ones
Tinkering is small (e.g. sharing of best practice or adapting a process from another business)
Kludging creates a new business from existing capabilities
Pacing is mixing disruptive change with tinkering and kludging
Deliberately avoids lots of large scale change because that generates ‘change fatigue’ and major resistance

11. The “Power of Resistance” (Maurer)
Use the power of resistance to build support
Showing respect towards resistors creates stronger relationships and thereby improves the prospects of success
Fundamental touchstones
Maintain clear focus
Embrace resistance
Respect those who resist (assume good faith)
Relax
Join with the resistance
Look for points of commonality

12. Maurer’s Default Options
Use power
Manipulate those who oppose
Apply force of reason
Ignore resistance
Play off relationships
Make deals
Kill the messenger
Give in

13. Questions
What symptoms of resistance have you experienced as a manager? Have you ever been a resistor yourself?
Which of the various reasons for resisting change are the most common?
Which are the most difficult to deal with?
Which approach to the management of resistance attracts you? Why?

14. Perrier Case
Identify the key elements of the resistance to change described in this situation
Construct a change management strategy for dealing with this situation, particularly how you will manage resistance