Overcoming Resistance to Change

By Jerald Jellison, Ph.D.(Aappearing at API's Managing Newsroom Change from the Middle, May 7-9, 2007.)

CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE is the mantra of our age, yet our human nature leads us to prefer doing things the same old way. As the pressure to change increases, our tendency to resist change grows even stronger. To be effective with employees and customers, you learn how to help people overcome their resistance to change. What is our usual approach to getting people to change, and does it work?

Persuasion is the tool we turn to most often. We talk to people; explain why it is necessary that they change; describe the advantages of changing; and then offer a silent prayer that they will start acting differently. Too often our prayers go unanswered, so we keep talking and talking. Frustrated by the failure of just talking, we turn to threats about the dire consequences if the person doesn't change. Such threats create more fear and even greater resentment but very little actual movement.

The logic behind persuasion and education is that if we can change people's thoughts and beliefs then they will change their behavior. Unfortunately, changing people's minds seldom changes their behavior.

Even when people know they should do something, it doesn't mean they will. Think about your own behavior. Don't you know you should exercise regularly and eat healthy food, but the scales probably give ample proof that you don't always act in ways that you believe are right. And, even though you know you should spend more time with your family, you don't always do it.

Persuasion only addresses the mental aspects of change, but not the negative feelings people have about doing something new. To cope with this emotional resistance you need more tools than just persuasion and education. You need tools that deal with the fears that block change. This doesn't mean learning how to be a psychotherapist or investigating childhood memories. It can be very simple because it all starts with action. It seems illogical, but many people have to actually start doing the new thing before they can be convinced they should do it.

Instead of changing people's minds, it is better to help them break through the emotional barriers by first changing their actions on a small scale. This approach gets people to begin doing things differently even though they may not fully believe in the new way. Because the steps are small, it's almost guaranteed they won't fail. If you give them a lot of praise and encouragement at the beginning, they will keep trying until they do have a success. By taking action, not just thinking about it, they quickly discover that the new way isn't so frightening. And, they usually learn they are better at it than they anticipated.

This technique is called activation and it involves several critical skills. You must break the change down into small behavioral steps. Most of us state our change requests in words that are too general and ambiguous (think outside the box, assume responsibility, engage with the customer). Instead of encouraging change, these global generalities create fear, uncertainty and resistance. The alternative is to describe the exact actions the other person should perform (e.g. bring one new product idea to the staff meeting Monday; when a customer calls with a question tell them you will find the answer and will call them back within 24 hours; when you finish a project with a client, ask if they have any other challenges we could help them with).

By 'front loading rewards" you can encourage people to try new approaches. Praise them when they take even the slightest initiative in the new direction - regardless of whether they are successful. When they do achieve a success, reward them with some more substantial reward. Their goal is to begin taking small steps; yours is to praise them for doing so. You only need to provide all this praise at the beginning to help them get started, but you do need to do it. Soon they'll discover ways the new approach can actually work to their benefit. At that point you can step back and let the change progress naturally.

Activation can be used effectively with subordinates, superiors, whole teams, and family members. Enabling people to experience the benefits of the new way of doing things is far more effective than trying to convince them to change, and it is not as destructive as using threats. Helping people grow and change is a critical leadership skill, and you may change yourself when you discover this can be one of the most personally satisfying aspects of managing a business.

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Dr. Jellison is the author of two books on change, "Managing the Human Dynamics of Change" and "Overcoming Resistance." He will lead a full morning session on Implementing Change for API's seminar, Managing Newsroom Change from the Middle, May 7-9, 2007