Managing Resistance To Change

SARAH SIMPSON
MANAGING RESISTANCE
TO CHANGE
2
Managing Resistance to Change
1st edition
© 2018 Sarah Simpson & bookboon.com
ISBN 978-87-403-2599-7
3
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Contents
CONTENTS
1 Introduction 6
2 What is change? 7
3 Types of change 9
3.1 Change vs. A change in the environment 9
3.2 People, organisational and system changes 9
3.3 Planned vs. unplanned 13
3.4 Proactive vs. reactive 14
3.5 Radical vs. Incremental 14
3.6 Transitional, transactional and transformational change 15
4 Change magnitude 17
5 Change management 18
5.1 ‘Soft’ vs ‘hard’ 18
5.2 What will you be dealing with? 18
ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
LEARNING ABOUT
SAP SOFTWARE HAS
NEVER BEEN EASIER.
SAP Learning Hub – the choice of
when, where, and what to learn
4
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Contents
6 Resistance 19
6.1 Expect it 19
6.2 What informs our feelings? 19
6.3 Kubler Ross 19
6.4 What can it look like? 21
6.5 Find its root cause 22
7 Engagement 23
7.1 A factory lesson 23
7.2 Drivers of engagement 24
7.3 The employee engagement equation 25
8 Address concerns head on 26

8.1 Why (address concerns head on)? 26
8.2 How (do I address concerns head on)? 27
9 Visualise the change 30

9.1 Why? 30
9.2 How? 30
10 Reframe the change 33

10.1 Why (reframe the change)? 33
10.2 How (to reframe the change)? 33
11 Sell it 35
11.1 Why? 35
11.2 How? 35
12 Models of change 38
12.1 Why should you consider using a model? 38
12.2 Kurt-Lewin (see chapter 1) 38
12.3 Kotter’s 8 step change management model 39
12.4 ADKAR model 39
12.5 McKinsey 7S model 40
12.6 Kruger model of change management 40
12.7 Kubler Ross (chapter 6.3) 41
12.8 De Bono’s six thinking hats 41
13 Summary / Conclusions 42
5
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Introduction
1 INTRODUCTION
My motivation for writing this book came from two different sources; i) the experience and
lessons I acquired when undertaking both very large and small scale change projects, during
which I got some things right and others most definitely not! and ii) the experiences and
feedback of others that I have guided during workshops on ‘managing resistance to change’.
Therefore, it seemed like a good idea to share this with you in order that you can learn from
this and utilise the; tools, skills and techniques within these pages, to manage resistance in
your own unique environment.
For chapters 8 – 11, you will be using your own change example, so as you read through
this book, you may wish to consider what this might be for you.
6
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE What is change?
2 WHAT IS CHANGE?
“He who rejects change is the architect of decay”
– Harold Wilson
Definitions of change include:
• To make or become different

• To transform or convert
• An act or process through which something becomes different
Whatever definition you chose to use, we are essentially talking about moving from a
current to a future state.
Change
moving out of a current state (how things are today)

through a transition state .....
and to a future state (how things will be done)
Current Transition Future
The image above has echoes with Kurt Lewin’s much used and quoted 1947 change model
of; unfreeze, change and refreeze (see below). Although, it is now widely believed that the
final ‘re-freeze’ stage was actually original just ‘freeze’.
7
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE What is change?
Kurt Lewin’s Change Model
CHANGE REFREEZE
UNFREEZE
Support change Reinforce to
Create right
to desired anchor
environment
state change
Unfreeze Change Freeze
TIME
8
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Types of change
3 TYPES OF CHANGE
3.1 CHANGE VS. A CHANGE IN THE ENVIRONMENT

When we think about managing change it is usually in the context of a specific initiative or
intervention. However, it is important to recognise that this is not always the case. You may
be managing in an environment in which there are changes being undertaken. So, although
you are not instigating an action, you, and your colleagues may be being impacted upon
by events around you. Both managing change and managing in a change environment are
therefore both important elements for you to consider and manage any resistance to.
Managing in a
Managing change
'change environment'
3.2 PEOPLE, ORGANISATIONAL AND SYSTEM CHANGES

When we think about change we can essentially define it in terms of these three broad
categories; people, organisational and system.
For ease of reading, below I have provided a list and description / examples of the types of change
you will see under each of these three broad terms. I have also added models where appropriate.
9
3.2.1 PEOPLE CHANGE
Change type Description / examples
• Change in attitude & behaviour

People / • Change in skill set, knowledge or competencies
personnel • Location of staff
• Number of staff
• Changing the ‘way things are done around here’
Johnson & Scholes (1988) identified six interrelated elements that make up what
they called the ‘work environment (culture) paradigm’.
Organisation
structure:
• Formal structure &
relationships
• Whose contributions
are more 'valuable'
• What are the Stories:
Control systems: unwritten lines of • Past events that
• What internal influence/power? people talk about
controls are there?
• Discussions of past
• e.g. performace,
successes/failures
quality, salaries &
• Who are talked
recognition & reward
about as heroes/
• How are these
heroines
allocated/assessed
Culture (immortalised)
CULTURE
(paradigm)
Rituals and routines:

• What behaviours &
Symbols:
rules are allowed/
• Logos
acceptable/
• Offices-size,
expected?
location etc.
• What is seen as Power structures: • Dress codes
important/ • Where does real
valuable? power/influence
happen?
• This could be
decisions, direction,
operations or
strategic
• Social power is also
included here
10
• Customer relationship management

• Building customer loyalty
• Changes to customer service
• Effective CRM moves a customer from having an awareness of you
through to loyalty / advocacy, or from prospect to partner
Partner
Partnership relationship
Advocate
Actively recommends & markets for you
Supporter
Passively supports, but likes your organisation
Loyalty
Ladder
Client
Has repeatedly done business with you, but
may be neutral/negative
Purchaser
CRM / Has done business with you once
relationships
Prospect
Someone you think you could persuade to do
business with you
The Engaged Customer Model
list
nge
al eva
• Loy
ted
onver
d •C
age
Eng
t•
e van
Rel
e•
war
e •A
war
Una
• Awareness • Consideration • Conversion • Loyalty •
11
3.2.2 ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE
• Leadership change can be the catalyst for profound organisational

change. The pros being; new directions and setting, increased
Leadership enthusiasm, productivity and better working relationships. The
potential cons being; rumour, political in-fighting, uncertainty and
a decrease in productivity
• Long process of long-term organisational planning in order to achieve

Strategic
your mission, vision and goals
• This is when an organisation get rid of a large number of its assets

Divestiture
• Elements of the organisation may be sold or dissolved
Acquisition • When an organisation takes a controlling interest in another
Mergers • This occurs when 2 or more entities are combined into 1
• When an organisations product(s) or areas are combined to

Consolidation
form a new entity
Merger with Consolidation Acquisition
Company Company
A X
Company Company
C X
Company Company
B Y
12
3.2.3 SYSTEM CHANGES
Processes • The aim of process change is to improve productivity.

• Changes are made to the way an organisation delivers or
makes its service or products
Technology • The integration or implementation of technology into an

organisation’s processes
• This can relate to both hardware and software
TQM driven • Total Quality Management (TQM)

• A continuous improvement approach, which aims to improve
both the quality and performance of products and / or services
Customer
focus
Total Planning
participation process
TQM
Process Process
improvement management
3.3 PLANNED VS. UNPLANNED
Planned change
Planned change happens when an organisation recognises the need for change and proactively
develops a plan to accomplish that change. Planned change occurs when that strategic plan
is successfully implemented.
13
Unplanned change
Unplanned change usually occurs because of a major, unexpected influence that impacts
upon the organization. The result is a response which can be highly reactive and disorganised.
3.4 PROACTIVE VS. REACTIVE

Proactive change involves actively attempting to make alterations to the work place and its
practices. Companies that take a proactive approach to change are often trying to avoid a
potential future threat or to capitalize on a potential future opportunity.
Reactive change occurs when an organization makes changes in its practices after some
threat or opportunity has already occurred.
3.5 RADICAL VS. INCREMENTAL

The two categories of change, that you will often hear talked about, are radical and
incremental. I think one of the best ways to think about each of these is to look at them as
a comparison table. So, with this in mind I have summarised each of these changes below.
Radical change Incremental change

(doing what we did not do before) (doing what we do, but better)
Large changes which alter current Small adjustments which do not alter
methodologies and can threaten or current methodologies, or usually
impact upon current power structures threaten existing power structures
Also known as; revolutionary, quantum, Also known as; evolutionary or

strategic, and transformational continuous improvement
Increased level of risk & sustainability Reduced level of risk
Rapid improvement Continuous improvement
Often requires new knowledge, skills, Builds upon exciting knowledge skills,
competencies and resources
competencies and resources
Often seeks to transform the Often impacts on only one part

whole organisation of the organisation
It can often take a while for the benefits Immediate gains / wins can often be seen
of radical change to be visible. Indeed
performance may drop as a result
of implementing radical change
14
3.6 TRANSITIONAL, TRANSACTIONAL AND

TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE
3.6.1 TRANSITIONAL CHANGE
This change involves the replacement of a current process rather than an improvement. It
is designed to increase efficiency.
An example would be the automation of a process previously undertaken by hand.
3.6.2 TRANSACTIONAL CHANGE
The fundamental nature of the organisation stays the same, you are just doing more or
less of something. It is incremental, rather than radical in nature and is described as a first
order change (see table and Burke Litwin Model below).
“It consists of those minor improvements and adjustments that do not change the system’s
core, and that occur as the system naturally grows and develops” (Levy 1986).
3.6.3 TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE
This involves large scale, radical organisational transformation, which is often non-linear.
New learning is required and changes in behaviour and thinking is a feature. Because of
the transformative nature it is described as a second order change.
First order change Second order change
Within existing paradigms Outside existing paradigms
An extension of 'the past' 'breaks' from the past
Consistent with the prevailing Conflicts with the prevailing

norms and values norms and values
Uses existing knowledge and Requires new knowledge

skills to implement and skills to implement
15
As well as showing 1st and 2nd order change ‘paths’, The Burke Litwin Model shows
us the drivers of change. They are further ranked in importance, with those most
important at the top. However, it also shows you that all factors are, to a greater or
lesser extent, linked. Therefore, a change in one will eventually impact on others.
Feedback External Feedback

environment
Leadership
Mission & Organisational

strategy culture
Management
pratices
Organisational Systems &

structure policies
Work climate
Task Individual
requirements needs & values
Motivation
Individual &
Organisational
Feedback Performance Feedback
The Burke Litwin Model of Organisational Change
16
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Change magnitude
4 CHANGE MAGNITUDE
When we think about a changes magnitude we are essentially considering its scope and its
complexity. For example, in terms of scope, is the change uniform across all areas, or is
there room for variation?
As far as complexity goes, what is the extent of agreement about the change and the change process”?
17
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Change management
5 CHANGE MANAGEMENT
We can define change management as “the approach taken to help those impacted upon and
affected by the change”. This definition for me, has several advantages, not least of which
is the personal element, which can often be absent from a wholly process driven approach.
5.1 ‘SOFT’ VS ‘HARD’

In order to take a holistic approach you will need to employ both hard and soft skills
when managing change. Hard skills may involve planning strategies e.g. Gantt charts,
critical path analysis and work breakdown structures. Soft skills could emphasis such
elements as selling change, visualising the end result and recognising and addressing the
concerns of those impacted.
HARD SOFT
SKILLS SKILLS
5.2 WHAT WILL YOU BE DEALING WITH?

Essentially you will most likely be dealing with:
• The change itself

• Some element(s) of project management
• Change management
Element Description
“the change” The improvement
The development of specific plans/actions to achieve

Project management
“the change”
The approach taken to help those impacted upon and

Change management
effected by “the change”
18
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Resistance
6 RESISTANCE
6.1 EXPECT IT
“People who appear to be resisting change may simply be the victim

of bad habits. Habit, like gravity never takes a day off”
– Paul Gibbons, The science of successful organizational change
“Some of those who are resisting change most strongly are only doing so
because they care. They’re the ones you need to be listening to”
– J. Sheppard
6.2 WHAT INFORMS OUR FEELINGS?

Clearly there will be many different reasons behind how we all feel about change, but in
my experience these 12 cover the vast majority of reasons people resist change:
• Misunderstanding about the need for change / when the reason for the change is unclear
• Fear of the unknown
• Lack of competence
• Connected to the old way
• Low trust
• It is seen as a temporary fad
• Not being consulted
• Poor communication
• Changes to routines
• Exhaustion / Saturation — Don’t mistake compliance for acceptance
• Change in the status quo
• Benefits and rewards
6.3 KUBLER ROSS

The Kubler Ross change curve, is also known as the 5-stages of grief. It terms of change
it can help you understand a person’s position as far as adapting to change is concerned.
19
In the model below I have added the key skills you will need (in the stars), as they relate to feelings.
Kubler-Ross Model of Change Management (1969)
Denial: Feelings vs. key skills Integration:

• disbelief • change is integrated
• looking for evidence it • person feels ‘renewed’
isn’t true
Frustation:
• things are different Share
Create
• people may be angry knowledge Decision:
Moral & Competence
alignment
• learning to work in new
Maximise
situation
comms • feeling more +ve
Develop
Shock capabilities
...or
surprise Increase Experimenting:
motivation • start to engage with
new situation
Depression:
• mood
• energy
ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
NO-LIMITS LEARNING
LEVERAGE
LEARNING ABOUT SOCIAL LEARNING,
COLLABORATION,
SAP SOFTWARE HAS QUALITY
CONTENT,
NEVER BEEN AND HANDS-ON
EASIER.
PRACTICE.
SAP Learning Hub – the choice of
20
6.4 WHAT CAN IT LOOK LIKE?

Resistance to change takes many forms, and some of these will no doubt be familiar to you.
• ‘Water cooler chatter’

• Breakdown in communication
• Sabotage
• Reduced motivation
• Negative body language
• Working slowly
• Working to rule
• Withdrawing support
• Failure to commit
• Direct defiance and refusal
• Missing meeting
• Reduced moral
• Increased absenteeism
Sociological
Logical/rational resistance
Emotional
resistance
resistance
Individual Group
‘Water coolers’
Increased absenteeism
Breakdown of coms
Sabotage
Failure to commit Reduced motivation Verbal vs non-verbal
Direct defiance-refusal
Convert vs overt
Work slow down
Passive vs active
Reduced morale
Missing meetings Withdrawing support
21
6.5 FIND ITS ROOT CAUSE

The reasons for all of the above essentially fall into 1 of 3 categories:
• Logical and rational

• Psychological and emotional
• Sociological
Reasons for resisting change
Psychological &
Logical & rational Sociological
emotional
Time is required to adjust Fear of the unknown Political coalition
Re-learn effort Low tolerance of change Opposing group values
Possibility of less Dislike of management/

Narrow outlook
desirable condition change ‘agent’
Economic cost of change Lack of trust in each other Vested interest
Questionable technical Desire to retain

Need for security
feasibility of change existing friendships
Desire to maintain the

status quo
The ‘trick’ is to recognise overt and covert, verbal and non-verbal as well as active and
passive reactions to change and address them head on (chapter 8), whilst acknowledging
a person’s reason for resisting change, even if this is not a concern for you, or you don’t
understand their point of view.
22
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Engagement
7 ENGAGEMENT
Employee engagement is defined by Forbes as “the emotional commitment the employee has
to the organisation and its goals”.
When staff are engaged they use discretionary effort, which we can see is the opposite of
the behaviours demonstrated in the ‘reasons for resisting change’ we looked at in chapter 5.
A good way to see this in action is through the real-life example of a clothing factory.
7.1 A FACTORY LESSON

In a study conducted by Coch and French, resistance to change was studied in a clothing factory.
Background
The factory workers, who were all paid piece meal were split into 4 groups and subjected
to the same minor workplace procedural change.
Groups 1 & 2
“No participation” and “participation through representation” groups. The staff were told
what the changes were, why they were needed and sent back out to implement.
Groups 3&4
“Total participation” groups. All staff meet together and the reasons behind the change (cost
reduction) was thoroughly explained. All staff recognised these savings and discussions took
place in which the new work methods were agreed on. Training then took place.
Results
The output of group 1 dropped immediately to 2/3rds of its previous rate. This lower output
was seen throughout the 30-day period of the change
23
7.2 DRIVERS OF ENGAGEMENT

People will be engaged by different things and in a different priority order, depending on
if they are experiencing change or not.
Ranking During change No change
1 Involved in decision making Understand career path
2 Understand career path Involved in decision making
Co-workers make personal Have the necessary resources to

3
sacrifices to help the organisation do the job
The organisation encourages The organisation encourages

4
development development
The organisation provides a Proper training is provided to

5
two-way dialogue do the job
If you want to explore this further, you should consider looking at the work done on the
relationship between employee engagement psychology and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
24
7.3 THE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT EQUATION

Here you can see that during change, the number of staff that are ‘highly engaged’ stays
constant. However, the number of staff who are ‘actively disengaged’ increases.
Employee engagement = emotional state + behavioural reaction

(to a given work environment)
Numbers of staff here stays

constant during change
Engagement
Description
category
Staff feel a strong personal alignment to the organisations mission, vision

Highly
and objectives. They actively pursue opportunities to improve operations
engaged
and the general work environment
Staff have a positive attitude towards work and may engage in

Moderately
productive behaviours. However, they are not fully committed in terms
engaged
of commitment and significant discretionary behaviour
Staff come to work to go through the motions. They are not as

Passive problematic as they actively disengaged, but do not create a positive
environment for innovation and progress
Staff feel disconnected from their job and unsatisfied in their work. Their
Actively
poor attitude and emotions spread throughout the organisation, which
disengaged
can result in poor personal performance and that of others
Numbers of staff here

increases during change
25
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Address concerns head on
8 ADDRESS CONCERNS HEAD ON

When you are looking at managing resistance to change, four main approaches should be employed:
• Address change concerns head on

• Visualise the change
• Reframe the change
• Sell the change
At this stage in the book, I would suggest that for the next 4 chapters you have a change in
mind. This will allow you to see how practical and powerful each of these four approaches is.
The change I will use for the next 4 chapters; 1) address change concerns head on, 2)
visualise the change, 3) reframe the change and 4) sell the change, is …………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
8.1 WHY (ADDRESS CONCERNS HEAD ON)?

In chapter 5 we looked at the variety of reasons that people resist change, and saw that
they fell into 1 of 3 categories, namely:
• Logical and rational

• Psychological and emotional
• Sociological
This doesn’t however deal with the issue of why you should address concerns head on. So,
the main reasons for doing this are:
• It gives people a voice

• People feel that they have been heard
• Everyone sees things differently and will all have different concerns
• You may hear something, or be able to acknowledge / appreciate something you
had not previously considered
26
8.2 HOW (DO I ADDRESS CONCERNS HEAD ON)?

Well, quite simply, you ask people what their concerns are. This sounds relatively simple… right?!
Step 1
When I have done this in a workshop setting, we use someone’s real-life example and I ask
all attendees to write down any concerns they do / would have, given this chosen scenario.
We use pieces of paper, or a free text anonymous voting app. This should be done as 1
concern per sheet / per submission.
In your particular case, you may find that due to staff numbers, or geographical separation,
you may need to use different concern collation methods. However, please be aware that
some staff may be reluctant to come forward if they can be identified. For example in the
case of email, or a live Q&A session.
Given your chosen change scenario identified in ‘8’ above, what concerns might you expect /
could there possibly be / have you had? Try to consider as many different staff and / or
stakeholder perspectives as possible in order to get the most holistic view.
Examples of concerns related to my change example
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………….…………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………….……………
Step 2
As a group, we then review these concerns and find that concerns, in the main, fall into
the following categories:
• Lack of current skill base / proposed training (skill)

• Not wanting to do it (will)
• “I can’t believe anyone’s bothered about that!”
• “I never thought of that!”
27
If you have a look at your list above, you will no doubt find the same.
Step 3
You can then start to address these concerns and propose a way forward to eliminate or
reduce their impact. These should be communicated to ALL staff.
Complete this for your change example
a) My method of ascertaining staff concerns is
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
THE ANSWER
ANYTIME,
NO-LIMITS ANYWHERE
LEARNING
TO
YOUR LEARNING NEEDS
LEVERAGE
LEARNING ABOUT SOCIAL LEARNING,
GET
SAP QUALITY,
COLLABORATION,
SOFTWARE FLEXIBLE, AND
QUALITY
HAS
ECONOMICAL
CONTENT,
NEVER BEEN AND TRAINING WHEN
HANDS-ON
EASIER.
AND
PRACTICE.WHERE
SAP Learning IT’S
Hub – the choice
of NEEDED.
28
b) Potential concerns raised vs. proposed way to reduce / eliminate
potential concerns raised (this would proposed way to reduce /

obviously be the actual concern, eliminate these concerns
when you do this ‘for real’) (remember skill vs. will)
c) My method of communicating the table above, to ALL staff / stakeholders that

may be impacted by the change is
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
29
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Visualise the change
9 VISUALISE THE CHANGE

If you visualise something, you imagine what it is like by forming a (mental) picture of it.
So, in this case we will be creating an actual image for all to see as opposed to a mental one.
9.1 WHY?
You can convey a huge amount of information using pictures. I’m sure you are aware of the
Chinese proverb; a picture paints a thousand words. This process focuses your concentration
on the change and its potential impact. It allows you to condense and summarise the change,
making it easier to convey to others.
9.2 HOW?
Thinking about the change you have identified. You are going to draw 2 separate images.
Step 1
Draw an image that shows the current situation (before the change is implemented)
30
Step 2
Draw an image that represents the situation after a successful change implementation
Step 3
How would you describe each image?
Image 1 (pre change)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Image 2 (post change)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
31
Step 4
I like to take this concept even further and ask people to write a ‘tag line’ (a short sentence),
that sums up each image. This is shorter and ‘snappier’ than the image description above.
This has the added benefit of giving you the basis for describing your change and its impact
in an incredibly concise, condensed way.
Image 1 ‘tag line’
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Image 2 ‘tag line’
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
If you then go on to use elements of this tag to ‘sell’ the change to those impacted. We
will look at this in greater detail in chapter 11 ‘sell it’
32
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Reframe the change
10 REFRAME THE CHANGE

Reframing describes the process of framing, or expressing words, concepts or plans in a different way.
10.1 WHY (REFRAME THE CHANGE)?

If you think about everything we have looked at so far, we can sum it up in a very powerful
sentence, which you should read…. And then read again….and really let it soak in, because
it is incredibly profound.
People do not fear change, they fear loss
People often see the current situation ‘A’, being changed into ‘B’ and the associated ‘loss’
can come in many forms, including the loss of:
• Control
• Working relationships
• Current working environment
• The known / status quo
• Security
• Trust
10.2 HOW (TO REFRAME THE CHANGE)?
Step 1
Ask yourself, and other stakeholders, what value is ‘A’ to us

now and what value will it have in the future?
VS.
How strongly should we be committed to ‘A’, just

before we have invested in it in the past?
33
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Reframe the change
Step 2
• Practice reframing the changing of ‘A’ into ‘B’. ways you could consider doing this are:
• ‘B’ being an evolution of ‘A’
• Taking advantage of the success to date of ‘A’
• ‘B’ being a logical step, post ‘A’
• ‘B’ being a continuation of the plans made in ‘A’
In what ways could you reframe your change?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
MAXIMIZE
ANYTIME,
NO-LIMITS
THE ANSWER ANYWHERE
PRODUCTIVITY
LEARNING
TO
YOUR LEARNING NEEDS
LEVERAGE
LEARNING
HELP YOURABOUT SOCIAL
ENTIRELEARNING,
GET
SAP QUALITY,
COLLABORATION,
ORGANIZATION
SOFTWARE FLEXIBLE, AND
QUALITY
HAS
ECONOMICAL
CONTENT,
BUILD
NEVEREXPERTISE BEEN AND TRAINING WHEN
HANDS-ON
EASIER.
AND
PRACTICE.
IN SAP WHERE
SAP Learning
SOFTWARE. IT’S
Hub – the choice
of NEEDED.
34
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Sell it
11 SELL IT
This skill is concerned with being able to concisely relay the benefits of the change. The
way you do this would be different depending on your audience, as we have already seen
in chapter 8, the wide range of different concerns people no doubt will have.
11.1 WHY?
A key skill in managing resistance to change is the ability to quickly and concisely summarise
and ‘sell’ the change.
Taking this a step further you need to be able to recognise, respond and sell the change in
a different way to different people and groups. What I mean by this is being able to tailor
your message to your audience.
The actual ‘pitch’ you will use will be dependent, to some extent, on the environment and
the relationship you have. For example, do you work for the same team, department, or
organisation, or are you part of a wider project-based stakeholder group?
11.2 HOW?
Take the change, you identified at the start of chapter 8 and complete the following sections.
Remember you should have a given audience in mind.
Steps to create a 30 second pitch that will; spark interest, grab the audience’s
attention and be memorable.
Step 1
Summarise who you are. This will clearly be dependent on your relationship to them and
whether they are an internal or external stakeholder.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
35
Step 2
What do you do and for whom. Again this will be dependent upon your audience relationship
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Step 3
How will they (your audience), or their team, department, organisation or indeed customer,
benefit from the change? Your visual imagery and tag line may help here.
• Do not emphasise the dangers involved in not changing (remember our reframing exercise)
• Do not be tempted to undermine or criticise anyone else’s solution / change
This section should be positive.
Bullet point these change benefits below.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Step 4
Combine the 3 sections above into an attention grabbing 30 second pitch that is
tailored to your audience.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
36
Step 5
Consider how this pitch would need to be adapted, if the change stayed the same, but the
audience was different.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
FASTANSWER
ANYTIME,
NO-LIMITS
THE
MAXIMIZE ADOPTION, ANYWHERE
PRODUCTIVITY
LEARNING
TO FAST ROI
YOUR LEARNING NEEDS
LEVERAGE
LEARNING
HELP
EQUIP YOUR
BUSINESS SOCIAL
ENTIRELEARNING,
ABOUT
GET
SAP QUALITY,
COLLABORATION,
USERS
ORGANIZATION
SOFTWARE
TO ADOPT FLEXIBLE, AND
QUALITY
HAS
ECONOMICAL
CONTENT,
SAP
BUILD
NEVER SOLUTIONS. AND
EXPERTISE
BEEN TRAINING
EASIER. WHEN
HANDS-ON
AND
PRACTICE.
IN SAP WHERE
SAP Learning
SOFTWARE.
Hub –user
Hub, IT’S
the edition
choice
of NEEDED.
SAP
SAP Learning
Learning Hub
Hub
37
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Models of change
12 MODELS OF CHANGE
“Essentially, all models are wrong, but some are useful”
– George Box, Statistician
12.1 WHY SHOULD YOU CONSIDER USING A MODEL?

There are a baffling number of change models. I do not personally believe that anyone will,
by itself, describe and guide you through a perfect change process. What they can do, is
provide you with an approach that is based on observation, experience and research. The
key is to remain flexible and responsive, as opposed to rigidly following each step in turn.
12.2 KURT-LEWIN (SEE CHAPTER 1)

This is the model that people most frequently mention when I ask them to describe change.
Its simplicity and process focus is easy to understand and relay to others.
Kurt Lewin’s Change Model
CHANGE REFREEZE
UNFREEZE
Support change Reinforce to
Create right
to desired anchor
environment
state change
38
12.3 KOTTER’S 8 STEP CHANGE MANAGEMENT MODEL

Each stage in this model focuses on a key principle, which can be associated with how
people respond to change. However, its linear nature can be restricting.
Includes steps to take before the process is launched, as

well as those needed to make the change permanent
Kotter’s 8 Step
Change Management Model
1. Establish a Sense of Urgency
2. Create the Guiding Coalition
3. Develop a Change Vision
4. Communicate a Change Vision for Buy-in
5. Empowering Broad Based Action
6. Generating Short Term Wins
7. Never Letting Up
8. Incorporating Changes in the Culture
12.4 ADKAR MODEL

This has a focus on the actions and outcomes that are required for change.
Model is based on two foundations:

• It’s people who change, not organisations
• Successful change occurs when individual change
matches the stage of organisational change
A Awareness of the need for change
D Desire to participate & support the change
K Knowledge on how to change
A Ability to implement required skills & behaviour
R Reinforcement to sustain the change
39
12.5 MCKINSEY 7S MODEL

The McKinsey model takes account of both the practical and emotional elements of change.
This framework maps interrelated factors that influence an

organization’s ability to change.
The lack of hierarchy among these factors suggests that significant

progress in one part of the organization will be difficult without
working on the others.
7S Framework
Structure Structure
‘Hard Ss’ ‘Hard Ss’
Strategy Systems Strategy Systems
Shared Shared
Values Values
Skills Style Skills Style
‘Soft Ss’ ‘Soft Ss’

Staff Staff
12.6 KRUGER MODEL OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT

The principle behind this model is that change managers only usually consider the top
of the iceberg; cost, quality and time. This fails to take into account the dimensions of
the management of perceptions and belief as well as power and politics.
Change Management Iceberg - Wilfried Krüger

Quality Balance
Task orientation People orientation

Issue (getting the job (getting everyone
Management done) on board)
Cost Time
Acceptance
Promoters
Successful change managers take time to

Potential Hidden
address the hidden organisational elements
Attitude Behavior
Promoters Opponents (below the waterline)
Up to 90% of a change initiative success or

Opponents failure
Management Power
of Perceptions and Politics
and Beliefs Management
40
12.7 KUBLER ROSS (CHAPTER 6.3)
Kubler-Ross Model of Change Management (1969)
Denial: Feelings vs. key skills Integration:

• disbelief • change is integrated
• looking for evidence it • person feels ‘renewed’
isn’t true
Frustation:
• things are different Share
Create
• people may be angry knowledge Decision:
Moral & Competence
alignment
• learning to work in new
Maximise
situation
comms • feeling more +ve
Develop
Shock capabilities
...or
surprise Increase Experimenting:
motivation • start to engage with
new situation
Depression:
• mood
• energy
12.8 DE BONO’S SIX THINKING HATS

Although this is not strictly a change model, I still feel it is important that it is included in this
section. Often when we think about change and its importance, we see things from our point
of view only. Therefore, by ‘wearing’ different hats you can gain a different perspective on the
change. Remember, you also have the work we did in chapter 8 “addressing concerns head on.”
41
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Summary / Conclusions
13 SUMMARY / CONCLUSIONS
In this book we have considered many elements of change. But, for me it is fundamentally
important that you, the reader, are able to take away some very practical skills, tools,
techniques and even confidence.
The four main approaches to managing resistance to change we have examined are:
• Addressing concerns head on

• Visualisation
• Reframing
• Selling
Having undertaken very large and small change in ‘real life’, as well as helping others to
learn the skills required, to undertake their own successful change, I know these work for
them and they will for you to.
So I will leave you with one last thought…
All change meets resistance… if there is no resistance, there is no change!
42

Managing Resistance To Change

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Managing Resistance To Change

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

﻿

8 Address concerns head on 26

9 Visualise the change 30

10 Reframe the change 33

Definitions of change include:

• To make or become different

moving out of a current state (how things are today)

Current Transition Future

Current Transition Future

Kurt Lewin’s Change Model

Unfreeze Change Freeze

3.1 CHANGE VS. A CHANGE IN THE ENVIRONMENT

3.2 PEOPLE, ORGANISATIONAL AND SYSTEM CHANGES

3.2.1 PEOPLE CHANGE

Change type Description / examples

• Change in attitude & behaviour

• Changing the ‘way things are done around here’

Rituals and routines:

• Customer relationship management

The Engaged Customer Model

• Awareness • Consideration • Conversion • Loyalty •

3.2.2 ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE

Change type Description / examples

• Leadership change can be the catalyst for profound organisational

• Long process of long-term organisational planning in order to achieve

• This is when an organisation get rid of a large number of its assets

Acquisition • When an organisation takes a controlling interest in another

Mergers • This occurs when 2 or more entities are combined into 1

• When an organisations product(s) or areas are combined to

Merger with Consolidation Acquisition

3.2.3 SYSTEM CHANGES

Change type Description / examples

Processes • The aim of process change is to improve productivity.

Technology • The integration or implementation of technology into an

TQM driven • Total Quality Management (TQM)

3.3 PLANNED VS. UNPLANNED

3.4 PROACTIVE VS. REACTIVE

3.5 RADICAL VS. INCREMENTAL

Radical change Incremental change

Also known as; revolutionary, quantum, Also known as; evolutionary or

Increased level of risk & sustainability Reduced level of risk

Rapid improvement Continuous improvement

Often seeks to transform the Often impacts on only one part

3.6 TRANSITIONAL, TRANSACTIONAL AND

3.6.1 TRANSITIONAL CHANGE

An example would be the automation of a process previously undertaken by hand.

3.6.2 TRANSACTIONAL CHANGE

3.6.3 TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE

First order change Second order change

Within existing paradigms Outside existing paradigms

An extension of 'the past' 'breaks' from the past

Consistent with the prevailing Conflicts with the prevailing

Uses existing knowledge and Requires new knowledge

Feedback External Feedback

Mission & Organisational

Organisational Systems &

The Burke Litwin Model of Organisational Change

5.1 ‘SOFT’ VS ‘HARD’

5.2 WHAT WILL YOU BE DEALING WITH?

• The change itself

“the change” The improvement

The development of specific plans/actions to achieve

The approach taken to help those impacted upon and

3.6 TRANSITIONAL, TRANSACTIONAL AND