Question

We have often heard, “Change is inevitable”. If this is true, why are organizational members so resistant to change? Is change always negative? As a leader in your organization, what can you do to decrease resistance? Please share any examples of how you have participated as a change agent.

(300 words) No written responses please.

Answer 1

“Change is inevitable, yet, the fear of change is also inevitable.”

As human beings, we have the psychological inclination for stability, known variables, and considerations for security and a positive outcome. All these factors create the uncertainty and ambiguity which most individuals are scared of, creating an environment of resistance, dragging down the change endeavor. On the one hand, culture is the most significant factor for a synergistic organization, while in this case, acting as the most significant implication behind the frictional force between a positive change outcome and the acceptance of the change. Change is not always negative, no matter how individuals perceive it since it is brought up to bring a collective positive outcome. Individuals might, however, consider the change to be a negative factor feeling their internal environment and how change, acting as an external environmental factor affects it. No matter how good a change process is, it requires time, communication, consideration, and commitment from all the members of the organization to achieve a state of balance which can be considered as “zen.”

It is when this balance is achieved that an organization can hope to conclude with a positive outcome. Not all change endeavors have the same scope, needs, or even support from the leadership and management; therefore, the degree of resistance and acceptance would also be different.

As a leader, we should be committed to the change if we expect it to provide the necessary returns. We need open communication and feedback, as the mechanism of getting closer to the actual problems. Adopting a structured change management process with considerations such as smaller, more achievable and actionable goals as well as constant monitoring and the ability to bring quick corrects to the implementation would allow us to achieve a balance between change, productivity, and efficiency and therefore, as a leader, we need to be both supportive and assertive to see the required results.

Last year, the company I worked for introduced a green sourcing and recycling program which requires support from the leadership. But, the leaders did not allow the employees to achieve a buffer state of acceptance and conformity. What happened at the end was that the change process scheduled to be implemented entirely in six months took an entire year and therefore, while the end goal was achieved, the scope could not be fully realized.