Resistance gets a bad rap in Change – it’s something that must be avoided and eliminated. You often hear resistance in terms of something that needs to be broken down, overcome or managed at all costs.
But what if resistance isn’t the problem?
In my experience, people don’t resist change because they enjoy being difficult. It happens because something doesn’t make sense, someone feels a sense of loss, or there’s a lack of transparency and trust in the process.
If resistance isn’t about people being stubborn, then it must be a signal that something isn’t landing as well as it could. As a change manager, that’s valuable information.
So maybe resistance is useful.
In spite of what your stakeholders or project team think, change managers should stop seeing resistance as a battle of wills and start seeing it as a source of feedback. When you dig into the issues, you’ll find there’s often something you can work with, instead of against.
There are a few common reasons I’ve found why people are resisting change.
They don’t understand: Perhaps they don’t understand what’s changing or why. Maybe they didn’t get the memo or just got a vague passed-down announcement. For change to be effective, people need clarity. Perhaps you need to give more detail to help this group make more sense of what’s happening.
There’s no clear benefit: Ask yourself what’s the benefits for this impacted group? Are they clear enough for them to embrace. If you can’t see the personal or professional value in the change, why would you support it? They are asking “What’s in it for me?” You need an unambiguous answer to that question.
The process isn’t trusted: The best way to build trust is to keep people informed and involve them when you can. If people have had no involvement in shaping the change, then you will see pushback. Consider whether you’ve given them a voice in the process.
So, what’s the lesson with resistance?
Instead of trying to bulldoze your way through resistance, lean in! And the good news is you can do it with one question:
“What isn’t working for you about this change?”
And then listen.
Don’t jump in to defend, sell or explain. Just listen.
Because when people feel heard, they stop needing to push back so hard.
When you do this, you can use the feedback you learn to refine your approach. Maybe it’s your message that needs adjusting? Maybe you need to reset expectations? or perhaps you’ll hear something you hadn’t seen before that you need to add to your plan.
As you work with resistance instead of fighting it, you’ll build an opportunity to transform your sceptics into contributors. Instead of forcing people to comply you give people a chance to be part of something they understand and can champion.
Treating resistance as an annoyance is the fastest way to lose a valuable source of insight into any change. Next time ask the question, listen to the answer and see what you can learn to make your change better.
