Dealing with resistant stakeholders in a new culture: Are you ready to navigate the challenges ahead?

Emphasizing on what losses or fails they experience with the status quo, and also involving them in workshops to craft the new culture (without affecting the core objectives of it).

It’s important to understand who, what, where, why, and how of the resistance. When working with stakeholders, there is an investment of time, energy, resources, trust, and vulnerability. There are stakeholders who want to be fully engaged and involved and others who rather be observers. In order to find a solution for the resistance, it is important to understand where it stems from. Listening with intent and understanding, to be able to respond and act appropriately for the benefit of the efforts. Everyone may not agree with the changes, but they will appreciate your willingness to learn and understand their position. The culture should offer a sense of belonging, so understanding the POV is the first step to accomplishing this change.

The secret here is to align on the 'why'. The resistance is often down to the 'how' and the perceived impact on individuals and groups. In times of change, people need one of three things. Information: to help reduce stress and enable people to plan. Some will seek it out, some may be told but not hear, and some will make it up or assume they are being excluded for a reason. Choices: however small, give people a sense of control. Engagement: the more we put into something, the more we feel connected to it. In change programmes we support, we blend the three things to create a powerful strategy to accelerate change adoption and help people feel in the loop, with a level of control and involvement to shape the future state.

Many stakeholders are resistant to change as they see only negative impacts on themselves. You need to identify for each stakeholder group the WiiFM factor (What's in it For Me) and communicate that the WiiFM is what you are aiming for. There is no such thing as too much communication through a change process.

Communicating the vision is the key element in every change. We humans need to find and understand our role in the bright future. If we don’t find ourselves we usually get demotivated and often rebels. It is crucial task for every leader to articulate changes well with inspiring long term perspective. This usually wins more supporters right from the beginning and significantly reduces the resistance in the organization with the follow up Implementation actions.

In our extensive change work, we share six guidelines for communicating change. One: Be repetitive; by the time you get bored with saying the message, you are probably starting to break through. Two: Do it little and often; don't store it up for one big communication and think it's job done. Three: Always, always start with the ' why'. Four: Focus on the vision and keep people focused on what you are working towards. Five: Set clear expectations. Six: Be open about what you know, share what you can and tell people when things can't be shared and why. You may have to tell the market first, or the decision affects specific individuals. These six guidelines will serve as a checklist in times of change.

Communicating the vision is the key element in every change. We humans need to find and understand our role in the bright future. If we don’t find ourselves we usually get demotivated and often rebels. It is crucial task for every leader to articulate changes well with inspiring long term perspective. This usually wins more supporters right from the beginning and significantly reduces the resistance in the organization with the follow up Implementation actions.

Depending on the reason for the culture change, in addition to articulating why it's beneficial, you may also need to articulate what happens if we don't change. If the culture change is driven from a need for the organisation to survive and compete in the future, it may be important to share the downside of 'not changing' to motivate your stakeholders.

La comunicación efectiva y transparente es esencial para superar la resistencia al cambio cultural. Esta resistencia a menudo proviene del miedo a lo desconocido y de la preocupación por el impacto en roles individuales. Al explicar claramente no solo los detalles del cambio, sino también los motivos y beneficios, se puede reducir la resistencia. Pintar una imagen positiva del futuro fomenta un propósito compartido, involucrando a las partes interesadas. Alinear los mensajes con sus valores y objetivos es clave para asegurar que el cambio sea percibido como relevante y beneficioso, transformando la resistencia en aceptación y compromiso.

Cuando desde el principio, somos inclusivos y hacemos participar a todas las partes interesadas, generando flujos de comunicación transparente, detallando la misión y visión, conociendo las opiniones, ideas y propuestas de todos, orientados a crear acuerdos y una línea de acción conjunta, determinando objetivos tangibles y viables a lograr, el proyecto de Nueva Cultura avanzará más fluidamente y los desafíos tendrán un impacto menos negativo.

Fomentar la inclusión es crucial para gestionar la resistencia al cambio. Involucrar a las partes interesadas hace que se sientan valoradas y aumenta su compromiso con la nueva dirección. Cuando las personas tienen voz en el proceso y ven que sus opiniones son consideradas, es más probable que apoyen el cambio. Este enfoque colaborativo no solo reduce la resistencia, sino que también enriquece el proceso al incorporar diversas perspectivas. Incluir a los escépticos como co-creadores del cambio fortalece la cultura organizacional, mejora la adopción del cambio y fomenta la confianza y la colaboración a largo plazo.

Let them observe you first. Create a safe environment for those who are sceptical and let them watch you, your team, colleagues and your influence on the organisation. The culture change must speak for itself. Leader of change must have followers. You won’t force anyone to change, because change starts from ourselves, inside people.

Involving resistant stakeholders in the change process ensures they feel acknowledged and fosters a culture of healthy disagreement. By implementing changes as leaders while keeping resistors engaged and adjusting when necessary for the business, these stakeholders are less likely to disengage. Over time, they are more likely to recognize the benefits of the change.

?? Errores a Evitar en el Cambio Cultural ?? Al integrar una nueva cultura, evita estos errores clave: ?? Ignorar Retroalimentación: No adaptar tu estrategia según las inquietudes de las partes interesadas puede aumentar la resistencia. Escucha y ajusta. ?? ?? Soluciones Uniformes: Aplicar una estrategia única para todos los grupos suele ser ineficaz. Personaliza tu enfoque para cada parte interesada. ?? Superar estos obstáculos facilitará una integración cultural exitosa y colaborativa. ??

Ofrecer apoyo es crucial para facilitar la transición a una nueva cultura organizacional. Proporcionar recursos y capacitación ayuda a las partes interesadas a adaptarse al cambio al darles las herramientas necesarias para tener éxito. Esto demuestra el compromiso de la organización con su desarrollo personal y profesional. El apoyo debe ser práctico y personalizado, incluyendo programas de mentoría, talleres y otras iniciativas relevantes. Al hacer estos recursos accesibles, se reduce el miedo al cambio y se fomenta un entorno de seguridad y confianza, transformando la resistencia en aceptación y proactividad.

Celebrating small wins is crucial in any change management strategy. It generates short-term momentum and helps secure buy-in from resistant stakeholders. When they observe the success of the change, they are more likely to want to align themselves with the "winning" side of the initiative.

De forma recurrentes comento que "Los éxitos unen" Cuando un equipo logra un éxito, grande o peque?o, se fortalece el sentido de unidad y pertenencia. Los éxitos compartidos son hitos que refuerzan la cohesión y el compromiso entre los miembros del equipo. Analiza por que ha sido u éxito y cuéntaselo a la organización, es una forma de reforzar los aspectos positivos con dosis de realidad. "Pasando de la teoría de la práctica".

Reforzar los aspectos positivos es clave para manejar la resistencia al cambio. Destacar los beneficios y compartir historias de éxito muestra el valor del cambio y puede motivar a los escépticos. Celebrar hitos y reconocer a los primeros en adoptar la nueva cultura crea ejemplos positivos que inspiran a otros. Enfocarse en las ganancias y oportunidades en lugar de en los desafíos cambia la narrativa de amenaza a oportunidad. La positividad es contagiosa y ayuda a acelerar la aceptación, transformando la resistencia en entusiasmo y compromiso con la nueva cultura.

In the times of change the organizations usually get polarized. “Us” versus “Them”, management versus staff etc. communicating the positives can be a challenging task due to the thinner trust between camps. Regardless of the efforts management often finds out that messages simply don’t grasp. What works really well in these situations is the enablement of an organizational change angels. These are highly regarded people within the organization of change that support the vision and can communicate simple but effective the positives. An important condition is that the angels really believe in the change and are being authentic in their communication.

Es importante entender el proposito imperante, formal o informal del equipo, ajustando la forma de abordarlo de acuerdo a la cultura imperante. Muchas veces la diferencia entre lo declarado y lo real, es bastante grande y por ende, la obligación de vincularse, conectarse previo a redefinir la estrategia es clave. Hacer parte al equipo involucrado en este proceso y due?os de la solución, es lo que mejor resultado me ha entregado.

An important perspective that I would like to add is the need to recognise that at some point, it may happen that some stakeholders will conclude that new world being introduced by the culture change at this time is not for them. This should not be seen as a betrayal or that they are resistant to change. Plan for this, and provide avenues for them to exit gracefully and with dignity. Sometimes your organisation's alumni can be advocates or lead magnets.