What are effective strategies for overcoming resistance to change within your team?

In my experience, it is very important the share the vision and purpose of what the organisation strive to achieve; and thus what makes the change so important in order to help bring that vision alive. Allow Q&A; though it is a top down direction; the sentiments can be heard. There is a fine line of justification- when leaders start to feel that they are just simply creating a story to justify; “pause”. Reflect what is important for organisation and people. Be authentic and honest of what is clear and where some are in progress. Constant check in with team, listen to the fears and hopes; we may not necessarily have all the answers; but what we know is our being with them in the journey and provide clarity to continue to deliver results.

The key to adopt change is to get buy-in using a structured framework like the ADKAR model (Prosci), which focuses on five key elements to navigate change successfully: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement. 1. Awareness Clearly communicate the reasons/urgency for the change: its impact providing data, evidence, and examples to support the need for change. 2. Desire Help them see how the change aligns with their personal and professional goals. 3. Knowledge Share information needed to communicate expectations based on resources, role responsibility. 4. Ability Offer ongoing support, coaching, feedback loops to help team build confidence and competence. 5. Reinforcement Provide recognition & celebrate milestones.

A core aspect of management is communication. So of course, most managers find a way to screw it up. They hold back important feedback. They fail to provide a meaningful vision or strategy. And they struggle to communicate expectations, setting people up for failure. Instead of helping people grow, they let them stagnate. So, communicating well and consistently is the key without an assumption that people know what to do!

I have experienced that overcoming resistance starts before change comes on the scene. Dale Carnegie once said, "If you want people to be engaged, get them involved in building the world they live in." (1) Giving the team skin in the game changes how they seem themselves in the equation. (2) Also, consistent deposits to the emotional bank account (Covey) building trust between the leader and team members is crucial. If there is no trust, it doesn't matter what we do, we will struggle in addressing resistance. (3) Education and planning ahead is key. Educating the team on change, helping them identify how they handle change, and brainstorming known models to help address changes as a team, is a great preventative measure.

The two questions people care about above all else are: Why is this happening, and how does it affect me? Answering these clearly, and repeating yourself over time until people really understand it, helps considerably.

"The only constant is change”. Change is synonymous with the unfamiliar, which can trigger discomfort in our nervous system. To foster a positive transition, it's essential to create a safe space where everyone feels heard, acknowledged, and reassured. Here's how to achieve that: 1.HEARD: Foster open and honest communication. 2.ACKNOWLEDGED: Address concerns and collaborate to develop a shared vision for alignment. 3.REASSURED: Provide adequate resources and training. Leading by example is key. Cultivate an environment where empathy is #1 value, trust is #2 as in "my manager has my back", and don't hesitate to display vulnerability when navigating uncharted territory. Trust is not built on pretending to have all the answers.

Finding vocal dissenters and engaging them early is helpful. Actually listen to their perspective, and adopt any appropriate changes. You will get their buy-in much easier, and they are more likely to support you in communicating the change more broadly.

Lou Solomon, writing for Harvard Business Review, reported that 69% of managers are uncomfortable communicating with their employees. The biggest surprise about this statistic is how low it is. Over two-thirds of managers, likely well-paid and well-trained professionals, are uncomfortable with an essential part of their jobs. Who pays the price for this discomfort? Their employees. They don’t get quality feedback. They don’t understand expectations. And they lose opportunities to grow and improve.

I let them do 'Reflective Writing'. It follows 'future back' and 'outside in' approach. This broadens the understanding of change. It also shows the path. These two aspects help them realise the answers to their questions on their own.

This is a tricky part. There should be a balance between how much you involve people and how much the leadership team sets the vision for the change. Involving people in the WHY can slow down the process and dilute the vision. Not involving people in HOW will be a major mistake as they will feel like they are being changed rather than part of the change. The right balance is to involve the right people at the right time of the process. Involve your high-level thinkers, your visionaries in the WHY, and your does in the HOW.

If you really want to change something, you must love the process and your people both (truly). Without this emotional attachment of your own, you won't be able to get the things done and give a safe environment to the people around you in the process of change.

Change is almost always creates uncertainty. Uncertainty affects emotions and decisions. If we can work out how to reduce level of uncertainty in employees any model will work. Communication, coaching, active listening without judgement, create opportunities for them to contribute and active engagement is a good start.

Any change creates an excellent opportunity to leverage your listening skills. Many times, employees struggle with change for a number of reasons. Regardless if we agree with those reasons, making the time to listen and validate how they are feeling is a powerful method for gaining commitment. Many times, they don't understand or are not clear on the change. By listening, we are entering their 'map of the world' and we will hopefully be able to more clearly identify what their barriers are.

Involving your team is crucial, this ensured transparency, belongingness, accountability and ownership of the change/ issues being at hand. Managers can facilitate workshops to brainstorm, problem solve, ideate thus creating a safe space for employees/ team members to vent, to share, learn from each other. By facilitating, the manager is neutral, non judgmental and inclusive of everyone’s thoughts, ideas. ??

The number one way to address the emotional aspects of change is by LISTENING. Not listening to insert your opinion or prove someone wrong, but truly listening to what the person is struggling with in order to either just "lend and ear" or help them work through the root cause of the resistance.

Lead your team while staying at their back is the key to success. You need to show up and demonstrate when someone needs it and it will be possible when you are looking at every aspect from the back!

I once work for a founder who would say, "lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way". I'm sure this person thought they were being "strong" and inspirational, but they were turning the hearts of the people away from what we were trying to accomplish. My point: if you want good behavior in the change process map a clear change path, engage people in the change process, and be in tune with the emotional culture. If you stink at the emotion part, partner with someone who can help provide intelligent feedback in this area.

Once you engage your employees in a change, don't forget to check in with each of them. Change happens in stages and there may be times where one change creates resistance. Just because your employees say they agree with and support the change, it does not mean there aren't areas where they are not clear. Checking in doesn't have to take a lot of time. Keeping your employees first is a powerful way to show them you care about them.

You can't make change happen without such people who: - Are willing to support change - Are capable to make change - Demonstrate their continued support to make change

Progress is impossible: - Without change - Those who cannot change their minds - Cannot change anything - If you don't change with time - The times are going to change you