Here's how you can navigate resistance to change and foster innovation as a leader.

You must get to the root of resistance to change. Here are a few aspects to check: - Is your team concerned about the personal impact this change will have on them? Perhaps they fear being replaced. - Does your team feel unsafe because they have heard all vision and no plan? About 40% of people need to feel confident in the plan to move forward. - Is there something about your leadership that is driving the fear? Perhaps they are concerned you are over capacity or don’t have the skill set to lead through the change. - Is it a capacity issue? If your team has been driven too hard, they may either be worn out or simply fear they don’t have enough capacity to bring about the change.

Understanding fear helps leaders navigate change by acknowledging team anxieties, fostering open communication, and reframing fear as a prompt for caution and creative problem-solving during innovation. These actions will go a long way toward not only quieting fear but helping you better understand your team and their resistance: -Employ active listening by encouraging open dialogue where team members feel safe expressing concerns. -Identify the "what" and "why" to help pinpoint the specific fears and their root causes. -Normalize fear by acknowledging it's natural and can be a source of valuable insight.

Be aware that people find change threatening as it forces them out of familiar routines, disrupting their sense of stability. Recognize fears related to potential job loss, role displacement, or the need to re-qualify for a changed position, which can foster anxiety and reluctance to change. Consider the effect of change on well-established working relationships, as it may require team members to reconstruct their support networks or adapt to new collaborations. Be aware that change can influence the team's overall morale and cohesion, as individuals may feel uncertain about their team's future or purpose

The first action item for leaders is publicly acknowledging that change is hard and that fear is real. Don't downplay your employees' trepidations or negative emotions. Instead, provide a safe space to discuss and take seriously everyone's concerns. Encourage especially those who do not often speak up or voice their opinions to participate. This will create a baseline of psychological safety and assurance that opposition - continued or sustained - to the change initiative is OK. Second, allow your teams to actively participate in the change by leveraging their expertise to improve processes, structures, and workflows - irrespective of their place in the hierarchy. This will alleviate fear, create a sense of Regency, and generate ownership.

Clearly explain the reasons behind the change and the benefits it can bring to the team and the organization as a whole. Ensure that your team has the resources, training, and support needed to adapt to change and pursue innovative ideas effectively.

As a leader, navigating resistance, passive or apparent, to change involves open dialogue, communication, and empowerment. Be transparent and encourage others to be as well. Open communication will allow the concerns to be addressed and may get the buy-in you are looking for. I have often put those who may resist in charge of driving the change, it empowers them to shape the direction, creates ownership and commitment. I stay involved in the process, but more as a navigator and not the driver.

Create a safe environment. Encourage open dialogue and assure team members that their concerns and ideas are valued. Foster a culture where it's safe to take risks and try new approaches.

Demonstrate your openness to change and willingness to try new things. When team members see leaders embracing innovation, they're more likely to follow suit.

For leaders to "lead by example" is embracing a level of humility with which many may be uncomfortable but is needed to break through resistance. Leaders should be open about the extent of their expertise while seeking out feedback from the "real experts" on the frontlines. If done earnestly and authentically, setting this type of example should motivate your team members to contribute to the change process through their unique insights and emulate your willingness to defer to those more fit to contribute in a particular area.

The type of culture I have found to be most supportive of fostering adaptability is one that embraces a safe-to-fail and fail-fast mentality. Allow your teams to experiment on small-scale changes in quick succession and seek immediate feedback from those directly and most affected - the customer of the change "product" being created.

Startup culture truly paved the way for adaptability showing us how to stay lean and move quickly in a quickly changing work landscape. Not getting attached to any one thing (strategy, product etc.) is vital here because often it's our human attachment that holds us back from innovation. Some examples of great continuous improvement methodologies include: - Six Sigma - Kaizen - Lean - PDCA Cycle As a leader, take the time to look into these and even engage in some self-learning to become more knowledgeable on these types of approaches. Pick one that you like most and give it a try in your organization by starting with a "test" project.

Ensure proper training of staff on procedural and other aspects of the change prior to effecting the change and provide a safe environment and remedial measures as necessary for mistakes and lapses over the process of implementation of the change and a designated period after implementation.

Acknowledge and celebrate both small and big wins that result from innovation efforts. Recognition can motivate team members and reinforce the importance of embracing change. A simple / informal feedback does the trick but a quality conversation seals everything. Don’t just acknowledge, celebrate!

I think it is important to boost self confidence in encouraging capacity to adapt to rapidly changing environments, demonstrating to your team your faith in their individual and group ability to respond positively to change.

Set clear goals, previously discussed with and endorsed by your team. Make sure that your leadership is followed by convinced followers: they matter more than you !

When it comes to navigating resistance to change, everyone likes change better when it's their idea or they share in it. Involve others using a framework that highlights these categories (the degree of change, the change risks and costs, and change opportunities) across each audience (to them personally, their role, the team, stakeholders and customers). This is a learning process to reduce assumptions for the team and for us as change champions. Focusing on opportunities can highlight unknown potential for innovation inside of the change. Typically change efforts don't focus on all of these dimensions (especially the individual reflection), and it's an easy exercise to tee up with prework for a facilitated conversation in a meeting.

There is change and ambiguity everywhere. We need to be prepared and more comfortable with a world that is constantly shifting in ways that we are not able to predict or control. One way to start with navigating change with creativity and an innovative mindset is to ??become better at perceiving subtle dynamics of what is changing ??discuss a broad range of possibilities with people of diverse backgrounds ??engage in calculated risk-taking.

Making change happen is like moving an elephant. It is incredibly slow and difficult. For change to happen faster, it is important to involve the people being affected by the change in the change management process and the decisions surrounding it. If change is forced, people will adopt it but it won't stick. Motivation for change has to come intrinsically and organically for individuals, and by working closely with them and incorporating their ideas and feedback, they are more likely to adapt the change because they helped create it.