What do you do if your executive team is resistant to change?

Addressing resistance to change in Inspiredvalley's executive team requires #patience and #empathy. I once faced a similar challenge when proposing a new approach to product development. Instead of pushing my ideas, I listened to their concerns and shared real-world examples of successful change initiatives in our industry. By fostering open dialogue and highlighting the potential benefits, we gradually gained buy-in. Through collaboration and understanding, we overcame resistance, embracing change as an opportunity for growth and innovation.

When the executive team is resistant to change, it can be challenging, but there are strategies you can use. Start by understanding their concerns and reasons for resistance. Communicate openly about the benefits of the proposed changes and how they align with the organization's goals. Involve the team in the change process by seeking their input and addressing their fears or uncertainties. Building trust and showing empathy towards their perspectives can help overcome resistance and create a more collaborative approach to implementing change.

And I work with organisations, large and small resistance always has a route of self preservation. Rather than persuading someone it’s about looking at the drivers behind their resistance and action and meeting them where they are. When it comes to change, it’s always more successful if it’s done with others rather than to them.

Before engaging in change, it’s vital to understand the scope of the problem at hand. That means the senior leader needs to have many conversations with a variety of stakeholders to explore their perceived needs and views. This exploration should be about gathering information, not trying to convince others to adopt a specific viewpoint. During this time, it’s important to remember that everyone resists change to some degree. Especially if we have strong ownership in the processes currently in use. So we leaders need to hear what these stakeholders want, even from those who have strong ownership about the old system, despite its flaws and inefficiencies.

If your subordinate or superior is creating resistance to innovation, do a checkup of both him and the situation. Ask yourself questions before communication, such as what are the resistance points, what can I overcome with communication?

This is got to be starting from where people are. Future focused people are all about vision where as present focused people want to know that things are going to be okay. The key is to build a bridge so that everyone can cross this normal.

Change is resisted when it is not apparently fruitful. What can be the reason of resistance ? 1. If the executive team is unable to foresee the benefits of the change for the organization 2. Finds burdensome 3. No personal gains 4. Lack of motivation 5. Lack of clarity of the purpose and instructions Well, addressing the above reasons the change can be made acceptable and thus easy to implement.

After you have gathered information and data from your stakeholder conversations, communicating vision is the next step. Present a compelling picture to explain why change is needed. The evidence presented needs to point out factually that change is necessary. It’s not about communicating WHAT will be done, but rather it’s about fostering a conversation about WHY a change should be done. This allows the leadership team to build a shared understanding of the need. This time may be a time where some team members insist on keeping the old ways. At some point, you may have to use your positional authority to say, “I hear your concerns, but we must do something new. There may be old things to keep, but others must change. How do we do that?”

We generally try to imagine positively a point that can be reached due to change. At that very moment, resistances appear before you with the most negative scenario. Clearly define exit plans from this negative scenario. then make it dream.

Building meaningful change is about buy-in. We can’t force major change in the organization by ourselves. We must depend on the support of the leadership team to implement it. As the senior leader, you present the vision about WHY the change is needed. You present the parameters about what must happen, but then it’s up to the other leaders to collaboratively work out a plan about HOW it happen. You then keep the team focused and aligned on the vision about improving.

.Managers' participation or willingness to participate in the process is limited to their belief that the actions you plan, clearly express and take will create positive feedback. However, if you share a process where their participation is high or low, be sure to honor this participation.

Change can not be copy-paste sort of that you saw somewhere , copied and tried to pase in your organisation without paying attention of 'source format'. I mean from where you copied an idea there may be many things different for example qualification and professional expertise,skills set of your team members, availability of resources , your policy, huge difference in salary etc. For example you want your team to move towards digitalization , automation like create activity, sending home work on whatsappbut but your school policy keeps their phones at office as soon as they enter which is an hindrance to perform the tasks. Since indirectly it wants them to do extra work in home time which will surely be resisted. Support is a must.

Major change won’t happen in one meeting and it won’t happen in isolation. We must have several meetings to work through the process. Even after implementation, follow through and additional support is necessary. Sometimes the change may require specific training or professional development — not just for the immediate time, but for the long term as well. For example, once people implement a change, they may now need different support because they have a newer understanding than they had before implementing it. Also, new staff who come into the system after implementation may need training as well to understand the new system.

Reflection is vital when implementing change. Honest reflection means celebrating successes too, not just focusing on the problems. When change is genuinely needed, even if it’s poorly implemented, we won’t entirely go back to the old way of doing things. We can’t step in the same river twice. We just make adjustments and keep on the path to improvement. Celebrating small success will help keep us motivated to stay the course and move forward.