Meyer's Management Models #45
Resistance to Change Typology
How should I interpret people’s reluctance to change?
Key Definitions
Panta rhei – everything flows – was the observation made by Heraclitus about 2500 years ago. People change, organizations change, conditions change; only change itself is permanent. It can vary, from slow and incremental to fast and transformational, but occurs everywhere.
Yet not only change is ceaseless, so is people’s inclination to resist change – to be reluctant to embrace the transition from A to B. When people value what they have, they show resistance to letting go; when they question what they are getting in return, they exhibit resistance to taking hold. Not everyone resists all the time, but it is a common human response to change.
Conceptual Model
The Resistance to Change Typology outlines the six generic categories of reasons why people experience reluctance to change from a current to a future state (also see Meyer’s Model nr. 1, the Mind the Gap model, for the challenges of change). The typology distinguishes between three different drivers of resistance, namely interests (political resistance), views (cognitive resistance) and feelings (emotional resistance). It also makes a distinction between resistance that is due to the need to let go of the current state and to take hold of the future state.
Key Elements
The six reasons that people resist change are the following:
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1.????Political Resistance. When people anticipate that a potential change might not serve their interests, there can be a strong motivation to push back. This resistance is called political as it is driven by people’s perception of winning or losing part of their stake in the “game”.
2.????Cognitive Resistance. When a potential change is at odds with people’s understanding of what is necessary, they are also likely to be reluctant to come on board. This resistance is called cognitive, as it is driven by people’s mental beliefs, assumptions, and reasoning.
3.????Emotional Resistance. When a potential change negatively impacts people’s deeper feelings, they are also more likely to push it away. This resistance is called emotional, as it is driven by people’s, often subconscious, inner sentiments and disposition.
Key Insights
Do you want to bring up the topic of resistance to change within your team or organization? Then please forward this framework to your colleagues to get the discussion going! And don't forget to hit the LIKE button on LinkedIn to help me spread these models more widely.
Next month's edition will be about the AMBITION RADAR SCREEN, that is a framework for understanding the goal-oriented motivations of the people around you. You can find all previously published models at?https://www.c4sl.eu/publications/, where you can also download the blog as a pdf, download the model as a PowerPoint and subscribe to the blog.
Founder & Managing Partner
1 年I can say that these feelings with dilemma arise due to lack of addressing those feelings in proper context . If you're open for an input I can partner for strategies to challenge these gaps to bridging two states to bring successful change management. Thanks and congratulations for such a thoughtful model Ron.
Business Agility Expert Leading Sustainability & Resilience Transformation - Board member - EU Climate Pact Ambassador - Born in 319 ppm
1 年Anne Smekens
Author of "Sales Management for Start-ups and SMEs" I Consultant & trainer in B2B sales
2 年I would say there is something missing from cognitive resistance here which is "no perceived need to change" I e I have thought about the change that is planned, and is not better than the current way...