Selling coriander: how not to assume your Change tastes good to everyone

Coriander. Have you ever encountered a spice so divisive that its mere mention sparks debates amongst culinary lovers? Some are big fans of the little green plant, whilst others strongly believe it adds a taste of soap to your dish. Assuming the spice will be welcomed by all your table guests is a bad idea.

The analogy can be made to organizational changes that seem to be shiny and all good news. The launch of a new intranet, a new holiday request procedure or merging two really successful companies. Assuming these changes will be welcomed by colleagues with enthusiasm is a great pitfall when implementing a change at the office. Regardless of whether the change initiative requires an individual behavior change, it is important to keep in mind that assumption is the mother of all ... You know what I wanted to write here, I'm sure.

Let's dive into how to avoid the coriander assumption in the context of organizational change management.

Unexpected dislike for your coriander dish

You are leading this great organizational change and with all the money pumped into it and a project team that's focussed on technical obstacles, you might have a blind spot when it comes to the resistance your implied positive organizational change might face. You're not assuming any job losses or changes. All seemed initially like merely positive introductions to people's workflows. Right?

Resistance can pop-up in organizational change initiatives in many forms and flavours. It is important to anticipate resistance, however purely positive your change might appear. Employees might be highly invested in their current way of working or actually proposed a different change scenario before you were introduced to the project.

People and change

Resisting change is rarely irrational. In the context of this blog I specifically want to point out that however positive a change initiative might seem, it is important to take into consideration possible resistance to said change initiative. Your amazing new tool might give people the feeling they lose something. Some might even fear for their job security, where you do not make that link at all.

The common phrase "people do not like change" keeps going rounds. I heard it on stage by an innovation minded speaker at a congress I attended few weeks ago. The thing is, people do not naturally resist change. People do not enjoy the feeling they are being forced to change without being involved. The latter implies that we can dismiss the human need for autonomy.

"Stop saying people do not like change. People usually do not like being forced to change, that's an important nuance."

Remember: your new intranet for example, might really taste like coriander (soap!) to some people in your organization, whilst you strongly believe it's the greatest flavour enhancer for your company's internal communications mix. To make it even more concrete, avoid sentences that look like this: "Don't worry, it will be a great new working situation."

Hitting the right flavor buds

So what's the solution to avoid the coriander assumption?

• Carefully assess whether your change will be a positive new situation for all impacted groups. Go rounds and talk with people to discover whether there is any 'past pain.' The latter means that people might have already seen a similar Change initiative in the time they are with the company.
• Lying about soap. There might even be people who strongly state that the 'introduced coriander' tastes bad to them and it is a terrible integration in their daily workflows, even though this is not the case at all. Here it is interesting to discover where the resistance to the change initiative comes from. However positive you believe the change is for the total population of the organization, it might be the case that people feel like they lose some sort of power for example.
• Too soon or late. Just like cooking, adding spices too soon or late can really impact the end result on your plate. When we make the link to organizational change it's good to take into consideration that introducing an organizational change right after an hectic or 'change intensive year,' the chances of success can definitively be lower. Timing is everything!

Curious about your thoughts on coriander, and resistance to change specifically of course.

Bon appetit, enjoy your Change!