How do most people react to change? I think Alexander Graham Bell's quote
applies, "When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and
regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for
us." Most people instinctively resist change. I typically see four phases
through which people react to change.
Phase 1
Ignore the Pain
- people do just that - they ignore the fact that a change is even occurring.
Their focus in on what others are doing to them. They make comments such
as, "Why are they doing this to me?" or "It will never happen." They tend
to avoid any information that pertains to the change(s).
Phase 2
When people begin Feeling the Pain, they recognize that this change is
going to be worse than they initially thought. They experience a sense of loss
over what used to be and they mourn the "good old days." People ask, "Have we
been doing it wrong all these years?" They feel like they have no choice or
control over decisions which affect them directly.
This is the most difficult phase because of the painful reactions. I find five
types of reactions in this phase:
1. Keep to Yourself and Lick Your Wounds - You stay to yourself and deal with
the pain alone. You don't allow others to know how you feel. Your internalized
stress skyrockets and it begins to negatively affect your attitude and
productivity.
2. Whine and Manipulate - You are angry about the changes and whine behind the
boss's back to other people. You try to manipulate the system for your own
agenda regardless of the impact on others. Morale in the organization becomes
affected negatively.
3. Hiss and Pick Fights - You become aggressive and say things in anger. You no
longer care about others' feelings and your main goal is to make other people
feel as miserable as you do.
4. Mark Your Territory - You decide you can't influence the entire team so
you'll just stick to your territory. You cover and protect any mistakes or
problems in your department or area or responsibility.
5. Withhold Warmth -You don't share information with the rest of the team that
could be beneficial. Since your boss appears to not recognize your contributions
to the team, you are not going to share information with them. Information is
power.
Following are some actual examples of reactions of people in the first two
phases of resistance. The most common reaction is to withhold information;
people may leave the organization; lots of whining and manipulation (one
organization I know gives out "No BMW's" T-shirts - BMW stands for "bitching,
moaning, whining"). Some employees concentrate on their product in order
to avoid the process of change. Other employees pick fights with their
peers over territory issues. Many employees are fearful because they don't get
much information from their leaders and the leaders firmly act as if they have
the new "right way" to proceed and therefore need no input from their staff.
Phase 3
In Heal the Pain, the focus is still on self and how the changes will
affect me. But now, at least we are past “feeling” the pain and the focus on
yesterday and are now beginning to look to the future and challenge for
tomorrow. It is important to note that we are still on the bottom of the cycle
and we are still dealing with pain.
One of the main things people experience in the “healing” phase is
organizational chaos and indecisiveness. Indecisiveness in many organizations is
what they call committees or task forces. The organization doesn't know exactly
what the game plan is so they assign a committee to help them figure it out.
Many people just want their boss to tell them what “The Plan” is. In reality,
there is no specific, concrete, well-defined, set-in-stone plan -- particularly
when it comes to defining the how-to's of the change that’s being introduced.
Most game plans are fluid in nature and may and will change as the needs
dictate.
What is critical in this phase is for you to give your input and ideas into the
plan and for the management team to listen to your ideas and concerns. The
second critical aspect of this phase is to learn to forgive those who have
wronged you in the past so you can move into your future.
It's almost like a coach at half time giving the team information and revising
the game plan prior to the second half of the game. Sometimes the strategy/game
plan the coach originally designed doesn't work out in the “real world.”
Effective team players need the strength and ability to give honest input from a
front-line perspective. Why return to the game with a plan that you know will
not work?
Phase 4
Eventually, people build enough trust in the leadership of their organization to
consider committing themselves to New Growth for Tomorrow. It means
making a commitment to a not-exactly, non-specific, vague tomorrow. The best
analogy for this final phase is marriage. For those of us who are married, how
many of us really knew what marriage was going to be like before we got married?
Very few of us. Yet most of us hopefully and willingly made our commitment to
our spouse -- even with all the unknowns. Does this mean that every single day
we absolutely love and adore our spouse? Hardly.
I once heard a well-known evangelist interviewed about his 50+ year marriage to
his wife. He was asked the question if he and his wife ever discussed divorce.
Without hesitation, he replied, “Divorce no, murder yes.” I think I’m in good
company and so are you. Even though we love our spouse, we may not absolutely
like them all the time.
The same is true with your organization. When you make the commitment to
New Growth for Tomorrow for your organization and their vision for
tomorrow, it doesn't mean you will always like what’s going on in your
organization or the direction they are headed. But, it also doesn't mean you are
any less committed to the organization. I believe commitment is a gift you give
yourself because riding the fence and wavering with your commitment only means
you’re prolonging an inevitable fall in marriage and in your organizational
life!
How would our world be different if we were all 100% committed to our marriages?
How would your organization be different if all its employees were all 100%
committed to the success of your organization? It would be much more difficult
to fail. When you only give part of yourself to success in your job, you are
asking for failure. It means constantly updating your resume and looking for
other options. Remember, the grass is always greener on the other side, but it
still needs to be mowed over there. If you think you're going to leave your
current organization for a less tumultuous organization, in most cases, you will
be in for a rude awakening. Change in organizations is the norm, not the
exception nowadays. Instead of leaving your current organization, consider
learning how to effectively cope with change and you will learn skills that will
last you for a lifetime.
by Patti
Hathaway, CSP
Ms.
Hathaway helps organizations manage change. She is author of three books
including Untying the ‘Nots’ of Change Before You’re Fit to be Tied
(Destination Publications, Westerville, OH, 2000). She can be reached at
1-800-339-0973 or
www.thechangeagent.com.
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