Resistance to change is a myth

Why is it so hard to change?

The question is relevant, but the answer can be very broad. An employee may experience a form of resistance for several reasons: a lack of confidence in his or her superior (or management), the impression of a loss of control over his or her team (or even the company), or simply because of a lack of knowledge of the benefits that the change will bring. All of these elements can amplify the perception of threat, when a change arrives, and thus provoke apprehension or fear on the part of those who will have to "undergo" it or operate it.

Change: Does the past guarantee the future?

In the past, have changes been carried out intelligently? Clearly, do they come systematically from the top, without discussion or consultation? With only the communication of the obligation to comply? Does the company tend to recognize individual contributions or the overall performance of the team? These are all elements that can tarnish the perception of a change process among all employees. Fortunately, these elements can also be improved by the company's managers and leaders, if they take the time to step back and question the approach being considered.

Change fatigue" is a reality: change takes time to occur and it is the responsibility of leaders to understand the pace of each member of their team. In other words, a major change coupled with an intense pace will necessarily have a negative impact on the organization. In his book "The 5th Discipline", author Peter Senge mentions that "cutting an elephant in half doesn't make two little elephants, but a mess". Our approach to change must be inspired by this: we must give ourselves time, work in stages and understand that each of us goes through phases of cognitive, emotional and other adaptations.

Change is not so rational

Some managers see change exclusively in terms of cost and time indicators. They want to see numbers that hold up, reduce financial impacts and have delivery dates as fast as possible. On the other hand, the point of view of those who will have to live through this change is quite different: Will I lose my job? Or will my responsibilities be reduced? Am I competent enough for these new tasks? Will there be training to help me acquire the skills I don't have? Will my manager's expectations of results lead to work overload? Will I change teams, with all the personal implications?

Never forget that an organization is first and foremost a system of relationships. Depending on our life experiences, we perceive change differently.

Researcher Carol Dweck has looked at the mindset of employees who make change happen. She classifies them into two categories: developmental and fixed. For a person with a developmental mindset, investing effort in change is an opportunity for their future and for the development of their professional skills. They see change as an opportunity for improvement and development. Conversely, an individual with a fixed mindset considers his or her qualities, skills and personality as determined and unchangeable: we are born that way and we can't change anything. Therefore, for this person, change is more difficult. Be careful not to make shortcuts: we have both states of mind within us. One can take precedence over the other according to our moods, circumstances, the subject discussed. Hence the fundamental importance of the organization's attitude: does it promote progress, mutual aid or only individual contribution? Are the rules flexible or do they interfere with the creative process of the employees? Sometimes all it takes is an analysis of the environment offered to employees to anticipate how they will react to change.

The environment is conducive to change

According to the Harvard Business Review, 90% of CEOs of the world's largest companies expect significant change in their business over the next five years. However, 75% of them report that transformation efforts often fail to deliver the expected results. For many organizations, change is now a matter of survival. In fact, the average lifespan of an organization is now 12 years, down from 33 years in 1964. Yes, survival is the word!

Leadership Vision | Martin Luther King did not say "I have a plan," but rather "I have a dream. The reference may seem disproportionate, but it says it all: employees will first follow a leader with whom they share a common vision and who challenges them. Best-selling author Simon Sinek talks about the "why" and the need for everyone in an organization to make sense of what they do. This is the source of all change. It is necessary that the employees of a company share this direction before undertaking a change that will alter their daily lives. Employees must know and understand where they are going. This is the foundation, the key to a successful transition and is - in my opinion - too often neglected.

Creative tension | As Jack Welch, former chairman of General Electric, mentions, the challenge is bureaucracy. "When you have eight layers of clothing on your back, it's hard to know if it's cold outside," he said. So in this change, how much room do you leave for creativity? When the vision is shared by team members and everyone comes to a better understanding of their role in the change, that's when what we call creative tension is born. We speak of creative tension when we refer to the gap between what is there at the moment and the objective we want to achieve. Each person takes his or her place and creates what will become his or her personal contribution to this change.

Sharing leadership : Leaders should be hard and uncompromising on the vision of the company and flexible on the way the change will be carried out. This sharing of leadership with other "natural" leaders will necessarily have a positive impact on the company. The vision and values of the organization will continue to circulate in order to foster strong buy-in for the changes that are underway and those that will come.

In conclusion, as you can see, resistance to change is a myth, because it does not only concern the employee who "receives" the change order and must "undergo" it. On the contrary, resistance to change depends largely on the company's culture and the efforts made to create spaces for exchange, discussion and flexibility in order to allow employees to take their place in the change process. This transition is everyone's business and is often a reflection of what is going on inside the company.

And you, how do you encourage the empowerment of your employees through change?

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