How can management motivate people to listen? By making sure they will benefit from what is said! A manager during change is like a sea captain, they need to get their ship together. Change is not the problem; resistance to change is the problem. The Gallup Institute study of eighty thousand managers and over a million employees shows how dramatically employee opinion can affect productivity. And while we can't control much of the world changing around us, we can control how we respond to how employees feel about a changing environment. When things change, people are afraid they will no longer be experts. They will have to learn the new way, and no one wants to be a senior beginner. Our studies show that to make change work, we have to prove to our key people that the change means getting results better than (or at least equal to) those achieved the old way, assure them that their experience has value, and then get them to spread that message through the organization. Resistance management (tactics for systematically managing resistance) The eight most common beliefs and reasons that people resist change: 1. There isn't any real need for the change. 2. The change is going to make it harder for them to meet their needs. 3. The risks seem to outweigh the benefits. 4. They don't think they have the ability to make the change. 5. They believe the change will fail. 6. Change process is being handled improperly by management. 7. The change is inconsistent with their values. 8. They believe those responsible for the change can't be trusted. Being prepared for the resistance and making sure your solutions fit the existing culture are the keys to making change work. Its important that the new way makes sense at all levels. A solution is not viewed as valuable if it just compensates for a flaw in the system. What do you get when you cross lassie with a pit-bull? A dog that will rip your leg off and then help you go find it. What good is that? Wynn Solutions 2005 |
