Resistance to change: an enemy in disguise

Resistance to change has gained considerable attention in organizations but hardly the meaning
of the concept is rarely discussed. Resistance to change can shift an organization perspective of
carrying out its interventions the way it wants and can go from horribly wrong to perfectly right
in the firm’s favor. Top management, Leaders and managers of change sometimes cannot
understand why individuals do not wholeheartedly embrace change that are being introduced.
Two important aspects should be kept in mind for transformative change in an organization;
survival anxiety must be greater than learning anxiety and second is that learning anxiety must
be reduced rather than increasing survival anxiety. Now survival anxiety is a driving force and
learning anxiety is a restraining force. Rather than attempting to increase the individual’s or
group sense of survival anxiety it is suggested that reducing the individual’s learning anxiety.
Now we can reduce the learner’s anxiety by increasing the learner’s sense of psychological
safety through a number of interventions like
 A compelling vision of the future
 Formal trainings to employees
 Learner’s involvement
 Group/teams informal trainings
 Feedback
 Positive role models
 Group supports
 Consistency in system and structure
The above listed interventions can facilitate the organization and its management to carry out the
change process. There are four perspectives which can become the cause for resistance to
change, they are characterized as follows 1. Behavioral approach which contains a) performance
management, b) skills training, c) reward policies d) management competencies etc. 2. Cognitive
approach which contains a) management by objectives b) business planning and performance
framework, c) results based coaching d) beliefs, attitude and cultural interventions etc. 3.
Psychodynamic approach which contains a) understanding change dynamics b) counseling
people through change c) surfacing hidden issues d) addressing emotions e) treating employees
and managers as adults etc. and 4. Humanistic approach which contains a) living the values b)
developing learning organizations c) addressing the hierarchy of needs d) fostering
communication and consultation etc. As the main agents for resistance to change can be from the
employee’s perspective the management should deal in issues related to it with caution and try to
maintain a mechanism of constant and consistent communication and coordination between
them, so that the process of sense giving and sense breaking is in fluent form and addressed
properly for the employee’s to understand and consent too.
Self Esteem

Denial New confidence

Anger

Acceptance

Confusion

Depression

Crisis

Time
Classic psychological reactions to change
Managers and staff needs to know in detail what they are expected to do and how they are
expected to perform. Behavior Managers and staff need to know in detail what they are expected
to do and how they are expected to perform. Behavior needs to be defined, especially when many
organization today are promoting the company way. From the cognitive perspective a manager
needs to employ strategies that link organizational goals, individual goals and motivation. This
the psychodynamic perspective suggest adapting one’s managerial approach and style behavior
needs to be defined, especially when many organizations today are promoting ‘the company
way’. The psychodynamic approach enables managers to see the benefits of looking beneath the
surface of what is going on and uncovering thought that are not being articulated and feelings
that are not being expressed organizational goals, individual goals and motivation. This is about
treating people as adults and having mature conversations with them. The humanistic psychology
perspective builds on the psychodynamic ethos by believing that people are inherently capable of
responding to change, but require enabling structure and strategies so to do.