Managing resistance to change - Irvin Bishop Jr
Bishop highlights several pivotal areas to focus on in order to manage resistance and overcome some of the other potential change derailers. First is the issue of change saturation. The executive team needs to have clear visibility into all of the change going on in the organization to determine whether it has the capability to absorb something new.
IRVIN BISHOP, JR., EVP AND CIO, BLACK & VEATCH
BLACK & VEATCH
He also emphasizes the importance of developing the case to help people understand the why behind the change and using a formal change methodology or model.
“And then you have to understand the culture piece, because what I’ve found is that people with have either a positive or a negative response to change,” he says.
The negative responses, Bishop adds, tend to fall into the categories of fight, flight, or freeze. When someone believes that the change conflicts with what they value or what their customers value, they will fight the change, actively arguing and resisting. If they don’t understand why there is a change or don’t see the value in it, they’ll “check out,” which is a way of fleeing.
“With freeze, the response is to kind of do nothing and ignore the change,” he says. “We always address the fight and the flight, but we don’t place a lot of attention on the freeze.”
Getting these people engaged and on board with the change may require number of strategies, including creating ambassadors, getting some quick wins that you can highlight, putting what Bishop calls “radiators” within the organization so that people can see the progress of change, and, critically, creating context for the change.
Confused minds don’t act, which is why taking time to provide context goes a long way toward gaining people’s commitment, not just compliance, to the change. When they understand the why for the change and they’re involved in it, they can see the value. Right thinking leads to right action.
“We hold mandatory weekly 30-minute town hall meetings with all IT employees, which reinforce the why behind the changes within the context of the health environment, their local environment and other changes going on,” Bruno says. “It’s a way of bringing clarity and getting people personally involved.”
That kind of forum also provides an opportunity for two-way communication and a chance for people to ask questions and engage more fully with the change. Whether it’s the executive team, middle managers, target users or other stakeholders, people need to be able to connect personally and emotionally with the change, which means IT leaders need to be able to clearly articulate how it will benefit them individually — addressing the What’s In It For Me (WIIFM) factor.
Bishop says things go much better when change is “done with and not to” people. To gain commitment rather than just compliance, he finds that adjusting the message for different levels and audiences within the organization is important.
As Ghosh says, “It’s never going to be about technology. It’s never going to be about processes and procedures. It’s about storytelling and helping them understand how the changes will improve their lives. And you have to have these separate discussions because these are the people who are going to make your change successful or not.”
Communicating the change isn’t just IT’s job. Like many organizations, Ghosh’s company has created a cross-functional transformation office that is constantly telling the story and creating clarity and context around change. Whether part of a formal office or not, change champions and ambassadors can have a huge influence over others and the success of the initiative.
