Identify & Managing Resistance During Transformation

Every book about change you’ve read tells you that it’s hard. We know that denial, anger, bargaining, and other grieving methods are part of the change curve and acceptance journey. Humans are neurologically wired to resist change, we should expect resistance. So why don’t we plan for how to manage it?

Managers play a pivotal role in supporting employees through transformation; championing change, actively observing where employees are in their acceptance journey, and managing resistance within their departments. Unfortunately, most managers don’t know how to identify different types of resistance and the best ways to manage them.

There are five main acceptance groups which employees fall into. Use these groups to identify resistance and provide guidance to managers for addressing it.

Trailblazers

These employees are fast to accept the change and tend to have high energy. An employee falls in the Trailblazer category when you observe the employee:

• Express ownership of the solution

• Focus on achieving benefits promised by the change

• Increase positive social interactions and humor

• Increase optimism and motivation

When an employee is a Trailblazer, they are one of your best advocates for change. Encourage them to help with the project, positively motivate the team, and push things forward. These employees will also be the most influential with moving Followers to Trailblazers. Use positive reinforcements and provide recognition for their efforts to accepting and championing the change.

Followers

These employees may be a little skeptical of the change, but they aren’t willing to rock the boat. They are willing to go along with the change for now to see how it goes. An employee falls in the Follower category when they accept the change, but have low energy.

A Follower can be converted to a Trailblazer with the appropriate engagement. Tout the positive wins and encourage them to be prideful and represent the team during the change. The key is to get them excited about the change.

Followers can also slide into a Sufferer or Rebel category if the change is rocky or they are not engaged in the process. Consider asking the employee if they have enough resources to help you with the change. Have they heard any rumors that they would like you to address? You don’t want uncertainty to be the reason they don’t accept the change.

Conservative Rebels 

These employees oppose the change but tend to be covert in their actions. An employee falls in the Conservative Rebel category when you observe the employee:

• Says yes, but does the opposite

• Acts with half-hearted energy

• Seeks a way to “prove” that the new way won’t work

• Tries to make a deal to spare themselves

• Suggests other concerns or redirects problem solving away from the change

It’s okay for employees to not agree with the change; they have every right to be skeptical or oppose it. For Conservative Rebels, you want to move them to the Follower category. They don’t have to LIKE the change, but they do need to be willing to try it. Focus on how the employee will benefit from the change. Keep problem solving focused on the root cause. Do they know what the future state will look like?

Rebels

These employees don’t agree with the change, and they tend to be high energy. They are also the easiest to address since their actions are obvious. An employee falls in the Rebel category when you observe the employee:

• Openly challenges or opposes the goal

• Disagrees, debates, or argues about the methods

• Tries to sabotage the change effort

• Tends to “shoot the messenger”

• Withdraws from the team or arrives later or leaves earlier than normal

• Is impatient, irritable, becomes irrational and argumentative

When an employee is a Rebel the most important thing is to not treat them as if their feelings wrong. They have every right to experience anger as part of their acceptance journey. Don’t get defensive and be sure to acknowledge the employee’s feelings. Meet with these individuals 1:1 to find out their concerns, what they want, what is a deal breaker, is there a common ground, etc. What do they see as the largest obstacle for them to adapt to the change?

“Employees left to silently suffer can cause the most damage to your program without you even being aware.”

If the employee lashes out, encourage a cool-off period to help diffuse the anger. Then make clear the difference between their feelings and inappropriate behavior. If there is no hope in converting the employee from a Rebel, consider an exit strategy—you don’t want them poisoning the well for everyone else.

Silent Sufferers 

These employees don’t agree with the change and tend to have low energy. They often go unnoticed, which allows them to steadily erode change efforts. Employees left to silently suffer can cause the most damage to your program without you even being aware. Some may start looking for other jobs, not giving you warning that they are unhappy.

An employee falls in the Silent Sufferer category when you observe the employee:

• Didn’t “hear” what is being proposed and continues to act as if the change isn’t taking place

• “Forgets” to use the new processes and continue to do things the old way

• Displays apathy and numbness “I don’t care what happens.” “It won’t affect me.”

• Tries to rationalize the change away or believes it has corrected itself and will be over soon

• Expresses a loss of control over their work environment

• Is absent from work more frequently

• Vocal or social employees become quiet and isolated

Most Silent Sufferers won’t ask questions or tell you how the change is impacting them; this group will be less verbal about their concerns. First, ensure employees have ways to access the information they need on their own time. Add FAQs to your intranet site, allow for anonymous questions and feedback, and consider open forums to address the questions. Ensure employees know their feedback is not wrong, but warranted. Review the business case, emphasize that the change will happen, and allow time for that to sink in for those that are experiencing denial.

When an employee is depressed with the change, meet one-on-one with them and assure them that it’s okay to feel this way. Share how important they are to the team, their growth opportunities, and why the change could be positive for them. Provide them with a series of specific next steps and follow-up with them frequently.

Driving change across your organization is a complex undertaking and requires a deeper level of support to do it successfully. I encourage managers to map each of their employees into 1 of these 5 acceptance groups before a change is announced based on likely responses. Then each week after the announcement, review your map and move employees as they progress. This will make it easier to know how to best support each employee throughout the change. Don’t forget to show some empathy to employees - they are all experiencing the change in different ways and at different speeds.