(Managing Resistance To Change Cont. 4)

Some Ways to Handle Resistance

The aim is to mitigate the impact of resistance, not necessary to eliminate it as that it is impossible; also, some resistors could be identifying aspects of the change that could need improving, ie constructive resistance

Two avenues of resistance management to help mitigate the negative impacts and reduce the duration of resistance:

i) resistance prevention (involves planning for, addressing or eliminating resistance; need to be proactive, ie anticipating and identifying potential resistance early on; need to identify where resistance is likely come from and what drives those resisting in order to be proactive so that are able to handle before they occur)

ii) resistance response (involves developing effective responses when resistance becomes enduring or persistent, ie take an active action when required)

NB Tactics to handle resistance need to take into consideration what the change means to people and their roles

"...managing resistance to organisational change involves effectively anticipating resistance, integrating resistance management actions and activities into change management plans, and then activating people-facing roles within the organisation - they will conduct the resistance management activities..."
(source: Prosci, 2023p)

Some tactics (10) for managing resistance:
"...1. Listen and understand the objections
     2. Focus on 'what' and let go of 'how'
     3. Remove barriers
     4. Provide simple, clear choices and consequences
     5. Create hope
     6. Show the benefits in a real and tangible way
     7. Make a personal appeal
     8. Convert the strongest dissenters
     9. Provide incentives...'
(source: Prosci, 2023p)

"...eliminating avoidable resistance is a significant area of opportunity.......anticipating and addressing resistance before it starts can lead to a much healthier, less costly experience with change with better outcomes of the entire organisation..."
(source: Prosci, 2023p)