Think about some typical “positive” changes in your personal life. Marriage. Children. A new home. All can generally be categorized as positive change. But ask anyone who has experienced a change like this recently and you’ll probably hear some strong reactions. The same is true on an organizational level; changes that management construes as positive still carry with them the potential for resistance and extensive business disruption. Don’t assume that because the change supposedly makes life better for the “Targets” that there is no need to manage the change.
The Positive Change Model
It’s not shocking to experience resistance to a change that is widely perceived as negative. What can be surprising, however, are the reactions organizations see when they attempt to implement what leaders view as a positive change. These positive changes include strategic changes like new technology (think Electronic Records Management in healthcare) that will make work life easier, total quality or continuous improvement program implementations, or new product launches.
We know that even in a positive change, Targets experience a set of four distinct stages of reaction to the change:
- Uninformed Certainty: This is the “honeymoon period” where individuals are confident that the change will be good for them. It’s a period of unrealistic expectations. At this point, it’s important for Sponsors and Agents not to oversell the benefits, and to gather feedback from the Targets about their perceptions of the change.
- Informed Doubt: At this stage, pessimism sets in as Targets realize that this change will bring with it disruption in the work world as they knew it. As a result, confidence is lowered, and signs of resistance emerge.
Resistance can take be both “overt”—that is, out in the open, or “covert”- lying below the surface. It’s important to provide a safe atmosphere where Targets are able to discuss their concerns and fears.
Sponsors and Agents should acknowledge the positive and negative aspects of the change and provide multiple opportunities for Targets to express the reasons why they have concerns about this change, from their own Frames of Reference.
- Realistic Concern: Hope returns as positive data is gathered and Targets see that progress is being made. While confidence is building, it is still important to deal with both the positive and negative data, even as focus on the nearness of completion increases.
- Informed Certainty: With a realistic viewpoint and balanced expectations of the change, Targets have confidence in the future. Sponsors and Agents should have a plan for rewarding the accomplishment, and gather information on lessons learned that can be applied to the next implementation.
Keep in mind that by applying the principles, strategies and tactics of the core elements of the Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM), organizations can move through the four stages more quickly, reducing the resource commitment required to manage the change.
