Stepping Forward Together: Creating Trust and Commitment in the Workplace. Mac Ph.D. McIntire
added the word me to the list I was making.
“And when there are changes made at your company, do you expect your employees to commit to those changes?”
“Of course,” Paul confirmed.
I added the word change to the list.
“OK. So let’s talk about the process people go through in order to commit to your list,” I said, pointing to the bottom of the Ladder.
“Typically, how do your employees respond when you roll out the production goals for the year? When you introduce quality or service improvement programs, do your employees rally in support of those programs?”
Paul listened to my questions without responding.
“Whenever you announce a new policy or major change in your organization, do your employees get all excited, pump their fists in the air, and shout: ‘Yes! This change is going to be great!’” I asked in my most enthusiastic and patronizing tone.
Paul rolled his eyes and looked at me with a funny smirk on his face.
“No?” I exclaimed. “You mean when you implement new procedures, change the processes, or alter the work on the shop floor, your employees don’t get jazzed about it? Are you saying your employees don’t commit right away when you implement a change at your company?”
“No! They hate change!”
“Yes, most people resist change,” I concurred. “Resistance is a natural and normal first response to change. In other words, most people respond CLOSED to the introduction of any new idea, process or program,” I said writing the word “closed” at the bottom of the Ladder.
“As I said earlier, Paul, it would be wonderful if people started out at COMMITMENT when the company goals are announced, quality or service programs are rolled out, or a new manager is hired; but they don’t. I’m going to explain why people respond CLOSED to new ideas or concepts by using how they respond to change as the example. All of the things you’ve listed here where you expect commitment from your employees – company goals, quality, customer service, etc.,” I said pointing to his list, “ – each requires accepting some degree of change before a person can commit to them.
“When you declare the company goals for the upcoming year, those goals are almost always higher than the previous year’s goals. That means the employees have to do something different than they did the year before in order to perform at a higher level to accomplish the new goals.
“If the level of quality and customer service is not where you want it to be in your company, the employees must modify their performance according to the new standards you wish them to achieve.
“And anytime you add new members to a team, there is a period of adjustment while the new and long-term members become accustomed to each other.”
Paul nodded his assent to these points.
“Practically every commitment you desire from your employees, and even from your family members, requires some sort of change,” I emphasized. “So knowing how people react to change will help you understand how to get people up the Ladder to the COMMITMENT level. The problem is, as you so rightly said, most people don’t like change. They are CLOSED to it.
“Therefore, you ought to thank your lucky stars whenever people are responding CLOSED because it means they are at the threshold of commitment. They’re at the bottom of the Ladder just waiting for someone or something to convince them to climb up to COMMITMENT,” I declared. “Since being CLOSED is the first step in the commitment process, you shouldn’t feel discouraged or frustrated when you sense resistance in your organization. You just need to give people a reason to climb up the Ladder.”
4
Why People Resist Change
I could tell Paul was amused at my suggestion that the first step toward COMMITMENT is being CLOSED to it. It didn’t seem to him that being closed would be an indicator people were at the threshold of commitment.
“Why do you think people respond CLOSED to change?” I asked.
“People don’t like change,” Paul replied.
“Yes. But why don’t they like change?”
“People are afraid of change. They’re afraid of the unknown.”
I tore off a blank sheet of my notepad and wrote down our thoughts as we discussed the reasons why people resist change.
“What is it about the unknown that they’re afraid of?” I pressed.
“It’s scary. They don’t know what’s going to happen. They’re afraid of failure.”
“I’m sure that’s true. But are they afraid the change will fail, or are they afraid they will fail?”
“Probably both,” Paul suggested.
“I’ll talk about fear of personal failure in a moment. But let’s first address the suggestion that people are afraid the change will fail.”
Paul and I agreed many people hesitate to commit to a change because they’re not sure the change will succeed. No one wants to put a lot of energy into something that doesn’t work. Rather than commit early in the process and be disappointed should the change fail, some people wait to see how successful the change will be before expending energy and effort supporting it.
Some people don’t support a change because they think it is the wrong course of action and it’s destined to fail. Since they believe it’s a bad idea that probably won’t work, they don’t commit to it.
“Don’t you think it’s interesting that some people’s response to a proposed change is to assume it will fail?” I asked. “It’s as if they feel upper management cloistered themselves in a room, brainstormed a list of the worst ideas they could think of, prioritized the list, and then picked the dumbest of the ideas to spring on the employees.”
Paul roared with laughter. He said he was sure he had employees at his plant who thought that way.
“Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest. It’s just amazing to me that some employees seem to think all managers are idiots. I doubt anyone implements what they feel is a bad change.”
I continued: “OK, what are some other reasons why people respond CLOSED to change?”
“People fear they may lose something in the change. They may lose their job, lose status, or lose power,” Paul surmised.
“Certainly that’s a legitimate fear,” I agreed.
Organizational improvements often result in job elimination. Employees tend to resist any change that suggests people might lose their jobs. Managers who spend years building their fiefdom may have a hard time supporting any effort to reduce or alter the boundaries of their kingdom. The loss of job security or positional status is a major reason why people resist change.
I explained the primary reason why people resist change is because the change takes people out of their comfort zones by altering their routines. Most people prefer to “routinize” their work and personal lives. Routine tasks are easier to perform because they can be done with minimal thinking. We program our minds and bodies to perform routine tasks without conscious thought. When we are in a comfortable routine, our minds are at ease. We work without mental effort. It’s comforting and less stressful to be able to perform competently without thinking.
When the routines are disrupted, employees have to consciously think about the new processes. They have to stay mentally focused until they become comfortable with the new way