Overcoming Resistance

When experiencing change, people are likely to have varying degrees of reactions. As a leader, it would be a mistake to assume the reactions are solely up to each individual and cannot be influenced. Of course, there will always be people that are resistant to change no matter what. However, that should not stop leaders from making strong attempts to garner support of changes in an organization whenever possible. There are three tactics I would use to overcome complacency and resistance to change in my organization, perhaps over a major software change that would result in daily processes changing as well as necessary training. The three tactics would be to convey the ease and rewards of the change to employees, identify and utilize the organization’s influencers, and channel any resistance that presents itself.

If leaders can change the mindset of employees in a few critical areas, there is a higher chance of employees being supportive of the change. When employees believe they have the necessary skills and knowledge to implement a proposed change, it will be a much smoother transition with less resistance. If employees think they are not capable of changing or if there are obstacles within the organization that would make the change more difficult, it is likely they will not be very open to the idea of change. This can be addressed by anticipating any training needs for the new software or considering a flexible transition period. The other mindset that leaders need to instill in employees is that the change will be valuable to them. By communicating the value of the change, such as the software having more capabilities and efficiencies, it may bring acceptance of the change much more quickly than if they feel the change is worthless (Andersen, 2012).

The second tactic I would focus on is to identify who the key influencers are in the organization and get their support of the software change from the early stages. Key influencers are the people...