Resistance To Change

Author: David Bishop

02.04.2022

My work with executives and CEO/ Founders often starts with a 360 assessment where I do a deep dive into the perception coworkers, direct reports and board members have about my client.

I look for signature strengths to build from, but also areas where the leader can become even more effective. The resulting report can be reinforcing to the positive behaviors the client has developed, but also painful sometimes.

During this process, we’re likely to uncover blind spots that hold back the individual and the company from fully developing.

Most of the time, after a few days of careful introspection, leaders are willing to put the work in to get to the next level. I’ve had a couple who said they were but ultimately were not.

As psychologists, Robert Kagan and Harvard professor, Lisa Laskow Lahey state in their work on this subject, people can set up a set of competing commitments that can conflict with a seemingly genuine motivation to change.

Someone for instance may recognize that hanging on to day to day decisions and tactics holds back the growth of the employees and the organization,

The ability to change is held back when internally they feel that they don’t have the proper team members in place to get the job done or that it takes too long to teach someone the task.

So, they conclude, I might as well just do it myself. They also fear their value may be lessened by giving up control.

 

 Here are 5 steps to help you from falling into that trap:

1)     Commit to a Specific Goal

What do you want to do differently?

What will happen if you don’t change?

 

2)     Describe the Behavior You Want to Change

Identify actions and behaviors that could prevent you from achieving your goal.

 

3)     Find Your Hidden Competing Commitments

Ask yourself, what is the worst thing that could happen if I stop behaving the way I currently am? In my example above, the answer might be “Things won’t get done the proper way.” or “The customers will leave if I’m not overseeing every detail.

 

4)     Identify Your Most Limiting Assumptions

Some of the assumptions may be true. Others will not. By surfacing your deep-rooted fears, you begin to look at them more objectively.

 

5)     Test Your Assumptions

Keagan and Lahey use a SMART test:

Safe: Don’t do anything that could damage your standing.

 

Modest: Test the waters first.

 

Actionable: Make sure you’re able to make it happen.

 

Research-Based: At this point, you are just gathering information.

 

Test Your Assumption: Do your results confirm or deny your fears?