Change is very often seen as loss - loss of attachments, structure, meaning, and control. Change also triggers a sense of instability and generally people prefer stability to instability. As a result, resistance to change as a defense against loss and the prospect of instability is a very normal human reaction driven by fear. Resistance is a serious obstacle to change and can completely derail a change effort if left undiagnosed and unaddressed.
Resistance is also an indicator. Resistance arises for a number of reasons out of individual contributors' and managers’ fears about loss and instability. Resistance is among the forces conspiring to keep the target of your change at equilibrium. However, when you examine and understand the root causes of resistance, you will be on your way to determining where and how to intervene to reduce and/or eliminate peoples’ fears about the change. An early leadership priority is to diagnose the potential sources and nature of resistance.