Resistance is the personal response that follows denial. As noted elsewhere, resistance is a very normal response to change. It is our attempt to protect ourselves and keep things the way they are – the way we understand them best. Resistance may come from several sources.
- Ignorance of the need for change
- Disagreement on the need for change
- Fear
- Distrust
- Loss
Resistance may present itself in a variety of ways. Some things you may hear or see that indicate resistance are:
- “We’ve always done it this way and it works fine. Why change?”
- "I didn't know that's what you wanted me to do!"
- "I completely forgot we're supposed to do that the new way."
- Continued use of old tools, methods, and procedures after new ones have been introduced (parallel work systems)
- Sabotage
There are three kinds of resistance – overt (observable), covert (hidden), and passive aggressive. Your job as someone managing people through change is to recognize resistance in all forms when it is occurring and address it directly, quickly, and skillfully. The following tools will help you with this task.