Stepping Forward Together: Creating Trust and Commitment in the Workplace. Mac Ph.D. McIntire

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ 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 of doing things. Where previously the employee could work without thinking, a change requires conscious thought until the task becomes routine once again.

       “Nothing irritates employees more than having to think at work,” I joked. “People don’t like to be conscious at work; it taxes their brains when they have to consciously think about what they’re doing. Employees prefer to work on auto pilot so they can think about other things while they’re toiling. That’s why people develop routines for almost everything they do. It’s also why they resist any change to their routines.”

      I went on to explain when people like what they are doing, and are comfortable with it, they usually fight to keep their routines in place. They already went through the commitment process to get to where they are and they’re not anxious to change their routines and have to commit to new procedures. This is particularly true of people who had a personal hand in creating the processes they use. People are naturally loyal to objects of their own design. They have a hard time relinquishing their commitment and shifting their loyalty to someone else’s change.

      “When you create something new, more often than not, you have to destroy something old, but human beings will not easily destroy that which they have created. Once people have created their personal routines, it will be harder for them to accept imposed change. That’s why it’s important to get employees involved prior to implementing a change. People are more inclined to accept changes they helped design.”

      Paul suggested people also will resist any change that implies the current way of doing things is wrong or inadequate. People are proud of their effort and they often take it as a personal affront when someone suggests they need to change.

      “If a person develops his routine and someone wants to change it, that’s like saying what he’s been doing is wrong or stupid,” Paul said. “It just dawned on me how arrogant it must appear when management, particularly new management, comes in and starts changing work processes. It’s like saying: ‘You’ve been doing it all wrong in the past, and aren’t you glad I’m finally here with all my brilliance to keep you from being stupid?’”

      “That’s why it’s so important to get conscious about what happens to human beings internally during the commitment process,” I said, attempting to anchor an earlier point I’d made. “The Ladder of Commitment consciously shows the internal, subconscious issues people tussle СКАЧАТЬ