|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Overcoming Resistance
Virtually any type of organizational change involves role transitions of some type. In light of role transitions, it is almost natural for employees to resist major changes in the workplace environment. Some contend that resistance to change is "natural"; they contend that this resistance is instinctive; that humans have a desire for perpetual stability.
Many processes recognize that resistance. Individual interviews provide an environment where individual stories can be heard in a safe environment. Whole Person Process Facilitation can be used in focus groups with an appreciative inquiry and vision based diagnosis approach to identify resources the organization already possesses that are currently utilized, under-utilized, or have been previously unrecognized.
Open communication, honouring tradition, stakeholders feeling heard, and attending to grief are all important components of organizational change, and drastically reduce resistance. In any change process, resistance can arise at any given moment. During the change process tough decisions have to be made and communicated. New possibilities and new priorities are intimidating to employees ? the ones who most often have to live with the effects of these decisions. The simple announcement of changes in an organization can bring forth feelings of apprehension, insecurity and fear ? leading to stress.
Reducing resistance includes giving voice and paying attention to grief work; building capacity for change into the integration project plans and management approach; communicating decisions as early in the process as possible; not underestimating the emotional impact on the people involved (including senior management), dealing with the "me" issues as early as possible; treating the past with respect while speaking frequently about the new opportunities and challenges that call for new responses in a positive manner; allowing time for healing.
Many theorists believe that the main reason organizational changes fail is because management does not focus on the endings that are a natural consequence of any change.
About The Author
Since the early 1980s, Judith Richardson, M.A., has been pioneering in the fields of sustainable leadership, essential partnership, international teamwork, educational renewal, creating a customer service culture and workplace diversity. Featured in ICFAI University's Executive Reference on Diversity Management, author of Four Keys to Engaging Leadership, and Keynote at International Conferences, Judith was nominated for International Coach of the Year 2003, and works with International Organizational Development across North America, Europe, Jamaica, Denmark, Sweden, Israel and Russia. (www.ponoconsultants.com www.emergentfeminine.com). Tel: (902) 434-6695.
CNNMoney.com - 6 hours ago
( Kristen McNamara writes Practice Management, a column that looks at ways financial advisers can build and improve their business. ...
CNNMoney.com - 5 hours ago
These statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. ...
CNNMoney.com - 9 hours ago
New Management stated the following: "We are very pleased to begin our new operations and to share our visions and exclusive development program whit HE-5 ...
Chicago Tribune, United States - 2 hours ago
It had $23.8 billion in assets under management as of November, down from $46.2 billion in December 2007. The job cuts were made companywide, except for the ...
Calamos trimming staff by 12% Crain's Chicago Business
Calamos Asset Management, Inc. Reduces Staff as Part of Expense ... PR Newswire (press release)
all 13 news articles
United Press International
Newsweek - Jan 8, 2009
In the world of management consulting, high-powered and often expensive contractors infiltrate all levels of a company to determine how it can run more ...
Chief Performance Officer: Nancy Killefer TIME
Obama Appoints Government Performance Officer Washington Post
Obama's performance czar has tried to improve IRS The Associated Press
CFO.com Magazine - GovExec.comall 487 news articles
GigaOm, CA - 5 hours ago
Today, Amazon ( s AMZN) Web Services announced a management console that illustrates how carefully Amazon is playing its role as a platform provider. ...
Amazon Web Services Launches Management Console CMSWire
Amazon Web Services releases web-based EC2 console CNET News
Amazon EC2 launches Web-based management console Examiner.com
ReadWriteWeb - PC Worldall 29 news articles
Bizjournals.com, NC - 7 hours ago
A pay freeze for senior management of the University of California system will be considered by the UC Board of Regents during a Jan. 14 teleconference. ...
MSNBC - 14 hours ago
LEXINGTON, MA - Ipswitch, Inc.'s Network Management division, the leading developer of affordable and easy to use network management software, WhatsUp Gold, ...
CNNMoney.com - 7 hours ago
PARIS -(Dow Jones)- JPMorgan Asset Management's stake in French IT company Bull SA (BULL.FR) has fallen through the 5% threshold to 1.72%, according to a ...
Reuters - 11 hours ago
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 9 (Reuters) - South African wealth and asset management firm Peregrine Holdings Limited (PGRJ.J) said on Friday a management buyout plan ...
Lack of Operations Manuals Stunting Your Growth?
Lack of Operations Manuals stunting your growth?CONTENTS:1. Do you lack functional Operations Manuals? 2. Use a SYSTEM to write your Operations Manuals! 3. Yes, but my people... Read More
MANAGING CRISIS; when you?re too good at it
When you are acclaimed for excellence during times of crisis you may not feel so good in a non-crisis environment. You may not shine so bright, perform... Read More
Innovation Management: What Problem Is Being Solved?
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are distinct processes that enhance problem... Read More
Learn How To Get The Most From Your Team
Being a leader isn't easy. Every one looks to you to make decisions, resolve disputes, and to carry all the responsibility. Being a leader can be a... Read More
Classifying Motivational Needs
While there exist several useful definitions of motivation, for our purposes we will define it as an individual's desire to do something based upon a need. When... Read More
How to Overcome Your Fear of Firing
OVERCOMING FEAR OF FIRING "It was obvious that this employee could not relate well to clients. But I could not bring myself to fire him.? and while... Read More
Delegate Tasks to the Right Person
SELECTING THE RIGHT PERSON: To whom should tasks be delegated? Selecting the right subordinate to do the work is an evaluative process, and managers must be able... Read More
Problem Solving
When problem solving, you may recognize that you were working on a symptom instead of the problem. An analysis of the more clearly defined problem may require... Read More
Knowledge Management: More Than Just Know-how!
People sometimes interchange the terms "know-how" and "knowledge", but there's a world of difference! Systems vendors are falling over themselves to sell you so-called "integrated knowledge management... Read More
Protect Your Organizations Proprietary Information
The other day one of our overseas clients called in a state of near panic, to ask a question. At issue was whether they had unwittingly violated... Read More
The Challenges of Human Resource Management
IntroductionThe role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with the change in competitive market environment and the realization that Human Resource Management must play a more... Read More
People Skills: Eight Essential People Skills
Being able to communicate effectively with others requires people skills, and here's eight essential ones:1. Understanding people People not only come in all shapes and sizes,... Read More
Five Days to More Effective Inventory Management
The litany of headaches related to the implementation and on-going care-and-feeding of enterprise-based inventory management applications (upgrading, downtime, maintenance, hardware obsolescence, and so on) is long. These... Read More
Business Innovation ? Improvisation
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this... Read More
Management Training: Are You Satisfied With The Results?
If you're not satfied with the results of your management training programs, maybe it's because you handle training as a 'one shot' event rather than a process... Read More
Performance Reviews That Actually Improve Performance
Employee performance reviews are one of the most dreaded tasks by most managers. It is hard to win here ? you can never say enough good things,... Read More
Keeping Meetings On Track
We all have been in meetings with certain people who get our blood pressure to rise or just make us feel what a waste of time. Here... Read More
Basic Management Skills
Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at less than 60 % of their potential. Basic management skills training is guaranteed to change all this... Read More
Working with Hearing Impaired Employees - Giving Them a Fair Go
Hearing impaired people often encounter difficulty at work because their disability isn't visible. I'd like to relate to you, briefly, the sorry saga of a young man... Read More
A Fast and Simple Way to Update Your Business
You open your computer, the flashing button says, "We have a new update for your software program. Do you wish to update now or later?" You choose... Read More
Challenge of ERP Implementation: Q and A with Rick Maurer
Question: ERPs seem like a good idea, so why is return on investment so low?Answer: Resistance often kills many of these new systems. Even though the promise... Read More
Organizing The Information
Putting a piece of paper in a file folder is easy; finding it again is the hard part. There are ways to make your files easier to... Read More
How to Create Trust
People buy from you, offer help, and grant rewards based on trust. Here are ways to increase your success by creating trust. While we do most of... Read More
Top 10 Things Every Business Should Provide for Every Worker - Including the Boss!
Doing business and meeting the needs of workers is increasingly complex. Employees and managers often prefer a cafeteria-list of fringe benefits (a "flexible spending account") so they... Read More
Telephone Techniques: Boost Your Productivity With Effective Phoning
One of the things that most impacts people's productivity is not being able to focus on completing one task at a time ? we are so overloaded... Read More
CEOs Are Great, Top CEOs Are Greater
People in leading positions are often in a dilemma: on one hand they are supposed to give great performances, make the right decisions and so forth; on... Read More
Creativity and Innovation Management ? Money Doesnt Do It
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this... Read More
Just The Facts
Attitudes are more important than facts. Dr. Karl Menninger Attitudes are intangible and highly personal. They're based on your experience, but more importantly, on your interpretation... Read More
5 Steps to Identify Core Processes
Part Two of Creating Well-Defined Processes SeriesNext Week: ImplementationLast week, we raised the question: how do you know where to begin? How can you identify a gap... Read More
The Power of Positive Communication
Communication is the key to your success at work, at play, and at home. Here are six tips that will make a difference in your life:1) People... Read More
Manufacturing Capacity as a Commodity
Excess capacity in an automobile plant at Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, GM, and Honda is a commodity and those who study finite capacity scheduling modules can readily see... Read More
Managing Meetings
Plan/prepare - lack of purpose causes aimless meetings. Know why you're there - what the meeting is for.Unnecessary meetings waste time, and regular meetings, e.g. weekly, become... Read More
Human Resources: The Misidentified Subject
Interest in the field of human resources has exploded in recent years due to the promises it offers for a better understanding of human beings at work.... Read More
Check Your Communication Skills
Use this check list to assess your communication skills.Focus* Do you pay complete attention to others when they are speaking? (A wandering focus discourages open communication.)* Do... Read More
Christmas Carol Coaching - Help to Get Ahead at Holiday Time!
I've always been fascinated by situations where art imitates real life and right here is a perfect example, which links Christmas and business & personal development.If you... Read More
Stomp Out Leeches In Your Company
Recently, I felt appalled to see a political candidate running on the motto of "Demand More!" That motto oozes extreme nerve, and implies some people think it... Read More
The Dark Side of Help Desk SLAs
You just signed a Help Desk Service Level Agreement (SLA) and now think things will get easier. However, you may soon be falling into one of these... Read More
Drafting an Employee Manual Sample Outline
One of the hardest things I had discovered running my company was drafting an Employee Manual. Also added to the stress was the fact that if you... Read More
Forecasting Support Costs
Did you know that maintenance accounts for 50% to 80% of the overall product cost? Well, it does! And while most project managers are fairly good at... Read More
Managing People - No One Shows You What To Do
Imagine the following scenario - you pay a visit to your doctor one day and in the course of the conversation he or she lets it slip... Read More
Is Your Business A Dysfunctional Family?
The other day I brought my mother into an appliance store to purchase a television. By the time we left with her new television, she was completely... Read More
Creative People, Innovative People
The title implies that some people are and others not.This is a myth.First, creativity can be described as problem identification and the generation of a quantity of... Read More
Selective Job Cuts Often Benefits Firm More Than Broad Layoffs Over Long Term
It is difficult to pick up a newspaper or listen to a business news broadcast without being greeted with the announcement of another massive corporate layoff or... Read More
Innovation Management ? the power of decision makers
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are distinct processes that enhance problem... Read More
Its a Training Issue!
There's a common phrase used by Organizational Development and Human Resource professionals, when identifying kinks in the growth of an organization or company - "It's a training... Read More
Joint Accountability: Another Key for Your Effectiveness
I once was part of a group of management professors who often taught in executive development seminars. Other non-management professors in the school ran these. Occasionally these... Read More
Treat Employees Fairly, Car Wash Entrepreneur sets Industry Standards
I believe that whether corporations expense their stock options is besides the point, especially when the stock is worthless. We have studied over the years the rift... Read More
Why All Managers Are Alike
Because, like you I suspect, they have key target audiences whose behaviors help or hinder them in achieving their organizational objectives.But even in their own best interests,... Read More
It?s Not All About Cheese: The Missing Component in Employee Development (Part 2)
In part one of this article I told you about how perceptions are changing in the workplace. In part two, I want to tell you more about... Read More
How to Create a Positive Work Atmosphere
Positive versus Negative WorkplacesWe have all worked in places where we grew to dread getting up in the morning, and a few of us have had the... Read More
Are You Prepared for a Disaster?
Yesterday I look at my calendar and saw that my newsletter was on my calendar for today. I wondered what I would write about. By the end... Read More
Preparing a Budget
Ok, you say, I know I need a budget, but how do I prepare one? The most common budget period is one year, but this can vary... Read More