Developing the Leader Within You - Creating Positive Change : Part 2

We will continue our leadership journey, learning new skills and refreshing old ones, with John C. Maxwell's book Developing the Leader Within You.

The first order of things to be changed is me, the leader. After I consider how hard it is to change myself, then I will understand the challenge of trying to change others. This is the ultimate test of leadership.


Last time, we talked about the Leader as a Change Agent. Today, we will discuss the various forms of resistance the change agent may encounter.



Why People Resist Change:

• The change isn't self-initiated.
  -When people lack ownership of an idea, they usually resist it, even when it is in their best interest.
  - Wise leaders allow followers to give input and be a part of the process of change.
  
  
• Routine is disrupted.
  - Habits allow us to do things without much thought, which is why most of us have so many of them.
  - Habits are not instincts. They are acquired reactions. They don't just happen; they are caused.
  - First we form habits, but then our habits form us.


• Change creates fear of the unknown.
  - Change means traveling in uncharted waters, and this causes our insecurities to rise.
  - Therefore, many people are more comfortable with old problems than with new solutions.


• The purpose of change is unclear.
  - That's why decisions should be made at the lowest level possible. The decision-maker, because of close proximity to the issue, will make a better decision, and those most affected by the decision will know it quickly by hearing it from a source close to them and to the problem.


• Change creates fear of failure.
  - Elbert Hubbard said that the greatest mistake a person can make is to be afraid of making one.


• The rewards for change don't match the effort change requires.
  - What leaders sometimes fail to recognize is that the followers will always weigh the advantage/disadvantage issue in light of personal gain/loss, not organization gain/loss.


• People are too satisfied with the way things are.
  - We choose to die rather than choose to change.


• Change won't happen when people engage in negative thinking.
  - Regardless of his state in the present, the negative thinker finds disappointment in the future.


• The followers lack respect for the leader.
  - People will view the change according to the way they view the change-agent.
  - When you love your followers genuinely and correctly, they'll respect you and follow you through many changes.


• The leader is susceptible to feelings of personal criticism.
  - For growth and continual effectiveness, every organization must go through a continuous four-stage cycle of create, conserve, criticize, and change.
  - Either the creators handle criticism positively and begin to make changes or they will be replaced by those who will embrace change and, therefore, create.


• Change may mean personal loss.
  - "How will this affect me?"
  - Usually there are three groups of people within the organization:
          1. Those who will lose,
          2. Those who are neutral, and
          3. Those who will benefit.
  - Each group is different and must be handled with sensitivity, but also with straightforwardness.


• Change requires additional commitment.
  - Time is the most precious commodity for many people.
  - Whenever change is about to happen, we all look to see how it will affect our time.


• Narrow-mindedness thwarts acceptance of new ideas.


• Tradition resists change. 
  
  

Next time, we will discover how to create a climate for change.


Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc