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Change can be difficult, even when it is inevitable

Management

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Change can be difficult, even when it is inevitable. Therefore, change can often be met with resistance initially. Individuals resist change for many reasons, such as fearing the unknown, feeling overwhelmed, or believing a change will not last. However, once the resistance is overcome and a change grows into a habit or new baseline, most individuals will consider the effort worthwhile and may also do what they can to help others surpass the barriers they once faced. In this Discussion, you will consider a time when you resisted change and how you might use that experience to help a team overcome their resistance to changes.

 

To prepare for this Discussion:

· Think about a time when you needed to make a change, whether personal or professional, but were resisting it and what helped you overcome that resistance.

· Also consider the role of a leader within an organization in helping individuals and teams overcome resistance to change.

Post your explanation of how to overcome resistance to change at the individual and organizational level, to include the following: (200 words or more)

· Describe a time when you needed to make a change, whether personal or professional, but resisted it.

· Analyze what was holding you back initially from making the necessary change and what helped you to overcome your resistance to the change.

· Now put yourself in the position of a team leader within an organization. If you were called upon to lead change within your team and you encountered resistance, summarize how you might apply those lessons learned from your own life experience to help that team overcome their resistance to change.

 

 

References:

 

 

There is a plethora of reasons why organizations experience resistance to change. For example, there might be sunk costs associated with a process or technology that an organization’s leaders do not want to lose. As a result, they may resist a particular change, even though investing in a different process or technology could significantly increase productivity and profits. Change can be perceived as a threat, and most people (and organizations) are programmed to avoid threats. Managers and leaders often decline new initiatives and ideas, not because they are bad or unprofitable, but because they would require crossing the threshold of change that can be difficult to overcome. Using these resources, you will examine how organizations and their leadership can overcome resistance to change.

· Altadonna, N. (2020, July 28).  Resistance to change: How to overcome employee pushback Links to an external site..  Apty. https://www.apty.io/blog/how-to-overcome-employee-pushback

 

 

Assuming an organization has recognized its need for change and has broken past its resistance, what should it do next? Just because change may be necessary, does not mean that it will always be easy to implement. It is important for leadership to determine how ready the organization is for the desired changes and then take the appropriate steps to ensure that transitions occur as smoothly as possible, not only from an operational standpoint but also in the attitudes and feelings among employees. Through these resources, you will examine how to evaluate how ready an organization is for change.

· Combe, M. (2014).  Change readiness: Focusing change management where it counts Links to an external site. . PMI. https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/change-readiness-11126

 

Have you ever worked for a company that was undergoing change? Whether that change was company-wide or affected just one department or team, there may have been some process in place to ensure that the affected individuals were aware of the change, the reason(s) for the change, and the process for how the change was going to take place. Leaders who have a solid grasp of change management principles and procedures can help to guide their teams through significant shifts in organizational goals, structure, technologies, and processes. And at the broader organizational level, the ability to manage change well can mean the difference between successful initiatives and ones that fail to deliver the desired results.

· McKinsey & Company. (2016, March 22).  Dan Levin: The importance of change management Links to an external site. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkGY_xblI3M