Why Resistance to Change?
Most people don’t like change because they don’t like being changed. When change comes into view, fear and resistance to change follow often despite its obvious benefits. People fight against change because they: • fear to lose something they value, or • don’t understand the change and its implications, or • don’t think that the change makes sense, or • find it difficult to cope with either the level or pace of the change.3 Resistance emerges when there s a threat to something the individual values. The threat may be real or it may be just a perception. It may arise from a genuine understanding of the change or from misunderstanding, or even almost total ignorance about it. Change as an Unnatural Act Change theory tells us that human systems seek homeostasis and equilibrium, i.e. prefer a predictable, stable world.4 12 Effective Leadership Roles Create change, lead change, manage resistance to change… More A Leader’s Mood: The Dimmer Switch of Performance Manage the Emotions of Chang
