Any manager overseeing a space transition project will have battle stories to share. There will be many different experiences and many other outcomes. However, one common experience every manager going through the space transition process will share is dealing with resistance to change. This article offers some guiding principles for success.
Change – A Business Perspective
Change management, a buzzword in today’s business world, is at the heart of managing and responding to the human phenomenon known as resistance to change. However, it wasn’t until close to the 21st century that change management became formalized as a discipline. Until then, studies sought to understand how humans experience and react to change. In the early 1900s, cultural anthropologist Arnold Van Gennep introduced three stages of change:
- Separating from the current state
- Moving through a transition
- Reincorporating into a future state
Throughout the 20th century, many other scholars built upon this framework, adding insight that would form a complete understanding of the psychology behind the often complex and seemingly baffling responses people exhibit to even the most positive change. These studies provided a solid foundation of human behavior that eventually entered the business world toward the end of the 20th century.
Perhaps no individual struck a nerve like Dr. Spencer Johnson, author of the now-immortalized 1998 tale Who Moved My Cheese? Johnson took the concept of change and broke it down into basic principles related to fear and comfort zones. He did this through a parable-like story that he applied to personal and professional settings. With change management firmly introduced into the business setting, the stage was set for it to become a formal business practice in the early 21st century. And that is precisely what has happened.
Change – A Biological Perspective
But what does any of this have to do with space transition? Transition equals change. “transition” means “movement, passage, or change from one state to another.” Movement from an enclosed office to a new workstation. From quiet to hubbub. From dedicated space to shared space. From the known to the unknown.
Many studies describe, in great detail, the physiological response of the human brain to the prospect of the unknown: the effect on the basal ganglia, the pre-frontal cortex, and so on. Any change – whether at work or home, personal or professional – is perceived by the brain as a potential risk to survival.
Thus, humans are hard-wired to resist change. The brain responds with “fight or flight”! And as flight is generally not a desirable option in an office transition environment, a fight often ensues. Think back to when you bought a new car or house or adopted a puppy and suddenly became overwhelmed with fears and remorse. The decision most likely proved good; the brain processed the change as it prepared to adapt to the “new normal.”
Change – A Successful Perspective
In this context, it is helpful to learn that resistance to change can be very healthy rather than a maladaptive attempt to thwart authority or undermine management. What can be done to address resistance to change when implementing a workplace solution, including any space transition program?
Several years ago, I was asked to lead nationwide focus groups for an organization considering overhauling its performance appraisal system. As I met with the employees, it became clear that the proposed change represented different risks to different people, that there was an overall culture of mistrust, and that while employees didn’t necessarily disagree with the change – they feared it.
3 Guidelines for Resistance to Change
From that experience, I developed three guiding principles that I have subsequently seen successfully applied in organizations about to undergo a space transition. They are as follows:
- Establish a culture of trust. When the trust account is running low or has a negative balance, gathering support for any new initiative will be challenging, no matter how positive. Plant the seeds of trust long before any new initiative is introduced. Display an interest in employees, both as workers and as people. Encourage their growth. Be true to your word. These things, so often overlooked, go a long way in establishing a stable foundation to keep the ship afloat when the winds of change begin to blow.
- Draw out the resistance. Ask questions instead of trying to silence, discredit, or overpower the resistance. Please let me know what your concerns are. Please share your prior experiences with how change has been handled. What did you think about this? What could have worked better? What can we do to help address some of these concerns? Which aspect of the program causes you the most significant hesitation or concern? Often, individuals who display resistance work through the change in their minds before going through the transition in real life. Providing them with the opportunity to talk through their fears generally goes a long way in helping them feel heard and often in helping to ease their concerns. (Of course, some people resist change just for the sake of it or have an abnormal reaction to change. It may be necessary for a change management specialist to be brought in to help work through more extreme situations.)
- Identify and engage change champions. Identify the people in your organization who are excited about the space transition. Also, identify those who were resistant at first but have since come around. Both of these types can become ambassadors for change. Employees must sense excitement about the transition from more than just managers, especially in cultures high in mistrust. And perhaps no voice is as powerful as the voice of one who was initially the greatest skeptic.
This article will help remove some of the dread from the mere thought of dealing with resistance to change. Like any workplace challenge, with the proper understanding, approach, and tools, what may seem like a bunch of lemons can often become the proverbial lemonade. Stay positive, build trust, draw out the resistance, and engage your employees. Chances are, you’ll all be celebrating the change together in no time.
