4 Qs - Responses to Change: The Anchor ⚓️

Quintessential Thought

In our series about responses to change, we’ve looked at The Spark and The Shield. This week, we turn our attention to…

The Anchor: Resistance

Encountering visible resistance to our ideas can be very frustrating, as it seems to slow progress and create roadblocks to success. As a leader, a helpful perspective is curiosity about why the person is actively resisting.

There are many possible motivations, but the two we’ve seen most often are:

1. Fear of loss. Changes can threaten things that people want to protect.

2. Mourning. Changes can force people to face that their hopes may not be realized.

Fear or mourning can be about several things, including job security, autonomy, familiarity, or competence. While the shield response (passivity) adds weight to the “stay the same” side of things, the anchor response (resistance) is more active, like applying the brakes to the change.

The Upside: The resistors will highlight friction points and pitfalls in bringing your change to life. The things they fear or are mourning are signals that you can use to gain a better understanding of the implications of the change.

The Challenge: If resistors don’t feel heard, they can shift to even more challenging approaches, like undermining or passive-aggressive behavior. This can quickly spread to others, putting the brakes on the change effort and increasing tension and conflict within the team.

Leading through It: Assume resistors have some important concerns; using empathetic listening skills, help them articulate their concerns in helpful ways, recognizing the emotional aspects of change and the likelihood of neurobiological flooding. 

Involve them in the change, partnering to create and run experiments so they have buy-in and clarity of action. Stay connected with them so they continue to be heard and you get their insights to lead more effectively.

If, after working to understand and address their concerns, they are still actively resisting the change, it may be most appropriate to find a place where their skills are needed that isn’t affected by this change.

Quotes

"Resistance is a signal, not a roadblock. It tells us where the real fears lie." - Dr. Evelyn Holt

"Loss is a heavy burden. Resistance is often its cry." - Marcus Chen

"Active resistance is a call for understanding, not a declaration of war." - Aisha Khan

Quick Step

Offer a "What If" session with a resistor, creating a safe space to explore potential negative outcomes of the change.

Question

How are you addressing the emotional side of the change you’re leading?

Anchor icon created by Mayor Icons - Flaticon

Professional Scrum Product Owner, May 5-8

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