Why People Resist Change, Part 3

Why People Resist Change, Part 3:
Connected to The Old Way
If you ask people to do things in a new way, whilst it may seem perfectly rational to you, you must be aware that you are putting yourself against people’s set routines – and the fact they are likely to be ‘hard wired’ to complete tasks in a certain way.  This manifests itself in the often-heard phrase: “…but we have done it this way for 20 years and it works fine, why do we need to change?”.

You might think this is trivial, but it is actually one of the main causes of resistance to change – and if not dealt with, can easily de-rail your project. If your staff don’t understand the need for change then you can expect resistance, especially from those who strongly believe that the current way of doing things has worked well for some time, so doesn’t need to be altered.

This is one of the easiest obstacles to overcome by building a rational and emotional case about the need for change as part of your communications strategy.  Again – good, well-planned communication will help you to overcome resistance.