Negative reactions to change

Change management is one of the most sought after programs in today’s corporate scenario. For an organization, to be able to stay constant is impossible and the various changes it keeps going through puts its employees through different layers of transitions.

Of course, there are some changes which are considered positive, such as a salary hike or a promotion etc, however, most organizational changes are usually by and large considered negative and not welcomed by the individuals in an organization. What does an individual go through when faced with change? What are the stages and how can a leader help them overcome those stages? From amongst the researched concepts, here is one established negative change curve, the path that most individuals take when going through change.

Shock: Change, most times, even when anticipated, can be pretty much unexpected. Especially the impact of the change on an individual can never be predicted correctly beforehand. Thus, the first reaction to any change from anyone is usually that of shock and/or surprise to having to deal with something so sudden and unexpected. In this stage, it is wise for managers and leaders to understand that no one can handle sudden change. The only cushion that helps soften this is information. Thus it is essential for them to be as transparent as possible with the team about any upcoming changes. The objective is to lessen the impact and make them aware of any potential negative impact the change may have and to work together to overcome them.

Denial: After the initial shock, people tend to realize that the change has happened but continue to wish in this stage that the change is actually not happening. They do not want to put themselves through the change and do not wish to move in the changed path and so, much like an ostrich, they tend to stick their head in the sand and act as if the change has not happened. In this stage, the individuals will continue to act and behave in the same way as if the changed had not happened. A leader has to wait it out patiently while continuing to keep giving information about the change

Anger: Once the individuals start to acknowledge the change and come out of the denial stage, people tend to start feeling angry towards those responsible for the change. In this stage, people tend not to be rational and can react emotionally to anyone they encounter about this change. When an individual is going through the anger stage, a leader has to have the patience and take the time out to listen to the individual and his/her concerns about the entire change happening. The leader or manager has to sit with the individual, probe and ask the right questions and also empathize when the feelings of the individual are valid. By listening and being there for the person, a leader can guide an individual out from the anger phase to start looking at the change rationally

Bargaining: Once the individual starts to look at the change rationally, she/he will start looking for points where they may not need to through the whole change and yet achieve some results by partially accepting the changes and attempting to partially staying with the earlier version of how things were. It is at this time that people start to negotiate and bargain with the manager. They might be willing to go ahead with a few changes but will continue to ask for avoiding few other changes. In this stage a leader needs to in a fair manner look at what the individual is asking and if possible, give them that little leeway. On the other hand, if it is not possible for the leader to give in, then she/he must use her/his influencing skills to persuade and motivate the team members and thus move them from the bargaining stage to the next stage.

Depression: When once an individual realizes that she/he cannot bargain any longer and has to go with the change, usually they tend to move into a state of depression or sadness. This is a phase that needs to pass and depending on the impact that change has on the individual’s life, one may get through it either fast or slow. A leader at this time can give support without jumping into solution mode by doing emphatic listening, by listening not to solve or respond, but listening to just understand and be there for them.

Testing: Once the individual gets into this stage, she/he is willing to experiment and explore and attempt to work on the change. This stage is a trial and error stage for the individual because she/he is not fully aware not sure about how successful they will be or how easy the change will be. At this stage, a leader needs to be constantly positive and appreciative whenever the individual accomplishes something and also be able to consistently give feedback when things go as per plan. As the individual succeeds more number of times they tend to start accepting the change more easily.

Reluctant Acceptance: At this stage the individual accepts that the change has happened and that they are a part of it and that they are going to continue with this change. Here, the leader needs to constantly emphasize on the benefits of the change so that the individual retains and slowly enhances positivity towards this change and starts to accept it without reluctance.

Revathi Turaga is an International Trainer and Inspirational Speaker.
http://www.revathionline.com