What is Change and Why is it Hard?

“Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have - and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up.”

James Belasco and Ralph Stayer

change management actiVITy

The following exercise has been used during change management work shops as a introductory tool to help get them in the right frame of mind. It is used to:

Engage employees in exercises of change.
Decrease resistance to change.
To experience a change in a safe environment.
Provides the opportunity to express how the unfamiliar positions made them feel.
Increases the probability of employee buy in to change.

So, follow along with Carol in the video. While completing the exercise think about how physically and mentally uncomfortable the change is. Keep those feelings with you while reviewing the rest of the pages and completing the learning activities at the end.

(Indeed Editorial Team, 2021; Friedman, 2020)

what is change?

Change is to make something different.
Change is to alter or deviate from the status quo
To change is to transform or reshape something. (Merriam-Webster online, n.d.)
Change is learning something new (Cameron & Green, 2019).
Change is an unavoidable, inescapable and continuous reality (Wachira & Anyieni, 2017).

WHY IS CHANGE SO HARD?

Change is hard because it impacts individual cognition, behaviour, feelings, emotions and humanistic psychology and psychodynamics of individuals (Cameron & Green, 2019).
To change a routine or how a task is done requires resistance to well-versed patterns of behaviour (Tsaousides, 2020).
The intended change may be in conflict with the employee's values. For example, an employee who values structure would find it hard to adapt to a less structured environment (Långstedt & Manninen, 2021).

what is change management?

The goal of change management is to efficaciously reshape or alter the organizational status quo with minimal resistance.
Effective change management requires preparedness at the organizational and individual employee levels.
Change management is effective communication, providing the necessary tools to help employees prepare and cope with change while providing clear descriptions of roles and culpability.
Effective change management will decrease uncertainty while increasing employee acceptance of change.

(Wachira & Anyieni, 2017)

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