Re: Resistance to change LO562 (Was: Reinforcing...)

Rosalind Mackraz King (rozking@umich.edu)
Wed, 29 Mar 1995 11:59:27 -0500 (EST)

On Mon, 27 Mar 1995, C. B. Willis wrote in LO562:

> Roland Foerster asked in LO552:
> > Does anyone have exercises which could be used to unhide these
> > reasons behind "resistance to change"? How could we unlock the
> > potential by not trying to overcome this resistnace, but to
> > effectively deal with it in a productive manner?
>
> Assuming X is the change in question, you can ask them:
>
> What would happen if X?
>
> What concerns do you have about X?
>
> What disagreement(s) do you have about X?
>
> How would X change the way you do business?
>
> How would X change the way you manage?
>
> How would X change your future?
>
> etc.
>
> These questions can sometimes smoke out the underlying considerations
> causing the resistance, if you have a good rapport and trust, and the

Good idea. Even better, I like questions like:

What are you most afraid of losing if X?

What's the best that X could turn out to be like? What one thing about
the implementation might help it turn out like that?

If I were brave enough and thought it would help, I'd ask: "What's the
worst that could happen if X?" Sometimes nailing that down helps move
into problem-solving mode rather than generalized nervousness. And
people have pretty good ideas that surprise them.

Rosalind King
rozking@umich.edu
Ann Arbor, MI