Rule 1: Emotions before reason during change
Imagine your boss, uncharacteristically, asks you to come into her office as she has something important to talk to you about. The chances are you start worrying that something bad is going to happen and your adrenalin starts pushing your heart rate up as your autonomic fight or flight response kicks in.
Human beings use emotions as their first screen for all information received and trust their emotional instincts above all else. We also hear negative news first and loudest. (Hardwired Humans, O’Keeffe 2011). So what is seen as resistance to change in organisations, is often this natural instinctive fearful response that has been mishandled early. Effectively handling the normal human response of fear when people hear about change that could affect them, is an important early step in improving your chances of successful strategy and change outcomes.
People’s instinctive emotional responses can get in the way of their ability to contribute and make change work. So here are a few tips on how to deal with emotions to support effective change outcomes.
Acknowledgment and hope are antidotes for fear
One of the worst things to do when people react negatively to change is to dismiss their reaction as being “resistance to change”. People are naturally fearful of losing something they value. This may be a very valid fear if their jobs, team membership, or social status are at stake.
Whatever the facts, acknowledging feelings and talking about them openly helps people bring fears into proportion, makes things feel more manageable, and takes some of the scariness away. So create lots of opportunities to talk about the change both individually and in groups and understand people’s concerns.
Then, in order to shift from the negative feelings of fear, hope is a powerful force in creating a positive focus for human beings. Hope can neutralise fear. And a powerful credible story of why the change is necessary, how it will create outcomes that people value, and how people can be part of this change, all help create hope that can refocus people’s emotions and energy away from the negative to positive action and goals. Better still if this hope is focused on something that gives purpose and meaning to people’s lives at work because it helps them contribute to something worthwhile that is bigger than themselves.
Use networks of influence
In western society we often overemphasise the individual and forget about the power of group dynamics to shape behaviour and multiply performance. There has been a lot of research on the role of informal opinion leaders in social networks, the effects of emotional contagion in shifting the mood of people in a group, and in tipping point leadership in shifting social behaviour. People are strongly influenced by others in their social networks. This is why gossip, networks and culture are so influential during change. And yet we often forget about harnessing this dynamic.
Too often in change we ignore these powerful forces and act as if formal leaders, corporate communications, and cascading official messages down through the hierarchy are what is needed to influence people to change. In fact, change is subversive, and we need to face up to the way that social systems and humans really work and harness those natural forces as part of how we deliberately go about change.
Create choice, options, and a sense of control
Feeling that part of your world is being turned upside down is scary. The prospect of change in areas that affect our position and status in social groups, our livelihood, and our control over our lives is frightening.
Ensuring people have more choices, options and a sense of some control over change that affects them is an important way to help people feel safer and more in control during change. When people feel safer they are more likely to be open to other more positive opportunities for change and growth.
When people are given the opportunity to contribute and make a difference, they feel they have some control and can become active contributors to change. I have found that in these circumstances people can focus on the greater good and support change that sometimes is even against their own personal self-interest.
A fair process supports a positive culture for change
Kim and Mauborgne (2015), who have produced the globally recognised Blue Ocean Strategy model for innovative strategy and change, point out the importance of people’s perception of a fair process for the successful execution of strategy. A fair process occurs when people see they have had the opportunity to contribute to decisions that affect them, that their input has been valued and taken into account in decisions, and they understand the reason for those decisions that affect them.
They point out that people seek recognition of their value as human beings, to be treated with respect and dignity, and to be appreciated for their individual worth regardless of hierarchical level. When this occurs, they are more likely to feel emotionally connected to the strategy or change, to willingly contribute to solutions, and to be inspired to give their all.
Without this sense of fair process people are likely to undermine the change and not cooperate. This is the reason for much of the “resistance to change” we hear about.
Dealing effectively and respectfully with people’s normal human emotions is a critical part of effective development and execution of strategy and change and needs to be recognised as just as important as rational arguments and business plans.
Susan Kehoe
Consultant | Coach | Change Leader
Work with Susan
Susan specialises in strategy development and implementation, transformation and change, human resource management, and people, leadership and culture. She brings an exceptional track record combining thought leadership with practical hands on experience to support people-focused transformational change and performance improvement that works.
Human beings use emotions as their first screen for all information received and trust their emotional instincts above all else. We also hear negative news first and loudest. (Hardwired Humans, O’Keeffe 2011). So what is seen as resistance to change in organisations, is often this natural instinctive fearful response that has been mishandled early. Effectively handling the normal human response of fear when people hear about change that could affect them, is an important early step in improving your chances of successful strategy and change outcomes.
People’s instinctive emotional responses can get in the way of their ability to contribute and make change work. So here are a few tips on how to deal with emotions to support effective change outcomes.
Acknowledgment and hope are antidotes for fear
One of the worst things to do when people react negatively to change is to dismiss their reaction as being “resistance to change”. People are naturally fearful of losing something they value. This may be a very valid fear if their jobs, team membership, or social status are at stake.
Whatever the facts, acknowledging feelings and talking about them openly helps people bring fears into proportion, makes things feel more manageable, and takes some of the scariness away. So create lots of opportunities to talk about the change both individually and in groups and understand people’s concerns.
Then, in order to shift from the negative feelings of fear, hope is a powerful force in creating a positive focus for human beings. Hope can neutralise fear. And a powerful credible story of why the change is necessary, how it will create outcomes that people value, and how people can be part of this change, all help create hope that can refocus people’s emotions and energy away from the negative to positive action and goals. Better still if this hope is focused on something that gives purpose and meaning to people’s lives at work because it helps them contribute to something worthwhile that is bigger than themselves.
Use networks of influence
In western society we often overemphasise the individual and forget about the power of group dynamics to shape behaviour and multiply performance. There has been a lot of research on the role of informal opinion leaders in social networks, the effects of emotional contagion in shifting the mood of people in a group, and in tipping point leadership in shifting social behaviour. People are strongly influenced by others in their social networks. This is why gossip, networks and culture are so influential during change. And yet we often forget about harnessing this dynamic.
Too often in change we ignore these powerful forces and act as if formal leaders, corporate communications, and cascading official messages down through the hierarchy are what is needed to influence people to change. In fact, change is subversive, and we need to face up to the way that social systems and humans really work and harness those natural forces as part of how we deliberately go about change.
Create choice, options, and a sense of control
Feeling that part of your world is being turned upside down is scary. The prospect of change in areas that affect our position and status in social groups, our livelihood, and our control over our lives is frightening.
Ensuring people have more choices, options and a sense of some control over change that affects them is an important way to help people feel safer and more in control during change. When people feel safer they are more likely to be open to other more positive opportunities for change and growth.
When people are given the opportunity to contribute and make a difference, they feel they have some control and can become active contributors to change. I have found that in these circumstances people can focus on the greater good and support change that sometimes is even against their own personal self-interest.
A fair process supports a positive culture for change
Kim and Mauborgne (2015), who have produced the globally recognised Blue Ocean Strategy model for innovative strategy and change, point out the importance of people’s perception of a fair process for the successful execution of strategy. A fair process occurs when people see they have had the opportunity to contribute to decisions that affect them, that their input has been valued and taken into account in decisions, and they understand the reason for those decisions that affect them.
They point out that people seek recognition of their value as human beings, to be treated with respect and dignity, and to be appreciated for their individual worth regardless of hierarchical level. When this occurs, they are more likely to feel emotionally connected to the strategy or change, to willingly contribute to solutions, and to be inspired to give their all.
Without this sense of fair process people are likely to undermine the change and not cooperate. This is the reason for much of the “resistance to change” we hear about.
Dealing effectively and respectfully with people’s normal human emotions is a critical part of effective development and execution of strategy and change and needs to be recognised as just as important as rational arguments and business plans.
Susan Kehoe
Consultant | Coach | Change Leader
Work with Susan
Susan specialises in strategy development and implementation, transformation and change, human resource management, and people, leadership and culture. She brings an exceptional track record combining thought leadership with practical hands on experience to support people-focused transformational change and performance improvement that works.