Understanding Resistance

The first step in understanding resistance is understanding the context of the resistance, ie

"...as a general rule, one is ill-advised to confront the resistances directly; such a step typically engenders defensiveness. It makes more sense to begin with areas where the target group feels unsatisfied or frustrated and to suggest ways in which felt deficits, problems, or frustrations can be counteracted..."

Howard Gardner, 2006a

Understanding resistance to change

Change typically brings resistance based on

- fear of the unknown

- lack of purpose

- disrupted habits

- loss of confidence and/or control

- poor timing

- work overload

- loss of face, etc

Need to understand coupling. It is the idea that behaviours are linked to very specific circumstances and conditions like place and context. In other words, a change of circumstances and/or conditions will cause behaviours to change.

Organisational silence can be misconstrued as acceptance of the change. Some of the reasons for organisational silence includes

- fear of speaking up about workplace problems

- belief that managers know best about base issues of organisational importance

- belief that conflict, disagreement and dissent should be avoided, etc