One of the key elements of resistance to change is fear. Fear can keep people from trying new things, stop people from speaking up during their change experience, and create anxiety about the future.
And let’s face it, most changes that are intended to create high-performance organizations have some element of reducing fear involved, whether you want to increase employee engagement, improve teamwork or encourage people to take more risks.
In the book Driving Fear Out of the Workplace (Ryan and Oestreich), the authors state that the first step to reducing fear is to acknowledge its presence. Essentially, you can’t deal with something until you recognize that it exists. Let people know that fear is natural and expected during change, so they might help you illuminate it and understand it.
What fears might you acknowledge, in yourself and in others?
Read more of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.