Lean leaders know that resistance to change is a major obstacle they must overcome. But they may not know something that has been kept virtually a secret until now: There are "good" reasons to resist change. These "good" reasons can actually help keep your Lean effort moving forward if you recognize them and learn how to handle them when they occur.
The Good Reasons to Resist Change
- Lack of communication about the reasons for, or benefits of, a change
- Lack of involvement of the people impacted by the change in the design of the change
- Too much change too fast
- Implementation of the change is not process oriented – not sustainable
These good reasons are just the natural reaction well meaning people have when they think those imposing change have not taken proper care to ensure the result will be worth their effort. In other words, they think the change will not succeed or will not last. In either case, they don't want to be a part of it. This type of resistance is often a "gut feeling", based on experience, and may not be communicated effectively.
The Bad Reasons to Resist Change
- Change takes people out of their comfort zone
- Change requires people to learn new elements of the job
- Change creates new responsibilities and expectations
- Change converts the environment from familiar to unfamiliar
The Ugly
Things get "ugly" when good reasons are mistaken for bad reasons, and people are forced to accept change even though their concerns have not been addressed. The best Lean leaders learn how to handle both good and bad resistance to change effectively. They take care of the concerns behind the good reasons, and manage through the bad reasons, so nobody has to deal with the ugly.
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