|
|
 |
What Leaders Really Do
by John Kotter.
Methods for Dealing with Resistance to Change
| Approach | Commonly Used in Situations | Advantages | Drawbacks |
| Education + communication | Where there is a lack of information or inaccurate information and analysis. | Once persuaded, people will often help with the implementation of the change. | Can be very time-consuming if lots of people are involved |
| Participation + involvement | Where the initiators do not have all the information they need to design change, and where others have considerable power to resist. | People who participate will be committed to implementing change, and any relevant information they have will be integrated into the change plan. | Can be very time-consuming if participators design an inappropriate change. |
| Facilitation + support | Where people are resisting because of adjustment problems. | No other approach works as well with adjustment problems. | Can be time-consuming, expensive, and still fail.. |
| Negotiation + agreement | Where someone or some group will clearly lose out in a change, and where that group has considerable power to resist. | Sometimes it is a relatively easy way to avoid major resistance. | Can be too expensive in many cases if it alert others to negotiate for compliance. |
| Manipulation + co-optation | Where other tactics will not work, or are too expensive. | It can be a relatively quick and inexpensive solution to resistance problems. | Can lead to future problems if people feel manipulated. |
| Explicit + implicit coercion | Where speed is essential, and the change initiators possess considerable power. | It is speedy, and can overcome any kind of resistance. | Can be risky if it leaves people mad at the initiators. |
Source: What Leaders Really Do, by John Kotter, p.45
Ashley Guberman, Primary Goals Consulting