This document summarizes research into resistance to change from a leadership perspective. It discusses evidence that shows 70% of change initiatives fail and resistance is often cited as the top reason. The research was based on interviews with 16 change leaders from over 55 organizations. It identified 18 symptoms of resistance to change occurring in areas of relationships/culture, personal dynamics, group dynamics, communication, and change dynamics. The implications for leadership are that changes require addressing human motivation, management styles, interpersonal skills, and organizational culture and climate to be successful. The document advocates for an integrated leadership approach considering individual, group and organizational dynamics.

1. Do people really resist change?
rod.willis@assentire.net @RodWillisGTC +44 (0)7788 457 202
#changedebate #projectclimateRTC

2. This session will cover
• Evidence based research into Resistance to Change,
from a Leaders’ Perspective (2012 - highlights)
• Further practitioner research exploring The Implications
for Leadership and Change Programmes
• Closing with What to do starting Monday morning
– Integrating these insights into the way you can Lead projects,
programmes and the Organisation for greater performance.

3. Researching Resistance to
Change?
• 70% of all change initiatives fail (HBR).http://hbr.org/product/hbr-s-10-must-
reads-on-change-management-with-feat/an/12599-PBK-ENG
• Resistance to Change is often cited as the number one
reason why a change programme has not delivered to
the level that was anticipated.
• Organisations need to respond to turbulent market
conditions. Needing to achieve more with fewer
resources is a common theme we hear daily in the
media, be this public, private or non-profit sectors.

4. The Prime Research context
• Sixteen change leaders (past and present) via semi-
structured interviews created the prime data.
• Combined experiences spanning > 55 organisations.
• Operating within Oil and Gas, Professional and Financial
Services, Public sector, including two District Councils
and a Police Collaboration Programme.

5. Ensuring a safe environment to
enable Learning and Change
2:Relationship Health
or Culture
(RTC: 10, 11, 12, 15)
Leading and Managing Individual
and Group Transition
6:Group Dynamics
(RTC: 04, 07, 09, 18)
5:Personal Dynamics
(RTC: 06, 08, 13, 14)
Leading and Managing Change
1: Purpose
(RTC: 01)
3:Communication
(RTC: 05)
4:Change Dynamics
(RTC: 02, 16, 17)
RTC: Represents the “Resistance to Change” code
Research findings
18 Resistance to Change
symptoms are occurring in
three main areas.
Distilled from 518 separate statements.

6. Leadership
Motivation
© Assentire Ltd
PURPOSE
Culture
Model of the Organisation

7. Leadership
Motivation
© Assentire Ltd
PURPOSE
Culture
Lack of a clear Purpose
Fear of failure, Personal “ROI”,
conflict with an individual’s
“System” and/or career
objectives
Low awareness regarding Leadership of
Transformation and Individual Transition.
Different Modes of Management
perceived different realities
Staff involvement, Tipping
Point, Assimilation
capacity and Change-
cycle (Transition
Psychology)
Old habits die hard, perceived
excessive work, present system
is OK, outdated life-cycle view
“Group-Think”
Appropriate Process and
Content
Sins of the past, low trust in the
leadership, limited “soft skills” awareness
in the leadership, inadequate training or
support provided
Self-Determination Theory (SDT)
Purpose, Mastery, Autonomy
Past symptoms of RTC

8. HARDINGHAM, A. 2004.
The Coach's Coach: Personal Development for Personal
Developers Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
environment
behaviour
capability
beliefs
identity
beyond identity
Increasing
psychological
“depth”
Increasing
Scope
‘flexibility’
Where/When; someone is, literally; the places and
physical contexts in which he/she exists and operates
What; someone does
How; Skills; what someone is capable of
Why; Fundamental principles and perceptions which
someone holds about life and how it should be lived
Who; someone believes him/herself to be, e.g." I'm
a tough MD; I’m a caring father; I’m a loyal friend
Our connection with humankind generally and
the rest of our world (and beyond!)
Logical Levels and ‘flexibility’
another way to slice the data

9. Ensuring a safe environment to
enable Learning and Change
2:Relationship Health
Or Culture
(RTC: 10, 11, 12, 15)
Leading and Managing Individual
and Group Transition
6:Group Dynamics
(RTC: 04, 07, 09, 18)
5:Personal Dynamics
(RTC: 06, 08, 13, 14)
Leading and Managing Change
1: Purpose
(RTC: 01)
3:Communication
(RTC: 05)
4:Change Dynamics
(RTC: 02*, 16, 17)
RTC: Represents the “Resistance to Change” code
environment
behaviour
capability
beliefs
identity
beyond
identity
The majority of the Symptoms are occurring in a domain of knowledge (Psychological Levels) only a few
ever encounter. This may be why 60 years on, we still only have achieved a 30% satisfaction rate for major
change initiatives.
Change Programme
ImplicationsIs there a relationship between
Leaders and Managers ability
to work at a deeper
psychological level
(consciously or otherwise), and
being able to bring about
successful change?

10. Leadership
Motivation
© Assentire Ltd
PURPOSE
Culture
Lack of a clear Purpose with
alignment at ALL 4 levels
Fear of failure, Personal “ROI”,
conflict with an individual’s
“System” and/or career
objectives
Low awareness regarding Leadership of
Transformation and Individual Transition.
Different Modes of Management
perceived different realities
Old habits die hard, perceived
excessive work, present system
is OK, outdated life-cycle view
“Group-Think”
Appropriate Process
and Content
Sins of the past, low trust in the
leadership, limited “soft skills” awareness
in the leadership, inadequate training or
support provided
Self-Determination Theory (SDT)
Purpose, Mastery, Autonomy
We generally focus above the
line!
Staff involvement,
Tipping Point,
Assimilation
capacity and
Change-cycle
(Transition
Psychology)

11. The Implications for Leadership
and Change Programmes
• Human Motivation
• Modes of Management
• Interpersonal Skills
• Other key areas (see supplementary information)
• Culture - ’Climate’ & Life-cycle (In supplement)
• Change requires Learning,
• Personal and Group Dynamics
And how this ALL impacts the Organisation during Change

12. Human Motivation (DRIVE)
Drive
Purpose Mastery Autonomy
Our Business Operating System does not match the evidenced-based research
Intrinsic Motivators are often not integrated in how the Organisation sees work.
Extrinsic Motivation does have some value, it however is not enough!

13. Human Motivation (DRIVE)
https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation 18 minute Video for later
Will only use max 120seconds (Video editing still to be completed RW)

14. Modes of Management
Modes of
Management
Contributor Achiever Integrator
Doing what's asked
by the organisation
Doing more than
what's asked by the
organisation
Going beyond the
organisation while
integrating the other
modes

15. Modes of
Management
Performance Focus
Individual Team Organisation
Active
Contributor
Doing what's
asked by the
organisation
Aligned
Achiever
Doing more than
what's asked by
the organisation
Adaptable
Integrator
Going beyond
the organisation
while integrating
the other modes
© Assentire Ltd
What ‘modes’ are dominant today?

16. Interpersonal Skills Needed
People
Compatible
Teams
Managing
Conflict
Managing
Resistance
Greater Innovation,
Resilience, Learning
and Performance
Greater constructive
challenge, creating
new possibilities and
more robust options
Greater readiness to
embrace a changing
future. More
comfortable dealing
with uncertainty

17. Jumping up a level
Modes of Management
Drive
People
UK productivity is 21% lower than the rest
of the G71
Estimated £19bn wasted each year due to
poor management practice2
Megatrends: are UK organisations getting
better at managing their people3
1 Statistical Bulletin: International Comparisons of Productivity – Final Estimates, 2012, ONS, 20 February 2014
2 Leadership and management in the UK – The key to sustainable growth, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, July 2012
3 Are UK organisations getting better at managing their people? CIPD, December 2014
Change Management
exists within a broader
National Context also!

18. Managing Change / Re-organisation
Organisations need to respond to turbulent market conditions. Needing to
achieve more with fewer resources is a common theme we hear daily in the
media, be this public, private or non-profit sectors.
“Managing resistance is difficult because it is centred on human
factors, for which skills and experience in organisations are in limited
supply. Most managers and business professionals are products of
the prevailing management paradigm, one that has not significantly
evolved since the beginning of the twentieth century. This mind-set
emphasised the financial and structural aspects of organisations
over the human aspects and it is therefore ill-equipped to deal
with human resistance.”
(Jones and Recardo, 2013)
JONES, D. J. & RECARDO, R. J. 2013. Leading and Implementing Business Change Management:
Making Change Stick in the Contemporary Organization: Taylor & Francis.

19. Are people resistant to change?
Consider how our mind-sets influence us
• is it a perspective we hold of others?
• what might Emotional Intelligence (EI) have to offer here?
• is it the ‘system’ that is resistant to change?
Why haven’t we improved our ability to change
in over 60 years?
I wonder, have we been pulling the wrong levers!

20. What to do starting Monday
Ensure your leadership (including yourself) is aware and has the
skills and motivation to manage the following domains.
Motivation, Interpersonal and Modes of Management, all operating
in an effective climate, that will enable what you need to be created
and sustained.

21. Modes of
Management
Contributor Achiever Integrator
People
Compatible
Teams
Managing Conflict
Managing
Resistance
Drive
Purpose Mastery Autonomy
Requires
Integrative Leadership
Successful Organisational
Change
Operating in different contexts.
Take into account Individual, Group and Organisational Dynamics
as a minimum to have some chance of success

22. A three axis metaphor
Modes of Management
behaviours that help
Motivational
understanding helps
Interpersonal
skills help
Modes of Management
behaviours that hinder
Limited Motivational
understanding hinders
Limited Interpersonal
skills hinder

23. Bring your Rubik Cube into Work

24. The Journey and Dance of
Change
Play Video http://goo.gl/IJ5ivv

25. To close
UK Practitioner Research Project
Less than 15 minutes of your time for 30 questions
rod.willis@assentire.net @RodWillisGTC +44 (0)7788 457 202
#changedebate
A free report for all apm delegates today
Be able to know how your Project Climate
compares to a representative ‘norm’ group
http://dopeoplereallyresistchange.info http://goo.gl/Y3Zojc
#projectclimateRTC

27. Supplementary
Information
rod.willis@assentire.net @RodWillisGTC +44 (0)7788 457 202

28. Life-cycle different contexts
Different times require different thinking and action to remain effective.
EVERY change programme operates within this reality of dynamic and
multilevel contexts.
Ignoring this FACT will induce what may be experienced as RTC

29. !
Misses the
point
Identifies,
can follow
simple
procedures
Combines,
describes, lists,
can perform
serial skills
Analyses,
contrasts and
compares,
explains
causes, relates
and applies
Creates,
formulates,
theorises,
generalises,
hypothesises
and reflects
Pre-structural Uni-structural Multi-structural Relational Extended
abstract
Quantitative
phase
Qualitative
phase
StructureofObservedLearningOutcomes
BaseduponJohnBiggsSOLOTaxonomy
Not competent One relevant
aspect
Several relevant
independent
aspects
Integrated into
a structure
Generalised to a
new domain
Different stages of understanding
We do not learn and
understand new
information, in the same
way, or at the same pace!
Ignoring this FACT will
induce what may be
experienced as RTC
This has direct implications
for the Change plan.

30. Is my
Ecosystem
OK?
Is my
investment
worthwhile?
Does it
support my
sense of
Self?
Positives
attributes of
today
maintained?
Is there time
to achieve the
Outcome?
What is my
situation?
Is it
sustainable?
Can I See,
Hear, & Feel
it?
My Outcome
Individuals and
Groups process
change, using one or
more of the elements
in the image, and
often not even aware
they are doing so.
Ignoring this FACT
will induce what may
be experienced as
RTC
Personal & Group Dynamic

31. Resistant to Change or lack of
understanding?
Our work is informed by the System of Profound Knowledge (SoPK). This is the
culmination of Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s lifelong work. It is an effective theory of
management that provides a framework of thought and action for any leader wishing to
transform and create a thriving organization, with the aim for everybody to win.
By management appropriately applying the principles and practices of SoPK, a business
can simultaneously reduce costs through reducing waste, rework, staff attrition and
litigation, while increasing quality, customer loyalty, worker satisfaction and, ultimately,
profitability.
SoPK ties together Dr. Deming’s seminal theories and teachings on quality, management
and leadership into four interrelated areas: appreciation of;
a system, knowledge of variation, theory of knowledge and psychology.
By using SoPK as a foundation philosophy, you will start to see an organisation
and change management through new eyes.
Source: https://deming.org/theman/theories/profoundknowledge