This page will change regularly as we respond to questions from clients, participants in our seminars, and visitors to our site. If you have a dilemma with a difficult leadership issue, change effort, or consultation issue; Email us. If we select your question for posting here, you will get some free advice.

Guidelines for submitting a question: your situation should be real, described behaviorally without judgements of others, and have sufficient detail so we can understand your problem. For now, to give you a feel for what to expect from this column, we've selected a problem all leaders and change consultants face: resistance to change.

Let's be real. When people react to changes in their lives from a place of fear, it is a pain in the butt. Now, having gotten our frustrations out of the way, we still need to do something reasonably smart about people holding on to the past.

First, our attitude needs to shift from "pain in the butt" to recognizing that these resistant behaviors are normal reactions to change we can help our colleagues overcome. It is our responsibility as leaders and consultants to approach change with determination and compassion.

Second, it is useful to understand that change is a process that has its ups and downs - a natural cycle. To address resistance, we need to approach people in whatever stage of the process they are "living" at that moment, and adjust our responses to their situation. Do they need concrete "to do" lists to ground them, a sympathetic ear to vent frustrations, confrontation about the impact of their current behavior on colleagues and customers, or a pat on the back for interim successes? Doing the right thing at the right time makes all the difference in bringing resistors on-board.

Third, can you identify what is "at risk" to the people resisting the change? Do they believe the change will mean more unrewarded work, greater chance of failure, loss of prestige, loss of relationship with long term colleagues, or another of many possibilities. Once you identify the fear with them, you can speak to it directly and involve them in further assessing the issue and how to fix it. You can also directly involve them in discovering "what's in it for them" to embrace the change - where are the opportunities. This is a force field analysis - minimizing resisting forces and maximizing driving forces - to improve chance of success.

That brings us to the fourth strategy for managing resistance - involvement. We can't say enough about the importance of initiating a process for bringing together all of those who have a stake in the proposed change. We're not saying you don't move until everyone is on board - that's a differnet issue - but the opportunity must be there as early as possible for all stakeholders to play an active role in creating a vision of the future state, planning strategies for getting there, and implementing the change.

Finally, we must recognize that, in spite of our best efforts, we rarely achieve a full commitment to move ahead. We want to create a critical mass of employees that will move the organization into the future. Although we tend to focus attention on resistance, remember to put most of your energy with those who are ready and willing to move. Supporting their efforts and using the suggested strategies will help to manage resistance in the change effort.

We hope these ideas prompt creative strategies for dealing with the natural process of resistance to change. To order a booklet of specific strategies and planning worksheets for reaching critical mass, E-mail; us and inquire about "The Pig in a Snake" booklet. If you have other questions or comments, let us know; and keep checking in to see what's new.