Reason: They are too full of fear and emotions and fears to think straight. The Fix: As soon as you hear a new idea, your brain categorizes it as 'good' or 'bad.' Create space for the team to consider a third category - the 'interesting' elements of the change. To do this, pull the team together, grab a whiteboard (virtual or otherwise), sketch out these three columns, and facilitate a discussion exploring each.

Reason #1 Why People Resist Change & How To Help

Reason: They don't know how big a deal the change actually is. Have you ever started a project so overwhelming that you didn’t even know where to start? This is how change can feel, too. The Fix: Try using the 4-door approach to give the change some edges.<ol><li>What are the things we used to be able to do and still can?</li><li>What are the things we couldn’t do before and still can’t?</li><li>What are the things we used to do but can’t now?</li><li>What are the things we couldn’t do before but can now?</li></ol><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/38/1*LqlJhGZ6WrKLsmd1bjIAOg.png?q=20">

Reason #2 Why People Resist Change & How To Help

Reason: They don't see how they fit into any of it. This reason highlights the difference between ownership and authorship of a change. The Fix: Ownership doesn't work, but authorship does. Try using the renovator's delight approach to help the team become authors of change.<ol><li>What do you want to keep going forward</li><li>What do you want to chuck?</li><li>What do you want to change?</li><li>What do you want to add?</li></ol>

Reason #3 Why People Resist Change & How To Help

“You can keep things the same or you can make a difference. You cannot do both. That is the choice you’ve got to make.”

<figure><img alt="The real reasons people resist change and 3 change management whiteboard exercises." src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*V0EpLVQ17kN2QFemiO0RPg.jpeg" width="785" height="523"><figcaption class="iv iw db cz da ix iy cg b fx ci ff" data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@itsrahbee?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText" class="cm iz" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Mark Rabe</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/whiteboard?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText" class="cm iz" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure>Imagine this — You’ve come up with a brilliant new idea, technology, or way of doing things that has the potential to do tremendous things for the team, the business, and the company.You jump up and exclaim, “Great news, everyone — I found a better way!” expecting the team to applaud your innovative thinking and rally around you to make your idea a reality.Instead, you’re greeted with blank stares and variations of, “No.” Why?<UL><LI>“Now’s not a good time.”</LI><LI>“It’s been done before.”</LI><LI>“That’s not the way we do things around here.”</LI><LI>“It’s complicated.”</LI></UL>Jason Clarke, founder of <a href="https://www.mindsatwork.com.au/" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Minds at Work</a>, presents this exact scenario in his “<a href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Embracing Change</a>” TEDx Talk.<BLOCKQUOTE>“The first thing you need to know,” Clarke says, “ is that these aren’t real reasons.”“No one will tell you what the real reasons are, but I’ve been collecting them.”</BLOCKQUOTE><a href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Clarke</a>, who works in the innovation space, goes on to say that he has focused his research on “trying to figure out what this wall is made of and how do we get past it? And, if we can’t get past it, go under it, go around it, or just smash through it.”Here are 3 of the real reasons people resist change accompanied by whiteboard exercises you can use to help your team embrace change.<h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">1. “I’m too full of emotions and fears to think straight.”</h2>Have you ever slowed down long enough to notice what happens in your brain when you’re presented with a new idea or change?The instant you are made aware of the idea, your brain evaluates and labels it as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ before you’re even conscious of what’s happening.In cognitive psychology, this is called “<a href="http://psychology.iresearchnet.com/developmental-psychology/cognitive-development/categorization/#:~:text=In%20cognitive%20psychology%2C%20categorization%20focuses,events)%20that%20are%20grouped%20together." rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">categorization</a>.”So when your team is faced with a change, you can bet that at least a few of them have categorized it as ‘bad’ before you’ve even finished explaining it.At that point, the idea’s ‘badness’ has them too full of emotions or fears to think clearly.But, as children, we have a third category at our disposal when we observe or learn new things; the ‘interesting’ category. Parents know this category well as they watch their children take in newness at every turn.<a href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Clarke</a> says, “As we get older we compress that space and we see everything in terms of this dichotomy between good and bad. Our default is to rate every change as being bad.”But what if you, as a leader, create space for your team to examine the ‘interesting?’To do this, pull the team together, grab a whiteboard (virtual or otherwise), sketch out these three columns, and simply ask “How do you feel about the change?”<figure><img alt="Image for post" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*5GaUsZGoRFF9NG2lj4Ll6w.png" width="655" height="381"><figcaption dir="auto">Whiteboard image by author</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Clarke</a> shares that most teams will start with the negative. “I’d write them down and I say, ‘Have you got anything new?’ After 15 minutes they’re exhausted. There was nothing else to say about the negativity.”From there, they will start to explore the positive and interesting. <a href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Clarke</a> says, in his experience, that they will get there all by themselves. “They’ll say, ‘Gee, this is unusual. What can we do with this?’”<BLOCKQUOTE>Clarke says, “this interesting space is where the artist is, it’s where the innovator is, it’s where the inventor is.”</BLOCKQUOTE>“All I was doing was ratifying their feelings. I was just listening to how they felt. And then before I knew it, they were here. They were saying, ‘This is great.’”<h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">2. “I don’t know how big a deal this really is.”</h2>Have you ever started a project that felt so big and overwhelming that you didn’t even know where to start? This is how change can feel, too.To address this one, <a href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Clarke</a> suggests using the ‘4 door’ whiteboard exercise to give the change “some edges.”To do this, work with the team to write a list of the following 4 things:<OL><LI>What are the things we used to be able to do and still can?</LI><LI>What are the things we couldn’t do before and still can’t?</LI><LI>What are the things we used to do but can’t now?</LI><LI>What are the things we couldn’t do before but can now?</LI></OL><figure><img alt="Image for post" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*LqlJhGZ6WrKLsmd1bjIAOg.png" width="680" height="220"><figcaption dir="auto">Whiteboard image by author</figcaption></figure>Doors 1 and 2 encompass everything that won’t change and represent ‘business as usual.’Door 3 is the stuff we have to let go of. We do that for the sake of door 4.Door 4 has just recently opened. It is full of potential and presents us with an opportunity to bring the change to life by exploring new ways of doing things.<figure><img alt="Image for post" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*G59nOYSKcBMa9cIW0ejLlA.png" width="680" height="260"><figcaption dir="auto">Whiteboard image by author</figcaption></figure>“Suddenly everybody calms down. They can see the change has got edges to it,” <a href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Clarke</a> says.<h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">3. “I don’t see how I fit into any of this.”</h2><a href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Clarke</a> explains that the third reason people resist change highlights the difference between ‘ownership’ and ‘authorship.’He says that too often leaders say, “‘Here’s why we’ve got to change. Here’s what has to change. Here’s how it’s got to change. You report to me and by the way, I want you to own it.’ It doesn’t work. What works is authorship.”To do drive authorship, Clarke recommends what he has coined as the ‘renovator’s delight’ using the 4-box matrix below.“Have you ever renovated a house?” <a href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Clarke</a> asks.<UL><LI>What did you keep?</LI><LI>What did you chuck?</LI><LI>What did you change?</LI><LI>What did you add?</LI></UL>These are the only 4 questions.<figure><img alt="Image for post" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*3XiPk43T7uSQsySzuCa6dg.png" width="500" height="500"><figcaption dir="auto">Whiteboard image by author</figcaption></figure>Start by telling the team why they have to change and some specific things that will have to change.But then ask them to tell you what they think is the best way to get to the end goal. Ask them to tell you how they’re going to make it work.Then have the team jot down their thoughts into each of the 4 categories.By doing this, <a href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Clarke</a> says, “You empower them to design the change for themselves. Suddenly they’re not responding to change, they’re taking control of change.”This is what it means to give them authorship.Clarke closes his TEDx Talk by saying,<BLOCKQUOTE>“You can keep things the same or you can make a difference. You cannot do both. That is the choice you’ve got to make.”</BLOCKQUOTE>As a leader, your job is not to keep things the same.Your job is to help your team realize their potential by making a difference. And you can only make a difference by making a change.<h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">Level-Up Your Leadership</h2>My 5-day email course will provide you with actionable tips for how to handle some of the most common challenges leaders face. <a href="https://relentless-producer-8605.ck.page/1313b90c92" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Sign up for free</a>.More stories from <a href="https://adjunctleadership.medium.com/" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">Jessica Donahue</a>:

You can help others embrace change by using these three change management whiteboard exercises shared by Jason Clarke in his TEDx Talk, "Embracing Change."

Leadership

Imagine this — You’ve come up with a brilliant new idea, technology, or way of doing things that has the potential to do tremendous things for the team, the business, and the company.

You jump up and exclaim, “Great news, everyone — I found a better way!” expecting the team to applaud your innovative thinking and rally around you to make your idea a reality.

Instead, you’re greeted with blank stares and variations of, “No.” Why?

<ul><li>“Now’s not a good time.” </li><li>“It’s been done before.” </li><li>“That’s not the way we do things around here.” </li><li>“It’s complicated.” </li> </ul>

Jason Clarke, founder of <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.mindsatwork.com.au/" rel="noopener nofollow">Minds at Work </a>, presents this exact scenario in his “<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow">Embracing Change </a>” TEDx Talk.

“The first thing you need to know,” Clarke says, “ is that these aren’t real reasons.”

“No one will tell you what the real reasons are, but I’ve been collecting them.”

<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow">Clarke </a>, who works in the innovation space, goes on to say that he has focused his research on “trying to figure out what this wall is made of and how do we get past it? And, if we can’t get past it, go under it, go around it, or just smash through it.”

Here are 3 of the real reasons people resist change accompanied by whiteboard exercises you can use to help your team embrace change.

1. “I’m too full of emotions and fears to think straight.”

Have you ever slowed down long enough to notice what happens in your brain when you’re presented with a new idea or change?

The instant you are made aware of the idea, your brain evaluates and labels it as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ before you’re even conscious of what’s happening.

In cognitive psychology, this is called “<a dir="ltr" href="http://psychology.iresearchnet.com/developmental-psychology/cognitive-development/categorization/#:~:text=In%20cognitive%20psychology%2C%20categorization%20focuses,events)%20that%20are%20grouped%20together." rel="noopener nofollow">categorization </a>.”

So when your team is faced with a change, you can bet that at least a few of them have categorized it as ‘bad’ before you’ve even finished explaining it.

At that point, the idea’s ‘badness’ has them too full of emotions or fears to think clearly.

But, as children, we have a third category at our disposal when we observe or learn new things; the ‘interesting’ category. Parents know this category well as they watch their children take in newness at every turn.

<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow">Clarke </a>says, “As we get older we compress that space and we see everything in terms of this dichotomy between good and bad. Our default is to rate every change as being bad.”

But what if you, as a leader, create space for your team to examine the ‘interesting?’

To do this, pull the team together, grab a whiteboard (virtual or otherwise), sketch out these three columns, and simply ask “How do you feel about the change?”

<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow">Clarke </a>shares that most teams will start with the negative. “I’d write them down and I say, ‘Have you got anything new?’ After 15 minutes they’re exhausted. There was nothing else to say about the negativity.”

From there, they will start to explore the positive and interesting. <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow">Clarke </a>says, in his experience, that they will get there all by themselves. “They’ll say, ‘Gee, this is unusual. What can we do with this?’”

Clarke says, “this interesting space is where the artist is, it’s where the innovator is, it’s where the inventor is.”

“All I was doing was ratifying their feelings. I was just listening to how they felt. And then before I knew it, they were here. They were saying, ‘This is great.’”

2. “I don’t know how big a deal this really is.”

Have you ever started a project that felt so big and overwhelming that you didn’t even know where to start? This is how change can feel, too.

To address this one, <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow">Clarke </a>suggests using the ‘4 door ’ whiteboard exercise to give the change “some edges.”

To do this, work with the team to write a list of the following 4 things:

<ol><li>What are the things we used to be able to do and still can? </li><li>What are the things we couldn’t do before and still can’t? </li><li>What are the things we used to do but can’t now? </li><li>What are the things we couldn’t do before but can now? </li> </ol>

Doors 1 and 2 encompass everything that won’t change and represent ‘business as usual.’

Door 3 is the stuff we have to let go of. We do that for the sake of door 4.

Door 4 has just recently opened. It is full of potential and presents us with an opportunity to bring the change to life by exploring new ways of doing things.

“Suddenly everybody calms down. They can see the change has got edges to it,” <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow">Clarke </a>says.

3. “I don’t see how I fit into any of this.”

<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow">Clarke </a>explains that the third reason people resist change highlights the difference between ‘ownership’ and ‘authorship.’

He says that too often leaders say, “‘Here’s why we’ve got to change. Here’s what has to change. Here’s how it’s got to change. You report to me and by the way, I want you to own it.’ It doesn’t work. What works is authorship .”

To do drive authorship, Clarke recommends what he has coined as the ‘renovator’s delight ’ using the 4-box matrix below.

“Have you ever renovated a house?” <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow">Clarke </a>asks.

<ul><li>What did you keep? </li><li>What did you chuck? </li><li>What did you change? </li><li>What did you add? </li> </ul>

These are the only 4 questions.

Start by telling the team why they have to change and some specific things that will have to change.

But then ask them to tell you what they think is the best way to get to the end goal. Ask them to tell you how they’re going to make it work.

Then have the team jot down their thoughts into each of the 4 categories.

By doing this, <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.tedxperth.org/embracing-change" rel="noopener nofollow">Clarke </a>says, “You empower them to design the change for themselves. Suddenly they’re not responding to change, they’re taking control of change.”

This is what it means to give them authorship .

Clarke closes his TEDx Talk by saying,

“You can keep things the same or you can make a difference. You cannot do both. That is the choice you’ve got to make.”

As a leader, your job is not to keep things the same.

Your job is to help your team realize their potential by making a difference. And you can only make a difference by making a change.

My 5-day email course will provide you with actionable tips for how to handle some of the most common challenges leaders face. <a dir="ltr" href="https://relentless-producer-8605.ck.page/1313b90c92" rel="noopener nofollow">Sign up for free </a>.

More stories from <a dir="ltr" href="https://adjunctleadership.medium.com/" rel="noopener">Jessica Donahue </a>:

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

The Real Reasons People Resist Change (But Won’t Tell You)

Reason #1 Why People Resist Change & How To Help

Reason #2 Why People Resist Change & How To Help

Reason #3 Why People Resist Change & How To Help

JASON CLARKE

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

How to get to know people on remote work

4 Tips to Help You Accept & Embrace Change | Jack Canfield

This Is How To Get People To Change: 5 Secrets From Research - Barking Up The Wrong Tree

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

The Real Reasons People Resist Change (But Won’t Tell You)

Reason #1 Why People Resist Change & How To Help

Reason #2 Why People Resist Change & How To Help

Reason #3 Why People Resist Change & How To Help

JASON CLARKE

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

How to get to know people on remote work

4 Tips to Help You Accept & Embrace Change | Jack Canfield

This Is How To Get People To Change: 5 Secrets From Research - Barking Up The Wrong Tree

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career