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

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: 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.

1. What are the things we used to be able to do and still can?
2. What are the things we couldn’t do before and still can’t?
3. What are the things we used to do but can’t now?
4. What are the things we couldn’t do before but can now?