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Leadership &
the Psychology of Change

Word Count: 1287

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"Leadership and the Psychology of Change"

    - by Simon Hazeldine MSc BA (Hons) FInstSMM
 

(c) Simon Hazeldine. All Rights Reserved.


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LEADERSHIP AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CHANGE


“Effective change management is not about managing change
it’s about managing the psychological process people go
through during change”
Nancy Barger

It has been said that the only person who likes change is a
wet baby! 

Change can be difficult for some people to accept. The
famous family therapist Virginia Satir; stated that the
biggest barrier to her clients making successful changes in
their life was the strong human need for familiarity.

Human beings generally like to feel in control. 
Uncertainty can confront people at deep emotional levels. 

As a result of this understandable human reaction, people
in organisations can resist change. 

Some of the reasons for this are:

•    Fear of losing their job
•    Fear of losing status
•    An inability to see the need for the change
•    An unfavourable view of the person leading the
    change
•    Not being consulted about the change
•    The perception that change will create more work
•    Negative influence from other people in the
    organisation about the change

As a leader you are going to have to understand that this
may be the case and adapt your leadership approach
accordingly.

In addition you will need to be aware of the process people
go through during times of major change.  Whilst all people
are unique individuals and will respond and react
differently, a useful model to use to explore how people
react to change is the transition curve.

The transition curve is a psychological journey that people
often travel along during a time of significant or major
change.  This behaviour has been observed in commercial
environments and in non-commercial environments, including
observations of how patients respond to being diagnosed
with a serious or terminal illness.

There are four key stages along a 'U' shaped "curve" of
energy and morale. The model divides the 'U' into 4
quadrants.

Stage 1: Denial

This is the first quarter of the the 'U'.

In the early stages of change, when someone first hears
about it, they will often be shocked and appear to withdraw
and deny the change.  People often adopt a “business as
usual” mindset and their attention will be focussed on the
past as this provides safe and familiar feelings. At this
stage energy and morale starts starts to dip.

Stage 2: Resistance

This is

As the reality of the change begins to sink in, people move
from denying it to resisting it.  People may be angry,
initially with others, and then perhaps with themselves.
They may point the finger of blame and become anxious.

This anxiety can sometimes lead to apathy and feelings of
depression. People’s commitment and energy can drop and
there may be attitudes and behaviours of non co-cooperation.
They often become guarded and will not disclose how they
are feeling.

People may become cynical, and/or put on a brave face.
They may resist the change as just another fad and an
attitude of “It’ll never work here” may pervade.

As they reach the bottom of the transition curve this is
where energy is at its lowest and the bottom of the curve
can be thought of as a trough and in some models is
described as “the pit of despair”.

Stage 3: Exploration

At this stage people have become resigned to the change
but may not have accepted it. True acceptance will come at
a later stage.

As people start to travel up the transition curve energy
starts to build.  There can be feelings of confusion and
even chaos and to combat this people may start to over
prepare as a way of handling the uncertainty.

Stage 4: Commitment

As people continue their journey along the transition curve
their energy continues to build as does their enthusiasm. 
People will start to take responsibility and will co-operate.
The over preparation of the previous stage will lead to a
more balanced and considered co-ordination of activity.


The model also details two important concepts that you also
need to understand.

1. During the first (denial) and final (commitment) stages
how  people are feeling is often expressed visibly.

By contrast during the second (resistance) and third
(exploration) stages people will often not be very open in
expressing how they are feeling. 

The wise leader needs to understand this and not, for
example, to assume everything is OK because no-one is
complaining about the change.  They probably are - but not
publicly - and perhaps only to people from outside of the
organisation e.g. family, friends etc.


2. During the first two stages (denial, resistance) people
will usually be identifying and associating with the past
(how things used to be) and that during the final two
stages (exploration, commitment) people will usually be
identifying with and thinking about the future.

As a leader of change it is important to understand that
this happens and that people’s commitment to a new future
vision will take time to build.

It is important for a leader to modify their behaviour when
people are going through each of the four stages. It should
be noted that people move through the transition curve at
different speeds and a one-size-fits-all approach to
leading change is simply not appropriate.

Leadership behaviour during each stage of the transition
curve:

Stage 1: Denial

During this early stage leaders should ensure that they:

•    Ensure that people involved in and/or affected by
    the change know what is happening, when it is going to happen and why it is happening.

•    Explain what to expect
 
•    Keep people informed and updated on a regular basis. 

•    Hold informal 1:1 discussions with your team

•    Allow people time to understand what is going on
    and allow them time to consider what this means to
    them

•    Make the change seem real with relevant examples
    and illustrations.


The importance of communication must be emphasised not just
at this first stage but throughout the change process.
Communicate, communicate, communicate!

Stage 2:  Resistance

During this second stage leaders should ensure that they:

•    Listen to people’s concerns about the change

•    Acknowledge people’s feelings.

•    Empathise with the people involved.

•    Provide encouragement.

•    Provide support

It can be tempting to push ahead with the change process
and get it implemented.  However, allowing people time to
consider what is happening and providing the right level of
support to them will pay dividends in getting the change
effectively implemented.

Stage 3: Exploration

As this stage is characterised by a release of energy the
leader needs to ensure this is harnessed correctly. 
During this third stage leaders should ensure that they:

•    Harness the energy

•    Focus their team and concentrate on priorities

•    Provide training

•    Set short, term goals.

•    Encourage brainstorming and other methods to solve
    problems associated with implementing the change.

•    Planning what needs to be done.

Stage 4: Commitment

During this fourth stage leaders should ensure that they:

•    Develop and communicate long term goals

•    Focus on building the new teams

•    Acknowledge & reward people’s contribution

As a leader it is important to understand the stages that
people will go through during change. And by flexing and
altering your behaviour appropriately you will be making a
powerful contribution to the required change being accepted
and then implemented effectively.

Change will be an on-going reality for the modern leader
and as a result learning how to lead it effectively is an
essential skill.


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