“Change favors the prepared mind – but it can capsize the inept.” – Ronald Gross

Classic management texts say that people confronted with change go through a natural progression: Denial, Resistance, Exploration, and Commitment. Supposedly, employees must pass through all four phases to cope with change.  An oft-quoted statistic says only 12-15% of employees respond positively and constructively to change, so management needs to conduct special seminars to help others get through it.  All of that always seemed a bit too touchy-feely to me.

I prefer to consider this change curve, first introduced to me by Jeff McKenna.  I find that it gives me a much more useful understanding of the mechanics of change.

Any change involves a transition period of loss and chaos before the benefits of the new way begin to take hold.  Eventually, though, you get to the point where there is an “Aha!” moment.  You may not even be back at the productivity level of the old status quo yet, but you can see the higher levels coming.  Finally, you reap the rewards that the change has to offer.

One of the biggest complications in the change curve is when the change involves delegation.  A manager begins the process with a mental exercise to analyze the change.  For months, or years, he or she will explore the issues surrounding the change to determine if the change would be for the better.  It’s when the manager gets to the Aha! point and can visualize the gains that the project gets a green light and is delegated to the troops to make it happen.

According to McKenna, what happens all too often is that the employee isn’t given enough (any) time to go through his or her own period of loss/chaos/Aha!  The manager somehow expects that the delegated work can proceed immediately, and when the employee pushes back the manager is surprised.  “I can see the benefits, why can’t you?”

So, the next time you encounter resistance to change, stop and consider.  If you are the resistor (employee), ask management to walk you through the thought process that got to the green light.  If you are the resistee (manager), ask yourself if you are giving your people enough time to digest the change.