Conquer Workplace Villains: Strategies to Win Over Change Detractors

Every organisation going through change encounters ‘difficult people’ – the blocker, the sceptic, the eye roller, the quiet resistor. In this article, Natasha Egré, Head of Client Development for Marbral Advisory, talks about change detractors and how we can reframe our view and turn resistance into momentum. No matter how well planned a change is, the same characters tend to appear. There’s the one who tells you ‘This won’t work’ before you’ve even finished your presentation. The one who agrees in the meeting but then quietly does nothing. And the one who’s been through ‘too many transformations to count’ and now treats every new initiative like a passing whim and consistently reverts to old processes and systems. Our experience at Marbral Advisory over the years tells us that these people exist in every organisation. You will find them in finance, governments, construction, retail and the third sector, for example. Most leaders have encountered them, and many see them as a problem. However, this doesn’t need to be the case. Why people become ‘difficult’ during change Working for Marbral Advisory, I have seen change play out for so many organisations and the key challenge is often people. When authentic focus is given to the ‘people’ affected by the change, we see acceleration towards benefits realisation. Understanding what people are going through in times of change is vital. In simple terms, these can be broken down into: Loss of control: Change is disrupting their expertise, identity or influence Change fatigue: Past initiatives may have failed or been painful to implement Fear of competence loss: Change may affect their role directly and they may worry about whether they will still be needed, useful or competent Uncertainty avoidance: Some roles thrive on predictability and change threatens that. This shows us that what leaders often label as ‘resistance’ is more likely to be ‘self-protection.’ If we re-frame detractors as signallers, rather than obstacles, then their input can become invaluable to project or change success. I have seen Marbral’s Change Architects transition people from detractors to change champions by taking the time to understand their individual triggers and working to reframe their adoption of change. The familiar characters With the understanding that change is difficult for most, you might even recognise yourself, or a colleague, in the archetypes we often come across: The Historian: ‘We tried this in 2015, and it didn’t work then either’ The Sceptic: Asks tough questions – sometimes publicly, sometimes persistently The Silent Resister: Says ‘yes’, but behaves ‘no’ The Influencer: Not necessarily senior, but others follow their lead The key point to remember is that these people are not the problem; ignoring them is. You must find a way to engage them, alleviate their fears and turn their energy into positivity for change. Dealing with detractors without losing your mind At Marbral, this is what we have found works in practice: Listening: Understanding what sits behind people’s resistance, taking the time to listen and authentically care Targeted engagement: Developing different approaches and communications tools for different people Using sceptics productively: Turning challenge into improvement; encouraging constructive challenge and involving detractors in solving them Equipping leaders: Help leaders, managers and sponsors of change to respond confidently rather than defensively Remembering: That change sticks when people feel heard, respected and supported. A final note for leaders The most successful change leaders don’t try to eliminate resistance, they learn from it. Difficult behaviour often points to the very risks that need addressing and when you realise that you start seeing your detractors as a positive challenge. When handled well, today’s detractors can become tomorrow’s change champions.