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Even when the strategic case for change is compelling, organisations frequently encounter significant resistance. Understanding why people resist change — and the forms that resistance takes — is essential for any leader seeking to implement strategic change successfully.
Change disrupts the status quo. It creates uncertainty, threatens established interests, and demands new behaviours. Resistance is a natural human response to the loss of the familiar, and it should not be dismissed as irrational or obstructive. Instead, managers must understand its root causes.
Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) identified four key reasons why individuals and groups resist organisational change:
People focus on how the change will affect them personally rather than considering the overall benefit to the organisation.
Example: Middle managers resist delayering because their roles may be eliminated, even though the change would improve organisational efficiency.
People resist change because they do not fully understand the reasons for it or the implications. This is often compounded by a lack of trust in the leaders proposing the change.
Example: A company announces a 'transformation programme' but provides little detail. Employees assume it means redundancies and begin looking for alternative jobs, causing a talent drain before the change has even begun.
People may genuinely disagree with the proposed change based on their own analysis of the situation. They may have access to different information or interpret the same information differently.
Example: A sales team resists a new CRM system because they believe it adds administrative burden without improving customer relationships — a view that may have some validity.
Some individuals have a low personal tolerance for change and uncertainty. Even when they intellectually understand and agree with the change, they feel anxious about their ability to adapt.
Example: Long-serving employees in a traditional firm struggle to adapt to agile working practices, not because they oppose them in principle, but because the shift feels overwhelming.
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