3 Tips for Managing Resistance to Change

I imagine you know that your ability to thrive in the midst of chaos and uncertainty is dependent on your MINDSET. It’s usually not the change itself that challenges us; it’s the psychological transition we experience that ultimately leads to success or failure. This is why your team members’ resistance can make or break your change initiatives.

In this month’s post, I share 3 strategies to help you navigate the resistance to change, backed by over 20 years of Prosci’s change management research. 

What do you think will happen when enough people in your organization release the resistance to change? As you build and sustain positive momentum, you will benefit from access to greater resources that could transform your organization. Let me explain. 

In my private Facebook Group, I wrote about the “100th Monkey Syndrome”. Here's an excerpt from Tony Robbins’ book Unlimited Power about this fascinating research study: 

"Biologist Lyall Watson recounted what happened in a monkey tribe on an island near Japan after a new food, freshly dug sweet potatoes covered with sand, was introduced into their midst. Since their other food required no preparation, the monkeys were reluctant to eat the dirty potatoes. Then one monkey solved the problem by washing the potatoes in a stream and teaching her mother and playmates to do the same. Then something remarkable happened. Once a certain number of monkeys- about one hundred of them- had acquired this knowledge, other monkeys who had no contact with them, even monkeys living on other islands, began to do the same thing! There was no physical way they could have interacted with the original monkeys. But somehow the behavior spread.

Now, this is not unique. There are numerous cases where individuals with no way of coming in contact with one another act in remarkable unison." 

How does this happen? 

No one knows precisely, but many prominent scientists and brain researchers believe there is a collective consciousness we all can pull from. Research from the Institute of HeartMath validates that there is a collective field. And, when you and your leadership team release the resistance to change and become more resilient, you co-create a coherent field environment to help others adapt to change and be more innovative.