{"id":4789,"date":"2016-09-01T11:00:13","date_gmt":"2016-09-01T10:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/change-academy\/?p=4789"},"modified":"2016-03-23T15:29:57","modified_gmt":"2016-03-23T15:29:57","slug":"resistance-is-useful-opportunities-in-dissent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/change-academy\/2016\/09\/01\/resistance-is-useful-opportunities-in-dissent\/","title":{"rendered":"“Resistance is Useful” – opportunity from dissent"},"content":{"rendered":"

An earlier version of this was first posted on 1st September 2012<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

If, as leaders, we want to press for improvement, and for improvement to occur in a meaningful, timely and impactful manner, we need to appreciate\u00a0any resistance that we encounter from people in a different light. Rather than considering dissent and complaint as\u00a0an unhelpful roadblock to change, we should view it as both an opportunity<\/em> and an indicator<\/em> of progress. The opportunity<\/strong><\/em> is that resistance opens a door to new dialogue with others. As an indicator<\/em><\/strong>, resistance shows us that people are noticing what we are doing. Furthermore, if that resistance is within the team, it indicates that the team itself is maturing – feeling able to challenge.<\/p>\n

Any assertion that \u201cpeople are resistant to change\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0should be questioned (Herrero, 2006) – people experience and engage with change in many forms; technology, services, art and culture, lifestyle – even the weather! It is too easy to assume that \u201cthere will always be casualties \u2013 people not accepting change \u2013 and you need to identify and deal with them.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0The occasions when people become resistant is when change is imposed by\u00a0managers who assume that people\u00a0will most likely resist – in other words people need to ‘have change done to them’, that\u00a0\u201cskeptical people and enemies of change need to be sidelined\u201d (Herero 2006). Extending that idea, Seddon (2005) suggests that the reason people are resistant to change is that they often don\u2019t see its relevance to their work, because the rest of the system \u2013 how they are managed, doesn\u2019t change. One rule for one \u00a0group (change yourselves and get on with it) and another rule for managers (we will stick to our way of doing things).<\/p>\n

Instead, with the right encouragement, supposedly resistant people can actually identify and discuss the other areas where change might be required. Those ‘resistors’, with the right support, can themselves start to influence wider change and improvement.<\/p>\n

Instead when we manage change, Herrero suggests that greater care is required;<\/p>\n