10 Reasons Why Staff Resist Change

As the old cliché says, "the only constant in life is change." Why, then, are human beings so naturally fearful of and resistant to change? Given the fast-paced, technology-based world in which we operate, one would think that employees would be accustomed to accepting and adjusting to changes. More common than not, the opposite is true. For many people, their job is a significant source of structure in their life. Any thoughts or activities that stray from the comfort of this structure can be threatening and provoke insecurity.

There are many different factors that contribute to staff resistance when it comes to organisational change. One or more of these factors can be present in the consciousness or attitude of each individual employee. Being familiar with these factors can help organisational leaders manage and overcome opposition to necessary change.

1. Lack of Awareness

Staff members at various levels may not necessarily be aware of the underlying business need for change. Whether attempts have been made at communicating this to staff or not, it must be considered and dealt with. Another variation on this theme is that even staff members that do understand the underlying need for change may not necessarily be in agreement or be in line with the overall goals of the organisation.

2. Fear of the Unknown

Humans are prone to fear of the unknown. As mentioned above, many people view their job as an important source of stability in their life. At the very least, employees depend on their regular paycheque to take care of basic financial needs. Not knowing what situations can arise from organisational change can be scary. Employees can be afraid of what may happen, especially in cases of change where layoffs or reduction in workforce may be necessary.

3. Personal Predisposition

This is a highly personal factor and can only be analyzed on an individual basis. A person's predisposition to change is based on several factors having to do with the life experiences that have helped to shape him or her. For example, the way change and uncertainty were handled when that person was a child can have a small or huge effect on how the same person perceives and reacts to impending change as an adult. People with a strong predisposition to resisting and fighting change can have an impact on the next main reason that staff rejects doing things differently.

4. Peer Pressure

Some employees are known pushovers that often take on the plights of one another even if they are not directly affected. In some cases, these types of employees will buy into others' apprehension toward change without even necessarily understanding it.

5. History

Long-standing staff members have long-standing memories. They can exhibit negative feelings and attitudes based on simple misunderstandings, miscommunications, and conflict. The worst thing about this reason for staff denial of change within organisations is that some of the deep-seated history involved may have happened long before the current leadership took the reins.

6. Comfort Zones

Employees may be creatures of habit, knowing very well how to do what they do. Introducing change can raise questions about whether the employee's existing skills and experiences will be adequate to support and thrive in the new environment. This insecurity of whether one's skills will be enough to ensure success during and after change can contribute to resistance. In addition to the skills factor, individuals may be comfortable with the current state of things. The status quo may be providing a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment that staff members are just not ready to relinquish.

7. More May Be Less

Depending on what the organisational change entails, some employees are likely to suspect that they will be required to do more with less, or to perform more work for a smaller amount of pay. While this is not likely to be the case, it is important to evaluate this factor honestly and to address it in communications about change.

8. Trust Issues

This contributing factor of staff resistance to change is related to the corporate culture at the organisation. Managers who do not trust their employees are creating a climate of mistrust that is bound to be reciprocated. If employees do not trust the leadership at the organisation, they are likely to be skeptical of any proposed changes.

9. Loss of Control

Even great employees may resist organisational change. Competent staff members who are good at what they do and feel they have a handle on everything related to their job may feel threatened by the perceived loss of control that change can bring about. Employees can feel confused and powerless by being asked to change the way they think or operate.

10. Fear of Failure

If staff members are happy with what they do and with the results they currently achieve, it may make the status quo too attractive to give up. Fear that they will not be able to attain the same level of success under new circumstances is another reason employees are skeptical of change.

These are only a few of the reasons why staff members in your organisation may resist change. It is evident that a common underlying theme among these reasons is fear. Fear can originate from a myriad of motivations and take on just as many variations. Realising that open communication and understanding will lay the foundation for overcoming fear is the first step in doing so. The type of communication that will help you understand why your staff specifically is giving change the cold shoulder is listening. Making your employees feel comfortable to voice honest opinions and doubts will give you insights into their motivations (or lack thereof). This is the best way of finding out which reasons are standing in your organisation's path to widely supported change.

Damien Clarke has been delivering Personal and Professional Change Management programs to organisations for over 14 years and currently runs various businesses. His own video program on successful Goal Setting and Change is proving a real success with people and companies all over the world. Follow is personal blog and get motivated to achieve your goals.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1789937

Membangun Budaya Belajar Di Unit Kerja

Sebagai pemimpin, salah satu tugas terpenting Anda adalah; membangun budaya belajar di unit kerja Anda. Dan untuk urusan yang satu ini, kemungkinan besar Anda akan menghadapi banyak tantangan bahkan tentangan. Anda tidak sendirian. Salah satu nyanyian yang paling sering saya dengar adalah lagu yang berjudul “Banyak teori elu mah, Dang!”. Itu ketika saya sharing tentang suatu konsep. Nyanyian nyaring lainnya berjudul “Pamer melulu elu mah, Dang!”. Yang ini ketika saya sharing tentang implementasinya yang pernah saya terapkan. Cara kita merespon ilmu itu laksana tanah merespon air hujan. Jika tanah itu bersedia menerimanya, maka air hujan itu akan meresap kedalam dan menyuburkan. Jika tanah itu menolaknya, maka air yang menyegarkan itu hanya akan melintas dan menimbulkan kubangan. Tetapi, hujan tidak terlampau mempermasalahkan apakah tanah meresponnya dengan penerimaan atau penolakan. Ketika langit mengatakan; “Turunlah engkau wahai hujan…” Maka hujan pun patuh kepada perintahnya. Anda juga demikian. Jika menghadapi tantangan dan tentangan, tirulah hujan. Karena boleh jadi, ada seonggok tanah yang bersedia menerima setetas air yang Anda jatuhkan. Jikapun tidak ada, maka Anda telah menjalankan amanah langit untuk saling mengingatkan.

Salah satu cara yang saya rekomendasikan untuk Anda coba dalam membangun budaya belajar di unit kerja Anda adalah membuat forum sharing 1 kali sebulan. Mirip seperti acara training berdurasi 2 jam yang diikuti oleh SEMUA orang di unit kerja Anda. Siapa pembicaranya? Mereka sendiri. Biarkan mereka berkeringat ketika pertama kali berbicara di depan forum. Dan biarkan para manager mendengarkan pelajaran dari para staff, karena dalam forum sharing itu; ilmu diposisikan lebih tinggi dari jabatan. Sebelum dilanjutkan perlu saya sampaikan bahwa sekarang, saya tidak melakukan hal ini lagi. Mengapa? Karena sekarang saya tidak lagi bekerja sebagai seorang karyawan professional yang memiliki anak buah. Namun bagi Anda yang tertarik mempraktekan pengalaman masa lalu saya dalam membangun budaya belajar di unit kerja, saya ajak untuk memulainya dengan menerapkan 5 kemampuan Natural Intelligence berikut ini:

1. Mulailah dari komitmen Anda sebagai pimpinan. Jika Anda hanya ingin mewujudkan budaya belajar secara individu, Anda tidak perlu melakukan apapun. Diantara sekian banyak anak buah Anda, ada sekurang-kurangnya 1 orang yang punya determinasi dan komitmen untuk mengembangkan diri. Tetapi, untuk membangun budaya belajar dan pengembangan secara kolektif, Anda tidak bisa membiarkannya berjalan begitu saja. Banyak orang yang mengira jika budaya belajar itu sangat mahal, menguras waktu yang banyak, dan harus memanggil ‘para guru’ tertentu. Keliru. Budaya belajar tidak dibangun oleh orang luar, melainkan oleh diri mereka sendiri didalam unit kerja Anda. Namun, mereka tidak akan pernah melakukannya jika sebagai pemimpinnya Anda tidak menunjukkan semangat pioneering. Maka mualih dengan menunjukkan komitmen Anda sendiri. Cepat atau lambat, mereka akan mengikuti irama yang Anda mainkan.

2. Mulailah dengan Anda sendiri yang berdiri di depan. Adalah ‘human nature’ untuk mengatakan;’Elu dulu deh, elu dulu…” Oleh sebab itu, pada pertemuan pertama, pembicaranya harus Anda sendiri. Anda beri contoh untuk berdiri di depan kelas itu seperti layaknya seorang trainer. Faktanya, Anda adalah seorang trainer bagi setiap orang yang Anda pimpin. Setelah itu, giliran mereka di sesi-sesi berikutnya. Saya sendiri sempat tertegun ketika di keesokan harinya koordinator yang kami tunjuk menyerahkan sebuah ‘jadwal training’ unit kerja kami selama setahun. Lengkap dengan pembicara utamanya, serta topik apa yang akan dibawakannya. Anda akan lebih terkesan lagi jika menemukan betapa orang-orang yang Anda pimpin itu memiliki kemauan, kemampuan dan komitmen yang tinggi untuk saling berbagi pengetahuan. Tetapi, mereka tidak akan berani memulainya jika pemimpinnya tidak memulai dengan memperlihatkan komitmen dan contoh yang langsung didemonstrasikan. Jadi, mulailah dengan diri Anda sendiri yang berdiri di depan. Teori? Bukan. Ini adalah praktek yang saya terapkan.

3. Ajaklah para staf senior Anda untuk bersama-sama menunjukkan keteladanan. Salah satu faktor perusak dalam budaya belajar adalah para senior dan manager yang ogah-ogahan. Dengan otoritas yang Anda miliki, Anda bisa mengajak mereka untuk bersama-sama dengan Anda menunjukkan keteladanan itu. Anda dan para manager harus duduk di ruang sharing itu tidak peduli sesulit apapun keadaannya. Saya memang meminta mereka mengijinkan saya membawa laptop. Sebelumnya, saya membangun pemahaman bahwa, seseorang yang menempati ruang kantor paling besar bisa menelepon saya kapan saja sehingga saya harus selalu siap dengan data yang beliau minta. Mereka setuju dengan satu catatan; lap top hanya dibuka ketika saya benar-benar harus melakukannya. Setiap senior dan manager yang tidak bisa hadir, harus mendapatkan izin khusus dari saya. Dan saya sendiri hanya boleh tidak hadir dengan 3 alasan; (i) sedang tugas keluar kota, (ii) sakit parah, atau (iii) meninggal dunia. Mungkin Anda super sibuk. Tetapi mengalopkasikan waktu 2 jam sebulan untuk pertemuan sepenting itu bukanlah tuntutan yang berlebihan.

4. Ijinkan para junior menampilkan kemampuan dirinya secara orisinal. Kita sering melihat seseorang hanya sekedar dalam konteks pekerjaan. Gue atasan elu, dan elu adalah bawahan gue! Tetapi kita sering lupa, bahwa ada begitu banyak aspek hidup mereka yang kita tidak mengetahuinya. Maka dalam forum itu, ijinkan mereka untuk share APAPUN yang menjadi passion mereka. Sampai saat ini, saya masih terkesan dengan sharing tentang ‘Beternak Ikan Mas’ dari seorang data entry. Kekaguman saya belum hilang terhadap salah seorang staf cowok macho kami yang ternyata jago masak dan membikin kue. Saya masih ingat saat sesi dia seorang boss masuk ke ruangan dan bertanya;”What is going on here?” soalnya dinding kedap suara kami bukan sekedar gagal menahan suara tawa kami, melainkan juga meloloskan aroma sedap masakan yang sedang dibuatnya. Satu lagi. Apakah Anda sudah mengenal “Blue Ocean Strategy? Jika ya, darimana Anda tahu soal itu? Beberapa tahun lalu ketika banyak manager yang tidak mengenalnya, seorang staff saya berdiri di depan kelas, dan memberi kami ceramah tentang “Blue Ocean Strategy’. Hari ini pun masih banyak manager yang tidak tahu mahluk apa sih ‘BOS’ itu, bukan?

5. Buatlah kontes dengan hadiah yang menghibur. Hari gini kagak ada kontes? Yang bener aja! Coba lihat di televisi; apapun serba dikonteskan. Itulah yang kami lakukan dengan forum sharing itu. Para manager dan senior saya tugaskan untuk menjadi juri. Di akhir tahun, mereka memberi saya rekomendasi hasil penilaian terhadap setiap staff yang sudah menjadi pembicara dalam forum kami. Dari hasil penilaian para juri itu kemudian kami memutuskan siapa pembicara terbaiknya. Hadiahnya? Beberapa lembar voucher supermarket bernilai beberapa ratus ribu rupiah. Tidak ada budget? Jika Anda adalah seorang pemimpin yang menganggap bahwa budaya belajar itu penting; mengeluarkan beberapa lembar kertas bergambar Bung Karno dari dompet Anda sendiri tidak akan mengurangi kenyamanan yang Anda peroleh dari fasilitas dan bonus yang selama ini Anda nikmati.

Ada banyak cara untuk membangun budaya belajar di unit kerja kita. Bahkan sekalipun kita bisa mengundang pembicara belabel #1, #2, #3 dan seterusnya. Lagi pula, Anda tidak mungkin mengundang pembicara #2 ketika semua pembicara T-O-P-B-G-T sama-sama menggunakan label #1 dibelakang namanya, bukan? Tetapi, saya bisa katakan kepada Anda dengan seyakin-yakinnya bahwa Pembicara #1 yang sebenarnya itu adalah orang-orang yang ada di Unit Kerja Anda sendiri. Bukan pembicara bayaran seperti saya. Hebatnya lagi, Anda bisa mengundang The Truly Numero Uno Speakers itu hanya dengan modal Rp.50,000.- saja. Itupun tidak masuk ke kantong mereka, melainkan untuk membeli cemilan kecil yang bisa dimakan bersama-sama.

By: Dadang Kadarusman
illustration taken from: ilmusdm.wordpress.com

Ice Breakers

An ice breaker can be a very useful technique to start a presentation or training session. It can either be in the form of a set of PowerPoint slides designed to get the audience interested – or even better, it can allow some form of audience participation.

We have collected here a range of ice breakers that you may be able to use at your next presentation or training session.

Ice breakers

A good ice breaker is where you get people who do not really know each other to get together. Then you give them five minutes to find out two or three things that they have in common (outside of work).
It could be where they were born, where they went to school, somewhere they have been on holiday, someone they know, hobbies in common.
At the end of the session you get some of them to stand up and say what they have in common. It is amazing how much people really do have in common.

Guess who?

Another technique for breaking the ice with a mid-sized group – it works particularly well in your own company or group – is to ask people to write on a post-it note something about themselves that nobody else would know.

People then have to guess who the answer applies to. You do not have to do all of the answers – just pick a few at random. You can also save a few for later in the day when people return from a coffee or lunch break.

Some of the answers can be really revealing. One person turned out to have been a breakfast TV presenter earlier in his life and another went into the woods looking for mushrooms!

Story of my life

This involves giving people the chance to make a small book about the story of their life. They have to draw in it a number of scenes about their life. They can play these back to each other or to the group.

Straub test

This was always a good one for a set of PowerPoint slides. Make a selection of PowerPoint slides each with the name of a colour printed clearly on it, but make sure that the colour of the text does not always match the name of the colour (see below). Present them in quick succession and ask people to call out the colour of the text not the word it spells. This has become more difficult to do of late due to the popularity of the Nintendo Brain Training game.

straub-test

Get the audience to do it quickly. They will soon start making mistakes. When they get it wrong you can call out the real colour.

Which finger?

Here is a good one for breaking the ice. Do this to members of your audience in turn.

Get your audience to hold out their hands with their arms straight in front of them and their thumbs pointing straight up.
Ask them to rotate their hands so that their thumbs are pointing downwards.
Ask them to cross their hands over so that their palms are flat against each other.
Get them to interlace their fingers to make a fist.
Now – point to a finger (without touching) and ask them to move it.
Now try another. They will probably find the bottom fingers most difficult.
Repeat the exercise with touching – many people find this easier.

Draw a picture

Another quite simple ice breaker technique is to arrange members of the audience in pairs and then get one of each pair to draw a picture without showing the other person. They then have to describe the picture to the other person, who has to make an exact copy – without being able to see it. All of the instructions have to be made verbally and there can be NO POINTING!

Set a time limit of three minutes.

Most people will find this very difficult. Then allow them a very quick glimpse of the picture. They will then suddenly be able to draw it with ease.
This demonstrates two different learning styles. All too often teachers and coaches rely heavily on verbal communication. Often a picture will help to convey the message far more effectively.

Coincidences

This is an ice breaker that my father (an amateur magician) used to use.

This works well with larger numbers. Ask people to guess how many people you would have to ask before you found two people who have the same birthday. Ask them to call their guess out and write down the answers. Most people think that it will be a number over 100.
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Then get people to write down their birthday (just the day and the month) on a big sheet of paper. Get them to call their dates out in turn. Write these down on a flip chart. Statistically, the average is just 26 people to find a pair that have the same birthday.

You can end by saying, “Isn’t that an amazing coincidence? Now, talking about coincidences, my presentation will now reveal…” and then you are off.

Send in your ice breakers

Have you come across any other good ideas for ice breakers?

We will try to publish all suggestions that look suitable.

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