Three Good Reasons People Resist Change
Photo by Joel & Jasmin Førestbird on Unsplash
This past Thursday, I was at In-Law Brewery in upstate New York, a small batch brewery that started as a pop-up and recently transitioned into their own building. Every summer when we come up to Hanawa Falls, New York we make the 35-minute drive to Chase Mills to grab a few beers and enjoy the live music. With beer names like East Coast Dad, Grandpa's New Girlfriend, and Brother from Another Mother, I enjoy seeing the witty family-themed names they come up with almost as much as I enjoy the beer. Only open on Thursdays from 6 to 8, driving to In-Law is always a great event and it's been fun to witness their growth year after year.
This isn't the first upstate brewery that I have seen transform from a small stand to a large operation: Raquette River Brewery in Tupper Lake was the same way, starting as just a countertop and a few beers, they've now expanded into a large taproom, outdoor seating, food trucks, and a few years ago even opened a taproom in Lake Placid.
When you come to the same place year after year, you have the privilege of seeing things grow and change. And yes, I said privilege, because that's what it is. Change is a privilege. To see someone or something grow and evolve into what they want to be and are meant to be is one of the best parts about life. Unfortunately, we far too often miss the privilege of witnessing change because we're too busy complaining about it.
As a change management expert, one of the most talked about topics in my world is the resistance to change. Organizations want to know how to get their people on board with the changes they are going through and the advice I give is simple: before you get people on board with your change, you first need to acknowledge the reasons for their resistance. While there are many reasons we could point out, I have chosen to focus on three good reasons people resist change:
Change creates uncertainty.
Change makes us feel stupid.
Change takes effort.
When your favorite Brewery moves to a new location, that creates uncertainty: Will it still be the same? What is the parking going to be like? Are they still only open on Thursdays or did the time change? All those uncertainties left un-explained and poorly communicated creates situations where we make mistakes and therefore feel stupid: we arrive in the wrong location, on the wrong day, and park in the wrong spot. If I want to avoid feeling stupid, I need to look up that information to make sure I'm prepared (which takes effort). Fortunately for me, In-Law made it super easy by putting the new address right on their website landing page. They also had their times listed so I confirmed that it was still Thursdays from 6-8p. They also always post on their Instagram, and they had a few pictures of the new location which made me feel like I knew where I was going. They pretty much nailed it on the communication front; the only additional advice I might have recommended would be to include some pictures of where to park. The more familiar people are with the change that's coming, the more they are able to see it, the more comfortable and confident they will feel navigating it.
We will always feel a tinge of resistance when we show up someplace and it's not like it was before. When this happens to you, just acknowledge it. Recognize that you are uncomfortable because you're uncertain, you're afraid of feeling stupid, and you now need to put in a little more effort to navigate something you used to know so well. Recognize those feelings, acknowledge them, and then move through them; don't let your good reasons for resistance stand in the way of reaping the benefits of the positive changes around you. And if you are ever in a position of authority at an organization that is about to change, remember that the resistance people feel often has nothing to do with the change and everything to do with them: even when the change is good, we still resist it. To help get past the resistance, remember that communication creates certainty, training creates confidence, and recognizing the effort involved makes moving through the change a lot easier.
