As we know, leading change is a decision-making process. Making decisions are about addressing threats and opportunities.
One important thing to remember is that making a good decision is always related to the ability of implementing it.
You could think that you have made a good decision in terms of theory, but the execution part is another thing. If the people that will be implementing the decision does not agree with you, then that will affect the quality of your decision.
Given this understanding, if the targets of implementation are resisting the decision, which in this case could be your subordinates, then it would affect the quality of the decision.
What can we do then?
In a conflict or if a change is coming, people will not resist if it satisfies their interests. So for example if there would be a company wide salary increment, I’m sure people will accept that with open arms since it satisfies people’s interests. On the other hand, if it will be a pay cut, then I’m sure that is a different story.
The best way to decrease resistance to change is to address the people’s underlying interests.
One of the best ways to do that, of course, is through an inclusive process, wherein we include the people involved in the process of making a decision. This approach allows the people to:
A very important important thing to note is that there’s a different between a person’s position and a person’s interest.
Position
What people want. It is what people say during a negotiation or when implementing change
Interest
Why people want it
Let’s look at this scenario to better understand the point.
Scenario: Project Manager is asking for an extension of the project due to foreseen obstacles
Boss’ Position: The deadline cannot be changed and there will be no one month extension
Boss’ Interest: Get the project done on time
In this example, we can imagine that a boss’ position is that he/she does not want to change the deadline, and that there will be no extension.
But what the boss really wants here is that the project to be delivered on time because it already has been communicated to the client and delaying the project delivery will cause a huge negative impact to the firm.
What are the ways to address this?
When we shift from positions to interests, we can identify different ways to address the underlying interest.
Implementing Change
So in terms of implementing change, we want to identify both side’s interest, and that could mean identifying strategies to identifying different positions that still satisfy the interests of the people.
Because remember, no one resists what satisfies their interests. That means if we get people involved in the discussion of what changes are going to be made, we can identify their interests and we can then create positions that satisfy their interests, but also satisfy our interests, and that’s going to reduce any resistance to the change when we implement it.
In the case of leading organizational change, you should not only make it clear on what you want to implement, but also why you want to implement it. Share what are your underlying interests if possible.
Then identify and ask your subordinates what are their positions, but also identify what are their underlying interests as to why are they resisting the proposed change. You don’t really care what positions you adopt. What you care is whether those positions satisfy both your underlying interests.
We should always understand and address both sides’ underlying interests.
When we do that, we can align the decision with both parties interests and that makes it more likely that both parties will be committed and enthusiastic about implementation the decision, and that’s going to make us a more agile organization.