Leaders and Managers in today’s ever-changing business world are frequently challenged with leading and managing major organizational change as well as dealing with and managing smaller units of org

Leaders and Managers in today’s ever-changing business world are frequently challenged with leading and managing major organizational change as well as dealing with and managing smaller units of organizational change, and most challenging is often developing strategies and tactics to most effectively deal with individual and group resistance.  Resistance to change is a major challenge, yet there are ways to effectively address and deal with resistance and ultimately achieve and sustain change.

Assignment:  You are a Director level leader within a large organization.  You have been assigned to the Change Leadership Team by Senior Leadership to develop a major organizational change plan; to Lead the Change Team as the plan is implemented across the organization; to provide on-going guidance to Senior Leadership as the plan is being implemented; and to develop a means to assure the changes realized are sustained going forward. 

Consider the guidance provided in the two articles and the UTube video by John Kotter regarding resistance to change.  Provide a comprehensive well thought out response to the following questions:

Managing Your Own Resistance to Change:

Although you have been named as part of the Change Team and assigned the role of Leading the Change team, as you learn more and more about the forthcoming changes, you find yourself resisting the changes.  You have learned the major change will include a major workforce reduction, re-organization of several major functions, the transfer and movement of people, the addition of some new outside leaders, and for a portion of the organization, the addition of automation to replace people.  You are finding these changes difficult to accept. 

How will you self-manage to most effectively deal with your own resistance to change?  How will you manage your emotional state of mind and the associated behaviors in a way that does not negatively affect your Change Team or impact the rest of the organization?  What are some specific techniques you can use to self-manage your resistance in the most productive way? 

Managing Team Members Resistance to Change:

While dealing with and self-managing your own resistance to change you are finding that several of your change team members are also very concerned about the forthcoming changes, and are clearly resisting the changes.  You know that you must find a way to help your team members also self-manage their own resistance and ultimately get your Change Team aligned and moving forward in a productive manner, given the critical importance and urgency of the changes.

What actions will you take with you team?  What specific actions will you take with each team member?  How will you get their buy-in and support for the changes going forward?  How will you help your team sustain a positive and productive approach with themselves and with their team members?   And how will you assure that they are effectively influencing a positive and productive approach with individuals across the organization?

Managing Workforce Resistance to Organizational Change:

As you work to self- manage and to help your change team also manage their respective resistance to the forthcoming changes in the most productive manner, you must also provide the necessary leadership working with Senior Leadership to address resistance across the workforce

How will you manage this challenge?  What specific actions will you take as the Team Leader in working with Senior Leadership.  Remember, the Organizational Change initiative is owned by the CEO and her Senior Leadership Team, as the Change Team Leader, part of your responsibility is to advise and guide Senior Leadership – What will you do? How will you guide Leadership to achieve effective implementation of the change plan?   And to assure a positive productive change?

Guidance:   There is no minimum or maximum number of pages or words for your paper – the key is to effectively answer the questions.  Remember in business provide a meaningful, concise and precise answer.  Volume is not of value, meaningful content is.

Resources:

You Tube:  John Kotter – Resistance to Change: John Kotter - Resistance to Change 

 https://youtu.be/Wdroj6F3VlQ 

Article: Steve Bell -  Resistance to Change (Attached)

Article:  Torben Rick - Top 12 Reasons Why People Resist Change (Attached)