Resistance is a common reaction to a change initiative. As
organizations attempt to grow or improve, it must change. Change can occur for
many reasons. When moving to an organization that is embracing Agile, there is
often a need for a significant culture change since Agile is effectively a
culture change.
Agile brings about a change in mindset and mechanics, which
affects both employees and customers. Whereas change can create new
opportunities, it will also be met with resistance. Agile change really isn’t any different than
any other culture change, ergo the resistance will have similar patterns. There are many reasons for resistance. Here
are some of the patterns:
Here we go again! It
is comforting when things remain the same. Employees have seen change efforts
come and go without any true commitment and may attempt to wait the new ones out.
- What can you do? The commitment to change must be clearly stated. The change initiate must be treated as a program, with clear motivations and rewards for change.
Fear of the unknown. Change is often defined by a journey into the
unknown and it natural to resist what we don’t understand. For most, it is unclear what the change will
entail.
- What can you do? Leaders should provide a vision of what the new world will look like
Lack of communication.
Employees need to know what is occurring to them. As information trickles down
from the top, the message can be lost.
- What can you do? Plan for continuous communications at all levels is important. Include various communication channels and messages from as many champions as possible.
Change in roles.
Some employees like to retain the status quo and do not want to see their roles
changed. When roles are vague, some don't know where they fit in the new
culture, making them feel excluded. When they have no say in their new roles, they
can feel alienated.
- What can you do? Discuss the role changes with employees. Give them time to adapt to the roles or give them time to try new roles.
Competing initiatives.
Introducing an agile initiative when there are already multiple initiatives
occurring can lead to employees feeling overwhelmed, causing them to resist.
Hardly an auspicious start!
- What can you do? It is important for management to prioritize initiatives and focus on the higher priority ones.
Change for people,
not leaders. When asked “Who wants change?”, everyone raises their
hands. But when asked, “Who wants to change?”, no one’s hand goes up. This can be particularly true with
leaders. Leaders want change to occur
within their teams but are not particularly interested in changing themselves
and this may be been prevalent in past change initiatives.
- What can you do? Acknowledge the change that the leaders must make and convey the leaders’ commitment to change.
New management's need to change something. New leaders often feel they must show they are
action-oriented. They may reason that the change that worked in their previous company
should work here. Some know their term is short, so they are not interested in
long-term change. Some are unaware of what it takes to affect culture. Employees
who are used to this scenario may resist.
- What can you do? Avoid what may appear to be random changes. Ensure the Agile change is aligned with better business outcomes and not just to do Agile.
It will not always be possible to identify and manage all types
of resistance. However, it must be
treated as a real and tangible activity.
It is better to start addressing resistance to change in a pro-active
manner. The more you review and enact the "What can you do?" tips, the more
likely you will increase your changes of a successful Agile change (or any
culture change).
