3 Ways to Overcome Obstinate Resistance to Change

Uber has penetrated major cities in over 60 countries. The ride-sharing service has become the preferred choice of transportation for many customers. Despite the heated debates over safety, legality, and surge pricing, the company has been quite successful. However, there are also folks who vouch that they would never use Uber. This doesn’t stall Uber from working toward its audacious goal to become an affordable alternative to owning a car.

For businesses which strive to make major transformation, they will face resistance. To minimize the stalling effect from those who resist change, there are 3 tacts:

1. Accelerate momentum. Those who want to maintain the status quo would stir up a battle to slow down the process. Holding off the work to get them onboard runs the risk of killing the initiative. On the contrary, you want to build momentum early to demonstrate commitment. Identify areas where certain components of the desired change could be implemented quickly. Then, dedicate the necessary resources to make them happen. Avoid cutting any slack in moving forward in their implementation.
2. Emphasize improvements. Let results speak for themselves. The best way to do this is to track improvements. This requires knowing what the current level of performance is. If there isn’t any data, be prepared to start some sampling so that there is a baseline you could use for comparison. You need to get granular with improvement tracking. The proven success provides an excellent lever to gain buy-in and boost morale.
3. Debunk misconception. Resistance is often attributable to misconception and fear about certain aspects of the proposed change. You could spend a ton of time debating with the folks resisting change which is unproductive. The best approach is to use concrete results to debunk the misconception, removing doubts and the underlying fear. In addition, this dampens the negative stalling energy. It is important to note that you need to do the first two tacts well in order to be able to succeed with this tact.

Obstinate resistance would not disappear overnight. By identifying where you could accelerate momentum and realize improvements quickly, you press forward and move closer to your destination. There would still be resistance that you need to manage along the change journey. However, you place yourself in a better position to ameliorate the stalling effects if you focus on these three tacts.