Leading Change: More Reasons People Resist Change (Part 3 of 5)
Last week we discussed two reasons people resist Change:
- People will express resistance differently based on how well they anticipated the cost of change.
- Change feels like death to some people.
This week, let’s look at two more reasons that some people and churches resist change and what you can do to lead through the resistance so you can realize your vision:
3. Resistance to change can be overt or covert.
Some people have the courage to speak out against the change. They may choose to do this in an open meeting of church members and leaders. As difficult as this can be for the pastor to handle, it can be far more dangerous to handle a covert resistance. Most everyone has been in a meeting where people agree with a change and they congratulate each other on the group’s collective wisdom—only to watch them go back to their homes to tell their family and friends what a dumb idea they have just wasted time discussing. This covert resistance is impossible to manage, because it can’t be confronted.
One of the most painful experiences I have had over the years was experiencing covert resistance. Often leaders wrongly assume that, “if people are quiet, if they are not pushing back, and if they are not publicly opposing the change, they must be on board at some level.” “Friends trust me” – those are the famous last words of a naïve pastor or church leader leading people through a change. The painful part of the experience comes when the covert resistors finally verbalize to the pastor or church leader all the problems they have with the direction. By they time they come out with it they have a lot of energy built up and it often comes out badly. Most leaders at this point feel betrayed; “Why didn’t you speak up before now? I thought you were on board.”
4. What people say may not be what they mean.
Remember that a negative reaction to change is usually governed by a perceived loss of control. However, most people are rarely comfortable expressing honest emotions in a large group setting. As a result, a church member who argues that the changes are happening too fast for the church may really be saying, “I knew how to play by the old church rules, and I’m scared that I may not be as comfortable under the new church rules.” So, even if you address the stated issue (change is happening too fast), you might not be addressing the real cause of his resistance. So, the question is “how can I draw covert resistors out and into the discussion in a positive way?
Practice Sincere Listening
The key to managing resistance is sincere listening. This approach addresses all the issues we have raised about resistance:
- It recognizes the inevitability of resistance, so it addresses resistance honestly and consistently.
- It acknowledges that resistance will be experienced differently based on positive or negative reactions to change.
- It reflects how resistance can be expressed overtly or covertly and advocates that overt resistance be encouraged, to get problems out in the open.
- It warns that people may not be comfortable expressing their true reasons for resistance and encourages creating an atmosphere that allows honest communication.
In the early stages of leading change, enthusiasm can run high, therefore sincere listening can also help minimize the impact of uninformed optimism with a true accounting of what the likely costs of the change will be. While this may create a season of lengthy listening and response sessions, that is a better outcome than having your strategy for change fail during implementation because your church had unrealistic expectations of the cost and benefits of the change.
Also, as you practice “sincere listening” you will want to work on team communication to insure that the all the leaders of the church understand what each step of the change strategy entails and that they feel comfortable expressing honest resistance openly. This level of communication will also enable you to understand whether your leaders are having a positive or negative reaction to the change.
Finally, sincere listening means that throughout the change process, you are consistently working with your leaders to help them understand the individual implications of the change initiatives so that you can recognize the resistance, surface it, manage it and get it behind you.
This week's article is written by Rodney Cox, President of Ministry Insights and submitted by Russ Olmon, President, Ministry Advantage. For more on this and other helpful subjects, go to www.ministryadvantage.org
For over 20 years Ministry Advantage has been one of the premier church resources that provides coaching and training for pastors and church leaders helping them turn their vision into reality. |
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