Rod Willis from Assentire was one of the two keynote speakers at the Great Change Debate, organised by the APM Enabling Change SIG. The presentation is entitled "Do people really resist change?"

1. Do
people
really
resist
change?
rod.willis@assen6re.net
@RodWillisGTC
+44
(0)7788
457
202
#changedebate
#projectclimateRTC

2. This session will cover
• Evidence based research into Resistance to Change, from
a Leaders’ Perspective (2012 - highlights)
• Further practitioner research exploring The Implications
for Leadership and Change Programmes
• Closing with What to do starting Monday morning
– Integrating these insights into the way you can Lead projects,
programmes and the Organisation for greater performance.

3. Researching Resistance to Change?
• 70% of all change initiatives fail (HBR).
http://hbr.org/product/hbr-s-10-must-reads-on-change-management-with-feat/an/12599-PBK-ENG
• Resistance to Change is often cited as the number one
reason why a change programme has not delivered to the
level that was anticipated.
• Organisations need to respond to turbulent market
conditions. Needing to achieve more with fewer resources
is a common theme we hear daily in the media, be this
public, private or non-profit sectors.

4. The Prime Research context
• Sixteen change leaders (past and present) via semi-
structured interviews created the prime data.
• Combined experiences spanning > 55 organisations.
• Operating within Oil and Gas, Professional and Financial
Services, Public sector, including two District Councils and
a Police Collaboration Programme.

5. Ensuring
a
safe
environment
to
enable
Learning
and
Change
2:Rela6onship
Health
or
Culture
(RTC:
10,
11,
12,
15)
Leading
and
Managing
Individual
and
Group
Transi6on
6:Group
Dynamics
(RTC:
04,
07,
09,
18)
5:Personal
Dynamics
(RTC:
06,
08,
13,
14)
Leading
and
Managing
Change
1:
Purpose
(RTC:
01)
3:Communica6on
(RTC:
05)
4:Change
Dynamics
(RTC:
02,
16,
17)
RTC:
Represents
the
“Resistance
to
Change”
code
Research findings
18 Resistance to Change
symptoms are occurring in
three main areas.
Distilled from 518 separate statements.

6. Leadership
Motivation
© Assentire Ltd
PURPOSE
Culture
Model of the Organisation

7. Leadership
Motivation
© Assentire Ltd
PURPOSE
Culture
Lack of a clear Purpose
Fear of failure, Personal “ROI”,
conflict with an individual’s
“System” and/or career objectives
Low awareness regarding Leadership of
Transformation and Individual Transition.
Different Modes of Management
perceived different realities
Staff involvement, Tipping
Point, Assimilation
capacity and Change-cycle
(Transition Psychology)
Old habits die hard, perceived
excessive work, present system
is OK, outdated life-cycle view
“Group-Think”
Appropriate Process and Content
Sins of the past, low trust in the leadership,
limited “soft skills” awareness in the
leadership, inadequate training or support
provided
Self-Determination Theory (SDT)
Purpose, Mastery, Autonomy
Past symptoms of RTC

8. HARDINGHAM, A. 2004.
The Coach's Coach: Personal Development for Personal
Developers Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
environment
behaviour
capability
beliefs
identity
beyond identity
Increasing
psychological
“depth”
Increasing
Scope
‘flexibility’
Where/When; someone is, literally; the places and
physical contexts in which he/she exists and operates
What; someone does
How; Skills; what someone is capable of
Why; Fundamental principles and perceptions which
someone holds about life and how it should be lived
Who; someone believes him/herself to be, e.g." I'm a
tough MD; I’m a caring father; I’m a loyal friend
Our connection with humankind generally and
the rest of our world (and beyond!)
Logical Levels and ‘flexibility’
another way to slice the data

9. Ensuring
a
safe
environment
to
enable
Learning
and
Change
2:Rela6onship
Health
Or
Culture
(RTC:
10,
11,
12,
15)
Leading
and
Managing
Individual
and
Group
Transi6on
6:Group
Dynamics
(RTC:
04,
07,
09,
18)
5:Personal
Dynamics
(RTC:
06,
08,
13,
14)
Leading
and
Managing
Change
1:
Purpose
(RTC:
01)
3:Communica6on
(RTC:
05)
4:Change
Dynamics
(RTC:
02*,
16,
17)
RTC:
Represents
the
“Resistance
to
Change”
code
environment
behaviour
capability
beliefs
iden6ty
beyond
iden6ty
The majority of the Symptoms are occurring in a domain of knowledge (Psychological Levels) only a few ever
encounter. This may be why 60 years on, we still only have achieved a 30% satisfaction rate for major change
initiatives.
Change Programme Implications
Is there a relationship between
Leaders and Managers ability to
work at a deeper psychological
level (consciously or otherwise),
and being able to bring about
successful change?

10. Leadership
Motivation
© Assentire Ltd
PURPOSE
Culture
Lack of a clear Purpose with alignment
at ALL 4 levels
Fear of failure, Personal “ROI”,
conflict with an individual’s
“System” and/or career objectives
Low awareness regarding Leadership of
Transformation and Individual Transition.
Different Modes of Management
perceived different realities
Old habits die hard, perceived
excessive work, present system
is OK, outdated life-cycle view
“Group-Think”
Appropriate Process
and Content
Sins of the past, low trust in the leadership,
limited “soft skills” awareness in the
leadership, inadequate training or support
provided
Self-Determination Theory (SDT)
Purpose, Mastery, Autonomy
We generally focus above the line!
Staff involvement,
Tipping Point,
Assimilation
capacity and
Change-cycle
(Transition
Psychology)

11. The Implications for Leadership
and Change Programmes
• Human
Mo6va6on
• Modes
of
Management
• Interpersonal
Skills
• Other
key
areas
(see
supplementary
informa6on)
• Culture
-­‐
’Climate’
&
Life-­‐cycle
(In
supplement)
• Change
requires
Learning,
• Personal
and
Group
Dynamics
And
how
this
ALL
impacts
the
Organisa4on
during
Change

12. Human Motivation (DRIVE)
Drive
Purpose Mastery Autonomy
Our Business Operating System does not match the evidenced-based research
Intrinsic Motivators are often not integrated in how the Organisation sees work.
Extrinsic Motivation does have some value, it however is not enough!

13. Human Motivation (DRIVE)
hbps://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_mo6va6on
18
minute
Video
for
later
Will
only
use
max
120
seconds
(Video
edi6ng
s6ll
to
be
completed
RW)

14. Modes of Management
Modes of
Management
Contributor Achiever Integrator
Doing what's asked by
the organisation
Doing more than
what's asked by the
organisation
Going beyond the
organisation while
integrating the other
modes

15. Modes of
Management
Performance
Focus
Individual Team Organisation
Active
Contributor
Doing what's
asked by the
organisation
Aligned
Achiever
Doing more than
what's asked by
the organisation
Adaptable
Integrator
Going beyond
the organisation
while integrating
the other modes
© Assentire Ltd
What ‘modes’ are dominant today?

16. Interpersonal Skills Needed
People
Compatible
Teams
Managing
Conflict
Managing
Resistance
Greater Innovation,
Resilience, Learning
and Performance
Greater constructive
challenge, creating
new possibilities and
more robust options
Greater readiness to
embrace a changing
future. More
comfortable dealing
with uncertainty

17. Jumping up a level
Modes of Management
Drive
People
UK productivity is 21% lower than the rest
of the G71
Estimated £19bn wasted each year due to
poor management practice2
Megatrends: are UK organisations getting
better at managing their people3
1 Statistical Bulletin: International Comparisons of Productivity – Final Estimates, 2012, ONS, 20 February 2014
2 Leadership and management in the UK – The key to sustainable growth, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, July 2012
3 Are UK organisations getting better at managing their people? CIPD, December 2014
Change Management
exists within a broader
National Context also!

18. Managing Change / Re-organisation
Organisations need to respond to turbulent market conditions. Needing to
achieve more with fewer resources is a common theme we hear daily in the
media, be this public, private or non-profit sectors.
“Managing resistance is difficult because it is centred on human factors, for
which skills and experience in organisations are in limited supply. Most
managers and business professionals are products of the prevailing
management paradigm, one that has not significantly evolved since the
beginning of the twentieth century. This mind-set emphasised the financial
and structural aspects of organisations over the human aspects and it is
therefore ill-equipped to deal with human resistance.”
(Jones and Recardo, 2013)
JONES, D. J. & RECARDO, R. J. 2013. Leading and Implementing Business Change Management:
Making Change Stick in the Contemporary Organization: Taylor & Francis.

19. Are people resistant to change?
Consider how our mind-sets influence us
• is it a perspective we hold of others?
• what might Emotional Intelligence (EI) have to offer here?
• is it the ‘system’ that is resistant to change?
Why haven’t we improved our ability to change
in over 60 years?
I wonder, have we been pulling the wrong levers!

20. What to do starting Monday
Ensure your leadership (including yourself) is aware and has the skills
and motivation to manage the following domains.
Motivation, Interpersonal and Modes of Management, all operating in
an effective climate, that will enable what you need to be created and
sustained.

21. Modes of
Management
Contributor Achiever Integrator
People
Compatible Teams Managing Conflict
Managing
Resistance
Drive
Purpose Mastery Autonomy
Requires
Integrative Leadership
Successful Organisational Change
Operating in different contexts.
Take into account Individual, Group and Organisational Dynamics
as a minimum to have some chance of success

22. A three axis metaphor
Modes of Management
behaviours that help
Motivational
understanding helps
Interpersonal
skills help
Modes of Management
behaviours that hinder
Limited Motivational
understanding hinders
Limited Interpersonal
skills hinder

23. Bring your Rubik Cube into Work

24. The Journey and Dance of Change
Play
Video
hbp://goo.gl/IJ5ivv

25. To
close
UK
Prac66oner
Research
Project
Less
than
15
minutes
of
your
6me
for
30
ques6ons
rod.willis@assen6re.net
@RodWillisGTC
+44
(0)7788
457
202
#changedebate
A
free
report
for
all
apm
delegates
today
Be
able
to
know
how
your
Project
Climate
compares
to
a
representa6ve
‘norm’
group
hbp://dopeoplereallyresistchange.info
hbp://goo.gl/Y3Zojc
#projectclimateRTC

27. Supplementary
Informa6on
rod.willis@assen6re.net
@RodWillisGTC
+44
(0)7788
457
202

28. Life-cycle different contexts
Different times require different thinking and action to remain effective.
EVERY change programme operates within this reality of dynamic and
multilevel contexts.
Ignoring this FACT will induce what may be experienced as RTC

29. !
Misses the point
Identifies,
can follow simple
procedures
Combines,
describes, lists,
can perform
serial skills
Analyses,
contrasts and
compares,
explains causes,
relates and
applies
Creates,
formulates,
theorises,
generalises,
hypothesises
and reflects
Pre-structural Uni-structural Multi-structural Relational Extended abstract
Quantitative
phase
Qualitative
phase
StructureofObservedLearningOutcomes
BaseduponJohnBiggsSOLOTaxonomy
Not competent One relevant
aspect
Several relevant
independent aspects
Integrated into a
structure
Generalised to a
new domain
Different stages of understanding
We do not learn and
understand new
information, in the same
way, or at the same pace!
Ignoring this FACT will
induce what may be
experienced as RTC
This has direct implications
for the Change plan.

30. Is my
Ecosystem
OK?
Is my
investment
worthwhile?
Does it
support my
sense of
Self?
Positives
attributes of
today
maintained?
Is there time
to achieve the
Outcome?
What is my
situation?
Is it
sustainable?
Can I See,
Hear, & Feel
it?
My
Outcome
Individuals and
Groups process
change, using one or
more of the elements
in the image, and often
not even aware they
are doing so.
Ignoring this FACT will
induce what may be
experienced as RTC
Personal & Group Dynamic

31. Resistant to Change or lack of
understanding?
Our work is informed by the System of Profound Knowledge (SoPK). This is the culmination
of Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s lifelong work. It is an effective theory of management that
provides a framework of thought and action for any leader wishing to transform and create
a thriving organization, with the aim for everybody to win.
By management appropriately applying the principles and practices of SoPK, a business can
simultaneously reduce costs through reducing waste, rework, staff attrition and litigation,
while increasing quality, customer loyalty, worker satisfaction and, ultimately, profitability.
SoPK ties together Dr. Deming’s seminal theories and teachings on quality, management
and leadership into four interrelated areas: appreciation of;
a system, knowledge of variation, theory of knowledge and psychology.
By using SoPK as a foundation philosophy, you will start to see an organisation and
change management through new eyes.
Source: https://deming.org/theman/theories/profoundknowledge