This document discusses how to reduce failure when implementing change through an agency perspective. It begins by explaining that change programs often fail due to resistance from informal networks in organizations, not flaws in implementation plans. It then discusses the differences between resistance and reactance, noting that reactance is an instinctual reaction against being told what to do. The document provides eight strategies for avoiding or overcoming reactance, such as building cooperation from the start and understanding different perspectives. Overall, the document advocates considering social and psychological factors to successfully implement change rather than just focusing on structural or compliance aspects of change programs.

1. Change Agency and
Dealing with Failure
Oliver Benson | @ollybenson
Dominic Cushnan | @domcushnan

2. What we do
Create spaces where people can
connect, share , learn &
accelerate results
Set up and support
learning
communities
(mostly virtual)
Encourage
collaboration
across systems
Take social
influence
beyond the
echo
chamber
Though
leadership,
curation and
diversity of
thinking

3. Expectation
Reality

4. How can you use change
agency to reduce the chance
of failure?

5. Change agent perspectives
• Why we need to think about resistance
• Resistance vs reactance
• How to avoid or overcome reactance
Source of image: thenounproject.com

6. What’s the evidence on failure?
The failure of large scale
transformational change
projects is rarely due to
the content or structure
of the plans that are put
into action
To make transformational
change happen we need
to connect networks of
people who ‘want’ to
contribute
Source: David Dinwoodie (2015) http://iedp.com/articles/vertical-leadership
It’s much more about the
role of informal networks
in the organisations and
systems affected by
change

7. Source of image: sport-fitness-advisor.com
Resistance is any
force that stops
or slows movement

8. Why change programmes fail?
The majority of reported
reasons are related to
resistance to change
Source: McKinsey & Co
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9. “Most change management
programmes begin with a
fundamentally flawed assumption: that
all parties involved in the change share
an overwhelmingly common interest.”
Deloitte Review (2016) Humanizing change: Developing more effective change management strategies

10. What NOT to do
Engage people
here
Source: Mark Jaban 2016: The Science Behind Resistance to Change: What the Research Says & How it Can Help You
Issue
Desired outcome
Options
Choice
Engage people
here
What TO do
(but what we usually do)
The science behind resistance

11. “Resistant behaviour is a good
indicator of missing relevance”
Harald Schirmer

12. “A cynical person is
a passionate person
who doesn't want to
be disappointed
again.”
Benjamin Zander

13. Restructuring
Performance goals
Compliance
Regulation
Competition
Programme Management
Incentive systems
Activation
Ability to make choices
Capability
Leaders everywhere
Social action
Solidarity
Social movements
Structure vs agency

14. Rules vs freedom

15. Is it RESISTANCE
or is it REACTANCE?
Source of image: Convergent Results

16. DO NOT WRITE ON
THESE WALLS
UNDER ANY
CIRCUMSTANCES
PLEASE DON’T
WRITE ON THESE
WALLS

17. Source of image: Kent Nickell

18. “I don’t like being told what to
do. If you tell me I HAVE to do
something, I will do the
opposite.”
Kathryn

19. What is reactance?
The instantaneous reaction to being told what
to do.
“Unpleasant motivational arousal that emerges
when people experience a threat or loss to
their free behaviours”
Steindl and colleagues, 2015

20. How reactance makes me feel
• I want to do the opposite of what I’m being told to do
• It drives me to engage in the forbidden/restricted
behaviour even more
• Uncomfortable, aggressive, angry, sulk
• I react against the “they”
• I lose the big picture
• It increases my resistance to persuasion
• I have a strong urge to DO something

21. 8 ways to avoid or overcome reactance
1. Build in co-operation and
investment from the start
2. Listen and understand
 appreciate the starting point
 Find common interests
3. Roll with resistance
 Don’t argue against it
 Be curious and accepting
 Find out why
4. A “foot in the door” approach
5. Build social support
6. Avoid being condescending
7. Give the person time
8. Run a “break the rules”
campaign

22. “If parents want to give their children a gift,
the best thing they can do is to teach their
children to love challenges, be intrigued by
mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning.
That way, their children don’t have to be
slaves of praise. They will have a lifelong way
to build and repair their own confidence.”
Carol Dweck

23. “Perseverance and
passion for
long-term goals”
Angela Duckworth
Source: https://www.ted.com/speakers/angela_lee_duckworth

24. New ideas and projects
sometimes distract me
from previous ones…
I have been obsessed
with a certain idea or
project for a short time
but later lost interest…
Source: https://angeladuckworth.com/grit-scale/
Grit Scale questions
My interests change
from year to year…

25. Task 1 (5 mins)
Find someone close to where you are sitting.
Discuss a project you are working that you are
anxious about and has the potential to fail?

26. Task 2 (15 mins)
Each pair should present back to the table in turn
Rather than present your own project; each pair
should present the other person’s project.

27. Task 3 (7 mins)
As a group choose one of the projects that has been
discussed. Choose one that you are most interested
in or one that most people have knowledge about.

28. Teoriya Resheniya
Izobretatelskikh Zadach

29. About TRIZ
A problem solving, analysis and forecasting tool.
Depersonalising and unpicking topics that people are
passionate about.
Part of ‘Liberating Structures’:
Frameworks that make it possible for people and
organisations to create, do new things and to be
innovative.

30. Step 1 (12 mins)
As a table, make a list of all the things that we could
do to ensure we meet our goal:
How could we reliably create a __________
that NEVER works and is totally
ineffective?

31. Step 2 (12 mins)
As a table, look at the post-it notes on the table and
keep all the post-it notes that meet the following
statement:
Something that we currently do, in
some way, shape or form, resembles
the actions on the post it note.

32. Step 3 (12 mins)
As a table, remove all the post-it notes that that meet
the following criteria:
We have no ability to
stop or control this.

33. Thank you
Oliver Benson | @ollybenson
Dominic Cushnan | @domcushnan