Dr. Ruth Murray-Webster is a consultant who specializes in organizational change, uncertainty, risk, and change management. In her presentation, she discusses how resistance to change is often viewed negatively but can actually be a logical and legitimate response that provides insight for change agents. She argues that change agents should seek to understand resistance in order to work with it productively and achieve creative results from the change process. Finally, she provides recommendations for how to find and work with the energy from stakeholders in order to successfully implement change.

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Resistance: logical, legitimate and the
best lever you have for positive change?
Dr. Ruth Murray-Webster
Higher Education Libraries
Relationship Management Conference
16 November 2017

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• Leader of planned change since the mid 1980s initially in
chemicals, nuclear pharmaceuticals and nuclear industrial
products.
• Consultant for 20 years ‘mid career’ working cross sectors
and with a particular specialism focused on uncertainty, risk
and change.
• Doctoral research into organisational change from the
perspective of the recipients of change rather than another
change-agent centric view.
• Currently 50% Director, Change Portfolio at Associated British
Ports – an ambitious portfolio of change intended to change
every process, system and way of working for 2000 staff
• Rest of my time supporting change and risk-based decision
making for organisations spanning social housing, mining,
submarine manufacture and higher education.
• @rmurraywebster if you want to tweet nice things!

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First some foundational ‘truths’ about planned
change?
1. Ubiquitous and necessary for organisations to survive
2. Most organisations don’t get it right most of the time
3. Messy and difficult because people resist change
4. There’s a ‘formula’ or ‘prescription’ for getting it right
Clarity of vision + Determination > Resistance
Planned change – intended, step changes in capability – not continuous adaptation and improvement.
Image – author’s own photograph of Willem de Kooning installation – Rotterdam.

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So about resistance to change…
• "The practical task of social management, as well as the
scientific task of understanding the dynamics of group life,
requires insight into the desire for and resistance to, specific
change" (Lewin, 1947:14).
• But since then…
• “Many authors question the sense of the ‘resistance to change’ mantra
as embedded in the popular mind-set associated with planned change,
(e.g. Stensaker et al, 2002) and call for a ‘re-casting’ of the normative
perspective that change recipients will automatically resist change
(e.g. Balogun, Bartunek and Do, 2010) and that resistance is
irrational, dysfunctional and/or illegitimate (e.g. Ford et al, 2008;
Thomas, Sargent and Hardy, 2011)” (Murray-Webster, 2014)

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Some quotable quotes and food for thought…
• Pideret (2000) argues for resistance to be sought-out, understood
and appreciated as thoughtful activity; as an engagement that will
enable creative results. Indeed she argues that ambivalence is
more dangerous to change efforts than resistance, as ambivalence
can manifest itself in silent withdrawal.
• Ford and Ford (2009:101), pick up on this theme saying “a litany of
complaints may be the one thing that keeps a conversation
about change alive”.
• Bryant’s empirical work studying the narratives used by people
sharing experiences of organizational change found that “voice may
be confused with resistance” (2006: 246) indicating that any
feedback from change recipients that does not fit with change agent
plans can be misinterpreted.
Source: Murray-Webster, 2014 DBA
dissertation, Cranfield School of
Management.

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So beyond a change-agent centric view…
If we focus on the work that is intended to change rather than our plans
for change – is there something interesting to learn?
Thoughts
Feelings
Beliefs
Intentions
Action (or
inaction)
Enabling and
Constraining
Change intentions
and plans
Observable
outcomes, intended
or unintended
Always influence people
Enabling and
Constraining
May influence organisational level goals and
plans

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Energy not ambivalence or (worse) apathy
• “…ambivalence is more dangerous to change efforts than resistance, as ambivalence can manifest
itself in silent withdrawal” (Pideret, 2000)
• Silent withdrawal – apathy –
• Lack of…
– Interest – boredom
– Passion – meaningless
– Challenge – insignificant
– Efficacy – worthlessness
– Willingness – bystander
– Knowledge – imprudence
– Duty – servility
– Copability – withdrawn. Adapted from Taylor, M. J. (2016),
Leeds Beckett University
• All energy is good – we need to find it and work with it.

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Finding the energy
• Focus first on the work to be changed – make sure you take
the time to understand it through the eyes of the people
doing it (researchers, teachers, students and/or library staff)
• Find the people who are minded to block you as well as the
ones who will back you – don’t ‘cross the road’
• Be brave and open – understand the forces for stability in
work routines now (think, feel, believe, intend) – that’s what
you need to change…
• Try risk-based conversations – it can be really positive to
talk about what people are unsure/worried about and why –
risk discussions are a way of giving voice to concern in a
‘valid’ setting.

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Working with the energy
• Focus on observable beneficial outcomes – what needs
to change to meet everyone’s objectives?
• What can you ‘nudge’ to disturb the stability in the routine
dynamics – small, incremental steps.
Thoughts
Feelings
Beliefs
Intentions
Action (or
inaction)
Enabling and
Constraining
Enabling and
Constraining

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Resistance: logical, legitimate and the best
lever you have for positive change?
How do you need to change to work with this idea?

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For more information and access to books, papers,
blog etc
ruth@potentiality.uk
07974 943443
www.ruthmurraywebster.com
www.potentiality.uk
www.actupondisruption.com
www.rara-risk.com