Accenture research shows ‘fear, anxiety and threat’ is the greatest inhibitor of change in the financial services (FS) industry, way higher than the average for all industries, primarily because of concerns regarding job losses. Trust and psychological safety within the workplace, on the other hand, are the antidotes to fear, encouraging and supporting innovation and behavioral change.

1. FEAR
LESSHOW SAFETY AND TRUST
CAN HELP FINANCIAL SERVICES
THRIVE EVEN DURING DISRUPTION
AND TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE

2. OVERCOMING FEAR OF CHANGE
TO SUCCEED IN A DIGITAL AGE
Financial services (FS) organizations recognize they must master
change as a core capability to thrive in a world where technology,
regulation, consumer needs and expectations, and the competitive
landscape are all changing at high speed.
Yet Accenture research shows ‘fear, anxiety and threat’ is the
greatest inhibitor of change in the FS industry. Trust within
the workplace, on the other hand, is the antidote to fear,
encouraging and supporting innovation and behavioral change.

3. Fear and anxiety in the workforce are
preventing many FS organizations from
achieving the desired outcomes from their
change capabilities and programs.
• Accenture’s bottom-up Transformation GPS
research confirms that fear and anxiety are the
most significant negative drivers for FS teams and
employees when it comes to organizational
change.
• Likewise, the FS Change Survey shows leaders are
aware that the human factor is critical. Some 76%
said staff’s inability to adapt to change was a major
barrier to their ability to drive through change.
ANXIETY, THREAT AND FEAR
ARE DERAILING CHANGE
74% of leaders in the Accenture FS
change survey said fear of change as
a result of a poor track record was one
of their greatest obstacles in effecting
successful change.

4. Accenture research indicates that an
organization’s ability to realize the
benefits of change declines significantly
as levels of fear and anxiety rise.
• The combination of anxiety and fear
means that change in FS currently plays
out in a ‘Yes, But’ landscape. People are
aligned with the need for change, but
fearful of its impact.
• The high level of anxiety about change
and digital transformation in the workforce
is best understood in the context of a
decade of cost cutting and job losses
since the financial crisis.
• Yet these fears and anxieties co-exist with
more positive views about the future.
People are prepared to learn new skills
and believe digital technologies will create
new opportunities for humans.
People in FS organizations are broadly
aligned with the need for change, but many
feel they lack the resources—skills,
systems, tools, and supportive structures—
they need to contribute meaningfully.
THE ‘YES, BUT’
ENVIRONMENT

5. Fear and anxiety are natural responses to change,
but they can inhibit desired behavioral changes,
stifle creativity and collaboration, and reduce
motivation and performance.
• They affect employees’ self-confidence. They fear
they will be irrelevant in a changing world.
• Fear and anxiety drain people of their motivation and
imagination, diminishing their ability to think rationally
about the workplace, and shrinking their view of the world.
• It is difficult for teams or individuals trapped in a
fearful or anxious state of mind to learn new skills
and patterns of behavior.
FEAR AND ANXIETY DAMAGE
PERFORMANCE, INNOVATION
AND CHANGE
When someone is in a state of fear or anxiety,
the instinctive brain takes control and the rational,
analytical mind struggles to assert itself.

6. The human brain has enough plasticity to
unlearn fear and rebuild trust.
• The most successful and productive environments
for change will be those that have the pace and
demands to challenge people, yet which remain
safe places for people to learn and experiment.
• To combat anxiety, FS organizations that excel at
change empower their people and create an
environment in which people trust each other, their
leaders and the vision driving the business.
• Our analysis indicates that leadership at all levels
has at least twice the impact on business
performance as any other factor. In the Accenture
Transformation GPS study, the “vision and
direction” of business leaders consistently has
three to four times greater impact than any other
factor on the organization’s success at realizing the
benefits of change.
UNLEARNING FEAR
AND REBUILDING TRUST
When people in the business
trust each other, their leaders
and managers, and believe in
the vision of the business, it
gives them access to a
reservoir of resources,
expertise and ideas. This
enables them to realize their
potential and to feel more
empowered in their part of the
business’s change journey.

7. To reduce the negative impact fear and anxiety have on
their organizations and change programs, leaders at FS
organizations must create trusted environments where
employees feel safe and where change is supported.
• People need support and time to adjust how they work,
to adopt new technologies and to acquire new skills.
• Not only must leaders inspire trust, they must also stamp
out workplace bullying, harassment, discrimination and
other behaviors that enable fear to flourish.
RECONCILING THE
VISION FOR CHANGE
WITH THE REALITY
Leaders and managers must recognize
that it takes time to build trust and a
moment to create fear and anxiety.

8. 3 PILLARS FOR HUMAN-
CENTERED CHANGE
Taking a human-centered approach to change starts
by considering the organizational and team culture
the business needs to thrive. To realign the
organization around new ways of working while
lowering levels of threat and anxiety, leadership
at every level must inspire change.
• Find your inner purpose.
• Be proactive.
• Communicate early.
• Seek diverse views.
• Understand the origins of fear in the workforce.
• Engage each person in their change journey.
• Remove barriers.
• Reframe threats as opportunities.
• Address social concerns.
• Don’t allow change to become insular.
ACTIVATE
LEADERSHIP
1.

9. 3 PILLARS FOR HUMAN-
CENTERED CHANGE
Shift mindsets from ‘don’t rock the boat’
and ‘follow the process’ to ‘trust, test, fail, learn,
and fearlessly challenge the orthodoxy’:
• Address legacy trust deficits.
• Celebrate experimentation, learn from failure.
• Help people shift behaviors and mindsets.
• Create good work.
• Engage employees in co-creation of change.
• Focus on grit and resilience.
• Give people space to change.
SHIFT
BEHAVIORS
& MINDSETS
2.

10. 3 PILLARS FOR HUMAN-
CENTERED CHANGE
Realign the organization, its culture, practices,
processes and people behind the goals of the
change or transformation program:
• Build trust at every layer of the organization.
• Redesign work and teams to offer people more autonomy
and safety.
• Adopt agile methodologies and other techniques that enable
small, iterative steps to change.
• Adopt design thinking to rethink the employee experience.
• Continuously upskill people to create a sustainable workforce.
• Break down organizational silos to improve teamwork and
leadership, and open access to new ideas and resources.
ALIGN THE
ORGANIZATION
3.

11. VANQUISHING THE
FEAR OF CHANGE
All too many FS organizations fall into the trap of creating a negative
narrative about the future, one that causes uncertainty and distress for
their workforce. But change can be reframed as an opportunity for the
workforce when people trust in corporate leadership, the organization’s
vision and their colleagues.
To create an environment where employees feel safe, relish change and embrace
behaviors that drive enterprise agility, FS organizations must provide the right
leadership, offer a compelling vision for the future, rethink their business
structures, and create a new ‘living business’ culture.
Most of all, they must build and sustain trust. Those that do will lead in a world
where the ability to change is an FS organization’s most important differentiator.

12. THANK
YOU
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