School for Change Agents 2018: Module 3 – Being resilient and dealing with resistance to change

#S4CA @Sch4Change
theedge.nhsiq.nhs.uk/school/
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team
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Module three:
Dealing with
resistance to change
and being resilient

#S4CA @Sch4Change
Presenter
Helen Bevan
@helenbevan
Tech Support
Paul Woodley
@PaulWoodley4
Tech Support
Pardeep
Singh Bains
@pardeepbains_
Technical
troubleshooter
Olly Benson
@OllyBenson
Chat Monitor
Kate Pound
@kateslater2
Twitter Monitor
Leigh Kendall
@leighakendall
Twitter Monitor
Lynnette Leman
@LynnetteNHS
Presenter
Kathryn Perera
@kathrynperera
Participant
Support
Caroline Mayne
@carolinemayne7
Assistant to Helen
(in Sweden)
Dominic Cushnan
@domcushnan
Tech Support
Rosie Redstone
@rosieredstone
Chat Monitor
Ian Baines
@ihbaines

#S4CA @Sch4Change
If you’re replying to someone in the chat box, please use
@theirname

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Our amazing #S4CA community!

Change agent perspectives in
module 3
Source of image: thenounproject.com
• Why we need to think about
resistance
• Resistance vs reactance
• How to avoid or overcome
reactance
• Being a resilient change agent
• Ways to build resilience
• Love, grit and passion

#S4CA @Sch4Change#S4CA @Sch4Change Source of image: sport-fitness-advisor.com
Any force that
stops
or slows
movement
Resistance

Why do organisational change
programmes fail to achieve their objectives?
The majority of
reported
reasons are
related to
resistance to
change
Source:
McKinsey & Co

Are we surprised?
Most change management programs begin with a
fundamentally flawed assumption: that all parties involved in
the change share an overwhelmingly common interest.
Power dynamics, contextual considerations, and resistance to
change are underestimated and even considered anomalous.
After all, organisational change means changing human
behaviour, notwithstanding little evidence suggesting that
behaviour can be pliable or predictable.
Deloitte Review (2016) Humanizing change:
Developing more effective change
management strategies

#S4CA @Sch4Change
Mark Jaben on the science behind resistance
What NOT to do
But what we do do
Engage
people here Mark Jaban 2016: The Science
Behind Resistance to Change:
What the Research Says & How
it Can Help You

#S4CA @Sch4Change
Mark Jaben on the science behind resistance
What NOT to do
(but what we usually do)
We don’t need buyers (who “buy-in” to change)
We need investors
What TO do
Engage
people here
Engage
people here

#S4CA @Sch4Change
Resistant behaviour is a good
indicator of missing relevance
Harald Schirmer
http://de.slideshare.net/haraldschirmer/strategies-for-corporate-change-the-new-
role-of-hr-driving-social-adoption-and-change-in-the-enterprise
Source of image: driverlayer.com

In module 2 we talked about
structure versus agency
Restructuring
Performance goals
Compliance
Regulation
Competition
Programme
Management
Incentive systems
Activation
Ability to make choices
Capability
Leaders everywhere
Social action
Solidarity
Social movements

It is also about rules versus freedom
Today, we’re going to think about resistance to
change in this context

#S4CA @Sch4Change
Is it
RESISTANCE
or is it
REACTANCE?
Source of image: Convergent Results

From: Camp Stomping Ground (2014):
What is Self Determination Theory?

#S4CA @Sch4Change
Researchers Pennebaker and
Sanders put one of two signs on
college bathroom walls
DO NOT WRITE
ON THESE WALLS
UNDER ANY
CIRCUMSTANCES
PLEASE DON’T
WRITE ON THESE
WALLS
What do you think they found when they went
back after two weeks?

#S4CA @Sch4Change
I don’t like being told what
to do. If you tell me I HAVE
to do something, I will do
the opposite.
Kathryn

REACTANCE: what is it?
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

REACTANCE: how it 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

Some additional resources
• Christina Steindl and colleagues (2015) “Understanding
Psychological Reactance: New Developments and
Findings.” Zeitschrift Fur Psychologie 223.4 205–214,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4675534/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4675534/
• Ryan Smerek (2017) “Don’t Tread on Me! Psychological
Reactance as Omnipresent”, Psychology Today
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/learning-
work/201712/don-t-tread-me-psychological-reactance-
omnipresent
• Dmitriy Nesterkin, (2013) "Organizational change and
psychological reactance", Journal of Organizational Change
Management, Vol. 26 Issue: 3, pp.573-594,
https://doi.org/10.1108/09534811311328588

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

Stop talking
AT ME
Start talking
TO ME
Source of image: prepbeijing.com

• What “rules” get in the way and stop us
delivering great care/services?
• What “rules” would you like to break?
Institute for
Healthcare
Improvement :
Breaking the rules
for better care

Kinds of rules:
1. Habits or myths that are perceived to be rules
but might not be
2. Administrative rules or policies that
organisational leaders have the power to
change
3. Rules that are in place due to regulations or
policies beyond the control of the
organisation
Source: the Institute for Healthcare Improvement

26

We can flip it & identify “permissions”
A positive
permissions
culture builds
change
agency!
Images by @kwiens62

#S4CA @Sch4Change
Why can some people take knocks and
challenges and work through them well?
Graphic by http://www.andrewpinder.org/ for the
School for Change Agents 2018 Learning Management System

#S4CA @Sch4Change
Two kinds of people at work
• Feel connected to a higher
purpose
• Direction set through
shared goals & values
(“magnetic north”)
• Collaborate
• Embrace change
• Work to who they are
• Feel disconnected from
purpose
• Controlled & coordinated
through performance
management and standardised
procedures
• Hold back
• Resist change
• Work to a role specification
The Contributor The Compliant
Adapted from The Emotional Economy http://emotionaleconomy.com.au/papers-articles/why-the-winners-in-
business-are-taking-the-time-to-build-a-positive-kind-social-culture/

The ability of an individual to
adjust to adversity, maintain
equilibrium, retain some
sense of control
over their environment
and continue to move on
in a positive way.
Derived from the work of Debra Jackson et al: http://bit.ly/2EW0DrP

Carol Dweck
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.

If your horse dies,
get off it
Cherokee proverb
Source of image: fenwickgallery.co.uk

Henri Nouwen
Joy does not simply
happen to us.
We have to choose joy
and keep choosing it
every day.

#S4CA @Sch4Change
“New truths begin as heresies”
(Huxley, defending Darwin’s theory of natural selection)
Source of image:
installation by the
artist Adam Katz
www.thisiscolossal.com
Via @NeilPerkin

Expectation
Reality

Avedis Donabedian
Ultimately, the secret
of quality is love…
If you have love, you
can then work
backward to monitor
and improve the
system

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

Passion…
intense emotions
Infatuation
obsession
… is sustained,
enduring devotion

Passion…
emerges over a
period of years
is a process of active
discovery
is something we help
to create

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

Graphic by http://www.andrewpinder.org/ for the School for Change
Agents 2018 Learning Management System

Individual AND collective agency
Individual agency:
People get more power
and control in their own
lives: activation, shared
decision-making and self-
care
Collective agency:
People act together,
united by a common
cause, harnessing the
power and influence of
the group and building
mutual trust

Source: @NHSChangeDay
58

59

#S4CA @Sch4Change
Learning Management System
Module 1 – Change Starts With Me - is live! (launched on 14th
February)
Successfully complete three of our e-learning
modules to become a Certificated Change Agent!

#S4CA @Sch4Change
Learning Management System
Module 2 – Building Resistance and Dealing with Resistance to
Change will launch w/c 6 March
If you have recently registered you will be emailed your login details.
Not received login details? Please email england.si-horizons@nhs.net

#S4CA @Sch4Change
Edge Talks – School Edition
Tuesday 6th March, 7pm: The value of diversity in a complex
world with Scott Page and Paul Deemer.
Tuesday 13th March, 6pm: Change on the front line with Hilary
Garratt.
Tuesday 20th March, 7pm: Change Under Pressure with Zoe Lord
and Kate Pound.
Wednesday 21st March, 6:30pm: Change Agents 2.0: Digital
capabilities with Dominic Cushan, Susan Kennedy and Richard
Price.
Each session has 25 places, and offers the opportunity to
have an interactive conversation.

#S4CA @Sch4Change
• We have done the first
round of matches – we
hope you enjoy your
chats, let us know how
you get on!
• You can still sign up….
Image source: Pinterest
http://theedge.nhsiq.nhs.uk/school/2018-resources/
Randomised coffee trial (RCT)

#S4CA @Sch4Change
Thursday 8 March

#S4CA @Sch4Change
Thursday 15 March

School for Change Agents 2018: Module 3 – Being resilient and dealing with resistance to change

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