Great ideas, great people and great projects have fallen victim to resistance to change. Resistance is a natural part of the change process and exists in many forms. Look for these structural and physiological reasons people resist.
Fear of the unknown:
When a leader announces a change, whether it is a new computer system, moving to a cross-functional team environment or even a move to a new building, it can be scary. The announcement of a change threatens this comfortable ‘today’ the employee knows and introduces a ‘tomorrow’ that she doesn’t’ know.
Threat to expertise or prominence:
Threat to prominence is based on the perception that something someone values will be taken away. A leader who values the size of the budget, the number of direct reports, the title or even the location of the office may resist any change that threatens one or more of these things.
