Leading Change: How to Handle Three Reactions

Change is hard for everyone, but some readily rise to the occasion while others resist or refuse. IT leaders need to know how to deal with the likely reactions in order to move their organizations forward.

When my wife and I moved into our first apartment in Queens in the 1980s, I would take the same train to work every morning and inevitably run into the same cast of characters. I met a gentleman by the name of Vinnie, who would regale me each day with stories of how much he hated his job at the Bank of New York.

I’m a “fixer” by nature. So, I immediately sprang into action with ideas to help Vinnie. I told him I was pretty good at putting together a resume and offered to have a beer with him one night to help him polish his CV. He thanked me kindly but didn’t take me up on the offer. A few weeks — and many complaints — later, I offered to introduce him to colleagues I knew in executive search who might be able to help him find a better opportunity. Once again, he kindly declined my offer of assistance. After a month of these conversations, two things became very apparent. First: Vinnie really hated his job; it was all he ever talked about. Second, he was comfortable in his misery. I refer to this as the “I know the circus, I know the clowns” phenomenon.

People are afraid of change. I’ve heard many reasons (excuses, really) for why people don’t want to change. Among them: “I’ve worked here five years, and I still have a job.” “I’m three years from retirement; let the next person worry about it.” “My people only know how to work this way.”

The underlying issue, though, is that people fear change because it seems risky. It’s the old “devil you know” mentality that tells us it’s better to stick with something familiar than take a chance on the unknown.

That’s not really an option for organizations in this era of seemingly continuous change. As Charles Darwin is believed to have said, it’s not the strongest who survive but the most adaptable. The risk of organizations that can’t or won’t evolve is that they will be left behind by their newer, more nimble competitors. The days of requiring critical mass to innovate are over. Companies and people who can’t change will be victims of corporate natural selection.

As IT leaders, one of our primary roles is that of change agent. I don’t know a single IT executive who was hired and told, “Things are working perfectly. Just keep your eyes on the dials.” When people ask me to describe my 35-year IT career, I tell them that I was hired to fix a train wreck, and that my reward for doing so was to be given a bigger more challenging train wreck to fix!

We are paid to lead change. Yet, it’s not an innate capability; you have to develop it. It requires an understanding of the different ways individuals respond to change as well as the ability to meet those people where they are and get them on board (or get them off the bus). Over the years, I’ve acquired some insight into how to do this most effectively.

Shifting from How to Why

So, what holds us back from helping those in our organizations adapt to change? Having worked with thousands of IT professionals, I know that we are great at the how of things. If I ask you about a project you’re working on, you can whip out an eight-page Gantt chart packed with tasks, deliverables, and milestones. Often, though, we aren’t as good at communicating the why. And if we are asking people to do something as uncomfortable as changing how they do things, we’d better be able to articulate to them why it’s in their best interest. What’s in it for them? Will it make their lives easier? Will it provide greater opportunities? Will they learn skills that will make them more marketable? 

IT leaders not only have to sell the upside of change; they also must be able to articulate the risks of not changing. What happens if we don’t evolve? Is the company as risk? Is someone’s job at risk? Will their earnings potential be impacted? Successfully marketing change requires us to communicate the value of changing along with the risks of staying the same.

The Three Reactions to Change

It’s also important to recognize the reactions an IT leader is likely to encounter in the face of change. I’ve seen people fall into three categories:

• The deniers. The first group refuses to accept the change. They don’t like or agree with it, and they’re not budging. They’re like swimmers in the ocean seeing a 40-foot wave coming at them and saying, “I came here to swim. I’m not moving!”
• The resisters. This second group begrudgingly acknowledges the change but refuses to support it. “I know this is coming, but I don’t agree with it. I’m not going to do it, and my people will continue to do what we’ve always done!” They acknowledge the wave coming, but they still won’t move on their own.
• The evolvers. This third group is ready to benefit from change. They recognize that it’s probably going to be uncomfortable for a while, and it might force them to learn new things and work in a different way. But they know that, ultimately, it will plant seeds of opportunity in their careers. They value that more than they fear the risks.

The evolvers embrace the change. They’re the easy ones!

The resisters want to change, but they’re scared. They need to learn some new behaviors. I have all the patience in the world for people who are willing to work to get there, and just need some time, support and development. That’s our job as business leaders.

The deniers won’t change no matter what. They may talk smack about  you, the change, and the organization. These people can become a cancer in the organization. If removed early,  the prognosis is positive. But if allowed to fester, their attitudes will metastasize within the organization, and the outcome is usually not very positive. 

How CIOs Can Lead Change Most Effectively

When I managed transformation efforts as an IT leader, I found the “evolvers” easier to handle. I always tried to call out their positive behaviors — better relationship management, more effective communication — in public forums such as team meetings or celebration luncheons. This both reinforced their evolution and shed light on the types of behaviors I hoped the rest of the  team would learn from and emulate. I tried to help the “deniers” see the positive aspects of the required change and what was in it for them, so that they had an opportunity to get with the program. But, as I learned, the deniers needed to go. Change is hard enough when people are trying to do the right thing. I couldn’t afford to have people purposely doing the wrong things. They are a drag on the effort.

As the business leaders requiring the most change from those in our organizations, whether it’s evolving from a project-based delivery model to a product-based approach or leveraging AI to make better informed decisions, it’s our responsibility to ensure that these changes are readily adopted. Getting people to see the value of the change and eliciting their personal support and investment are critical to our success. If we don’t invest the time to get everyone on the bus, we will spend far more time driving the bus back into the depot to pick up stragglers.

It’s our responsibility not simply to foist technology-enabled change onto the organization. It’s our duty  to help those that are capable of change to adapt and advance. That happens on two levels. 

First, we have to work with people to help them grow and develop so that what they receive from the organization is more than a paycheck. I’ve always prided myself on the fact that the people who work for me leave the company prepared to take on bigger responsibilities wherever they go. I owe them that. As IT leaders, we need to think about what skills we help employees develop that will both enhance their effectiveness on our teams and also help them be more marketable for their future. What cross-functional experiences will provide our people with exposure to new ways of thinking and new parts of the business while also getting visibility with new leaders who they haven’t worked with in the past?

Second, we need to, in the immortal words of Jim Collins, get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus. The biggest mistake I’ve seen leaders make is to give people so much rope they hang themselves — and their leader — in the process. If someone is unwilling to learn, grow, and get with the program — simply resisting change and becoming a malcontent — they need to work elsewhere. Not only will you remove that obstacle to progress, you’ll also deliver a strong message about what will and won’t be accepted on the team.

I don’t know it all and am always eager to hear insight from others. How do you handle change? What’s working for you? What challenges are you experiencing? Write to me to share your experiences and wisdom and maybe I’ll share your ideas in a future column.