Understanding the psychological dynamics in change management
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The inevitability of change stands as the sole constant for organizations, making the mastery of change management not just necessary, but crucial. Change management is the pragmatic, systematic approach that helps employees deal with the transition of processes, goals or technologies. In a world ruled by VUCA, which stands for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous and refers to the idea that constant and unpredictable change is the norm, leaders must understand the psychology around helping people to adjust and thrive.
Resistance to change
Humans have a tendency to resist change. People are creatures of habit, and change interrupts their routine and upends expectations. Take TeamUp’s path toward reinventing its CRM system.
“I recall when we decided to overhaul our CRM system two years ago to better serve our clients. The decision was met with significant resistance from our sales team,” says Laia Quintana, head of marketing and sales at TeamUp. “The underlying psychological factors were fear of the unknown and comfort with the status quo. The team was comfortable with the existing system and feared that learning a new system would affect their performance. It took a lot of reassurance and training sessions to help them understand the benefits of the new system and ease their transition.”
Quintana prioritizes clear and consistent communication, involving employees in the decision-making related to the change, so they feel ownership and rewarding those who are quick to adapt.
In an interview with PEX Network, Kasey Ross, director of change strategy at Clockwork, warns leaders to beware labeling employees “resistant.”
“Now, it’s a big world and I am not dismissing the idea that some folks are just ornery. And some work cultures foster such attitudes, as well, which can make change tricky. But in my experience, when folks are labeled resistant, it’s almost never that simple." Their reactions to change are almost always reflective of some combination of the following, he adds:
- Lack of understanding – the organization and its leaders aren’t consistently making the case for why change is happening now.
- Lack of agency – people generally don’t respond well when told what to do and how to do it.
- Unclear expectations – if leaders aren’t being explicit about what it means to successfully adopt change, how are those who need to change going to know whether or not they’re doing it right?
- A history of inconsistent or poorly enacted change – if an organization or leader is known to either quickly abandon change or roll it out hastily and without support, future changes are seen with skepticism (at best) or hostility (at worst).
The approach Ross suggests might seem obvious, but requires repeating. While leaders must make the decision that change is necessary, employees should be the ones deciding how to carry out that change. After all, they are the ones “closest to” the work.
“The answer to all these questions is to take a human-centered approach to change,” Ross says. “Put the employees impacted by changes at the center of the project and enlist them to co-create the future state.”
Motivation in the face of change
Leaders must motivate workers to embrace, rather than shun, change. This requires a basic understanding of key concepts in psychology. To start, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs provides leaders with a framework for getting people on board. The theory is that people have five categories of needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem and self-actualization. Here is the breakdown:
- Physiological refers to basic needs like food, air, water, etc.
- Safety refers to feeling stability and security.
- Love refers to that sense of belonging, and it relates to the diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) efforts of an organization.
- Esteem refers to both feeling good about one’s self because of mastery of a task and gaining approval from others.
- Self-actualization refers to the idea that if people get the lower needs met, then they can pursue achievement and realize their potential.
Knowing this list can help leaders ensure these needs are being met as they help employees transition into the new way of doing things and arrive eventually at self-actualization. This theory relates to Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory on job satisfaction. His belief is that employers must focus on two categories, which he calls “hygiene” and “motivation.” Hygiene refers to things like treatment from managers, salary and benefits. Strong offerings of those basics can decrease job dissatisfaction, which makes motivation easier. The other category of motivation refers to recognition and achievement, which propel workers to be more committed, productive and successful.
Employee well-being and change
Well-being is a priority for many organizations nowadays. If people feel healthy, they are more likely to succeed. Wellness at work experts will often gripe about how organizations pay lip service to wellness or invest in apps and benefits supposedly related to well-being, but they never address the structures, processes and expectations that most impact employee well-being. Quintana sees change management as an opportunity to combat such problems.
“Organizational change can lead to stress and anxiety due to the demands of learning new tools and processes,” Quintana says. “One effective measure I recommend is the strategic distribution of workloads. During periods of transition, it’s important to ensure that employees are not overwhelmed with heavy workloads while they are still trying to navigate unfamiliar tools and processes. By carefully planning and distributing the workload, we can ensure that employees have the time and mental space to learn and adapt to the new systems without feeling overwhelmed. This not only supports their mental health but also facilitates a smoother and more effective transition.”
This step is not to be overlooked. It also circles back to the psychological theories of Maslow and Herzberg because it addresses employee needs at a basic level. That should be the starting point for getting people on board for change of any kind.
READ: Driving transformation with effective change management
The role of leadership
Throughout these conversations on leadership, a theme emerged: leadership makes a huge difference in how people deal with change at work. Being communicative, involving employees with the decision-making that most impacts their work and giving people space to contemplate and accept change are necessary. Ross offers clear-cut advice for leaders managing change:
“It’s incumbent on leaders to first:
- Describe the overall goal.
- Describe what they want to see from employees.
- Articulate why the organization is making this change and what it makes possible for the company’s future.
- Articulate the benefits, for individuals, of adopting this new way of working.
Then, ask those employees who actually have to make changes to their behavior:
- What will it take for you to adopt this change? What will you have to do differently?
- How big a shift will this be for you?
- Are there any roadblocks you foresee to adopting these new behaviors? Any timing or competing priorities we should take into consideration?
- What about the change do you think will come easily? What will be harder to do?
- What do you need from me to be able to help you make the change?
- How do you want to keep me and other leaders informed about progress of the change?”
Change is inevitable, and organizations must adapt to evolving markets and customers. To stay on the cutting edge, they must embrace transformation. This requires understanding the psychology of employees to help them embrace change and adapt swiftly whenever necessary. Making employees part of the process and being as transparent as possible are essential.
“This gives employees agency and enables them to fully understand what’s changing and why,” says Ross. “Negative reactions to change happen when it happens “at” people, not when they’re part of it.”
