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Overcoming internal resistance to change:
In many ways, the hallmark of a great leader is how well he or she manages
change - Marketing
by Robert A. Sevier
People, and the organizations they create and inhabit, seldom welcome change. For the
most part, they are resistant and reluctant, believing that there is great comfort in the
familiar and greater security in the status qua. As a result, they tend to resist new ideas
and new ways to think about old ideas. They suffer, as one wag reminded me, from
hardening of the categories.
Unfortunately, our present, and certainly our future, is all about change. In fact, there is
a wonderful adage that describes the issue succinctly: The only constant is change.
Ultimately, both individual and organizational success may well depend not on how well
we resist change, but how well we embrace it. After all, at its most basic, leadership is
all about managing change. It is about anticipating it; framing it in ways the
organization understands; finding a path through it In many ways, the hallmark of a
great leader is how well he or she manages change.
But why are people so darn change-averse?
Change And Fear
What is it about change that people in general--and faculty and staff in particular--most
fear? Based on the work I have done with strategic planning and organizational change,
it appears that members of the campus community are often concerned about:
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Loss of power and prestige
Reallocation or loss of resources
Loss of autonomy
Intrusion into personal and professional domains
Changing definitions of success
Altered reward systems
Fear of technology
Fear of having to relearn

Times of change are usually seen as times of angst (True to that tendency, Lily Tomlin
once quipped, "Why walk boldly when I can be driven by leaf?")
Now that we have a basic understanding of the reasons behind change resistance, let's
look at a handful of strategies for overcoming internal resistance to change To do that,
we need to first understand the physics of change.