Overcoming Resistance to Change

WMBA-6990B-4/WMBA-6990-4/MGMT-6990

WMBA6990 Sustainable Business Practices and Strategies

Week 5 Discussion

Overcoming Resistance to Change

Change can be difficult, even when it is inevitable. Therefore, change can often be met with resistance initially. Individuals resist change for many reasons, such as fearing the unknown, feeling overwhelmed, or believing a change will not last. However, once the resistance is overcome and a change grows into a habit or new baseline, most individuals will consider the effort worthwhile and may also do what they can to help others surpass the barriers they once faced. In this Discussion, you will consider a time when you resisted change and how you might use that experience to help a team overcome their resistance to changes.

 

To prepare for this Discussion:

 

Think about a time when you needed to make a change, whether personal or professional, but were resisting it and what helped you overcome that resistance.

 

Also consider the role of a leader within an organization in helping individuals and teams overcome resistance to change.

 

By Day 3

 

Post your explanation of how to overcome resistance to change at the individual and organizational level, to include the following:

 

Describe a time when you needed to make a change, whether personal or professional, but resisted it.

 

Analyze what was holding you back initially from making the necessary change and what helped you to overcome your resistance to the change.

 

Now put yourself in the position of a team leader within an organization. If you were called upon to lead change within your team and you encountered resistance, summarize how you might apply those lessons learned from your own life experience to help that team overcome their resistance to change.

 

Refer to the Week 5 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.

 

Read some of your colleagues’ postings.

 

By Day 5

 

Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways:

 

Ask a question about or relate your experience to the time your colleague needed to make a change but resisted it.

 

Offer an insight you gained from your colleague’s analysis of what held them back and what helped them overcome their resistance to change.

 

Provide your perspective on how receptive you might be to your colleague’s suggestion for helping a team overcome resistance to change. How do you think you would respond to their approach?

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.