We are hardwired to see the unknown as a threat, so how can you stop resisting change?
None of us have to cast our minds around very far to alight upon an area of our lives that is currently in a state of flux.
Change, we learn, is the new normal, and I – in common with many others – have made a career of helping people and organisations figure out how to adapt accordingly.
You’d think that we would all be used to it by now. And yet, all of us repeatedly try to resist change.
Now there are good neurological and social reasons for that. We are hardwired to perceive the unknown as a threat – it’s a jungle out there. Our brains make no real distinction between social threats and physical ones – challenges to our status, or autonomy, or our sense of fairness, are every bit as stressful as being chased by a tiger.
The extent of our ambition is to emerge from any change process as soon as possible, and relatively unscathed. We accept a paradigm which says that, when faced with change, the thing to do is to resist, minimise the impact, write some rules, and maybe build a wall. But how to get over this change hump?
A vulnerable position
We need to embrace a different paradigm. One which says that the thing to do when faced with change is to step towards the new and unknown thing with an open mind.
Recognise that the period of change in itself can be a valuable and productive place to be.
Change is good. But a leader cannot simply blithely insist that any proposed change has its upsides.
We like to think of leaders as all-knowing problem-solvers. But it is clear from the world around us that a point-blank refusal to show vulnerability presents a major threat to good decision-making, and leads to finger-pointing and hubris.
A positive posture towards change means admitting that you don’t have all the answers.
Research shows that leaders who show vulnerability are actually perceived as courageous and inspiring. And the sheer act of admitting that you don’t have all the answers gives others the opportunity and agency to innovate and experiment.
Like common people
Leaders also need to be crystal clear about the purpose – of their organisation as a whole, and of the specific change programme in question.
An organisation changes best when everyone has the opportunity to understand what is happening and why – and to share in a sense of common purpose.
Head for the heart
Leaders need to be good storytellers. We are 22 times more likely to remember a story than a hard fact, and stories work on our hearts and minds in a way that rational explanations just can’t.
Leaders can tell the story of the organisation, and they can encourage people to tell and share their own stories, to build a rich tapestry around the change.
Leadership, in pursuit of a clear purpose and underpinned by great stories, is the key to a positive change in our personal, professional and communal lives.