To fear and resist change is natural, yet in this day and age, these innate instincts can be detrimental. Before we can do something about it, we must first understand why they are happening, in the first place.
We need to come to grips that by merely adapting to change is no longer viable. Today’s business environment isn’t going through a transition period dominated by change. Ongoing and continuous change is and will continue to be the new normal. For better or worse, evolution is not characterized by stability or predictability. Both characteristics traditionally kept morale, productivity, and profits. Nevertheless, change can provide specific opportunities that neither security nor predictability could.
Why Do We Resist Change?
Over the past decade, or so, the entire business environment has shaken to its very core. Businesses and even whole industries are disappearing left and right, at a pace never encountered before. Blockbuster, the home movie and video game rental provider, was once a giant but now is a distant memory. With the arrival of iTunes, the music industry is not what it once was, not more than a decade ago. Various ride-sharing companies are starting to shake up the auto industry, while renewables are slowly replacing the coal industry.
Our natural reaction to all of this transformation is resistance. Our bodies can only handle so much change at once, and an organization is no different. In making matters even worse, the more differences we face, the higher our resistance becomes. In this day and age, it seems that we need to go against our instincts to remain competitive on the market and to continue to make an impact.
Making matters even worse, the more differences we face, the higher our resistance becomes.
Nevertheless, some things are better off to remain the same. There is an aspect that does benefit from our instinct to resist change – our core values. It is equally valid for an individual as it is for company culture. These core values, which also stand for responsibilities, mission, and cause, bridge the gap between the past and the future by grounding both in the present. If we can resist change here, we will better handle change in other aspects of our lives and business.
Why Do We Fear Change?
The main reason we resist transition is that we fear it. Like we mentioned before; generally, comfort and predictability entice people, and change deviates from that. When we leave our comfort zone, fear almost always becomes a factor. Trying to predict the future and what difference will bring can, however, make us miss the underlying issues that make us fear change, in the first place.
When we talk about the fear of change, we are referencing two different fears working together. On the one hand, we fear to lose our connection to the past, while on the other, we fear to lose our identity. When people get stuck in the past, they have a particularly tough time in trying to bridge the gap between past performance and the need for change. It is for this reason why people need to place their recent performance in a more positive light before they can begin quenching their fears.
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Furthermore, people have identity-based fears because they subconsciously believe that change will be a threat to who they are, not just what they’ll do. It is why keeping your core values intact is so important.
The first step is to know your own fears
Tackling one’s fears about change is a necessity in today’s business environment. And the first step in achieving this is by knowing why we fear and resist. For more information about change and how to embrace it, let’s connect on https://meetme.so/GregNichvalodoff or greg@inscapeconsulting.com
