Every decision a leader makes creates change, and the natural human reaction to change is resistance. Before you roll out your next initiative, ensure your people:
- Feel seen, valued, and celebrated for their daily contributions and informed on change initiative details.
- Contribute their ideas of how to implement the change, including their concerns and ideas for managing them. Ask What must we let go of to make room for it.
- Express what’s in it for them to make the change. Ask what difference will it make for you, the company, our customers? When they weigh-in they will drive the change instead of resist it.
We have tested these three conditions that create change readiness, many times over. Without these condition, people succumb to their instincts to go back to the way things were.
Resistance comes from fear, and unexpressed concerns lead to protective behaviors. The most common behavior is expressed as “Yes, I agree.” Everyone assumes alignment, and 8+ years of our research with the University of Denver proves the flaw in that assumption: Agreement is NOT alignment.
I watched a leader introduce himself to his new team who had recently secured their 12 months strategy. His aim was to establish alignment so they could accelerate the implementation of the strategy. Forty-five minutes into a three-hour meeting, he concluded with the infamous inquiry – “Any questions?” Silence. He beamed: “Great, we’re aligned, let’s end early!”
I quickly called a timeout and coached him to swap the yes/no question for one that elicited the feedback he was seeking: “What did you hear me say that gives you confidence I’m aligned with the strategy you built?” Ninety minutes of true dialogue later, the team reached alignment they could deploy.
The greatest lever in any organization isn’t strategy, structure, or process. It’s aligning people. That’s why the process of creating deep alignment includes these three conditions that accelerate change readiness and ownership:
- People feel seen, heard, valued and safe to voice concerns and they understand the “why” behind the change.
- The process includes their ideas, concerns, and needs.
- They surface their intrinsic motivations about why they are willing to contribute to the change.
People resist change less and own it more when they’ve been asked, not just told. You cannot broadcast your way to alignment. You build it, in both directions.
Agreement protects the team from conflict today. Alignment protects the strategy from failing later.
Your next transformation is only as strong as the alignment beneath it. If your team is preparing for change, let’s talk about what deep alignment could look like in your organization.