Kotter & Schlesinger

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Kotter & Schlesinger

Four reasons for resistance to change:

Self-interest - arises from perceived threat to job security, individuals often place their own interests ahead of those of the organisation, if they can't see how the change directly benefits them they will resist it

Misunderstanding - resist if don't fully understand what it means for them, can come from poor communication from managers, think they have more to lose than gain until told otherwise

Low tolerance of change - resist if fear that they won't be able to develop new skills required after the change, prefer things to stay the way they are, people need security, predictability & stability in their work

Different assessments of the situation - key stakeholders may have strong disagreements over the reasons for change = inability to accept the need for change, may agree on the need for change but think they have a better solution