Your Team Isn't Resisting the Change. They're Afraid of Losing Something.
McKinsey's Johanne Lavoie argues that what leaders call resistance is often fear of losing a role, a routine or a relationship, and describes a monthly “funeral meeting” that handles the loss out loud.
Prompted by “Leading when change feels threatening”, McKinsey (Johanne Lavoie, Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock).
McKinsey's Johanne Lavoie argues that what leaders call resistance is often fear of losing a role, a routine, or a relationship. In her words: “If you don't create space for fear, it can show up as resistance.”
Her example: a hospital executive, a nurse by training, holds a monthly “funeral meeting.” Her team goes through the projects that are ending or being deprioritized, talks about what they learned and liked, and decides what to carry forward. The loss gets handled out loud, so it doesn't leak out as pushback later.
What did your last change cost your team?
For small and medium-sized businesses, change usually lands harder, not softer. Everyone knows exactly who is affected, and there's no change-management office to absorb it. An owner launches a new system, drops a service line, or shifts a role, and is on to the next thing within a week. The people affected are still carrying the old way around.
Whether you're a CEO or an owner-operator, the people closest to the work are the least likely to tell you what a change cost them.
Test it out: before your next change, tell your team two things out loud: what will stay the same, and what you're asking them to let go of. Then ask, “What concerns you about this?” and listen without fixing or defending.
Leading a team through change without losing its trust is the kind of thing we work through in Team Coaching.
Looking for a place to discuss issues like this with other local business leaders? Join one of our no-cost Rochester CEO insight sessions and test your ideas with your peers.
Originally posted on LinkedIn ↗