Denial, Head-in-the-Sand, Mistrust, Distrust--Reactions to the Need for Change

"My mind is made up. Don't confuse me with the facts."

Spencer Johnson wrote Who Moved My Cheese?  The book (available in multiple forms with editions for teenagers and kids) provides a clear story of how much we become addicted to the "status quo" and resist change, even when it is "forced" upon us.

The news today talks about how much money is being saved when employees take unpaid days off from work--billions of dollars around the country that would otherwise be part of employee salaries.

While that may be the way to save jobs, even if employes don't earn as much as they are supposed to, it still hurts--the employees and the others the employees would normally be serving in one capacity or another.

Many of the posts on this blog deal with how to navigate, facilitate, manage change--from the inside and from the outside. A real challenge--and, indeed, a challenge for me as someone who helps others navigate change--is the fact captured by Spencer Johnson. Most of us really don't want to experience profound chain. It is uncomfortable. We have to give up much of our comfort zone and invest in learning something new and difference, maybe even trusting someone we don't know well with the knowledge that we don't know what we're trying to learn. That is miserable--for owners of businesses and for entry-level employees. K-12 students aren't keen on it either, though it is supposed to be part of their daily learning experience in school. (See "The Comfort Curve Mapped to Performance Change" [page 10] at http://joelmonty.wikispaces.com/file/view/Meta-Learning+Models.PDF and "Shame-Affect-and-Decision Making" [page 2] at http://joelmonty.wikispaces.com/file/view/Meta-Learning-Affect+Models.PDF.)

The ostrich is supposed to bury his head in the sand when danger approaches. While he may not see it coming, the danger can usually see him. (Visit http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/80800.html to expose the myth.) Denying or refusing to confront the problems do not make them go away. Another author who has lots to say about denial and resistance to change is Dr. Eli Goldratt--see The Goal (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_1_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+goal+goldratt&sprefix=The+Goal).

In my 40+ years of working with individuals and organizations confronted with the need to learn and change, I have been amazed at the creativity of denial of people at advanced levels of responsibility in all kinds of organizations. Sometimes I have been called in when it is too late so that someone can point to the consultant intervention and blame failure on the last-minute intervention. Others refuse to use the best practice approaches (see yesterday's post) to navigate learning and change and are looking for ways to "return to normal" and to get rid of anyone trying to bring up uncomfortable ideas (or realities).

Another place this occurs is when people have decided that they want something to happen, regardless of whether or not what they want is in the best interest of the organization--or even in their own best interest. These people, too, are very experienced in working with denial and have a wealth of tools at their disposal to eliminate any opposition to what they want, regardless of the consequences.

I do not mean to paint a bleak picture. As Spencer Johnson shares in Who Moved My Cheese?,
we have to learn to get past the denial and discomfort and move into dealing with the change that is needed.

Michael Gerber in his The E-Myth Revisited makes some clear points about the challenges of business start-ups. (See http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_0_6?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=e-myth+revisited&sprefix=e-myth.)
Here's the challenge for this post: Is there a change that is urgently needed that you are still in the process of denying and ignoring? What could happen if you opened yourself to collaborate with an outsider (me, for example) to help you understand and navigate the change in a positive way? What would you need to do to make that happen? Who else would you need to involve? When would you do it? Why would you do it? Why not?

If you're still in denial, read one of the books mentioned in this post and ask yourself the questions again. When you are ready to respond positively and to work actively for continuous, ongoing improvement, please contact me and let's get started together.