We resist change for all kinds of reasons. 

Chief among them is not our discomfort, nor even our fear of loss, but a far more powerful fear: uncertainty. 

Change creates uncertainty. 

It’s why people often prefer to remain “mired in misery than to head toward an unknown.”* 

Subconsciously, we resist change out of fear: Fear that we are going to be rendered obsolete. Fear that this change will make our lives harder. Fear that we’ll not adapt to the new changes. But mostly, fear about the unknown ahead. 

Whether you’re the leader of a billion-dollar company, the sales director for a 3-person sales team, or the manager of a production department, knowing why your organization fights change is critical because it’s crucial to growth. “Change is a messy, collaborative, inspiring, difficult, and ongoing process - like everything meaningful that leads to human progress,” writes Beth Comstock in her book Imagine it Forward.

And as we covered in our last post, change is also not just a one-and-done experience. For a growing company, change is a rhythm to adopt, not a battle to win.

To overcome resistance to change, leaders should “create certainty of process, with clear, simple steps and timetables.” How?

Here is a simple 3-step method to making change much, much easier but fair warning: Do not take any one of these steps out of context nor pick and choose. All three steps combined are the magic that help you overcome any resistance to change:

1. SHARE [SIMPLY & CLEARLY] WHY

In her book Imagine it Forward, Beth Comstock wrote “strategy is a story well told.” Anytime you are about to make a change, the “why” must be clear and simple. 

You cannot skip to the what or how without the why. “Tell me the why and I’ll figure out how,” is a mantra that ripples through every employee’s mind.

And no long-drawn-out dissertations about why, no speculation, no worrisome wandering, just the facts, told through the lens of a why. Examples:

• “We are going to change our ______ because _______.”

• “When we are done with this transition, we will be able to do _____ faster, easier, and with less confusion. Your life will be simpler, easier, and you’ll be able to accomplish _____.”

• “This change won’t solve all our problems but what it will resolve is _____ and _____, and because those factors are so important to our ______, we’re going to make this change.” 

Paint a small portrait of what the world will look like when you’ve made the change — but make it simple. No elaborate visions, no colorful commentary, just clear and simple benefits.

To read more, click here.

Bobby Lehew is the chief content officer at commonsku, this article is courtesy of commonsku, the work-from-anywhere platform that powers your connected workflow enabling you to process more orders and dramatically grow your sales. To learn more visit commonsku.com.