Obstacles to Change!
What are the most apparent and non-apparent obstacles to change in the work place?
William,
Those people can be very dangerous to the process. We often refer to them as saboteurs.
Dr. Gary Carlson
One of the most apparent obstacles is ones ability to embrace change. A non apparent obstacle is when someone is giving the perception that they are embracing the change when they are not.
Richard,
I believe the intention of all of us is to be successful. I am sure the new Director is hopeful to be successful at their new challenge. I have seen this transition issue before. I have been on both ends of tis situation. I always appreciated it when the past employee would refer all questions and direction to the new leader. We all need the opportunity to succeed. By your open communication you can advise but should never take on the roles you once had as a responsibility. What happens in the future is the building of a colleague of brain trust between the two of you for the future.
Dr. Gary Carlson
We are currently undergoing a significant amount of change at the school I work for. We are adding an AAS Degree to our offerings. This will be the first degree we have offered in the state of Texas. We have also replaced the Campus Director here and today is his third day on the job. I am the outgoing Director. The most apparent obstacle I have seen is the employees continue to skirt the new director and seek out my advise when making decisions. I have engaged the new director on this issue and we have an open line of communication. Having said that, old habits are hard to break. I have filled the role of director three times to date so there is some concern that the "new guy" may not last.
Jill,
Our minds tricks sometimes into the false comfort zone when a new practice or process is introduced. This comfort zone may keep us from improving by not giving the idea a chance.
Dr. Gary Carlson
I also feel that people are their own obstacle. Some people don't understand the necessity of change or they don't like change because they have to learn a different way of doing things. They may be afraid of failure due to not learning something in a timely manner, which can delay the change.
Spencer,
87% of great communication comes from listening. Verbal is the response to great listening. You ability to assess and read between the lines of what they are saying is the key to achieving new and greater levels. Creating supportive behavior is through listening and using your coaching ability to move forward.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Your correct but its so hard to keep your mouth shut. I feel thats because as part of mangement team you want to fix everthing now.I need to set back & listen more then fix the problem with the staffs help.
Maria,
You perspective is correct You can make the difference by coaching your people with the same understanding you have.
Dr. Gary Carlson
In my institution, in addition to fear of the unknown, it is the barrage of change that the teams are constantly bombarded with that seem to cause the most resistance. It is difficult for folks to get their efforts behind an initiative when they believe this one too may turn into "the flavor of the day." As a leader, I am constantly challenged to place perspective and help them prioritize what is most impactful to our operation. It is imperative that we focus on our true purpose, what we truly do, which never really changes.
Laurel,
When you have the ability for freedom to make a change in behavior as long as you don't' break policy of your company you can make a difference. Team and calling attention to the necessity to have teamwork with positive talk and attitudes can make it a great place to work even with upper management. Doing your job well and telling others they are doing a job goes a long way.
Dr. Gary Carlson
I currently work in a school where communication is at a very low level. I see the morale of both instructors and students plummeting daily. Upper management calls all of the shots without input from any of the staff or student body. It is hard to offer any constructive suggestions when one is turned a deaf ear.
jerry ,
Team and communication between departments is key to the success of an organization. These accomplishments don't cost much. It is more about process and organization to have these things happen.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Lack of resources. Our curriculum is new, and we are having some difficulty putting it into practices because of a lack of funds. Other obstacles include the lack of efficient commucation between departments, or between management and suborninates.
When change is necessary people often may not see it from the same perspective. Our best efforts need to be focused on how we can have our team accept the ownership. By allowing the transfer of ownership over to the stakeholders everyone will work towards a positive outcome.
Some of the most apparent obstacles to change in the workplace are feelings of fear of the unknown, loss of control, and possible loss of job security. The non-apparent obstacles could potentially be the threat of not being trained for to adapt to the changes, anxiety, confused about the future of the organization, and most commonly unproductiveness.
Fearing the unknown potentially means, that the employee admits to his/herself that regardless of whether or not he/she perceives the change to be a good or “bad†there will be a sense of loss of what “was†and a strong fear of the unknown. Employees start to ask direct question about job security and the apparent loss of control to influence change. These are difficult hurdles to overcome without the right communication strategy.
The non-apparent obstacles of not receiving additional training, anxiety and decrease in productivity can easily overlooked. The leader responsible for ensuring that the change transpires could potentially be looking for the more apparent signs because that are easier to identify, thus require a quicker response. Non-apparent obstacle can potential take more time to address because these obstacle are not a noticeable.
Communication is truly a key to a successful managment career. We often focus on our verbal and written communicate which is important but the communication that makes a huge difference is listening. Research has shown us the bigger part of good communication is to listen. It accounts for about 97%. Talented leaders are great listeners and can become proactive from it.
I believe that lack of communication is the most apparent obstacles when it comes to change. If changes just happens and no one knows why it is happeneing it makes people resist it more. The most non apparent can sometimes be the reason for the change. This is along the same lines with the lack of communication. If change occurs but no one understands or has explained the goal of the change then it will not be implmented correctly and it will again be met with resistance.
I agree that the fear of the unknown can be a huge obstacle in Change; however I am a strong believer in communication, both positive and negative. I believe that as long as a manager is honest he will gain respect and acceptance to change thru open communication.
