Gerry O'Callaghan

In my experience, people don't resist change because they have "resistant personalities" or because of "human nature". They mostly resist because of the way we go about introducing or implementing the change or imposing it on them. @Digitaltonto suggests five major categories of change resistance, most of which can be less of an issue if we think about them beforehand: 1) Lack Of Trust: by focussing on what's new & different, there's a danger that leaders communicate changing values. Need to focus on shared values & creating a sense of safety around the change conversation. 2) Change Fatigue: the change needs to be seen in the context of all the other initiatives that are happening. 3) Competing Incentives and Commitments: we shouldn't have to "incentivise" people to take part in change. If the change has real value, we should be able to find people who are enthusiastic about it & want to make it work. 4) Switching Costs: what we experience in the here & now always seems more tangible/concrete than the more distant benefits of change, which many will suspect will never come. 5) Identity, Dignity & Sense of Self: people's sense of identity can act as one of the strongest barriers against change. We resist things that challenge our perceptions of ourselves, including loss of status. Helping people navigate the fear of losing their identity & see new possibilities emerge is crucial for successful change outcomes. digitaltonto.com/2024/the-be…. Graphic adapted from @FLIMPStudios.

Open Space Technology (OST) is a powerful process for meetings & events where the topics are important, complex & urgent. OST works with anything from 5 people to 2,000+ people who create the agenda themselves. It is designed to be highly participatory, inclusive & collaborative & often results in breakthroughs in thinking & action. I use OST in my meeting facilitation practice more than any other method. @chriscorrigan has just updated his website on planning & facilitating OST meetings. There are some brilliant resources on it. It has something for everyone, from people who want to use OST for the first time to highly experienced facilitators of large group events: chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot…. Thank you Chris. Graphic from Future Leaders Global.

"Mattering" is the belief that we’re significant to the world around us. When people feel they matter, they feel seen, important & needed through how others treat them. Scholars have deemed mattering to be a core instinct that drives all human behaviour. That’s why, when someone doesn’t believe they matter at work they: - won’t share their voice if they don’t believe their voice is significant - won’t use their strengths if they don’t believe they have strengths - won’t contribute if they don’t believe they have something to contribute - won’t care as much as if they feel cared for Actions that leaders/ teams can take: see some excellent articles by @ZachMercurio - "How to Create Mattering at Work": zachmercurio.medium.com/how-… and "The Cost of Not Mattering at Work": zachmercurio.medium.com/the-….