Sometimes you meet those people who distill information down in such a way that it feels obvious. One day I hope to be one of those people.
Recently in a conversation with leaders we were talking about resistance to change and one of the leaders had a formula that resonated with me.
The formula goes like this:
If the feelings of loss are greater than the feelings of purpose, then there will be resistance to change.
Soldiers in the military during the United States revolutionary war were deeply steeped in purpose and we know many gave their lives, the ultimate loss, in the pursuit of freedom. In this case, clearly purpose was greater than loss.
On the other side, sometimes our organizations go through periods of change or restructuring. This could mean that me as a leader, in the new structure, will have less “power” or “influence” and the change will take me one step away from my career goals. The loss, me feeling like I’m going backwards in my career, is much larger than what I feel the purpose of the change in org structure is so I will be resistant to the change.
This is an excellent formula to reflect on. What are you resistant to? What is the loss that you may be experiencing? This reflection may reveal to you things you would rather not deal with but that are part of what it takes to be a leader.
