How resistance works

The coaching calendar states: ‘Resistance is often purely a lack of capacity to change’. True as can be. But then, how does resistance work? In other words: what function can we give resistance for the good?

In this era of continuous change, the capacity to change means strength. If you can anticipate, you are flexible; if you draw ‘the positive side’ out of a setback, you are powerful and you make use of your qualities; and thirdly, your self knowledge is increased. But not everyone is open to these possibilities. Many people, consciously or unconsciously, experience a resistance to change. One person trundles on and another puts on the brakes.

In organisations, resistance usually has a negative connotation. Management governs on the basis of the chosen organisational goals in ever changing circumstances. In doing so it is important that everyone comes along. Sometimes these developments are supported in the form of coaching and training. There are sessions to create support, and partly playful and creative activities to encourage collaboration. Noble efforts that can at least ensure that employees can get things off their chest (if all goes well), are informed about the reason for the change and given a concrete explanation of the changes to roles and tasks. This last point occupies employees the most. After all, it directly affects their work and their enjoyment of it. Organisational changes mean individual changes: through the new or altered ways of working and (communication) processes, an appeal is made to employees to adjust or bring up to standard their knowledge, skills and behaviour. But resistance arises against these changes. And all too often this is held against the employee, as if they are not capable of keeping up with developments.

During a team session of three departments that were to work together at a care institution, it became visible how resistance worked among some employees. Besides the basic fear of losing something, which accompanies change, people did not understand the purpose of the change. On top of that, and more importantly, the organisation paid no attention to the question of what was causing the resistance, and what was needed to motivate the employees to be able to change.

Resistance offers people an (unconscious) protection to avoid painful situations and the accompanying emotions such as fear and anger. Some older employees in the care institution, for example, no longer knew how to acquire new knowledge because they had unlearned how to learn. They tried to hide their insecurity about this by condemning the organisational development that was on the horizon. My advice was to give attention to the individual learning path of the employees and an adapted training programme. The motivation to change was explored by having people put together their dream organisation, so that for a moment they could sit in management's chair. This was placed within the actual situation, together with management's responses, so that the choices for the new developments became clear.

Resistance is often experienced by management as negative and irritating: as a brake on developments. But behind the resistance lies an emotion, and as long as employees are emotionally connected to their organisation, this also means involvement. Make use of that involvement, give it attention. Coaching is, par excellence, a form of guidance to observe resistance, to name it, to understand it, and to teach employees how to deal with it.

Valérie Docters van Leeuwen