Dealing with Resistance
Innovation demands change. Thus, it will inevitably generate some form of resistance. This is a predictable reaction to the way in which humans deal with risk, ambiguity, new ways of thinking, and being asked to leave our comfort zone. And it is completely legitimate. Being sensitive to resistance (whether it comes from colleagues, bosses, or other stakeholders) is crucial in enabling innovation to happen. Below, you can find a guide to different types of resistance you may encounter:
Types of Resistance:
1. Organizational
• It has been working fine up until now (and still does).
• That is what our clients are accustomed to.
• This is what our people were trained for.
• Our people were hired according to parameters derived from the way we
work today.
2. Personal Resistance
• I’m good at what I do. If things change, I might become redundant.
• I’ll have to work hard to learn new things for the new process.
• I won’t get the right tools to cope with the changes.
3. Perceived Risks:
• New technology has a slow adoption rate and might prove to be unreliable.
• Innovation does not fit our brand.
• Diverting resources for innovation might hurt other essential activities in the
organization.
• Making innovation a top priority might signal to the employees that their daily
tasks are of lesser importance.
4. Market-related
• Customers/suppliers don’t like change.
• Introducing a new product may reduce sales volume at first or cannibalize our existing offering.
5. Negative past experience
• Innovation is just a trend/buzzword. It will pass.
•Better to stick to the familiar textbook solutions to increase efficiency.