Leaders and managers of change sometimes cannot understand why individuals and groups of individuals do not wholeheartedly embrace changes that are being introduced. They often label this ‘resistance to change’.
Schein suggests that there are two principles for transformative change to work: first, survival anxiety must be greater than learning anxiety, and second, learning anxiety must be reduced rather than increasing survival anxiety. Used in connection with Lewin’s force field (see Organizational change), we see that survival anxiety is a driving force and learning anxiety is a restraining force. Rather than attempting to increase the individual or group’s sense of survival anxiety, Schein suggests reducing the individual’s learning anxiety. Remember also that the restraining forces may well have some validity.
How do you reduce learning anxiety? You do it by increasing the learner’s sense of psychological safety through a number of interventions. Schein lists a few:
- a compelling vision of the future;
- formal training;
- involvement of the learner;
- informal training of relevant family groups/teams;
- practice fields, coaches, feedback;
- positive role models;
- support groups;
- consistent systems and structures;
- imitation and identification versus scanning and trial and error.
STOP AND THINK!
Think of a recent skill that you had to learn in order to keep up with external changes. This could be installing a new piece of software, or learning about how a new organization works.
- What were your survival anxieties?
- What were your learning anxieties?
- What helped you to change?