Change can be stressful, which is why it is often met with resistance. The status quo is familiar and feels safe, so resisting change can help people avoid stress and protect their energy. After the big changes that the pandemic brought to work and life, many people may be quick to recognize change and feel anxiety or fatigue about disruptions. Follow-up conversations with units after the 2021 Employee Engagement Survey indicated change fatigue was also a common source of stress. When people are dealing with significant stress, their strengths can turn against them and become challenging behaviors. That stress may show up on your team in the following ways:

• The problem-solver on your team who is bright and observant can become argumentative or find faults when you ask them to change.
• The analytical powerhouse who makes careful and thoughtful decisions may feel overloaded by choices and concerns, making them unable to move forward during uncertainty.
• Energetic, cooperative, and cheerful people might respond with moodiness and irritation. They may become passive-aggressive or even distant from the team in response to the discomfort change can bring.

Strategies for Leading Change

So knowing change is inherently stressful, how can you communicate about change in a transparent way that puts team members in the right mindset? Here are a few key steps to help limit challenging behaviors and keep strengths at the forefront:

Know your own triggers. You likely relate to one of the examples listed above. As a supervisor, not only are you leading others, but you’re also navigating change yourself. As a leader, the emotions you bring around change can set the tone for your team. Identify your feelings about change. Are you frustrated that it’s taken this long to address the issue? Are you excited about the possibilities? Do you regret an earlier decision? Increasing your self-awareness about your response to stressful situations and managing your emotions during times of change is important. The Quick Guide to Managing Your Emotions outlines small steps that make a big impact.

Make your case. People need to believe that the change will be better and pose less risk than the status quo. Pushing change before this has been accomplished will result in resistance. While every team’s dynamic and work is unique, consider the following tactics to encourage people to understand and positively engage with the change:

The Quick Guide to Influencing outlines these strategies in more detail.

Communicate your vision. Tell a story that has a clear vision for how the change will benefit them, their unit, the department, and the University. This vision gives people something to rally around. Taking a narrative approach can help you avoid jargon and be persuasive.

Acknowledge the past. The change isn’t happening out of nowhere; it’s influenced by where your team has been, what has worked before, and current challenges. What brought your team to this point? What has been difficult and what will improve as a result of the changes? What connection does this change have with accomplishments and challenges your team has faced in the past? Emphasizing continuity builds support for change. 

Celebrate the early wins. Your team is undergoing a lot of stress during change, and it can be harder to see what’s going well. Point out the benefits once changes happen and recognize team members’ contributions to these gains. These tiny celebrations create momentum, boost confidence, and can reduce anxiety. The Leadership Insights issue on recognition highlights several factors to consider when providing recognition to team members.

Set realistic expectations. Even if you use all these strategies, change still feels strange and isn’t easy. It’s a learning process for you and your team. Let your team know that it won’t be perfect and you aren’t expecting perfection. This demonstrates that bumps along the way are expected, and small hiccups don't mean the change isn’t working. It is a process that you are all working through together.

• Rational persuasion – focusing on numbers, logic, and rationale to get the support you need
• Consultation – ask questions to identify interests, shared goals, and assumptions, and consider their input
• Inspirational appeals – aim to identify shared values and goals, and describe the vision for future work and benefits
• Coalition-building – building relationships throughout the organization, leveraging people’s experience and expertise

Key Points

• Change is stressful and can impact teams and individuals in various ways. Understanding the personalities on your team will help you recognize changes in their work and/or attitude.
• Know thyself. Everyone has situations or actions that provoke them, including you. Understanding your behaviors and their possible impact on the team can help you see a more accurate picture of what's happening on the team.
• Set realistic expectations. Change takes time and can often be messy, even when everyone has the best of intentions. Errors and missteps are part of change. Make sure to team members know you are there to support them.