K+E Reasons for Resisting Change

• People focused, hard to apply to other situations
• Kotter and Schlesinger identified the four most common reasons for resisting change
• Parochial self-interest

  • A desire to not lose something of value
  • e.g. some people are only concerned with the implications of change from their own perspective
• Misunderstanding and a lack of trust

  • A misunderstanding of the change and its implications, which is often the result of poor communication or inadequate information
• Different assessments

  • where employees assess the situation differently from their managers or those initiating the change
• Low tolerance for change

  • people resist change as they fear they will not be able to develop the new skills or behaviours that will be required of them once the change is complete