In the brief You Tube clip below my colleague Tom describes how organisations with a more mature approach to Change Management can place greater emphasis on Resistance Management. Naturally he provides evidence of this.

It is not, however, just a matter of Change Management maturity. Whether or not you are familiar with these research findings, as a good Change Management professional, you know that resistance to change is natural, simply because change creates doubt and uncertainty. Thus you already focus attention on Resistance Management. You might, however, find it helpful to look upon this in a different light.

Reinforcement and Resistance

Now, instead of seeing Resistance Management as a separate Change Management activity, you should consider it as part-and-parcel of your Reinforcement efforts. Thus, instead of regarding each as standalone Change Management activities, you something called Reinforcement and Resistance Management – or R&R for short – as a new Change Management concept. By linking these too-often separated elements and making Resistance Management integral to Reinforcement you potentially make it less adversarial.

This possibility is enhanced by the abbreviation. If you have ever served in the armed forces you will be familiar with the term R&R and its being short for Rest and Recreation. Or even if not, you may be familiar with it as it seems to have transcended its military confines and become more universally used. Thus you value your week-ends for the R&R they bring to your busy life. Well, despite the different elements now being represented, those original connotations can still apply here.

Remember, Resistance is the tension induced by a change. Thus reducing resistance inevitably reduces tension and mitigating it creates a more relaxed environment. The effects are similar to those achieved from Rest and Recreation, and the term is therefore not inappropriate. Indeed

R&R is just as important in Change Management as it is in ordinary life.