Handling emotional reactions to change.

It's been so aggravating. Finally, in the last six months or so, we have been getting to the point where we're really changing how we do business. But it's taken years. Not weeks. Not months. On a day-to-day basis, it feels like bowling in sand. (1)

Our previous columns described the importance of creating a clear vision, building a compelling case for moving in that direction, facilitating the transition through supportive systems, structures and culture, minimizing resistance and developing the sponsorship required for long-term success.

While these all represent important ingredients in successfully moving people through transitions, the change process typically takes time even when it is well managed, as people deal with the emotional stages of transition. These emotional reactions have been described as closely resembling the death and dying stages identified by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her study of terminally ill patients. (2)

People typically pass through identifiable transition stages. While these stages take time, which is frustrating, they also provide leaders with opportunities. As people move from present conditions into new beginnings, the opportunity exists to let go of the past, envision a new future and become comfortable with the thinking and behaviors appropriate to success in the new environment.

The amount of resistance evoked by a change is a function of the degree to which that transition is disruptive to the recipients. Even transitions we look forward to such as a move to a new city or new job are disruptive and frequently disappointing as unexpected information comes to our attention over time.

When we initially believe upcoming changes are not necessary or not advantageous to us such as new job requirements, restructuring, or a new compensation system, resistance is typically even stronger as we search for information proving we were right.

Diagnosing emotional reactions

Individual emotional reactions to change typically go through a predictable set of phases including naive confidence, denial, informed hopelessness/depression, informed hopefulness, and confident completion. (3) It is important to expect, understand and manage the transitions of people through these phases.

Completely avoiding unpleasant stages is unlikely, and people may at times regress to earlier phases. For example, there is something enchanting about returning to the world of optimistic naive confidence, forgetting current challenges by moving from one faddish idea to the next--such as from empowerment, to quality initiatives, to re-engineering, to mergers, etc.--rather than ever completing the emotional cycle for any one of these initiatives.

Unfortunately, pursuing each of these new fads regularly moves people back into the cycle of difficult emotional states that must be managed if you are to achieve long-term success.

People may begin a transition in a state of naive confidence, denial, or informed hopelessness/depression. When they are naively confident, one hears it reflected in statements such as, "Things are great. This will really work." If in denial, they are more likely to express it through withdrawal or statements such as, "This doesn't really mean us. These problems will never come to our part of the world."

When they are experiencing informed hopelessness/depression, it is not uncommon to hear people say things such as, "I gave my all and now look what I get" or "We should have never done this. I told them...."

As the reality of new information becomes available, people who were originally naively optimistic often realize that things are not going to be quite as easy as they expected and those in denial are forced to recognize that much work lies ahead of them. Reactions typically include anger, attempts to bargain and complaints, as informed hopelessness/depression replace the earlier states.

Eventually when anger, bargaining and depression produce limited improvements in conditions, pain can drive people toward a willingness to explore new options. When encouraged by effective leadership, people can begin to recognize that part of the situation may actually work and that they may survive. This provides the foundation for a movement toward informed hopefulness and signifies both an improvement in psychological conditions and the increased likelihood of implementation success.

While this is a time of confusion, new responsibilities become increasingly clear, initial successes occur and there are periods of actual excitement and exhilaration. From this base, the opportunity exists to move toward confident completion, a time of high satisfaction, teamwork and optimism.

Managing emotional reactions

Leaders can influence the severity of and the amount of time spent in each phase. After diagnosing the phase particular people or groups are experiencing, specific actions can be taken to supportively move them forward to the next phase of the emotional transition.

Providing what is needed for people as they pass through these phases can reduce the energy costs of transitions. Each phase requires a different set of leadership responses. Fortunately, a number of specific prescriptions exist about how to manage people during each of these emotional phases.

Figure 1 lists leadership steps useful in each phase of emotional transition and provides you an opportunity to assess the degree to which you have done what is needed to effectively move your people forward. (3)

When the people who must alter their behavior experience being supported in moving through the emotional reactions to change, implementation success is more likely to occur. However, leading change is demanding and may well require that you successfully delegate responsibility to others.

Edward J. O'Connor, PhD, is principal with the Implementation Institute, a professor of management and health administration at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center and a member of the faculty of the American College of Physician Executives. He can be reached by calling 303-573-1273 or by e-mail at [e-mail].

C. Marlene Fiol, PhD, is a professor of strategy and health administration at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center. She can be reached by phone at 303-556-5812 or by e-mail at [e-mail].

References

1. Powell B. In A.B. Fisher, "Making change stick." Fortune. April 17, 1995.

2. Kubler-Ross E. On Death & Dying. New York: Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, 1969.

3. O'Connor E J and Fiol C M. "Creating a roadmap for leading change," In J. Lowery (Ed.), Culture Shift: A Leader's Guide to Managing Change In Healthcare. Chicago: American Hospital Publishing, Inc., 1997.

By Edward J. O'Connor, PhD and C. Marlena Fiol, PhD

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RELATED ARTICLE: Characteristics that Separate Winners from Losers

Describe your efforts to deal with emotional reactions to change using the following statements. Respond to each item on a scale ranging from Never 1 to Always 5.

People experiencing naive confidence would say that I effectivley:

1  2  3  4  5  Get change projects started
1  2  3  4  5  Involve participants/gather perspectives
1  2  3  4  5  Develop realism about the future
1  2  3  4  5  Begin measuring results

People experiencing denial would say that I effectively:

1  2  3  4  5  Strengthen relationships
1  2  3  4  5  Provide information from diverse sources
1  2  3  4  5  Focus on first steps
1  2  3  4  5  Avoid confrontation

People experiencing informed hopelessness/depression would say that I effectively:

1  2  3  4  5  Acknowledge reality
1  2  3  4  5  Obtain needed information
1  2  3  4  5  Make adjustments
1  2  3  4  5  Demonstrate commitment

People experiencing informed hopefulness would say that I effectivley:

1  2  3  4  5  Continue the process
1  2  3  4  5  Acknowledge/celebrate/reward success
1  2  3  4  5  Build confidence
1  2  3  4  5  Remove remaining barriers to success

People experiencing informed confident completion would say that I effectivley:

1  2  3  4  5  Celebrate and reward successes
1  2  3  4  5  Maintain the gains
1  2  3  4  5  Identify next opportunities
1  2  3  4  5  Apply learnings to other transitions

How does your leadership look when compared with this list of winning practices? If some, but not all, of these critical steps are in place, results are likely to be inconsistent and the process of change highly frustrating for many of the people involved.

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