Change is hard. Here, we discuss some possible responses to change, why change is hard, and provide some ideas for successfully managing a change initiative. Change is managed best when you plan well, prepare your unit, execute, reward, and reinforce. Remember to pick your battles. Focus on the changes that really matter. 

There are Three Kinds of Change

1. Change people want. Sometimes people recognize a problem exists or process is broken. While no change is easy, this is the easiest because most people will be cooperative, even excited about the change.
2. Change people do not want even though they believe will be good for them. Sometimes people recognize a need for change, but don’t want to. Examples: Learning to use a new research software package or technique to remain competitive at the best journals. Here, unit leaders need to encourage the change, but resistance is usually minimal to moderate. 
3. Change people do not want and do not believe in. This is the most challenging situation. Examples: A bureaucratic university policy or procedure change that addresses issues unit members believe is irrelevant to them or a waste of their time. Here, resistance is high and the onus is on the leader to “sell” and encourage the change.  

John Kotter’s Eight-Stage Change Process

1. Create a sense of urgency. When you introduce the change effort, make it urgent and important if possible. Habits are not easily broken; the sooner and more urgently, and more you focus on changing the habits, the more quickly the new desired behaviors or processes will take root. 
2. Build a coalition. Find or develop, gather, and mobilize those who believe in the change to assist you in implementation, modeling, and encouraging others to adopt the change. 
3. Create a vision for change. Make the change a part of the vision. Tie the change to unit and institutional missions, not your own career. Change for the sake of change is disruptive and not easily adopted. Clearly articulating the need for or benefits of a change and how the change improves the unit’s contribution to the larger institution increases the likelihood of change adoption. 
4. Communicate a plan for change. Change attempted with no implementation plan is likely to fail, making future change initiatives more difficult. Unit members are more likely to engage a change initiative when they see there is a clear plan. The plan should provide a sense of the role and contribution of each to the change effort. Role ambiguity that arises from no plan, a bad plan, or a poorly communicated plan decreases the chance of a successful change initiative. 
5. Eliminate obstacles to change. Especially as a unit leader, you have a responsibility to eliminate reasons for people to avoid change adoption. Eliminating obstacles to your unit members’ success is the leaders’ job in general, not just when facilitating change. 
6. Create small wins. Identify milestones along the way to full implementation of the change effort. Celebrate achievements. Thank your unit members for their efforts. Acknowledge their difficulties and struggles in a sincere way. 
7. Build on change. Self- and team-efficacy research shows that success breeds success. Start with small things that are easier and build up to the larger more difficult and complicated change initiatives.  
8. Make change a part of culture. As technology and society change increases in pace, institutions must keep up to remain relevant and provide value to society. Research shows that organizations that embrace change as a fact of life are more creative, successful, and productive than those that do not. A culture that embraces change makes any change initiative easier. 

Source: Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business. School Press. 

Responses to Change

1. Enthusiastic support: Some change is received enthusiastically. Examples: a new travel policy that reduces paperwork; providing staff support for reimbursement paperwork; increasing the stipend for PhD students so you can attract higher quality candidates; hiring teaching faculty to teach less desirable courses; introducing a competitive research funds policy. 
2. Compliance: Some change is acceptable; it does not cause excitement or is not resisted. Examples: the building or a room in it is named for a donor about whom no one has any strong feelings except to be pleased in a remote way that the unit received resources; the main lecture hall is refurbished with new AV that is functional, albeit with a learning curve that requires some training; the trees outside the building acquire a fungus and must all be removed; a new keycard system is installed that changes building access procedures. 
3. Passive resistance: This kind of change is very dangerous. Active resistors are easy to detect. Passive resistance undermines change efforts in more subtle ways. Examples: the institution changes its branding and letterhead and some people drag their feet or never get around to changing their websites, presentations, or document templates; department members are asked to help with a recruitment by contacting and being welcoming to someone holding an offer from the unit and do not or write lukewarm responses or provide undermine information; a quorum is required for certain actions and needed members do not attend. 
4. Active resistance: Some unit members may be vocal against change and actively work against it, even to the point of sabotage. Examples: members of the community leak confidential documents, go to the press, violate the confidentiality of P&T actions, share information that was intended to be held only within the faculty with students and encourage their protests; vocally oppose a funded project with the sponsor or donor.