Simon Sinek says, when it comes to change, we are ignoring the emotional response.

Change does not occur without emotions! And those emotions need to be surfaced and addressed.

Simon Sinek, author and researcher said that people fear sudden change and that those who manage change should consider the emotional response and give people time to process the change.

I responded to his thoughts and shared my perspective via LinkedIn.

Change is emotional. To reduce fear and resistance voices need to be heard. And equal importance must be placed on change and transition, organizational and individual. People don’t necessarily resist change. They resist poor planning and implementation: when they feel they are being forced or manipulated into accepting the change; when the purpose for change is not clearly communicated or understood; when it doesn’t make sense to those impacted; when people feel unsupported and unheard. They will resist.

Are you thinking…DUH? No crap. People are human and emotional beings, of course, they need the emotional aspects of change addressed and they need to process. We need to clearly communicate and support them to be successful.

Or are you thinking…whatever? Change happens. They’ll just have to deal with it and they’ll get the type of support we (the business) can offer. If they resist we’ll handle them. We’ve got a schedule and budget to keep.

If you think more like the first statement, good! You’re supportive and understanding of the emotional impacts of change on your people. And assuming you’re communicating and planning on how to support your people through change, then your change is likely to carry less anxiety for your people, and you’ll most likely have higher engagement and commitment.

If you think more like the second statement, you’ve got some work to do! Your people are likely to be more anxious and stressed. They’re less likely to give high levels of engagement and commitment. Customer experience levels may decline. And among other things, you probably won’t receive the maximum ROI on your change effort.

So…

Do you agree with Simon’s thoughts and my thoughts?

How do you address the emotional aspects of change and support your people through the process?

About Scott Span, MSOD, CSM: is CEO at Tolero Solutions. As a people strategist, leadership coach, and change and transformation specialist, his work is focused on people. Through his consulting and training work he supports clients to survive and thrive through change and transition and create people-focused cultures and a great employee experience. Through his coaching work, he supports people willing to dig deeper to identify and overcome what’s holding them back, change behaviors, accelerate performance and achieve their goals.