Professional Skills for
Intercultural Leadership

Facilitating Change and Managing
Resistance

Acknowledgement of Country

Aims of the Module
• Build on skills and understanding of intercultural leadership
• Understand and manage challenges in the intercultural space
• Understanding resistance as an inhibitor, or constructive tool of change
• Develop competencies and strategies to engage participants in change

Learning Outcomes
• Determine and understand the reasons to resistance in the IC space
• Apply a range of problem solving models and develop strategies to build influence and support a shift to an IC space.
• Identify strategies to take action with unfamiliar and changing circumstances
• Initiate and facilitate intercultural learning in a range of contexts including the classroom and general work environment.

Change Management

No of people
Change Curve
(ALTC Academic Leadership, 2010))
 People will respond to change at different rates
–
Understand this factor and you can then use strategies to move groups who are slow to change
–
Change agents and early adopters – use them to help shift the group
13.5%
Early Adopters
16%
Resistors
2.5%
Change
Agents
34%
Fence Sitters
Shift Early
34%
Fence Sitters
Shift Later
Range

Activity in Pairs
• Think of some change that has taken place in your life recently or in the past, either in your work or personal life.
• What were your initial responses to the idea of change?

Change Talk and Resistance
(Miller and Rollnick, 2002)
CHANGE TALK RESISTANCE TALK
Disadvantages of Status Quo Advantages of Status Quo
Advantages of Change Disadvantages of Change
Intention to Change Intention not to Change
Optimism about Change Pessimism about Change

Definition of Resistance
• An implicit or explicit act or force that opposes or withstands the introduction or imposition of an idea, view, a differing position, another force, or change.
Unyielding opposition can be evident through either overt or passive resistance
(Hoffman, 2009).
• At best we need to contextualise resistance to a set of forces that stands in opposition to change. What determines resistance and the forms of resistance lie within what is expected to change and for whom is change beneficial.
• Resistance is often seen to be adversarial and the enemy of change (Waddell &
Sohal, 1998:3 in Hoffman, 2009:196).
• However, resistance can also be regarded as beneficial to change… as a constructive tool that encourages new ways of rethinking and re-examining ideas, strategies and purpose of change
(Hoffman, 2009:196).
• People do not resist change per se, rather they resist the uncertainties and potential outcomes that change can cause
(Waddell & Sohal, 1998:4)

Reasons for Resistance (Cognitive)
• The devil I know is better than what I don’t know
• What are the risks if I do nothing?
• What are the risks if I change?
• Am I up to the challenge
• Do I have the skills and competence to deal with change
• Do I have support – who will guide me through this process
• Is this a good idea?
• Hidden agenda
 why the change?
 Who benefits
 Who loses
 Will it be a win-win situation?

Reasons for Resistance (Emotional)
• Ties with something or someone
• Connectivity and bonds of loyalty to the old ways and people who follow them
• Doubt
 Am I up to the challenge
 Do I have the skills and competence to deal with change
 Do I have support – who will guide me through this process
• Comfort Zone
 Maintaining the status quo
• Fear
 what will I lose with the change
 If change is necessary how will it impact on me?

Reasons for Resistance (Behavioural)
• What replaces the old ways
• Give me a model of how it works
• I wont support this change
• I will challenge and question

Case Study
Jandamurra
Criminal, Outlaw or Freedom fighter

Strategies for Responding to Resistance
• Benefit: to expect change there should be a clear & relevant advantage for those expected to change, e.g. professional competencies, societal benefits. Develop a list of values & ideas & test compatibility with the targeted changed
• Education: educate people as to why change is necessary (relates back to who benefits – we all do!) & why are we (yes, all of us) in this position today? Statistics are useful for pragmatics, but stories are useful for conveying/converting the pragmatics into real life situations (Case studies). Be prepared!
• Empathy and Trust: develop empathy as to the advantages change can contribute to others & themselves, e.g., as a health professional isn’t it part of your chosen professional to alleviate suffering, illness & to improve health of all clients/patients? What of the suffering of others? It is important to recognise and validate people undertaking this major leap of faith.
• Grass Roots – basic facts and expectations.
This is the beginning of transformational change therefore does not need to be too complex. People will be at different stages of acceptance, accommodation or resistance so allow for the process in the development of change to occur over time & according to personal attributes.
• Encourage people step by step (you can not unpackage a person’s lifetime of enculturation in a single session or day, even months or a single year). As change occurs new challenges and successes will also present, so adjustments, new information, knowledge and experiences will be part of a continuous progression towards successful intercultural interaction. Failure to succeed is never permanent. Learn by your mistakes and the mistakes of others (e.g. students on practicum's putting what they learn into practice – if you make a mistake admit it and seek ways of improving – don’t give up!)

Case Study
The Dinner Party Conversation

Overcoming Resistance
Six-Stage Approach
(Schermerhorn et al 2005)
1. Facilitation
2. Education
3. Involvement
4. Negotiation
5. Manipulation
6. Coercion
Education, empathy, and empowerment are the successful partners in overcoming resistance to change (Hoffman, 2012).
The greatest path of resistance is enforcement to change, therefore it should be the last resort. If enforcement is considered necessary then success is minimal, if not impeded (Hoffman 2012)

Feedback and Close

Please take time to fill out the evaluation.
Doing so will assist the facilitators and project team to assess how this module worked and if there are any amendments or additions to be made.
THANK YOU

Reference
• Foucault, M. (1978) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the
Prison (trans. A. Sheridan). New York: Vintage Books.
• Hoffman, J.A. (2009) Kalamunda: Change and Resistance.
Doctorial Thesis Dissertation, Curtin University, Perth.
• Hoffman, J.A. (2012) More than Ticking a Box (unpublished)
• Miller, W and Rollnick S., (2002) (2nd Ed) Motivational
Interviewing. Preparing people for Change. Guilford Press:
New York.
• Seymour, S. (2006) Resistance. Journal of Anthropological
Theory Vol 6(3): 303–321 London, Thousand Oaks, CA and
New Delhi: SAGE Publications http://ant.sagepub.com
10.1177/1463499606066