In organisational change management, two contrasting approaches often emerge: the common consulting strategy of maintaining neutrality and the proactive stance of advocating for desired behaviours. While both methods aim to facilitate transitions within a company, they differ significantly in their execution and outcomes. Let's have a look at the pros and cons of each approach to better understand their implications for managing people's reactions to change.
The Neutrality Approach
Often employed strongly by consulting companies and ex-consultants, the neutrality approach has delivered consulting bread and butter for decades. The role of a consultant is to provide an objective evaluation of a situation, problem or organisation. This is thought to serve a client's best interests by ensuring recommendations align with goals, principles and ideas rather than interested parties.
You can employ a neutrality approach by consciously acknowledging your own biases and striving to remain impartial. If there are biases at play, declare them up front and then focus on a fair analysis of the situation. Openly communicate your intent to remain neutral, listen actively without judging a situation, and consider multiple perspectives. Look for common ground and find ways to mediate or propose solutions that balance competing interests.
Three Pros of Neutrality in Change Management
1. Maintains Objectivity: By remaining neutral, you can avoid being perceived as biased or favouring certain individuals or factions within the organisation. This neutrality fosters trust and openness among stakeholders.
2. Minimises Resistance: Adopting a neutral stance can help mitigate resistance to change, as individuals may feel less threatened or pressured by external forces. This can create a more conducive environment for dialogue and collaboration.
3. Facilitates Mediation: Neutrality enables you to act as an impartial mediator, facilitating constructive discussions between conflicting parties. By refraining from taking sides, you may help find common ground and reach consensus more effectively.
Three Cons of Neutrality in Change Management
1. Lack of Direction: One of the drawbacks of neutrality is its potential to lack direction or assertiveness in driving change. Without a clear stance or direction, progress may stagnate, and initiatives may lose momentum.
2. Perceived Indifference: Your change audience may interpret neutrality as indifference or lack of commitment from the team, leading to skepticism or apathy towards change efforts. This could undermine morale and engagement within the organisation.
3. Limited Influence: Neutrality may limit your ability to influence behaviours and outcomes, particularly in situations where decisive action is needed to address resistance or inertia.
The Advocacy Approach
Advocacy has been a powerful tool for change in a variety of social, political, business and transformational situations. It's purpose is to influence people, decisions, practices and policies and create a shift towards positive change. Advocacy has been used to create fairer policies, improve lives and enhance access and participation for members of the public and members of organisations.
To apply an advocacy approach, gather facts and data on both sides of the debate and present it compellingly. Leverage personal insights of change, and share stories that provide additional perspectives. Recognise your own assumptions and beliefs, combine these with data and shape your arguments accordingly. Promote equity and seek out opportunities to influence decisions in a way that aligns with agreed change management outcomes.
Three Pros of Advocacy in Change Management
1. Demonstrates Leadership: Advocating for desired behaviours signals strong leadership and commitment to driving change. By taking a stand, you can inspire confidence and rally support for transformative initiatives.
2. Addresses Resistance Head-On: A proactive stance allows you to confront resistance directly, addressing underlying concerns and motivating individuals to embrace change. This can expedite the adoption of new practices and behaviours.
3. Fosters Accountability: Advocacy creates a culture of accountability, where individuals are held responsible for aligning their actions with organisational goals and values. This can lead to greater ownership and accountability at all levels of the organisation.
Three Cons of Advocacy in Change Management
1. Risk of Polarisation: Taking a stand may polarise stakeholders and exacerbate existing conflicts or divisions within the organisation. This can create tension and hinder collaboration, undermining the effectiveness of change efforts.
2. Potential for Backlash: Advocacy runs the risk of triggering backlash from individuals who feel marginalised or alienated by your assertive approach. This could lead to resentment and further resistance to change.
3. Loss of Neutrality: Advocacy may compromise your perceived neutrality and objectivity, undermining your credibility as an impartial advisor. This could erode trust and hinder effective communication with stakeholders.
Neutrality and Advocacy in Change
Both the neutrality and advocacy approaches offer distinct advantages and challenges in managing people's reactions to change. While neutrality promotes objectivity and minimises resistance, advocacy demonstrates leadership and confronts obstacles head-on. Ultimately, the most effective approach may depend on the specific context and dynamics of the organisation.
Neutrality is important for relationship building and advocacy is important for driving change forward. Neutrality is a skill that allows you work across a number of environments and advocacy allows you to share your passion. Developing both approaches skilfully will add to your change management toolkit.
When working in change environments, carefully weigh the pros and cons of each approach and adapt their strategies accordingly to navigate the complexities of your role successfully. Whether maintaining neutrality or taking a stand, the key is to remain adaptable, empathetic, and responsive to the evolving needs of the organisation and its people.
For help working with change in your career, or dealing with change in your organisation, book a free introduction to Agencia Change.