Toolkit Exercise 8.3

Your Development as a Change Agent

Novice change leaders often picture themselves as being in the right and those that oppose them as somehow wrong. This certainty gives them energy and the will to persist in the face of such opposition. It sets up a dynamic of oppositionthe more they resist, the more I must try to change them, and so I persuade them more, put more pressure on them, and perhaps resort to whatever power I have to force change.

1. Think of a situation where someone held a different viewpoint than yours. What were your assumptions about that person? Did you believe they just didnt get it, were wrong headed, perhaps a bit stupid?

Or did you ask yourself, why would they hold the position they have? If you assume they are as rational and as competent as you are, why would they think as they do? Think back to Table 8.2. Are you at stage one, two, three, or four?

2. Are you able to put yourself into the shoes of the resister? Ask yourself: What forces play on that person? What beliefs does he or she have? What criteria is he or she using to evaluate the situation?

3. What are the implications of your self-assessment with respect to what you need to do to develop yourself as a change agent?