Change is emotional

A recent incident at home reminded me of the sometimes extreme challenges of change. I won't go into the incident but it helped me to recollect that individuals change at their own pace.

The business case my be compelling, the organisational rationale all-encompassing etc but at the end of the day individuals have emotional attachments to what currently IS. It is those emotional attachments that we ultimately have to address - the pain of changing has to be lower than the pain of staying put, otherwise what does the rational person do but stay put!
Remember also that sometimes it is the pain of the process, rather than the end-point, that is the challenge. This is an arena not for rational dialogue but for comfort, support and belief that the individual will find their own way through their own pain.

Always remember that effective change leadership is more about the people than the process!