Answer 2 for LDR 615 What types of obstacles/objections do leaders face from stakeholders when implementing change within an organization?
One obstacle that leaders face from stakeholders when implementing change within an organization is resistance to change itself. Issah (2018) states “when change touches on issues close to the hearts of those affected, they will most likely react emotionally due to anxiety or fear of the unknown; Moreover, when change affects the assumptions, values, beliefs, and to a large extent identities of individuals and can make the change recipients reluctant to accept the proposed status”. This insight illustrates that stakeholders resist change due to fear of the unknown or attachment to the status quo. Helpful strategies to combat resistance to change are consistent and clear communication about the need for change, especially how the change will affect them positively. Leaders also need to respond in an emotionally intelligent way in which Issah (2018)suggests by “[using] their moods and emotions and that of others to motivate them to adapt the desired behaviors”.
Another obstacle evidenced by Cheraghi et al. (2023) contends “that a key obstacle to the implementation of change is the culture reported by managers to change, that lack of proper education and guidance is one of the reasons for this”. Reasons for cultural resistance are the change conflicts with ingrained values or norms, lack of understanding by stakeholders not fully grasping the reasons behind the proposed chang, or stakeholders in positions of authority feeling threatened by changes that could diminish their power or influence. Cheraghi et al. (2023) provides a strategy to tackle this obstacle through “the use of appropriate communication; education; feedback, and self-evaluation can be considered a suitable solution to overcome the resistance” (Cheraghi et al., 2023).
The last obstacle leaders face is having limited resources such as budget or manpower. This is evident in healthcare systems where nursing turnover exists and places further constraints on managers or leaders who are trying to initiate change. Leaders who are asking for stakeholders to adopt a new change can place further stress that leads to further staff burnout. Therefore, a strategy to reduce this added stress is to develop a clear plan for resource allocation which demonstrates how resources will be optimized to support the change initiative and how they will. Be prioritized based on their potential impact and feasibility within existing resource constraints. Homauni et al. (2023) recommends “Hospital-level prioritization can be improved by aligning budgeting and planning, combining the clear role of decision-making structures, and applying explicit and formal decision-making criteria”, and it also includes “the following conditional democratic principles: participation/empowerment of stakeholders, transparency, use of evidence, reconsideration, and application/combination of community values”. Though this is a tedious job for a leader, being able to navigate with financial and human resource transparency and with strategic solutions in place for budgetary constraints helps stakeholders build trust and feel secure during a change initiative.
References
Cheraghi, R., Ebrahimi, H., Kheibar, N., & Sahebihagh, M. H. (2023). Reasons for resistance to change in nursing: an integrative review. BMC Nursing, 22(1), 310. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01460-0
Homauni, A., Markazi-Moghaddam, N., Mosadeghkhah, A., Noori, M., Abbasiyan, K., & Jame, S. Z. B. (2023). Budgeting in Healthcare Systems and Organizations: A Systematic Review. Iranian Journal of Public Health, 52(9), 1889–1901. https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v52i9.13571
Issah, M. (2018). Change Leadership: The Role of Emotional Intelligence. Sage Journals, 8(3). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018800910
