Chapter 3 Why People Support You and Why They Resist 41
remaining in their jobs will undoubtedly fear that the same thing could happen to them.
Maybe they do like you, but they don’t trust or have confidence in your leadership. I know that’s a hard pill to swallow, but lack of attention to Level 3 is a major reason why resistance flourishes and changes fail.
Your relationship with others who have a stake in the change matters quite a bit. But this is seldom talked about. Books on change often talk about strategies and plans, but most of this advice fails to recognize the fundamental importance of trust in leading change successfully.
In Level 3 resistance, people are not resisting the idea; they may even love the idea. They are resisting you. Maybe their history with you makes them wary. Perhaps they are afraid that you won’t see things through and this will be another “flavor of the month” scenario. Or that you won’t have the courage to make the tough decisions. Or that you’ll be rotated to another assignment before this change ever gets rolling. Or that you are nothing but a yes man for the big boss.
Perhaps it’s not you, but rather it’s that people may resist who you represent. The moment they hear that someone from IT, HR, headquarters, or management is coming to “help,” they get skeptical and afraid (Level 2 mixes with Level 3).
Whatever the reasons for Level 3 resistance, you can’t afford to ignore it. It can make or break you.
Level 3 concerns don’t have to be true in order for them to hinder your ability to get things done. If people believe that you can’t be trusted, they’ll act on that belief until proven otherwise.
Historic animosity can meet conflicting values and vision. Think about the centuries-old conflicts in the Middle East, Northern Ireland, the Cold War in the decades after World War II, and the pro-life versus pro-choice debate. Progress when animosity is deeply embedded can take decades, even centuries, to turn fierce opposition into any semblance of common concern. But witness some of the strides made in Northern Ire- land and South Africa in the past twenty years, and you can see that prog- ress, though difficult, is possible.
The good news for leaders in organizations is that no matter how deeply embedded the animosity is, it’s probably not nearly as entrenched as