Overcoming Resistance to Change

The goal of this research was to investigate the impact of change on organizations, in the absence of a preparedness program and to develop strategies for overcoming resistance to change, in the midst of a proposed initiative that has become stalled as a result of mistrust and cynicism. The results of this research suggests a framework of management techniques that will offer leadership approaches to resurrecting a stalled change initiative and overcoming personnel's resistance to a proposed change project, in order for the project to be more widely accepted. A series of personal interviews and focus groups, a qualitative method approach, was used to gather information, gain insight, develop possible strategies, and suggest a framework for moving forward with a proposed change initiative in the midst of resistance. Data was primarily collected from mid-level to senior leadership. In addition, an extensive literature review was conducted to gain insight about known prescriptive methods, previously suggested strategies, and other published similarities and differences in the areas Change Management, Organizational Change, Resistance to Change, Overcoming Resistance to Change, and Organizational Development. It is hoped that the Armed Forces and the Department of Defense will benefit from future development of these proposed change management strategies.