Across any change process, we all have multiple, conflicting thoughts and emotions. Part of us feels excited about a new challenge, but another part of us is anxious or skeptical. One of our key stakeholders may express optimism about the future, but then note dismay soon after. Our specific objections to a change might vary from day to day — and even seem in conflict with one another.
Many prefer to ignore the negative parts — whether within us or others — hoping that they’ll go away. However, ignoring these parts of ourselves often just leads them to clamor to be heard and go on overdrive, leading to high conflict. Additionally, each of the parts within us has something valuable to teach us about how to ensure the change is successful.
After conversations with hundreds of leaders about the difficulties of leading complex change, I developed the Conflict Foresight Model as a way to get ahead of potential conflicts, using stakeholder concerns (i.e., the many different elephants within all of our heads) to improve — rather than impede — change leadership. Scroll through the slides below to learn more.