Changing the Mood for Change
How to tackle the ‘tough four’ emotional states that make
effective change harder to achieve
Rebecca Collings & Matt Lawrence

Enabling Change
Specific Interest Group (SIG)
The Enabling Change SIG aims to develop and
sustain individual practitioner, team and
organisational change capability by facilitating
access to and exploration of change methods,
standards, case studies and good practices.
© 2022 Association for Project Management 2
Our mission:
Improve the change
capability of organisations,
teams and individuals

Agenda
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Lunch served 12.15
A selection of hot and cold foods will be
served arum simenimi, sus ma verum
aped ullab invelictem.
Afternoon session arrival 13.15
13.30 Speaker name
14.30 Meeting title
15.15 Drinks break
15.30 Meeting title
16.30 Speaker name
17.00 Drinks
1. Introductions
2. Change is Challenging
3. Introducing the ‘Tough Four’
4. Taking a People-Centric Approach
5. Techniques to Unlock and Influence the Mood of Change
6. Conclusion

Introductions
Matt Lawrence
Matt is a project
professional, speaker,
trainer, and a member
of APM’s Enabling
Change SIG.
Rebecca Collings
Rebecca is Director of
Collaboration & Change
at The Nichols Group
and a member of APM’s
Enabling Change SIG

Change is Challenging

The Change Curve
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Frustration
Shock
Denial
Anger
Depression
Experimentation
Decision
Integration
Acceptance
Complete Denial
Hostility
Disillusionment
Fear
Moving on
Threat
Guilt
Complacency
Sabotage
Confusion
Apathy
The Kubler Ross Change Curve

Why is Change Challenging?
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Status Quo Bias
We have a preference to
maintain the current state of
affairs and personal situation
Negativity Bias
We give weight to (and
remember) negative
experiences and interactions
more than positive ones

Why is Change Challenging?
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We openly embrace
some change (pay
rises for example)
However change often
involves uncertainty,
complexity, ambiguity
and loss of control as
the details emerge
If the benefits of
change are unclear or
we perceive the
benefits to be
outweighed by risks
and effort, we will be
resistant
Often it’s the
uncertainty,
complexity, ambiguity
and lack of control that
we resist, not the
change itself

Introducing the ‘Tough Four’
▪ Resistance
▪ Apathy
▪ Fatigue
▪ Cynicism

The Vicious Cycle
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Poorly managed
change
Change
resistance
Less chance of
success
This cycle can
breed change
apathy, fatigue and
cynicism

Additional Challenges?
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Feelings and emotions
are infectious. A small
number of people could
have a big impact
The benefits of the
change may not be
clear at the outset
creating uncertainty
We are often
bombarded by a
treadmill of
different changes
We have developed
negativity bias and have a
natural tendency to
emphasise the negatives

Taking a People Centric Approach

Why being people-centric is important for change
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The COM-B Model
Capability
Opportunity
Motivation Behaviour
The COM-B model of behaviour is
widely used to identify what needs to
change in order for a behaviour
change intervention to be effective.
COM-B is regarded as a useful
diagnostic tool to identify where
barriers to behaviour are.
This helps us to design solutions that
are more likely to influence capability,
opportunity and motivation as needed
to support the change required.

Identify quick wins
Analyse and
understand colleagues
Take a temperature check
An approach to managing the mood of change
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1
2
3
Adapt and evolve
A change approach
4
Key stakeholder considerations
▪ Consider the different roles that people can play and how
to leverage key people (such as your sponsor)
▪ It will take more than one person to change the mood of
the change
▪ Be open and honest about what the future holds –
transparency is key to building credibility
▪ Celebrating quick wins is a great way to build confidence
for the rest of the change

Colleague, people and pulse
surveys
Change Readiness assessment
progress & risks
Conversations, informal office-talk,
water-cooler moments
Change Temperature Check
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People being vocal about the
change & strong disengagement
People data – morale,
productivity, sick leave, stress
Colleagues looking for other
opportunities (and leaving)!
How to tell how people are feeling about change

Change Personas
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Resistors
People who are resistant to
the change and outspoken
Advocates
Highly engaged with
positive views towards the
change
Positivity towards the change
Level
of
interest/vocal
Neutral
Colleagues who are
undecided
Supporter
Will embrace the change
but are not outspoken
Critic
Opposed to the change but
not outspoken

Building support for the change
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Resistors
People who are
resistant to the
change and
outspoken
Critic
Opposed to
the change
but not
outspoken
Neutral
Colleagues
who are
undecided
Supporter
Will embrace
the change
but are not
outspoken
Advocates
Highly engaged
with positive
views towards
the change
Disengaged
People who are unaware of the
change or disinterested in it

Techniques to Unlock and
Influence the Mood of Change
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Leadership & Management
AIM: Articulate the vision and end
benefits with as much detail as possible.
Add depth to the vision as detail
emerges
INTERVENTIONS:
▪ In a complex change environment, make sure
to explain how the change links to wider
changes
▪ Help middle managers to translate that vision
at a more local level so it has meaning for
particular groups
▪ Making sure you have sounding boards and
genuinely listen and respond to the questions
and concerns of staff/stakeholders
Active and visible
sponsorship
Research from the Prosci organisation
has found sponsorship to be the leading
factor influencing the success of change

Communications & Engagement
https://www.prosci.com/resources/articles/sponsor-checklist-for-change-management
▪ Consider the frequency and types of
messaging. Broadcast messages alone won’t
work.
▪ Where possible personally engage for a
richer, more empathetic conversation.
▪ Demonstrate that you’ve listened to people
and that you’re paying attention to concerns
and risks raised.
▪ Find ways to demonstrate how suggestions
have influenced the development and
delivery of the change, e.g. using ‘You Said,
We Did’ boards/forums
For people who resist the
change, something is not
clicking for them
Perhaps they don’t understand
or the vision doesn’t resonate
with them
We need to engage to
understand the ‘why’ behind
resistance
AIM: Frequent, consistent and clear
messaging which keeps people updated
along the journey. Clarify what is and
isn’t certain and what can be influenced

Capability Building & Support
AIM: Ensure that you understand
support needs and have built in time,
capacity and budget to meet these
needs
▪ Use peer support – how do the people on the
right help to engage, encourage and give
confidence to those lower down the scale? For
example, champions can be used to translate
the vision at a local level to help people
understand and buy into the detail.
▪ Some organisations create formal change
agent networks to help the develop and
articulate the detail of the change and ensure it
can be adopted in their area of the organisation.
They can act as points of contact.
▪ Ensure you have at least adequate plans to
mobilise the change using staff training, skills
development and other relevant resources. Be
honest about how effective this is and use it at
the right time
Prosci – 10 aspects of change impact

Culture
Education & Empowerment
▪ Colleagues often don’t have a strong
understanding of change.
▪ Consider taking steps to educate
colleagues on the knowledge of the
theories and models that explain our
reactions to change.
Supporting Line Managers
▪ Line managers are key to achieving
successful change.
▪ Consider training and supporting line
managers to manage change effectively
in their areas.
AIM: Treat change as core to the
organisation and take steps to build a
culture that embraces it
▪ Consider the culture of your organisation in
relation to change. How can you help people
to accept, be ready for and able to embrace
change as part of day-to-day business?
▪ Do you recruit people with the right attitude to
and skills to enable change? Could this be
included in job descriptions?
▪ Have you created change-related objectives
for people in every role in the organisation?
This can enable you to manage performance
in relation to change

Conclusion
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Changing the Mood for Change
https://www.prosci.com/resources/articles/sponsor-checklist-for-change-management
Remember – change is always a very personal experience
The organisation doesn’t change – it is the people that need to