How can we deal with people who resist change? How can we get more people to participate in a new approach to safety management? These are the questions I'm asked most frequently at our training seminars and workshops on safety management.
First, let's face the fact that change is unpleasant for many people, and they are apt to react with resistance. Change often threatens our "comfort zones"-those predictable daily routines we like to control. Change brings with it some degree of uncertainty, and it can leave us with less control over a situation. Really, it takes a secure person, a leader, to try something new. A certain kind of risk- taking is needed to lead change, and some people want no part of exploring the unknown.