Employees and middle managers begin to resistance. As the project unfolds, executives see resistance appear in many forms malicious compliance, in your face arguments, even sabotage. The executives respond by pushing the change even harder. They threaten people. The executives resist the resistance.
Employees only redouble their opposition and the war begins.
Our field has created many change methods that respect those who have reason to resist while assisting the organization in its movement toward the new idea. Future Search, the Conference Model, Real Time Strategic Change, Open Space Technology, Technology of Participation, and Appreciative Inquiry are some of the more popular approaches. But these approaches aren't enough. Robert Jacobs, one of the creators of Real Time Strategic Change, sees this focus on events as a disturbing trend. Clients may not see how the event itself fits within the broader context of the change.