Lions, Tigers & Change, Oh My! Overcoming Fight or Flight Response with Change Management

When presented with danger or a stressful situation we experience what has been called the Fight or Flight Response.  The basic idea is that to combat this stress we either prepare to fight against it or run away.  Also known as "acute stress response" this has been used to explain how we deal with stress from an evolutionary aspect when encountering a predator or other dangerous situation. The response has now been expanded on to include Freeze (fight, flight, or freeze) to account for those who freeze in stressful situations before reacting.  

When we encounter changes in the workplace these same actions occur.  The lack of understanding that comes with change creates a fear of the unknown. This mixed with the normal poor communication that most organizations exhibit and alongside the misunderstandings that we create when we fill in those communication gaps for ourselves creates an event that engages employees in fight, flight, or freeze.  

Much has been written about how to address this stress in the workplace.  Here we will examine how effective change management can reduce the fight, flight, or freeze response of an organization and its employees as they go through change.  As these responses are hardwired there is nothing we can do to eliminate them, but by predicting the behavior and addressing it we can minimize the impacts.  

Fight:

In an organizational setting, the fight response is not exhibited through violence as we would see it in the wild, but instead an open attack on the project and the project supporters. This attack can be verbal, political, or actual steps to sabotage the project.  This fight response is a reaction to the loss of control that the change brings to the environment of the affected employee. Many employees have past resentments, and experiences with similar projects that have failed and are unable to look at this project as a new experience and rightfully connect it to the past experiences they have had.  These failures and the threat towards them make them want to fight to maintain the status quo.  

To address an employee in fight mode the organization must address the loss of control that the change has created in their environment.  The first way to do this is through the effective communication of information about the project. By communicating with the staff, answering questions, and creating a two-way feedback loop we can effectively reduce the swirl that a communication vacuum can create. Next, we need to give them back some of the control that they have lost.  To do this we will share information about the project, explain how their role will be changing as well as where and when they will have opportunities to participate and help control their future.  Finally, we will address the past resentments that are driving their fight response.  At this point, we need to outline where other project have failed and how this one will be different.  Whether it be the formation of a steering committee, the guidance of subject matter experts, or partnership across verticals within the organization, each reason for success needs to be outlined so the employee can see that there is nothing to fear or fight against.

Flight:

The flight response is shown in employees as they choose to not participate in a project that is changing the shape of their organization.  These are the “wait and see” employees who are not on board until they know that everything will work out.  This can be especially troublesome if these employees are in critical roles, as you will need their support and commitment for the project to move forward successfully.  The flight response in employees is based on a lack of trust. These employees may lack trust in the outside consultants who are supporting the change, have concerns about the competence of their superiors and peers to execute effectively, and are hesitant to support something that they have yet to be engaged in or consulted about.  Since they haven’t been a key part of it, they want to stay out of it until they know if it will succeed.  

To address the flight employee, we must rebuild that missing trust.  The first step in this process is establishing the credibility of any outside subject matter experts and defining how this project will be the work of the group to address any concerns about the competence of one person or vertical within the organization. The next step will be to engage them for their opinions and input, even if only at a peripheral level. This will give them a stake in the change and an opportunity to feel like their voice is being heard as an engaged and consulted member of the team.  This group can be the best supporters of a project if you can move them from their initial skeptical role to a project champion.

Freeze:

The freeze employee is often the hardest to address. These employees mean well but will be slow to act, worried about making mistakes and acting without full knowledge. This will cause them to delay the process through exhaustive decision-making and second-guessing.  This employee often has visibility to some of the ripple effects that the project will have across the organization. They can see the areas where there will be more work and where roles may be eliminated. The exhaustion that they and their co-workers already feel from their current duties along with the new work that an organizational change has put upon them can cause them to just freeze. Many experience change saturation with a work environment that is just too much or never feels stable.

To address these employees, we must first recognize that they are overwhelmed and acknowledge the work that they are doing. Positive reinforcement can go a long way to help motivate and unfreeze employees. Most organizations fail in the reward and reinforcement department and few thank-you emails can save a project.  Next, we need to address the saturation that they are facing.  It is unrealistic for an organization to take on eight major initiatives at once, those that do usually fail or end up putting half on a back burner once they realize, often too late, how overwhelmed their employees are.  Backfilling roles, and creating teams to work solely on a single project is one solution, but it is expensive and often not an option for smaller organizations. Instead, we need to engage the freeze group, learn what they know about the impact of this and other projects, and begin adapting the project to address these issues. The success of the project will be determined by our ability to see, share, and prepare for the impacts that the change will bring.

Not every employee will experience fight, flight, or freeze responses, many will be excited and ready to help support a new change in the organization.  Unfortunately, the afflicted employees are the ones that may end up derailing a project. These employees may fall into one or all of these categories at different time during the course of a project. Change Management provides a toolset to address these issues as they arise.  A good practitioner will partner with your organization to deliver content that calms the fighter, engages the fleeing, and releases the frozen. Much of this work is behind the scenes, but it can be the most important aspect of a successful organizational change when done correctly and the Achilles heel when ignored.