Dealing with resistance to change/findings from teaching challenges

As a coach, you are often in the situation to deal with change resistance. I myself made a small research about an apparently weird resistance - `success resistance``, read more.

In the article I share here, the authors present findings about human learning process, and propose different ways to overcome reluctance to change, but rooted in the very acknowledge of the fact that reluctance is a natural, i.e. legitimate!, reaction of people. As we easily notice, the solutions are quite similar with broad coaching techniques every school of coaching use to train their trainees.

For instance, the fact that`a learner’s prior beliefs can be resistant to change, even when presented with new information`, could be a major cause for failure of many specific training programs.
Teachers solve this problem through: `change our focus by directly confronting common misconceptions (of the learner, my note)`. Well, this is a core coaching technique.

The article emphasis that training (learning) could easily remain ineffective, if they are not integrating coaching tools, or they are not followed by coaching sessions.

Another very interesting point of view could spring from this aspect: ”Research shows that perceived efficacy directly changes “the diligence and resolve with which groups choose to pursue their goals.” Attention, is not about the student perceived efficacy, but about teachers perceived efficacy. This one - as much as it is, or is not! - could be a model for the `recipient`, be he/she a student or a coachee*. I chose the image bellow because it suggests also the ways one could raise the self-efficacy of the learner. Otherwise, as Henry Ford stated `Whether you think you can or you think you can`t- you are right`.

 source: wikispaces . psu . edu

`There’s nothing unusual about our resistance to change—it’s human nature. However, as educators, we can and should take time for introspection, leveling-up our expectations for ourselves and recognizing areas of improvement.` This is also a truth for coaching practitioners!

The entire article here
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* In this respect, I am very proud of my effect - read my self-efficacy - on NESTworking participants: there are changes they start to pursue from the very first session of our workshop, and there are perceived changes reported by their peers or work partners during the learning period. And there are descriptive messages - I receive years after the workshops end  -  about post-workshop benefits they experience in their personal and professional life due to new, more appropriate habits they developed. Their self-efficacy grow!