CCA Resistance Management & Employee Adoption 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the recommended FIRST step when managing resistance to change?
- Discipline employees who resist
- Identify and understand the root causes of the resistance (Correct answer)
- Proceed with implementation and ignore resistance
- Replace resistant employees immediately
Correct answer: Identify and understand the root causes of the resistance
Effective resistance management begins with diagnosing why individuals or groups are resisting, because the response strategy must address the actual underlying cause.
Question 2: Active resistance to change is best characterized by:
- Quietly complying while privately disagreeing
- Visible behaviors such as voicing objections, organizing opposition, or refusing to participate (Correct answer)
- Taking a neutral stance and waiting to see the outcome
- Asking clarifying questions about the change timeline
Correct answer: Visible behaviors such as voicing objections, organizing opposition, or refusing to participate
Active resistance is overt and observable — employees openly oppose the change through vocal pushback, collective action, or deliberate non-compliance.
Question 3: What is 'passive resistance' in the context of organizational change?
- Publicly challenging leadership decisions in meetings
- Subtly avoiding or delaying compliance while outwardly appearing to accept the change (Correct answer)
- Submitting formal grievances through HR channels
- Refusing to attend any project briefings
Correct answer: Subtly avoiding or delaying compliance while outwardly appearing to accept the change
Passive resistance is covert — employees appear cooperative but slow-walk tasks, omit key actions, or revert to old behaviors when unobserved.
Question 4: What role do middle managers play in managing employee resistance to change?
- They are typically the source of most resistance and should be excluded
- They serve as critical bridges between senior leadership and front-line employees, translating and reinforcing the change (Correct answer)
- Their role is limited to approving budget adjustments
- They are responsible only for technical implementation tasks
Correct answer: They serve as critical bridges between senior leadership and front-line employees, translating and reinforcing the change
Middle managers are pivotal change intermediaries who communicate vision, address concerns, and model new behaviors for the employees they lead.
Question 5: The 'incremental change' approach helps reduce resistance primarily because:
- It avoids the need for any stakeholder communication
- Smaller steps feel less threatening and allow employees to build confidence and momentum gradually (Correct answer)
- It eliminates the need for leadership sponsorship
- It reduces the total cost of the change initiative
Correct answer: Smaller steps feel less threatening and allow employees to build confidence and momentum gradually
Breaking change into manageable increments reduces the psychological disruption employees experience, lowering resistance by making each transition feel achievable.
Question 6: Which Prosci model specifically addresses managing individual resistance through the change journey?
- Kotter's 8-Step Model
- ADKAR Model (Correct answer)
- McKinsey 7-S Framework
- Lewin's Force Field Analysis
Correct answer: ADKAR Model
The ADKAR model (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) provides a structured framework for diagnosing and addressing resistance at each stage of an individual's change journey.
CCA Resistance Management & Employee Adoption 1
What is the recommended FIRST step when managing resistance to change?