Resistance is one of the challenges encountered by leaders at every level of organizational authority. At the individual level, resistance to leadership may typically be primarily a manifestation of interpersonal psychological factors and social relationships and skills. At the departmental or business unit level, resistance to leadership may typically be related to matters of substantive differences in strategic or operational concerns; they may also involve various other issues such as displaced responsibility, groupthink, or reflect elements of social or doctrinal subcultures in the vocational environment.
At the organizational level, resistance may include some of the same elements of resistance at the departmental level, as well as more general concepts of social psychology and group relations. In that regard, the prevailing aspects of organizational culture are also significant potential sources of resistance in circumstances where leadership directives conflict with well-established organizational philosophy and practice.
Resistance at the Level of the Individual
The most frequent cause of resistance to leadership at the individual level generally relates to employees who have not (or have not yet) fully undergone the process of organizational socialization (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2003; Myers & Spencer, 2004). In some cases, that resistance may be insurmountable, such as where the individual employee is not psychologically vested in the organization because he views the position as temporary rather than as a point on a career track with the organization (Blair, 2003).
The other principal source of resistance at the level of the individual employee is a function of ordinary interpersonal psychology and social skills (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2003; Myers & Spencer, 2004). To a certain extent, skilled leaders can resolve resistance arising as a function of interpersonal skills; where resistance in the vocational environment is simply one manifestation of more general issues of personal behavior of the individual, they are less likely capable of resolution even through effective leadership (Blair, 2003).
Resistance at the Level of the Department, Team, Business Unit, and Organizations
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