Hanlon’s Paradox

When managing people through change you cannot ignore the impact on their self esteem.

People’s ability to change, to learn new ways of doing things, is directly related to their feelings of self worth, their own self esteem.

Knowing this is vital if you are managing someone through change because the act of change itself means they need to take a different view of the world. Cognitive Restructuring is the psychological term.

Hanlon’s Paradox says:

IMPENDING OR ACTUAL CHANGE LOWERS SELF ESTEEM AND THE ABILITY TO COPE WITH CHANGE JUST AT THE TIME WHEN WE MOST NEED TO LEARN.

The paradox is that people with low self esteem need a significant amount of positive comments or praise in order to learn new ways. People with high self esteem need less praise and possibly even a reality check in order to adapt to the new order.

Take a few moments to think about who are the people in your team who might fit into these categories. How might you adapt your behaviour towards them during a period of change?