One of my favorite books on the topic of change management is Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by brothers Chip and Dan Heath (New York: Broadway Books, 2010). The book focuses on the question of why it’s so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our lives and how to overcome this challenge. 
Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems one rational and one emotional. The rational mind wants to make a change, but the emotional system enjoys the existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort – but if it is overcome, change can come quickly.
In Switch, the Heaths’ show how we can all confront this challenge of mind and emotion and make meaningful change in our lives at work or home.
Research, Engaging Applications, and Practical Solutions!
The book strikes a good balance between research, engaging applications, and practical solutions. If you are looking for a better understanding of why change is so difficult and how to overcome common roadblocks, this book is a great read. Let me give one example that I found very helpful. In Chapter 1: Three Surprises About Change, the authors explain that self-control is exhaustible.
The narrow sense of the word, as in the willpower needed to fight vice (smokes, cookies, alcohol)…but a broader kind of self-supervision. Think of the way your mind works when you’re giving negative feedback to an employee, or assembling a new bookshelf, or learning a new dance. You are careful and deliberate with your words and movements. It feels like there’s a supervisor on duty. That’s self-control, too.”
“…when people try to change things, they’re usually tinkering with behaviors that have become automatic, and changing those behaviors takes self-control. When people exhaust their self-control, what they’re exhausting are the mental muscles needed to think creatively, to focus, to inhibit their impulses, and to persist in the face of frustration or failure. In other words, they’re exhausting precisely the same muscles needed to make a big change.
Does this point resonate with you? It sure does with me.
Battle Your Rational Mind
As a facilitator, when I am leading a challenging session with participants who are trying to think in new ways about old ways of doing business, by the end of the day I am mentally whipped, and the participants are tired too. It’s not easy to battle your rational mind that knows you need to make a change, and your emotional self that resists learning a whole new way of doing something; it is exhausting. I think owning and recognizing this reality can help make any change process more manageable because, at the end of the day, you have a bit more patience with yourself and understanding for why this can be difficult.
Switch is a great read, and I highly recommend it.