There are five kinds of reactions to change. The types of reactions are described through the Diffusion of Innovations Theory as five kinds of people as adopters of change. Innovators, the first group of adopters, are typically only 2. 5 percent of the staff. Early adopters make up 13. 5 percent of the staff population. Early majority and late majority are two separate groups. Of all staff members, 34 percent may fall in the early majority group. The same is true for late majority. Lastly, the laggards are known to typically constitute 16 percent of the staff population (White, “Anticipate Responses to Change”).
White, in her article, “Anticipate Responses to Change,” explains that there are different management approaches for these adoption styles. Hence, nurses who act as change agents must understand their followers before adapting different managerial styles to introduce and implement change depending on the adoption styles of the followers (White, “Anticipate Responses to Change”). The author describes the group categorized as innovators as an example to explain the most appropriate managerial approach for a nurse to use with them:
Innovators love change and thrive on it. They’re the first to recognize problems, they already have a solution that they’ve tried, and they’re eager to share how their solution worked. They base their change ideas on creative and critical thinking, analytical observation, hunches, insight, or scientific literature. Innovators play an important role in the diffusion process. Managers: Identify the innovators in your unit. Think about the staff members who frequently come to you with problems. Have you thought about delegating responsibility
for process improvement to them? Give them a chance and see what they can do. While interviewing potential new employees, glean information on their ability to be innovative. More innovators in a unit might lead to a visionary and progressive environment. (White, “Anticipate Responses to Change”) On a similar note, White describes early adopters as the champions of change who must be approached first with the introduction of a certain change. These staff members can be easily identified in the day to day operations of the healthcare organization.
They have the power to influence as they usually remain positive through transitions, seeing the benefits of change and going along with it (White, “Anticipate Responses to Change”). Because the implementation of a certain change requires that it be promoted, early adopters should be effectively used as promoters. Then again, it is not possible to discount the importance of bringing in opinion leaders to promote the implementation of change. These individuals must be influential teachers whom the staff members recognize as credible (White, “Change Strategies Make for Smooth Transitions”).