Practising Social Change | Issue Three | April 2011 29 - 30

How To Get Going With

by Pat Battle

Contact Details
NTL Institute
1901 South Bell Street, Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22202
email: [email protected] www.ntl-psc.org

Design : © 2011 Silverdot-ag Illustrations : © 2011 James Yang

The practitioner’s journal of The NTL Institute for Applied Behavioural Science © NTL
 Practising Social Change | How to Get Going With... | Pat Battle 29

How To Get Going With

1. What is ‘Resistance’? And what is ‘The Resistance to join me in perfecting and moving the instrument
Style Inventory’? forward. While Don is no longer with us, his memory
lives on through this instrument. The RSI was first
Two principles inherent in the nature of life are used in the 1990s and with each successive year,
change and resistance to change. While change is demand for its use has increased.
normal, the rate of change is not only more frequent
and enormous than at any time in our history, it is 3. When to use the RSI?
also more widely understood as a phenomenon.
Resistance serves the functions of feedback, defense, The RSI may be used in a number of settings. It is
and protection. A silent partner to change, it can suitable for people at all levels of a system - the board,
manifest as attempts to oppose, hold back, and block senior and middle managers, hourly paid and union
efforts to raise awareness or to bring about change. employees - as a developmental tool. Whenever
It may be direct or indirect, overt or covert, verbal or a change initiative is envisioned, it is wise to factor
physical, conscious or unconscious. While resistance resistance into the work. Even when clients profess
is often associated with fear of change and fear of to want the planned change, there is generally an
loss, it is simultaneously a way to maintain change, to accompanying desire to preserve what is familiar.
interrupt the status quo or to slow things down. Concern for the unknown is also a factor to be
acknowledged. The RSI, as a means of understanding
The Battle-Klein-Battle Resistance Style Inventory and appreciating resistance as a natural partner to
(RSI) is a force-choice feedback instrument that helps change, can be used when addressing an assorted
determine an individual’s preferred style of resistance. and sundry range of organizational situations including
There is no right or wrong answer and no better or the following:
worse style.
• Working with Teams
2. What are its theoretical origins? • Coaching
• Counseling
The RSI is rooted in the theoretical underpinnings • Conflict Resolution
of Gestalt psychology based on the work of Perls, • Leadership and development
Goodman, Hefferline, the Polsters and others in the • Relationships with stakeholders
field. Kepner, Nevis, Hirsh, Carter and Lukensmeyer • Stress management
introduced Gestalt therapy theory into organization • Interpersonal skills development
development. From the early days, resistance, noted • Career transition and planning
as the opposite of change, was developed as an • Partnership or Relationship building
integral part of Gestalt work. • Mediation
• Individual and Family therapy
After completing the Organization and Systems
Development program at The Gestalt Institute of 4. How to get going with the RSI:
Cleveland and attending several related programs, I
decided to combine all my learning to create the RSI NTL offers a 3-day laboratory program, Working
instrument. Since I have always valued a collaborative with Resistance, in which participants gain an
approach, I invited Don Klein and Kimberly Battle understanding of the six styles of resistance, and

The practitioner’s journal of The NTL Institute for Applied Behavioural Science © NTL
 Practising Social Change | How to Get Going With... | Pat Battle 30

of working with resistance from a whole-systems people with regard to perception and judgment, so
perspective. They learn to recognize and leverage that the effects of each preference, singularly and in
the types and sources of resistance associated with combination, can be put to practical use. Practitioners
change, and develop strategies for moving forward. can help individuals, groups and organizations
In-house programs for organizations are also available generate new insights which can lead to breakthrough
through Pat Battle & Associates. The RSI has, thinking by seeing resistance, itself, as a catalyst for
however, been designed so that practitioners can change.
use it even if they have not attended a Working with
Resistance laboratory. 6. Where to learn more

The RSI promotes a constructive approach to • The RSI is interpreted in English and French and
individual differences, demonstrating how different can be accessed through NTL, or from
styles react to change. It is important that anyone [email protected]
using the RSI works with individuals and groups to
raise awareness of their resistance style as a way to • Power point presentations are available at
help them become more aware of the impact of their [email protected]
actions in a given situation. Often we think we are
making meaningful contact with others and do not see • The NTL Laboratory, Working with Resistance, is
how our resistance style is preventing real, authentic held every fall and in-house programs can also
connection. be arranged.

The six styles reflected in the RSI are: deflection • Train the trainer programs are available in the US,
(creative shifts of focus); desensitization (blocking Canada and the UK.
the impact of contact); introjection (accepting the
“what is” of a situation without engaging differences); • For more information on any of the above
confluence (‘going along to get along’ for the sake of programs and services contact
peace and harmony); projection (seeing the faults Pat [email protected] or NTL.
of others and not noticing the effect of Self); and
retroflection (holding blame and responsibility rather
than redirecting it to the outer world). BIOGRAPHY

The RSI is culturally sensitive and has been Pat Clark Battle, Ph.D. is a consultant, professor and
used in many parts of the world as a window into lecturer who has worked in the United States, the
individual development: it enhances self-awareness, United Kingdom, Canada, the Caribbean, Malaysia and
thus improving professional and personal lives. It Russia. Her company, Pat Battle and Associates, is an
represents a surprisingly simple and positive approach international consulting firm that supports a broad range
to understanding the different ways people react to of organizations in achieving their goals. The company’s
change. Practitioners and respondents alike find the focus includes executive team building, executive
RSI easy to grasp, insightful and thought-provoking. coaching, conflict management, labor management
Respondents often experience ‘light bulb moments’ facilitation, large systems change, mergers, leadership,
as they explore the different styles. People find the transition management, working with resistance and
learning process enjoyable, the results enlightening, leveraging diversity.
and the framework easy to work with; they report
feeling empowered and equipped with new filters for Dr. Battle has a BS and MS from the Johns Hopkins
interpreting resistance. University, a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland,
College Park and is a graduate of the Gestalt OSD and
5. What to watch out for: Group Track programs. She is a professional member
of NTL and is on the AU/NTL faculty in the MSOD
When using the RSI, it is important to provide a safe, International Residency Program. She is often called
non-judgmental learning environment for individuals to upon as a motivational keynote speaker and conference
be able to explore comfortably their understanding of presenter.
themselves as they relate to the world and to others.
Remember that the RSI is a self-report questionnaire Email: [email protected]
designed to measure individual resistance preferences
and give useful feedback on style preferences. It
focuses on normal populations and emphasizes the
value of naturally occurring differences. Resistance
can be seen by some as unproductive behavior
- prolonged if it is not owned, understood and
experienced by the resistor. The aim of the RSI is to
identify, from self-reporting, the basic preferences of

The practitioner’s journal of The NTL Institute for Applied Behavioural Science © NTL