Tiananmen Square Protests
“The most powerful and ruthless resistance to change will come from leaders who care not for their fellow human beings, but for the status quo and their position of authority"
👏 Happy Friday!
On this day, April 21, 1989, tens of thousands of students and citizens gathered at the Martyr’s Monument in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to commemorate Hu Yaobang, whose funeral was to be the next day. During his tenure, Hu tried to push the country towards a more open political and pro-market economic system, which won the support of many students from the country’s elite universities. The protesters came with a long list of grievances, asking for greater freedom of speech, higher salaries, and controls on inflation. Following Hu’s memorial on April 22, the students presented a list of demands to the government. They were rejected. This was the beginning of the mass demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, prior to the Chinese government declaring martial law in May of the same year, which led to the June Massacres. On June 4, 1989, the Chinese army used gunfire to break up a peaceful protest in Tiananmen Square, wounding and killing many hundreds, possibly thousands, of demonstrators. The final death toll will probably never be known.
✅ Many people still remember one of the most iconic photographs in history, taken by Jeff Widener on June 5, 1989, a day after Chinese troops began violently cracking down on pro-democracy demonstrators. The photo shows an unknown man who risked his life demanding democratic reform in front of four tanks belonging to China’s People’s Liberation Army. Known as “Tank Man”, the protester’s identity has never been verified, and some believe that he was executed for his actions. While personal freedom has increased in the 21st century, China is still opposed to democratic reform, and both the photo and the events at Tiananmen Square are subject to media censorship. Change professionals trying to implement organisational change will often meet leaders who have something more important than the change goals, they want to keep the status quo. Powerful and Ruthless Leadership Resistance.
“The most powerful and ruthless resistance to change will come from leaders who care not for their fellow human beings, but for the status quo and their position of authority"
👉 Change resistance is inevitable, ignore it at your peril! Resistance is the reaction by the organisation, departments, or individuals when they perceive that an organisational change coming their way could be a threat to them. Without further awareness and understanding, this resistance will cause fear. It will trigger actions that negatively impact the pace of organisational change implementation, adoption of new ways of working, and benefit delivery. Change resistance can be a major obstacle to achieving change adoption and benefit realisation.
Have a fantastic weekend with the ones you love and care for, enjoy some fresh air, exercise, eat, drink and be happy.
Further Reading: Change Management Handbook - Leadership of Change Volume 3.
Peter consults, speaks, and writes on the Leadership of Change®.
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Peter F Gallagher is a Change Management Global Thought Leader, Guru, Expert, International Speaker, Author and Leadership Alignment Coach.
Listed #1 by leadersHum Top 40 Change Management Gurus You Should Follow in 2022 (Mar 2022).
Ranked #1 Change Management Global Thought Leader: Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Change Management (2022-2021-2020) by Thinkers360.
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Business Book Ranking
Change Management Behaviour - Leadership of Change® Volume 6, listed among the 50 Books from Thinkers360 Thought Leaders to read in 2022.
Change Management Adoption - Leadership of Change® Volume 5, listed among year-to-date’s (Jul 2021) most popular books on business and technology from Thinkers360 member thought leaders.
Change Management Handbook - Leadership of Change® Volume 3, listed among the 50 Business and Technology Books from Thinkers360 Thought Leaders to read in 2021.
Change Management Pocket Guide - Leadership of Change® Volume 2, ranked within the top 50 Business and Technology Books (Jan 2020) from Thinkers360 Thought Leaders.