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Volume 4.9 Table Of Contents
- Tip: Find Unexpected Opportunities By Embracing Stakeholder Resistance
- Trend Watch: A Rise in Generational Diversity Can Lead to New Insights and Ideas
- Digging Deeper: Uncover Assumptions (Yours and Theirs) to Break Through Resistance
- Ask the Expert:
Find Unexpected Opportunities By Embracing Stakeholder Resistance
One of my favorite quotes is "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity" by Albert Einstein (you can see a unique application of it by visiting my blog). This quote especially applies when employees, customers, suppliers, outsource providers and other stakeholders resist your strategy or plans. In fact, learning to embrace the difficulty of others' resistance can actually lead to unexpected opportunities for growth. Rather than getting hooked into a battle of wills, stay centered and use the following three steps:
First, learn to recognize all of the signs of resistance - those that are indirect as well as the more obvious push back. For example, has someone agreed to take action but is always "too busy" to live up to his or her commitment? Because the person is generally apologetic and there's no apparent conflict, it's easy to overlook or underestimate what is happening. However, the earlier you recognize "lip service" as a form of resistance, the easier it is to address the situation before it spirals out of control.
Once you've determined that resistance is building, the second step is to identify the issues behind what you're observing. I've found that resistance typically falls under one or both of two categories:
- Capability: This may be due to lack of sufficient staffing, systems, processes, finances, knowledge, skill, ability, or conflicting priorities in the organization that leave people unable to devote time to all of their commitments.
- Willingness: Even if people are capable of doing what you want them to do, they must want to do it. The challenge is remembering that individuals and groups may have many motivations for doing the same activity. As a leader, it's essential to understand the needs and desires of your stakeholders (see "Trend Watch" below)
Once you understand the reason(s) behind observed behavior, the third step is to negotiate a resolution of these issues in a way that combines the most important elements of what you need with the most important elements of what your stakeholders need (see "Digging Deeper" below).
For instance, one CEO insisted to me that resistors to his plans were merely "whiners." However, when I spoke with people in the organization, we learned that underlying the complaints were fundamental misunderstandings between both executives and employees. Once executives took the time and steps necessary to clear this up, lines of communication that had been closed for years reopened, new solutions to implementing the plan were developed, and the organization was able to once again advance toward their objectives.
Bottom line:When resistance occurs, embrace it by focusing on finding out the reasons behind the resistance and addressing these underlying issues. Often times, this can result in opportunities for improvement and even better results than expected.
Trend Watch: A Rise in Generational Diversity Can Lead to New Insights and Ideas
Generation gaps are nothing new, but we now have four generations learning how to co-exist - often in the same organization. As a result, executives are reporting a notable increase in clashes and resistance stemming from different outlooks and motivations. However, this diversity also provides a wealth of untapped opportunities.
Sometimes, clashes and resistance from generational diversity can lead to better ways of working together if people take the time to understand the differences in motivations, needs and work styles. For example, I was speaking with an executive in his 50s who was resisting the expressed needs of younger people in his organization for more feedback and encouragement. When he stepped back and considered that the mantra in the 70s and 80s was "No news is good news," and contrasted that with the current mantra of "Here today gone tomorrow" in his company, the executive could better understand where their need was coming from and was more willing to provide his employees with the performance feedback they requested.
Other times, generational clashes and resistance regarding different perspectives about objectives can lead to new insights and breakthrough ideas for moving forward. To benefit from these situations, be sure to discuss:
- Assumptions about the objective: On more than a few occasions, uncovering assumptions about objectives has led to new insights and ideas for accomplishing them that eliminates resistance (see "Digging Deeper" below)
- Expectations and accountabilities: While mutual clarity about "who," "what," and "by when" is essential, an even more illuminating question is "What do you think could get in the way of accomplishing this objective, and how can we avoid this problem?" Enlisting stakeholders in developing contingencies and solutions to problems increases their commitment.
- Measures to evaluate progress and adjust: Resistance can also be minimized if people feel that they're not locked into a course of action and that their input will be used as necessary to make mid-course corrections.
Bottom line: Instead of focusing on the problems of generational diversity, use these different perspectives as a source of information and insight that can lead to new products, services, and ways of working more effectively and efficiently.
Digging Deeper: Uncover Assumptions (Yours and Theirs) to Break Through Resistance
Most resistance about how work gets done can be boiled down to someone (or both parties) getting locked into positions about a particular objective. However, in order to break the gridlock and move forward, the first step is for both sides to uncover the assumptions they've made, and identify which ones are valid and which ones are mistaken.
It's easy to assume that our position about an issue is "right." However, the other person or people involved generally believe that they are also "right." Working together, ask the following questions:
- What needs to be done? Why? Could something else be done to accomplish the same objective?
- Who will do it? Why? Could someone else do it and still achieve our objective?
- Where will it be done? Why? Could it be done somewhere else and still achieve our objective?
- When does it need to be done? Why? When else could it be accomplished and still achieve our objective?
- How will it be accomplished? Why? How else could it be accomplished and still meet our objective?
Bottom line: Upon closer examination, many "facts" are actually assumptions. By working with the resisting person (or people) to deconstruct these assumptions, each side has a chance to correct mistaken thinking and find a new solution that has the best chance of being successfully implemented.
Q: One of
our key suppliers is resisting our new requirement
that they deliver their products to us more frequently.
Shouldn't they accommodate our needs in order
to demonstrate excellent customer service?
A: Of course it would be great
if your supplier would instantly flex to your
needs, and you certainly can choose to work with
someone else if you’re not satisfied. However,
since you seem to value this particular relationship,
it might be worthwhile to understand where your
supplier's resistance is coming from. For example,
could this be a capability issue (such
as, servicing your request would interfere with
serving most of their other customers), or a willingness
issue (such as, they're no longer interested in
having you as a customer because they've decided
to focus on a different market). When you demonstrate
a desire to understand their issues as well as
help them to understand yours, you are more likely
to find a creative solution that preserves the
relationship as well as accomplish both of your
objectives.