What if They Ain’t Buyin’ What I’m Sellin’?

Here we are again, Joe Gerstandt and I, exchanging questions and answers.

Joe: We both focus largely on the intangible assets in an organization or community…the things that cannot be easily counted or weighed…things like difference, trust, relationships, culture, etc.  What can we do so that more business leaders come to value these incredibly powerful (but often overlooked) assets as highly as they value the tangible kind?

Mary: There are so many studies out there that clearly demonstrate the bottom-line value of difference, relationship, employee engagement, etc.  I used to think it was as simple as speaking to the toughest customers in their own language, i.e. if they just saw the evidence, that would be enough.  But it doesn’t happen that way.  For the biggest critics, there will never be enough evidence.  Over time I’ve found that it’s very important to assess where the resistance is coming from before expending a lot of energy.  Off the top of my head, here are 4 sources of resistance I commonly see in leaders:

A -  Sincerely don’t see the connection of trust, etc. to the goals/purpose of organization or community
B -  See the connection, but don’t know how to make it happen
C -  See the connection, but are afraid of the personal/professional fallout of supporting
D -  Carrying baggage that will never allow them to advocate this approach

I am reminded of Rick Maurer’s work suggesting that there are 3 levels of resistance to change. My VERY abbreviated take is:

Level 1  – I don’t understand it (the proposed change) – info would resolve it
Level 2 – I don’t like it (the proposed change) – it evokes an emotional response
Level 3 – I don’t like you (the presenter, or what you represent) – my experience is that in this case the resistance is not necessarily unreasonable, but it is hard to reason with

(Explanation of Levels in Rick’s own words here.)

If I go back to the sources of resistance I’ve typically observed and match them up to Rick’s categories, I have this:

A – simply don’t see the connection  - more info may be enough (level 1)
B - don’t know how to make it happen – may need more info, but the resistance may also be charged with an emotional reaction, such as fear of looking stupid (level 1 or 2)
C – afraid of fallout – may be charged with fear of looking incompetent or may be even more charged because of past negative experience when took a risk (level 2 or 3)
D – I’ll never agree, no matter what – could be heavy baggage about what it means to be an employee, e.g. “do what you’re told,” “check personal issues at the door,” “work is not personal, it’s business”

You could probably come up with several other permutations, but my point is this: don’t take the resistance at face value. Rick says some have a tendency to treat all resistance as if it is a Level 1 issue.  But Humans are complex and our reasons are sometimes deep and unconscious. My intent is to do a reasonable assessment.  Determine what I can do about the resistance and whether I have the skill and energy to put into it.  When I find I am spinning my wheels it’s often because I  have underestimated the level of resistance.   And, amazingly enough, at levels 2 and 3, I have found that compassionate questioning and listening go a long way.

NOTE: Find articles on Levels of Resistance and dealing with each in Rick’s online library.

Would you like to get goodies or smart articles like this in future? If so, simply subscribe via email or RSS.

Tagged as: compassion, humans at work, inclusion, listening