The Lean Enterprise Institute recently noted the results of a poll on the biggest problems faced during the implementation of lean initiatives. One of the most frequent answers was: resistance from mid-level managers.
We are all resisters. We stand at the barricades of our thought systems fending off, ignoring and otherwise resisting myriad ideas, products and just plain “stuff” every day. The issue is not whether we resist but what we resist. We resist when we assume that something doesn’t contribute to what we care about, when we fear that we will have to give up something that we want or because we don’t understand something that is being offered.
Since we are all good at resisting, the question is not, “How do we overcome resistance?” but rather, “How do we pull inspired thought to the things that matter to the organization?”
Here are some things to remember.
Stay with Pull
You can persuade, cajole, threaten, bribe (yes I said bribe as in: “I will do this for you if you get on board.”) or you can use force or coercion. You can dictate and enforce … but none of these will create buy-in. They may even send resistance underground and create compliance if that serves the interest of the person who is resisting.
Compliance, although it may look good to the observer, comes at a high price. The price of compliance is that although you may get good enough you will not get the margin of difference … unless you want people to get good at “going along to get along.”
Instead, start by creating pull instead of push. This is the attraction or influence people experience in response to something that matters to them. Gripping sources of pull are those that have compelling values. They are squarely focused on big value to the customer or client and create stretch for the organization; they are inclusive; they rise above differences. Therefore, they pull unity of purpose.
Whether you are engaged in change management or a lean initiative, ratchet up the significance of the initiative as it relates to the success of the company and nest the lean initiative within that context
Use It as an Opportunity to Create the Margin of Difference
Move toward the resistance with appreciation. Respect the fact that we are all resistors of those things that don’t matter to us and listen for what does matter.
Embedded within the static of resistance is often information which, if incorporated, could seed a dramatic shift in the quality of the initiative. Look for and pull the ideas and concepts which, once surfaced, push the boundaries of current thinking. It may take some patience as you listen through resistance. When someone says, “This will never work.” An appreciative response would be “What would have to change in order for it to succeed?” The byproduct of using pull of course is that as soon as people begin to make a valid contribution they begin to own it.
Teach the Tools of Pull
The margin of difference begins with developing mastery at distinguishing between what to resist and what to pull. Train people to notice what they are pulling and help them understand that their experiences reflect what they have pulled. Therefore, the quality of business processes, the nimbleness of social networks, the quality of relationships within those networks, the quality of conversations, the engagement processes and the quality of individual thinking and work processes all reliably reflect and are pulled by individual and collective beliefs, intents and purposes.
So when you are faced with resistance, start with pull. Pull big purpose, pull embedded ideas nested within resistance, and then teach the individual skills that enable people to continuously discern and choose what they will pull.
I would like to hear your thoughts about what creates and drives resistance and how you have dealt with it.