How Listening to and Respecting “Resistance” Makes You More Effective

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The other day, I posted Episode #289 of the podcast, in which Kathleen Sharp and David Schoenwetter made some great points about respecting “push back” or “resistance to change.”

I've now posted a PDF summary of the podcast and you can read some of the thoughts here in this comment.

Kathleen also posted a comment where she shared some additional thoughts:

“In my view, resistance not something to be “overcome”, rather, I consider resistance as additional information (albeit in an unpleasant form). Resistance can signal lack of clarity in messaging, a need for focus, and/or gaps that need to be considered.

It took years for me to learn to view resistance that way, and it has helped me become better at change management, providing focus/clarity, and driving improvement.

I consider resistance as part of the voice of the process . “Overcoming” resistance muffles that voice. IMHO it's worthwhile to take the time to listen to the information it's providing.”

Her thoughts inspired me to write this piece on LinkedIn (and you can also read it on Medium.com):

How Listening to and Respecting “Resistance” Makes You More Effective

I hope you enjoy it and that you'll comment on LinkedIn or below in the comments section of this post.


Please scroll down (or click) to post a comment. Connect with me on LinkedIn.
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Mark Graban
Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker, and podcaster with experience in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. Mark's latest book is The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, a recipient of the Shingo Publication Award. He is also the author of Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, and the anthology Practicing Lean, previous Shingo recipients. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.

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