Transform Resistance into Lift
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it” –Henry Ford
When stepping out in the direction of your thoughts, ideas and dreams toward transformation, you might be surprised by what you find. As you become clearer and set the headings of your inner GPS, inevitably folks will start to weigh in on the topic. As we talked with Bright Eyes (Change Element 4), some will be excited and add to the vision. Others will come along to challenge and wrestle with your vision. Pull up a seat and let’s talk about it!
Passionately Dispassionate
As you write your vision and make it plain for others to see, feedback will come in many forms. The beauty of writing it down is for others to engage and help to mold it into a viable plan. Once on paper, it becomes ‘the vision’ rather than ‘my vision’ and as such you can separate yourself emotionally from the tidal wave of critique that will come as others engage. You can be passionate about the ideas, plans, hopes and dreams while simultaneously being dispassionate and objective about finding the best way to get there. Keep a curious mindset of discovery. Like reading a good book, it can be fun to discover new information and see how it works together for the greater good. A plot twist can add excitement and depth to the story.
Iron Sharpens Iron
As you share the ideas, thoughts and dreams for the business with others, some may have a distinctly different vision of the future. For the best results, intentionally engage with people who think differently than you do. Cognitive Diversity can help you to see around corners and find issues and opportunities that are less obvious when working with homogeneous groups. Strengthen your ideas by sharing them broadly and seeking feedback. As iron sharpens iron, this is an opportunity to grow. Look at criticism and challenges as opportunities to clarify, strengthen and sharpen the direction of the goals and put a fine point on the destination vision. Do not be afraid of wrestling with the options and sequencing of milestones. Some things may require more data. What data is needed to reach alignment? When vastly different ideas are presented, how will we know the right direction? When we don’t agree, reasonable people can usually chart a course together on what information is needed to reach alignment. With new facts, new decisions and alignment can be possible.
Joining Conference
As the work continues toward a new destination vision, there may be people who seemingly come out of the woodwork in opposition to the plan. It can feel like when a new party joins a conference call, with the announcement ‘joining conference’. Be patient while seeking to understand their complaint. Are they out of the loop and need onboarding? Or do they understand and disagree? Is there new data to suggest a different path should be taken? Seek to understand the concerns and discern if there is a valid complaint or input that must be incorporated into the learning plan. If none is found, it is likely the new parties are processing the change on the horizon and may need more time before aligning.
Disrupting the Status Quo
Some, especially those who are invested in the way we do business today, may not be able to take the leap toward a new destination vision until further along the path. If the new destination vision is truly disruptive, it will disrupt the status quo. Some people, unknowingly, become the voice of the status quo. Take their resistance to change and challenges of the plan to be high praise; the degree of resistance will often mimic the degree of disruption, so expect a headwind when creating a completely new future. The business, as it is currently done, will have antibodies that protect it from veering from the current path. This is all part of the process. Continue to seek to learn, looking for new information and logic. If nothing is new, recognize the resistance as necessary to achieve lift. Face the headwinds and use the resistance to take flight!
