You're facing resistance from key stakeholders. How can you navigate change effectively?

Facing resistance from key stakeholders is a common challenge in implementing change. Understand the Resistance Build a Strong Case Involve Stakeholders Build Trust and Relationships Provide Support and Training Manage Resistance Effectively Be Patient and Persistent Change is often met with resistance. By understanding the reasons for resistance, building strong relationships, and providing support, you can increase the likelihood of successful change implementation.

One thing I have found helpful in my experience is, for any change it is really important to bring the key stakeholders in the journey from the beginning, value their inputs and bring pros and cons on the table. If they are part of your process, you can navigate better and they can be your champions of change. While not everyone will be pleased but resistance will reduce and they become your voice. Another important point is to monitor the progress of the change with them and learn from experiences, failures or challenges and successes and appreciate everyone in this process. Change is inevitable, you just need to keep communications open and transparent. Personally I believe, every change is an opportunity.

É impossível que haja solução dos problemas se as dores das pessoas não foram identificadas e entendidas. Pratique a escuta ativa e seja empático, não julgue as pessoas. Entenda o que sentem e como pode ajudá-las. Essa abordagem de compreensão e acolhimento é fundamental para que o líder traga as pessoas junto de si para, juntos, alcançarem os objetivos.

My opinion for this is to actively engage stakeholders early in the process. By understanding their concerns and incorporating their feedback, you can build trust and reduce resistance. For example, in a finance project, presenting data-driven benefits of the proposed change and addressing potential risks transparently can help win stakeholder support. Regular updates and open communication ensure stakeholders feel involved and valued, facilitating smoother transitions and more effective implementation.

Sendo comunicativo e assertivo. Entender as raízes da resistência e comunicar claramente os benefícios da mudança destacando como ela atenderá às necessidades e objetivos de todos os envolvidos.

How can we help stakeholders to understand our ideas and help them to agree with the need for a change? Storytelling will work in some situations, especially involving outside-the-box ideas. For most ideas and situations, though, communication needs to be kept concise and clear. If your proposed change is too complicated to articulate to your stakeholders, it would be wise to revisit the idea and see if it can be simplified. Complex ideas are hard to explain and may be less likely to withstand scrutiny from key stakeholders. Being able to clearly and concisely articulate change will improve the chances for a proposed change to be accepted by your stakeholders.

Being open for the conversation and sharing your experience and knowledge in order to engage stakeholders is one of the best ways to overcome resistance. In my personal experience, when you face resistance from stakeholders it means they don’t understand the value of the contribution and the real outcome of it. If there are no personal intentions then it is possible to reverse it by providing a good example of yourself, willingness to offer help and open conversations to understand where the resistance is coming or hidden and how together we can support each other to make it work. Overcoming obstacles shows importance and value itself. Eventually efforts would be paid off.

Transitioning through change can be daunting. To support stakeholders effectively, offer not just training and resources, but also emotional support through counseling or stress management. Being approachable and creating a space for open dialogue can build trust and ease resistance.

Fazer parcerias estratégicas é muito importante em qualquer situação, mas esse conceito ganha muita força em cenários como esse. Quando as pessoas se mobilizam para mudar o status quo, elas conquistam um poder e influência que não conseguiram sozinhas, criando algo melhor para todos e conseguindo respeito e admiração pela coragem e habilidades de articulação.

One thing that would be helpful from my experience is to understand what’s in the “status quo” for each stakeholder group. In case of resistance, this means finding out what about the status quo they’re concerned about missing and what makes it important from their point of view. I would then do a combination of the following: - Communicate how their concern is addressed by the change being introduced - Ask them how they would approach the change to ensure the organizational vision is realized while their concern is being met - Connect them with a change champion who comes from a similar background for a more aligned perspective on the situation It all comes down to giving stakeholders more ownership of the desired change.