EP 29 - Resistance

In a recession, things are going to change. And change always meets resistance...

TRANSCRIPT

Resistance

In a recession, things are going to change. And change always meets resistance.

Here's why: Your employees have four basic psychological needs. They need to obtain things, protect things, learn things, and fit in.

These are the 4 psychological drives that influence human behavior.

But when things change, the things they've obtained and learned over time are endangered..

And when things change, there's more to protect and new people they have to fit in with!

Change creates “needy employees” because they feel the need to...

Get new things,

Protect what they've got,

Learn new things, and

Fit in all over again.

And that's why they resist! It can be overwhelming!

There are two types of resistance: “active resistance” and “passive resistance”.

When people debate, make excuses and complain, they're “actively resisting”, but

...some people are more “passive aggressive”. They don't debate, they don't make excuses, and they don't complain. They just disengage and take a wait-and-see attitude.

A few things to keep in mind:

The first thing is this: resistance builds momentum, so you've got to deal with it as soon as possible!

The second thing is this: resistance is contagious, so you need to deal with your active resistors first.

And the third thing is this: the best way to do it is with a little “psychological jiujitsu”.

Remember, when people resist, it's because the psychological energy they’ve been using to obtain things, protect things, learn things, and fit in gets upended, so they fight change.

In psychological jiujitsu, you take your opponent's psychological energy, one of those basic human drives, and you redirect it.

You use all their negative psychological energy to your advantage, by simply leading it in a new direction.

Here's how:

Start by empathizing, and people will let their guards down.

Then encourage their honest input. That's the equivalent of sticking your chin out, and inviting their blow.

Now listen intently, because that's how you're going to hear their negative psychological energy. You're going to hear what's on their mind and influencing their concerns.

They just want to get things, protect things, learn things, and fit in, but they don't know how! So you need to catch their blow and turn it in a more positive direction. That’s how jiujitsu works!

Whatever the change is, you can help them see new ways to get what they want, protect what they value the most, learn what they need to, and fit in. That’s what good coaches do!

If you fight their basic psychological needs, they'll resist even more and you'll prolong that battle.

Now, I used a martial arts analogy, but this doesn't have to be a fight! In fact, this is a very positive way to coach people.

You don’t need a black belt to be approachable, open, empathetic and listen! Just redirect their psychological energy in a more positive direction.