Overcoming Resistance ���to New Ideas

Rachel Davies

Thanks for coming along :-)

Have you picked up any ideas at ACCU that you want to share when

you get back to work?

How will you attempt to do this?

A bit about me

•  Software developer •  Agile since 2000 •  Author of “Agile Coaching”

•  Conference organizer –  XP2011, XPDay, etc.

Hey guys, I just heard about blah-de-blah at ACCU!

It’s cool!�

WTF? How come Bob gets to go to ACCU?�

Ignore him! �

Take 1

Why does no one listen to me? What’s wrong with them?�

What went wrong?

Put Yourself in Their Shoes

Pick your words carefully ..

Invest in Your Idea

Maybe I need to work on this a bit more ..�

What You Can Do

•  Learn more •  Practice •  Share with others •  Look for opportunities to try it out •  Develop a sales pitch •  Sell the problem •  …?

GROW

•  G Goal •  R Reality •  O Obstacles / Options •  W Way Forward Work to build : •  Awareness •  Responsibility

Be an Example

Do it yourself

Hey guys, how’s it been going?

Interested in a lunchtime session

about blah-de-blah?�I think it could help

with our build times.�

Bob! Now we can get that issue

sorted. Blah stuff sounds interesting

but later.�

Take 2

A few people showed up for my session about blah-de-blah but no one’s using it yet. I give up…�

What’s in the way?

Reasons People Resist Change

How do I do that?�

Are we allowed to do that?�

Do we have time? What if it goes wrong?�

�

Not my idea.

Might be hard work.�

Dig Deeper

Hang on! Trevor, you’ve worked here for a few years. What’s your

thoughts on this? �

Take 3

Well, about 6 months ago, we

tried to get time for build automation

but then management got

wind of it. �

No Time!

Permission to Try

Do we have the right tools?

What’s in it for Me?

Motivation

Rewards and punishment only work for simple task and can decrease intrinsic

motivation for knowledge workers. –  “Punished by Rewards” by A. Kohn

Motivation 3.0

Elements of motivation: –  Purpose –  Mastery –  Autonomy

“Drive” by Daniel Pink

•  Relate your idea to a bigger purpose - paint the vision •  Help people see how this will help them grow their skills - time saved

by your idea could free them up •  Give people a choice and get others involved

Share the Vision

Build Trust

T = (C + R + I ) / S Where:

T = Trust

C = Credibility

R = Reliability

I = Intimacy

S = Self-orientation Book: “The Trusted Advisor” by Maister, Green, & Galford

Keep Going

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Involve Others

  Ask people to help solve problems and come up with their own solutions.

  Build up their role in the team, encouraging them to take more responsibility

  Invite them to showcase the work.

Encourage experiments

Share results

Visible Feedback

•  Help the team make information concerning their work more visible –  Passing tests

–  User satisfaction –  Value delivered

–  Work-in-progress limits

Hi. Is this the X user group? I’ve been trying to

implement X but it’s not going that

well�

Take 4

Oh really? That sounds

interesting. Tell us more..�

Practical

Force Field Analysis

Desired change from current state

Force Field Analysis

Remove barriers and amplify forces for change

Be Patient

Further Reading •  “Agile Coaching” by Rachel Davies & Liz Sedley •  “Resistance as a Resource” by Dale Emery

http://dhemery.com/articles/resistance_as_a_resource/

•  Virginia Satir talks about Status Quo http://web.me.com/sbuckbee1/Satirs_Process_of_Change/Status_Quo.html

•  “The Trusted Advisor” by David Maister •  “Managing Transitions” by William Bridges •  “Fearless Change” by Linda Rising and Mary Lynn Manns •  “Leading Teams” by Richard Hackman •  “Influence” by Robert Cialdini •  “Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive” by

Goldstein, Martin, Cialdini •  “Coaching for Performance” by John Whitmore

Contact Me

Email: rachel@agilexp.com Twitter: rachelcdavies

Blog: http://agilecoach.typepad.com/