Reframing Resistance: Part 2

Any time I see or hear something three times in quick succession, I sit up and realize that the universe is trying to tell me something.  Lately the universe has been talking to me about the fact that welcoming disagreement is an imperative ingredient of effective leadership.

Sign #1:  From Richard Hackman

In the May issue of Harvard Business Review, Diane Coutu interviewed Richard Hackman, Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology at Harvard University and a leading expert on teams.  While the article is titled, “Why Teams Don’t Work,”  Hackman does offer insight into why and when teams do work.  One surprising finding of Hackman’s research is that every team needs a deviant.   According to Hackman,

“Deviants are the ones who stand back and say, ‘Well wait a minute, why are we even doing this at all?”

Hackman argues that deviants open up more ideas and are a great source of innovation.  Of course, the problem is that these very people are often seen as resistant and as troublemakers.

Sign #2:  From Warren Bennis

A month after Hackman’s article, HBR published a piece from Warren Bennis on the topic of transparency.  While the article is worth reading in and of itself, there on page 60 was a sign.  Bennis writes:

“Companies with healthy cultures continually challenge their assumptions.  The work can seldom be done by one person sitting alone in a room; it requires leaders who listen to others.”

The lesson, according to Bennis, is “reward contrarians”.

Sign #3:  Jack and Suzy Welch

The last sign came in the June 8 edition of Business Week.  Jack and Suzy Welch devoted their weekly column to what they call, “The Power of Pushback.”   They write:

“Ideas get better when they’re energetically inspected, batted around by skeptics, and poked and prodded from all angles. . . Everyone has been in a meeting where a solution was improved not just by discussion but dissension.”

Conclusion:

As a driver myself, I recognize that it’s easy to get annoyed when people disagree and it’s tempting to squash dissension.  I think the universe (and business experts) are telling me and other leaders to reframe resistance and appreciate it when people care enough to disagree.  The result will be better in the long run!

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