Professionals — both at the individual and team levels — can be set in their ways. Born from personal experience, people who maintain rigid modes of operations often do so from a place of best intentions. However, when individuals or teams cannot look beyond their own ways of operating, it can be damaging: Companies need people to work together and compromise in order to complete tasks and achieve larger goals.
One way to get past pushback is by building trust, something that can be quite tricky to do. To find what works, we asked 14 members of Forbes Coaches Council to share their best approaches. Here's what they advise you try:
1. Create A Safe Environment
Change is difficult for many when they are set in their ways. Fear of the unknown is often a motivating factor. People need to feel secure in their decision to move forward, free from judgment and free to make mistakes as they take that first step out of their comfort zone. When the leader is vulnerable, it creates a safe environment for all to explore new possibilities together. - Dianne Reilly, Leadership BEST Solutions
2. Invest Your Time In People
Listen to understand and not to respond. Focus on people’s strengths and work toward team alignment where everyone's strengths complement each other in a way that overcomes their challenges. Trust doesn't happen overnight. Trust is something one works on and develops over time. Invest your time in people and trust will follow. When you push back, do it thoughtfully and respectfully. - Jorge Gutierrez, BMOC GROUP
3. Use The S.A.L.C. Model
As an experienced coach, I work with teams on a model called scale adjusted latent class to build trust. It not only builds team cohesion, but it increases productivity, conceptualization and co-learning. - Denise Trudeau-Poskas, Blue Egg Leadership
4. Do What You Say
Spend time with the person or people, and do what you say you are going to do. Try to find similarities. People like and trust people who are like them. This comes from our caveman days where similar equaled safe. Consider using a statement against self-interest. A genuine comment like this signals to the other side that you have their best interest at heart. - Andres Lares, Shapiro Negotiations Institute
5. Communicate Respectfully
Building trust requires respectful communication. The other person must know that you hear their point of view and that you understand what is important to them. Once you have demonstrated that you understand where they are coming from, then you can share your point of view and ask them what they see the solution moving forward to be. In this way, you are co-creating a collaborative space. - Angela Mulligan, Angela Mulligan Consulting + Coaching
6. Make It About The Customer
Acknowledge how change and new thinking can be uncertain. Help them understand that corporate culture sometimes inhibits innovation and change as this requires failure. The corporate environment is not set up for failure. Focus them on the customer journey and outside influencers that are driving customer experiences. Make it about the customer. Be helpful about meeting new customer expectations. - Patrick Antrim, Legendary Teams
Read more in Eight Questions To Answer To Get On The Path To Customer Centricity
7. Create An Environment To Build Trust
To build trust between people or teams, start by thinking about what experiences you've had with the people you trust the most at work. This is probably a big project, a tight deadline or overcoming the odds. To build trust or re-build trust with someone you are working with, consider creating an environment where you could have an experience that would create a similar sense of trust. - J. Ryan Williams, SalesCollider
8. Push Past Old Habits
One of the greatest challenges we face is pushing past the old habits that have helped to establish success in the past but are no longer helping us to pursue success in the future. To help my clients buy into new approaches or methodologies, we spend time looking at what has served us previously so that we can feel good about where we were, and confident to try new approaches in the future! - Alexandra Phillips, Alexandra Phillips Consulting
9. Show Up And Lead By Example
In government agencies, ways to gain trust of staff are limited. I recall a situation where there was a massive water main leak in Manhattan One and the underground subway station was flooded to the ceiling. After water was pumped out, thick muck covered the platform. The VP of the entire subway was in a tee shirt early on a Sunday sweeping the platform. That was true leadership that garnered trust. - Tom Scarda, CFE, The Franchise Academy Powered By FranChoice
10. Seek To Understand Their Commitments
When a colleague appears stubborn to change, don't resist their resistance. Instead, seek to understand what deeper forces might be at play. Could they be afraid about their job security or losing relevance? Might they have core values that feel threatened? If you can explore what their deeper commitments are, instead of judging them, you can build trust and find a shared vision together. - Erin Rocchio, Erin Rocchio Consulting
11. Reflect On Reasons For Past Pushbacks
Trust can be built by creating a safe space for honest and open communication. One must be able to discuss concerns as well as objectives without judgment. An effective way will be to reflect on the underlying set of beliefs and patterns that led to the past pushbacks. - Dris Mhammedi, The Body & Mind Coach
12. Be Authentic And Communicate Openly
Trust is critical. Open communication is huge as is being human and authentic as a leader. Let them see that we are not perfect. On one team, we shared "golden moments" openly rather than mistakes. This allowed them to not be fearful and take more risks. - Clara Capano, Capano Consulting
Read more in Getting Better Results With Authentically Curious Leadership
13. Build Upon Pushback To Create Solutions
Pushback is a gift. Treat it as such. Using the principles of Appreciative Inquiry, recognize the good information and feedback and build upon that to create a hybrid solution. - Ann Holland, Strive Performance Coaching
14. Understand Their Fear
Two things can hack a rigid organizational system. Understand what kind of fears exist. A team will remain stuck if it is convinced that a change will lead to things like blame or failure. There could also be a fear of a leader who may not offer protection, permission or potent skill. Discover what these fears are. Imagine an emotional bank account around these fears. New deposits build trust. - Cheryl Leong, Leading With Consciousness
