Working on teams you will deal with resistance. What To Do When Stakeholders Resist Your Project … And What Not To Do. The checklist provides guidance on how to effectively deal with resistant behavior … and what not to do.

1. Helping Teams Work 12 of 12
Do’s and Don’ts for
Dealing With
Resistance to Your
Team Project
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2. Hello – I’m Mike Cardus of
Create-Learning Team
Building & Leadership.
An expert in creating &
sustaining high
performance teams.
www.create-learning.com

3. Do’s and Don’ts For Dealing With Resistance To Your Team Project
Identifying Reasons People May Resist Your Team Project
Recognizing Resistance To Your Team Project
Is Your Data Persuasive?
Influence Strategies
Dealing With Team Problems
Dealing With Difficult Team Members
Handling Team Conflict Through Compromising vs. Consensus-Seeking
Conflict Management Approaches
Making Team Decision Through Consensus
Running the Team Meeting
Team Leaders’ Biggest Team Meeting Mistake
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4. Identifying Resistance to Your Project
The success of achieving your teams’ goal depends in good part on
cooperation from people on your team and across the larger organization.
Learning how to effectively deal with resistance is helpful.
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5. Learn and
apply steps
to minimize
resistance.
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6. Do …
 Start by giving the “resistor” the benefit of the doubt. Consider whether
he/she is truly resisting a good idea, or just reacting sensibly to a poor
idea.
 Take what you’ve learned from earlier and this content section on reasons
for resistance and complete a ‘Project Stakeholder Analysis’.
 Using your ‘Project Stakeholder Analysis’ create a plan for addressing this
person’s specific reason for resistance and gaining his/her cooperation.
Refer to Video 8 Influence Strategies.
 Be sensitive and tactful when presenting an idea or data that might
threaten this person (such as root cause or performance data.)
 Exhibit patience, respect, and empathy.
 Stay connected. Don’t be put off by the person’s emotion.
 Maintain focus and perspective, and relax.
 Review the approaches for how to prevent and recognize resistance.
 If you haven’t been applying the check-lists and ideas from the earlier
videos and content sections start doing so now.
Don’t …
 Force or manipulate people into compliance.
 Use persuasion when it’s not appropriate.
 Continue as if everything is just fine.
 Assume you can’t do anything and just give up.
 Lie.
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7. www.create-learning.com

8. “Fear invites wrong figures.
Bearers of bad news fare badly.
To keep his job, anyone may present
to his boss only good news.”
W. Edwards Deming, page 94,
The New Economics
“Drive out fear, so that everyone may
work effectively for the company”
W. Edwards Deming
Point 8 of his 14 Points of Management
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9. Do’s and Don’ts For Dealing With Resistance To Your Team Project
Identifying Reasons People May Resist Your Team Project
Recognizing Resistance To Your Team Project
Is Your Data Persuasive?
Influence Strategies
Dealing With Team Problems
Dealing With Difficult Team Members
Handling Team Conflict Through Compromising vs. Consensus-Seeking
Conflict Management Approaches
Making Team Decision Through Consensus
Running the Team Meeting
Team Leaders’ Biggest Team Meeting Mistake
www.create-learning.com

10. Helping Teams Work 12 of 12
Do’s and Don’ts for
Dealing With
Resistance to Your
Team Project
www.create-learning.com