Seven Take-Aways From My Recent Clubhouse Panel on Resistance to Change
My good friend and author, speaker and innovation authority Greg Satell recently asked me to join a Clubhouse panel discussion. If you’re not familiar with it, Clubhouse is an invitation-only social media app for iOS that facilitates auditory communication through rooms that can accommodate groups of up to 5,000 people. A moderator oversees discussions and has the ability to let someone chime in or to kick out the unruly. In addition to the “clubs” sorted by topic, two or more users can join together and start their own chat room.
The topic was Overcoming Resistance to Change, and included various distinguished panellists from around the globe including Todd McLees, Founder of Pendio Group, political commentator Justin Higgins, Andrea Kates, co-founder of Futureproofing : Next, Fariel Salahuddin, founder of Goats for Water, and Saul Kaplan, founder of the Business Innovation Factory.
It was the first time I joined a Clubhouse discussion and I quite enjoyed it. I want to share some of the main takeaways from the lively discussion we had:
1) Resistance is not necessarily a bad thing:
Not all resistance to change is negative. It means you have to really think of framing and preparing your points of view very carefully. It forces you to think and be well-prepared.
2) Be open to being wrong:
If you’re trying to convince someone that change is necessary, you must also be open to the fact that you might be wrong and the other person is right in resisting change.
3) Change comes when you listen and develop empathy:
One of the panellists spoke about preferring to deal with President Joe Biden over President Barrak Obama, as the latter would always try to convince you, whereas the former was always open to listening. When you develop true empathy and listen to the other party, you can begin influencing them.
4) Small teams that are empowered:
Organisational change is best implemented by small teams that are empowered. Without proper empowerment change will be resisted and thwarted.
5) The most successful changemakers and innovators build relationships:
The most successful scientists, legislators and corporate innovators are congenial, approachable and are constantly building relationships with others.
6) Start with the low hanging fruit:
While trying to make change happen, start with the easy things and work your way up to the hard ones. Work on finding common ground first.
7) Offer help first:
One of the guests mentioned that he focuses on the other party’s needs by asking “What do you need from me?” This builds trust and rapport.
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