I was working with an organization that had some members who are reluctant to embrace an upcoming change. (Sound familiar?) I encouraged the leaders to follow the advice that was given to me long ago: Focus on the willing. There will be recalcitrant employees at every stage of a new process; don’t deplete your energy by trying to persuade them. Move on and embrace those you don’t have to pull out of the mud.
This applies to organization-wide change initiatives and for small alterations that create personal resistance. I always smile when I think of my wizard receptionist who practically hugged her typewriter when I wanted to replace it with a computerized label-maker. She was so sure that the typewriter was more efficient for individual labels. She held fast to that belief for about a week, but by week two, she hauled the typewriter into storage where it was never used again. Letting her come to that conclusion instead of imposing a mandate or arguing about it made all the difference.
Think of the effort you put into convincing people and ask yourself if it is really a productive use of your energy. Investing that time into helping the willing move forward may produce results that serve as a beacon for the hesitant to follow.
