Development Cooperation Handbook/Designing and Executing Projects/Communication Management/Addressing Resistance/Addressing the Belief that the Project has been Handled Improperly

Resistance, active or passive, is a challenge to an attempt to initiate a given behavior or action.

Addressing resistance is never easy. In fact, addressing resistance effectively requires an astute ability to listen carefully, reflect an understanding of the root of resistance and to build trust in the process.

When team members feel that management has made bad choices, a negative situation can be made better by having a respectful conversation about perceived mistakes. In particular, you can take the following steps when people believe that action has been handled improperly:


 * Ask for and listen to their concerns
 * Apologize for any mistakes that were made
 * Provide additional information, as needed
 * Don’t make excuses for mistakes
 * Ask for suggestions to avoid similar situations in the future
 * Be honest about suggestions you can and cannot accept and explain why
 * Follow through on agreements reached to improve the situation.