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7 Great Ways To Handle Employee Push Back on Ideas-Solutions-Requests · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Getting employee pushback on your ideas, solutions, decisions, or requests as a manager can feel like a challenge to your authority or an attempt to undermine.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it is, most of the time it is not.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I used to hate employee pushback and challenge before I realised how incredibly valuable pushback is.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: I can't tell you how many better ideas, solutions, and decisions came from me encouraging employee pushback.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: If I hadn't accepted pushback and challenge in a really constructive way, I would not have been anywhere near as successful in my career.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely love getting constructive challenge as a manager because it enables much better outcomes.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sharing seven great ways to handle employee pushback on ideas, solutions and decisions.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: I use these all the time.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: We are covering firstly common sources of pushback and why employee pushback can be a good thing.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, how to invite constructive challenge and dissuade undermining or challenge to manager authority.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Third, seven straightforward steps to handle constructive challenge confidently.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: And fourth, four clever steps that stop employees undermining manager authority.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Knowing how to deal with team member pushback will create confidence for you to invite constructive challenge.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Getting challenge and pushback from team members will literally give you an amazing source of ideas, options, problems and solutions.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: You can use challenge and pushback to create high value adding projects and keep team performance well ahead of targets.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Many minds are usually better than one, no matter how bright.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: When you get unhelpful challenges to your authority through to undermining attempts, you need to know exactly how to stop employees undermining your authority quickly and make it difficult for individuals to continue their actions.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: I cover this towards the end.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, common sources of pushback and why employee pushback is usually a good thing.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: As a manager, you will get employee pushback.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: You want employees to push back to enable you to do a much better job personally.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: I will explain why.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Common sources of employee pushback come from before or during periods of change, everyone has different thresholds before change becomes unpleasant.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Or others may have different ideas and solutions, which is usually a good thing as well.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Others seeing problems with your ideas or solutions which you may have missed is another source of pushback.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Some individuals are very curious and ask a lot of questions.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Pushback can come from frustration, anger, unhappiness, and other negative emotions.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, undermining happens when employees question or challenge to try to make you look silly and challenge your credibility.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I've got plenty of pushback purely from employee laziness.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: People are hardwired to protect themselves against threats to their self-image, their security and their status.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Expect pushback and challenge.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Learn the best ways to deal with team member pushback, and these situations will no longer be an issue for you at all.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Challenge from employees is great feedback.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: The type of employee pushback should give you good insights into what the individuals or teams are thinking and feeling.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Better understanding helps you choose the best ways to handle the situation you face.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of team member pushback comes from a lack of understanding, or they have spotted a concerning problem, or they have a better idea.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: These challenges from employees will help you do a better job and improve team performance.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: A win for everyone.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new to this podcast, enhanced.training provides resources, courses, and coaching for you to build management expertise and confidence to lead any team to their best performance.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Do visit us at enhanced.training and take a look at the courses and resources to help managers increase team performance and speed up career progress by years.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: So, second, how to invite constructive challenge and dissuade undermining or challenge to manager authority.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: The last thing you want is open season on you, damaging your manager authority.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Nor do you want excessive challenges and pushback, even if they are constructive.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: It would be hard to get anything useful done with the team if that were the case.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Lay out clear ground rules or expectations with the team.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: This gives them the safety to constructively challenge you and it will stop staff making you look bad.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: For example, some of the rules that I would communicate to a team might include.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, I want you to challenge ideas, solutions and plans when what you say is constructive and helps the individual or team get better results or outcomes.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, challenge might include highlighting problems or weaknesses, in which case I expect you to think of a solution with those problems.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Third, I expect you to question me and colleagues when you don't understand something.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: You have to do this in a respectful and sensible way, again with the intention of helping.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: And fourth, if in doubt, ask again with the intention of making the team better off.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, always sell your idea or solution rather than rubbishing a team member's idea or solution.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Don't allow staff to use challenge or pushback to score points or put others down or try to silence them in any way, or to try to make them look silly, unprepared or incompetent, or embarrass them in any way.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Clear rules are vital for how to manage staff who undermine your authority or are generally being difficult.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Set the ground rules or expectations on team member pushback early on.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Live the rules that you've set out and enforce them with the team.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is one of the best ways to handle team member pushback before it has ever happened.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: So, third, here are seven straightforward steps to handle constructive challenge confidently.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: The first thing to do when you get challenged from employees is to get control of your emotions.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Take a few seconds to compose yourself before answering.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: You want to be calm, cool, and unflustered when you respond to what they have said.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, ask a clarifying question.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: This gains you time to think and plan out your response, plus you understand their position better.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: It is fine to ask several questions.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure you understand their position.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Third, consider the situation and type of challenge.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: This will enable you to respond in a more positive, useful and professional way.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Three examples.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, if the challenge is around prioritization, link your priorities to team goals, company strategy, or go through your reasoning.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Ask them for theirs and then you can compare.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: Third, if the pushback is about the use of resources including staffing or the timing of activities, again link to goals, strategies and planning.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Ask them for their reasoning for different ideas or plans and compare.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, use available assumptions, evidence, data, constraints and options so you can talk factually when explaining why you have chosen the route, decision, action, etc.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: that you have.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, if it is appropriate, co-create better options or compromise options.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: This can be a very useful step to increase the ownership of the outcome by those raising the challenge.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: If it's time pressured or in time-pressured situations, this step is a distraction and probably should be avoided.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth, explain your rationale or why you have chosen a specific route, process, decision, etc.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: In my experience, this is a really good step to do as standard.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Explaining why often prevents challenge because you create understanding with your team.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: When you do get pushback, ask for their rationale.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: You can select the best option for the situation.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Tie in the why behind your choice to strategy, team goals, KPIs, risks, constrictions, etc.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Ensure there are solid links to what is best for the team and the company.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, seventh, summarise the decision, action, or way forward and get everyone's agreement.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: The more they own the outcome, the quicker and easier it will be to implement.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: These seven steps are a good checklist to go through in your mind.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: The two most important factors in handling constructive challenge well is to keep an open mind and to select the best option regardless of where it comes from.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Don't get hung up on your solution, your idea, your method, etc.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: Keeping an open mind and selecting the best option will encourage constructive challenge from the team, which is exactly what you need to improve the overall performance of your team over time.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: So here are four clever steps for how to manage staff who undermine your authority.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: These are the steps that I go through when individuals push back in an attempt to undermine me or because they're angry, etc.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: i.e., with any non-constructive pushback.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, it is super important that you remain cool, calm and collected.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Do not show nerves, being flustered, etc.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: This will only encourage negative challenge.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: Take time to get your emotions under control.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, I always ask clarifying questions.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: This gives you time to think.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Ask the right direct questions and you can stop the pushback in its tracks.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, a few good ones.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Please can you explain how you pushing back is helping the situation or the team?
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Or can you explain your rationale behind that comment?
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Always ask direct questions in return.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: Thirdly, you must ask them for their rationale behind the challenge or pushback.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: With non-constructive challenge, the reasons for the challenge are rarely logical or thought out and are usually emotionally driven.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: Asking for their rationale usually stumps them and makes it a lot less likely they will challenge in this way again.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then fourth, reiterate your rationale for your decision, idea, solution, etc.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: So everyone understands the why behind it and they can see it is for the best interests of the team or the business.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: If an individual persists in challenging you in front of others in a negative way, ask them into a one-on-one meeting and discuss what the real problems are with them.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: Reiterate the expectations that you've already laid out for challenging others and yourself and ask them to stick to these.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: If they don't, then it can become a disciplinary issue.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Do not let team members challenge or push back for clearly negative reasons.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: Take action quickly and confidently.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: So in summary, you want to encourage constructive pushback and challenge within the team.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: The benefits include firstly, better decision making through much more diverse thinking.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, innovation and solution building increases.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Third, blind spots are exposed much earlier.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, you get higher levels of trust and psychological safety in the team.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, employee engagement and ownership increases.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth, you get a stronger team culture.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Seventh, you get better leadership development within the team.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: And eighth, all of this leads to much higher team performance over time.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: Do put the seven ways to handle employee pushback into practice being.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, get in control of your emotions.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, ask clarifying questions.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: Third, consider the type of challenge.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, gather evidence, assumptions, data, etc.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, co-create a better solution or option if applicable.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth, explain your rationale or the why behind what you're proposing.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then seventh, summarise and get active agreement.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions on seven great ways to handle employee pushback on ideas, solutions, and requests, please email me at support at enhance.training and I will get back to you.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks very much for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.