Your team is hesitant about new program initiatives. How can you overcome their skepticism?

I agree! Transparency will get the team involved. Validation will allow team members to relax enough to get used to the idea of change. Give them gift time it takes to adjust, and grace when they change their mind. Lay out the plan (or as much of it that you have), your concerns, and listen to theirs; validate them and adjust the plan to reflect that you heard their concerns. If a comment sounds emotional you can still ask questions to understand the business concern; and reward people for sharing their emotions. They can hint at actual issues. Model sharing personally. If you can get people to share their concern about how the change will impact them personally you can mitigate the impacts and demonstrate that you value collaboration.

Understanding a team’s concern can majorly be achieved with active listening. When this is done, one will better identify the concerns and possible solutions. Do not listen to write off their concerns: make them understand their opinions and feelings are valid, however, they should see things from a different lens.

Change is not an event, it is a transition. Each person attaches their own meaning to significant events that represent change. Effective communication, while creating opportunities for dialogue and clarification will assist individuals with the transition.

Clear Communication: Explain the Vision: State the initiative's purpose, benefits, alignment with organizational goals, and its positive impact on the team. Address Concerns: Discuss challenges openly and provide transparent answers to build trust. Involve the Team: Seek Input: Involve team members in planning and encourage their feedback, making them feel valued. Empower Champions: Identify and empower supportive team members to influence others. Provide Evidence: Share Success Stories: Present successful case studies of similar initiatives. Data and Metrics: Use data to highlight potential positive outcomes and key improvement metrics. Training and Support: Offer Training: Provide comprehensive training to ensure team readiness.

Working with your team to design the new initiatives is very important. This encourages better ownership, collaboration and teamwork. When the Program Manager work in silo, the team often feels neglected. This can build up different emotions that might cause hesitancy with getting involved in the project at a later stage. Co-creation with the team is always important.

In my experience, I have ensured to always involve my team in the program design process. Once I have an idea for a new initiative, I open it up to sample their ideas. While some are receptive to it and enthusiastic to work on the new initiative, there are also times when there is a counter feedback and resistance. However, this is most times resolved during the design process ensuring that the various feedback is well utilized and everyone is carried along with clarity.