Challenging assumptions and beliefs
When challenging people’s assumptions about the role of business it is natural for resistance to emerge. This resistance may be to do with fears around identity, value or capability and competence. For example, you might hear:
- Identity – it’s not for us to do – this could be about identity, what people identify the role of business to be in society or specifically the identity of the company and the industry it is in. It could also be about their own identity and privilege.
- Value – there is no value for us in doing this – this could be about how the business thinks about value creation (e.g. purely in financial terms), that it considers there is an enduring trade-off between purpose & profit, or indicative of a ‘pie-splitting’ mentality. Alex Edmans in his book ‘Grow the Pie’ talks about a ‘pie-splitting’ as opposed to a ‘pie- growing’ mentality – the difference is explained briefly here.
- Capability – we can’t do this – this could be about capability and the assumed limits to the capacity and competence of the business
Once you have identified what might be lying behind the resistance for change, a more open and fruitful conversation can emerge.