Listen to the naysayers
That’s what I said on this 2024 podcast that I came across it recently—and realized that I’ve simply been regurgitating my own soapbox as I’ve ventured into unpopular territory on Linkedin—speaking out about AI!
To be clear, I’m not against AI.
Mostly, I advocate for not developing this (or any) technology faster than we can do so responsibly and ethically.
(Because why would we? Serious question.)
But also for LISTENING TO—rather than ignoring or shaming—the reluctant adopters.
Turns out, that was also my best advice over two years ago, when asked about handling change on this podcast.
The relevant question starts at 14:02, where the interviewer asks for my best practices on managing change, and I respond:
“Listen to the naysayers. Whenever you start something new, you have those people on the team who are resisting it . . . We want to listen . . . Take note of those things because their concerns are the things we want to keep an eye on. ”
At the time of this recording, I was leading the customer arm of the company who taught and scaled digital adoption at the organizational level for many of America’s top businesses.
We were very tech forward and fast-moving—and we were also very progressive when it came to human-centered change.
In this episode, we were discussing rolling out new programs that impacted team members, customers, and business outcomes.
Amid the pressure to move quickly, my best advice was, and remains:
Always listen to the reluctant adopters.
It’s not because they’re necessarily always right to be worried. Even when everything is sound and the changes will unequivocally benefit everyone, it’s STILL an important Change Management best practice to hear people out.
And work out how to respond to their concerns effectively.
Because it is often in the refinement of our messaging in these conversations that the critical details get sorted.
P.S. Here are some of the posts and comments I’ve made on Linkedin, for reference.