Facing resistance from community leaders on a new outreach strategy. How will you navigate their concerns?

Resistance from community leaders? Time to don your best poker face and listen first. It’s tempting to jump in with a counter-argument, but the real power move is to hear them out. You might discover their concerns are less about your strategy and more about feeling left out. So, before you go all-in, listen like you’re mining for gold – because that’s exactly what their insights can be.

We all know that new strategies are like new shoes – they’re hard to break in, but once they do, everyone’s happy. So, when community leaders push back, flip the script and show benefits they can’t resist. Whether it’s boosting local pride or creating new opportunities, paint a picture so compelling they’ll be ready to lace up and walk the talk. Because at the end of the day, people don’t just want change – they want to know what’s in it for them.

Nothing for the Community without the Community Leaders and the Community at large. Resistance usually occurs where there is no direct involvement of the Community Leadership. Successful Community Engagements are usually those where the Community Leaders are equal partners in the Boardrooms where their concerns, problems, and solutions are discussed and those leaders being given the opportunity to lead such discussions. With this Approach, sustainability beyond the Project is guaranteed because their sense of ownership was drawn clearly from the start. Direct Engagement/ Dialogue to resolve emerging Concerns can help address the resistance. Re-evaluating and prioritising the Approaches used to align with context and actual needs.

Nothing wins over a tough crowd like giving them a starring role. If community leaders are resisting, involve them in the process. Let them feel the ownership, share the spotlight, and suddenly, that new outreach strategy feels like their idea. And let’s be honest – when people help build something, they’re a lot less likely to tear it down. So, make them your partners in crime, and watch resistance turn into enthusiasm.

Actively engage with the Leaders to dialogue on durable solutions for their concerns. For example, if their concerns rotate around the different approaches being used that could be insensitive to the Social Values and beliefs or also the general conduct of some of the staff or non-involvelment of qualified members of the community in the community outreach, resolving these concerns amicably with the Community Leaders can enhance rapport and bridge gaps. Resistance usually arises in Community Outreaches where both the Local Technical, Political, Religious and Traditional Actors are not actively engaged directly in the Community Outreach implementation that makes it imposed on them. Leveraging opinion leaders and local expertise helps a lot.