Beyond English Fluency: Dealing with Pushback from Stakeholders

Resistance and dealing with pushback can be one of the most frustrating areas that we have to deal with as a professional.

The next edition of Beyond English Fluency is here.??

If you are new, Beyond English Fluency dives into topics and shares strategies around communication that go beyond language.?

Every other Wednesday (twice per month), I share a theme related to communication that goes in depth about one theme, strategy or idea. Whether you are a non-native English speaking Design, Tech or Creative professional or consider yourself a native looking to excel in your communication and leadership, you’ll find a strategy that you can apply to your own situation.?

The interactions we have can make an especially strong impact at work.?You are likely to be experiencing pushback regularly, but what is it exactly??

Pushback is a negative reaction or resistance to a change or to something new that has been introduced. Whether you are a manager or a UX/UI designer, this is something that comes up constantly. It might be that you are told:

‘We can't do this'.

'That's just not a priority at the moment’.?

‘I don't like it, please change it’.?

‘It probably won't work’.?

Sounds familiar??

You can get pushed back on timelines, on ideas and decisions, and methodologies. Other times there is pushback as stakeholders use it as a means to assert themselves or appear in control. Some stakeholders are just difficult. They are pushing back because they have the power and know that they can. Other times, there are bigger priorities like profit.

Navigating push back is a challenge because it requires a great deal of skill and understanding to determine what is important and what isn't. You need to decide when is it best to speak out and push back against the pushback or when is it best to agree, figure out your differences, or give in.

You need to have some tools and strategies to be able to stand up for yourself and be able to develop this core leadership skill. When dealing with difficult people and pushback here are some key strategies to develop be able able to deal with it effectively.?

You’ve probably already been told you need to get on the same page and defend your decisions.?Before getting to the exact techniques you can you develop when handling pushback, it helps to build the following foundational skills:

Developing Trust

Building a more accountable team

Establish clear communication

Within each of these areas, there are specific techniques to focus on and develop. What I am sharing today are just a few areas to consider.

Understanding and Using the Theory of Mind?

One of the most amazing capacities that we have as humans is our ability to interpret other people’s behaviour, thoughts, feelings, and intentions.?

I will never forget the exact moment I learned about the theory of mind. I had to write a research paper around the difference of child and animal language acquisition. I was searching through the library to try and understand the differences between human and animal communication. It felt so profound to me when I stumbled across the theory of mind and how we develop this as children. It's believed that having a theory of mind is what sets us apart from animals. Although evidence is slowly building that?animals do have theory of mind but that's a topic for a whole other time...

Without having theory of mind, we would greatly struggle to communicate with each other and understand each other’s behaviour. Essentially, having a theory of mind is important as it provides the ability to predict and interpret the behavior of others.

It is essential to be able to think about things from another person’s perspective in order to handle pushback effectively. When it comes to developing trust?and getting on the same page as your colleagues, this is where the theory of mind comes in.

By collaborating on a task or sharing to others that we share the same goal and understand other's intentions, aruably we are using the theory of mind.

Now, our beliefs of what might be happening in another person's mind and the theory of mind is just that. Theories.

While we can make predictions, we have no direct way of knowing exactly what a person might think.?

All we can rely on is our own theories that we develop based on what people say, how they act, what we know about their behaviour, and what we can infer about their intentions.?

As we get older, our theory of mind emerges and continues to develop.?

Theory of mind is a key part to empathy and our ability to participate in positive social interactions.?

We aren’t always that great at using this tool but it can be developed.

It's natural for pushback to come up in the workplace and in our lives. Always consider what is the deeper reason for the pushback (if it isn't obvious). For example, if you know the idea you have is going to save time and money in the future, focus on what the stakeholder needs to hear. That way you’ll avoid more pushback.

Convey with Clarity

Share what it is you need and why.?Find a way to express yourself in a way that makes sense. This includes how you are saying it and what you are saying. To know if what you are saying it or how you are saying it makes sense ask yourself:

Is my response relevant?

Do I have a good reason?

Do I have an example or relevant experience that I can share to back up what I am defending? Is it your opinion or based on relevant experience?

When you are able to clearly convey your thoughts, it will reduce any misunderstanding. You can try to force your decision on others by demanding their acceptance or you can gain their acceptance by explaining how and why you reached your decision.?

Explain the Rationale

A rationale is a justification of something. It explain why you are taking an action or proposing an idea.?There are different types of rationales. You might have a decision rationale and explain why you made a decision but it can also be related to research that explains the significance and importance of the topic and investigation.

Sometimes the rationale is subjective which can make things more difficult. A lot of the time for example, design is subjective. If you can share reasoning based on logic it will strengthen your argument.?

If you want to share your decision in a way that doesn’t sound subjective and based only on opinion such as ‘ I feel that…’ or ‘in my opinion’ it’s better to say ‘It seems to me that’ or ‘so far it appears that…’.?

You'll also want to avoid language like 'probably' or 'perhaps' when explaining your rationale.

How do you feel about dealing with pushback??Please share your experience below.

If you’d like to continue this conversation feel free to reach and send me a DM. I love hearing from you.?

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Want more resources and guidance on developing professional communication and leadership skills?

Check out the following resources:?

Dealing with Pushback?

40 Ways to Say No as a UX/UI Design and Tech Professional