It can be exhausting to feel that you are dragging your unwilling team behind you as if they were dead weight. The lack of enthusiasm of your team, or the fact that they are not willing to make a sincere effort to move in the direction you’ve identified as necessary, may be a danger sign you need to address.
It’s no fun to catch yourself nagging your team members to do what you need them to do for team expectations to be met. Therefore, leadership should be a process of encouraging and supporting people. You should be supporting their growth and efforts. Leadership behaviours should not include nagging and dragging.
Regardless of your position, you can lead from where you are – but you lead most effectively when you help your team achieve or accomplish what is important to them.
Influencing your unwilling team
The reality is that leadership is not defined by position. It is defined by your ability to influence. There are three main reasons why people might resist your attempts at leadership.
Instead of continuing to nag them, instead of exhausting yourself with attempts to drag them along with you and the more invested and enthusiastic teammates, realise that sometimes there is a disconnect between you and those you seek to lead.
The three most common reasons why you may feel like you are leading the unwilling are that people often resist leadership.
1. If you’ve not yet proven yourself competent
The truth is, you don’t always enjoy the benefit of the doubt from others. They won’t always assume that you are qualified or that you truly know what is best for them. It is very important, then, to provide your team with stories or evidence of your past success. Share stories of a work ethic that has started to produce some impressive results. That, together with a thorough plan that you share and repeatedly reference, will win over the less enthusiastic individuals. Once they believe in you, they will become more willing to accept your ideas, encouragement, and advice.
2. If they don’t feel you are concerned about their needs
People want to feel understood by those they are following. It enables people to open up and become invested in your ideas. As a leader, you must identify the benefits to everyone on board if you want them to join in and row with the team. People row for themselves first and want to know that you are aware of and appreciate their needs and desires. This includes understanding their style of influence and leveraging their strengths. A great leader doesn’t just get people on the boat. He finds the right seat and places them in a role best suited to their talents.
3. If they think you’re going where they don’t want to go
Values and vision always determine direction. If any of your people don’t want to go in the direction you have chosen, you will need to either find a new organisation or adjust your chosen destination. Alternatively, you must convince the individual that the destination you have identified will also serve their purposes. But if there is a conflict in values or vision, there will be many other conflicts elsewhere that serve as symptoms of your differences.
Invest in relationships
The solution to the three common reasons people may be resisting your leadership is to invest time in building relationships. To spend time clarifying the vision and destination for all that is on board.
Your people will have the trust that you are competent. They will know that you understand and value them. Additionally, they will know that you are going where they want to go. If all those factors are in place, then your job as a leader will be halfway done. The ideal situation for a leader is to work as an encouraging bodyguard. One who can keep the team free of external distractions. To offer the resources and support to perform at their best.
If you need to build team trust and relationships, consider the tremendous return on investment that a day of interactive team-building challenges can provide. Don’t spend your energy and time with adversarial dragging and nagging. Find a way to meet the three needs above, and your people will no longer be unwilling – they will be inspired!
How To Help Your Unwilling Team Follow You
1. Establish Trust Through Transparency
Firstly, leaders must cultivate trust by clearly communicating their vision and the reasons behind their decisions. Transparency fosters trust. For example, Satya Nadella’s transformation of Microsoft’s culture was built on trust and transparency, resulting in increased innovation and collaboration.
2. Align Goals With Individual Motives
Secondly, align team goals with personal incentives. Understand what motivates each member. Utilise neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) techniques to tap into an individual’s values and beliefs, thereby enhancing motivation. As Tony Robbins advocates, “Find someone’s hot buttons, and the sky’s the limit.”
3. Empower With Autonomy
Thirdly, empower your team. Grant autonomy within their roles. Neuroscience shows autonomy increases engagement and satisfaction. Google’s ‘20% time’ policy, which allows employees to work on personal projects, has significantly boosted productivity and innovation.
4. Foster a Growth Mindset
Fourthly, encourage a growth mindset. Frame challenges as opportunities. Carol Dweck’s research highlights the importance of believing that abilities can be developed. This approach drives resilience and adaptability.
5. Communicate With Impact
Fifthly, communicate effectively. Utilise NLP to mirror language patterns and build rapport. Steve Jobs was a master, using simple, direct language to inspire his teams. This technique creates a powerful connection.
6. Celebrate Collective Wins
Lastly, celebrate successes together. Acknowledge contributions, big and small. This not only reinforces positive behaviour but also releases dopamine in the brain, which naturally encourages a repeat performance.
By incorporating these strategies, leaders can transform reluctance into engagement, guiding their teams toward shared success.
