Business Tools Blog

I’ve written a few posts that infer that getting full consensus is an unachievable goal, that will ultimately land you in the loony bin.  ** Even the US Supreme Court only needs a simple majority to make a decision.

But what happens when you don’t get consensus?  What happens when people disagree?  Over the years, I’ve found that when there is change people generally fall into 5 categories with a distribution that typically looks like this:

10% - Change Agents -on board with enthusiasm
30% - Old Dogs - on board, but will take a long time to change
20% - On the Fence - takes a wait and see attitude, can be easily swayed with some evidence
30% - Passive Aggressive - say that they are on board, but actually undermine the project
10% - Opponents - disagree publicly

The good news is that for most projects, you’ll have 40% on board, right out of the gate (10% Change Agents + 30% Old Dog).  The problem is that you’ll think you have 70% on board.  For all intents and purposes, the 30% Passive Aggressives look like Change Agents or Old Dogs.

Not understanding who is on board and who isn’t can be fatal for your project.  When you think that only 10% are opponents,  you will underestimate the task at hand - after all, the “On the Fence” are pretty easy to convert.

So how do you deal with the elusive Passive Aggressives?

First, realize that you have  Passive Agressives in the mix.

Dr. Les Carter describes a quintessential passive-aggressive person.

[The Passive Aggressive uses] non-cooperation, evasiveness and behaviors that leave others dis-empowered. The goal of the passive-aggressive is to preserve self’s perceived needs at the other person’s expense. Though they may never say these words, their behavior communicates, “Try as hard as you like, but you will never pin me down. I’m only interested in my agenda.”

Second, come to terms with the fact that individuals who are being passive aggressive may not realize it.  And, even if they do realize it, there is almost never intended malice.

Third, follow Beverly Smallwood’s 5 step program:

1. Do not allow yourself to get into a power struggle
2. Don’t let’em see you sweat
3. Describe the behavior and its practical impact
4. Ask this person for improvement ideas
5. If (when) the person denies the problem, gently point out inconsistencies

This makes Project Management a lot harder than it looks on the surface.   Your boss may think that you are incompetent, because they think the only human barriers are the vocal opponents and the On the Fence.

So don’t get burned.  Identify who falls into each bucket and manage your project accordingly.