When coaches encounter resistance, we often treat it as a phenomenon to be overcome, confronted, or defeated. But resistance arises from emotional reactions to difficult change. Emotions can’t be argued away or dispelled with psychological force. Instead of meeting resistance head-on, clever coaches will build healthy, trust relationships with the people they are coaching.

That requires coaches to understand the nature of existing relationships and work to strengthen them. Those relationships then become safe places for people to let down their guard and embrace change.

Relationships are best built and deepened through a technique pioneered by Edgar Schein called “humble inquiry.” Humble inquiry places the focus not on what help coaches have to offer, but on the help that clients want and need.

When coaches encounter resistance to agile transformations, we often treat it as a phenomenon to be overcome, confronted, or combated. But resistance is a natural reaction to change, and that reaction can't be alleviated by violent opposition. Rather than meeting resistance head on, the clever coach will work around it by helping people recognize and resolve the negative emotions that drive it. Once those negative emotions are resolved, people are more likely to let down their guard and embrace change.

In this interactive workshop, participants will learn how to identify common "faces" of resistance--behaviors that might indicate that a person is experiencing an emotional reaction to change. Participants will then work in table groups to identify strategies for helping clients recognize the emotional underpinning of their resistance. Finally, a role-playing experience will give participants the chance to practice coaching resisters to resolve their reluctance to embrace agile transformation.