After the “honeymoon phase” of every new vision / change initiative / development plan, the voices that every change leader dreads suddenly emerge:

“I don’t think that’s relevant for me.” “I’m going to sit this one out.” “I’ve been doing this for 10 years already.” “This doesn’t apply to to me.” …

Worse than Nay-Sayers, these voices will bring your change project to a halt simply by not being excited about it. At this point, the most common mistake is to push harder – by trying to motivate / incentivise / force this group of employees.

But the answer lies elsewhere: In a simple change of perspective. What if these people are not trying to sabotage your vision but simply protect their professional identity as it is now? What if they don’t “not like” what you offer, it just doesn’t serve their needs.

And if that feels obvious, well then the question remains: Would you do something that you don’t benefit from?