"Resistance to the organized mass can be effected only by the man who is as well organized in his individuality as the mass itself."

-Carl Jung
 

"The power of an idea can be measured by the degree of resistance it attracts"

-David Yoho
 

"This to me is the ultimately heroic trait of ordinary people; they say no to the tyrant and they calmly take the consequences of this resistance”

-Phillip K. Dick

"The spirit of Resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it always to be kept alive."

-Thomas Jefferson

"To fly, we have to have resistance"

-Maya Lin

July 2005 - Resistance

Thanks to Star Trek's Borg, the phrase "Resistance is futile." has worked itself into the culture.  But resistance is anything but futile.  It is a form of power exercised every day to great effect.  We tend to think of resistance as negative.  There are thousands of stories of heroes and heroines overcoming resistance to win through.  But resistance has very positive roles as well.  Resistance is an agency of safety, and serves to refine ideas by providing the friction and conflict that will expose weakness and vulnerability, making the core idea more powerful.

This month's coaching case explores how a change team discovered the value of organizational resistance.  Our book is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield who presents a very unforgiving view of resistance.  Our external column this month comes from the Leader to Leader Institute in the form of a 2002 interview with Daniel Goleman on Resonant Leadership.

As always, your comments, ideas and responses are welcomed at info@entelechypartners.com.

Cordially,

I. Barry Goldberg
Entelechy Partners

Organizational and Personal Resistance: Arch Enemy and Trusted Friend

I. Barry Goldberg
Entelechy Partners

We must all deal with some form of resistance daily in our personal and organizational lives.  Whether it is a daily debate about our exercise regimen or a prospect's resistance to moving forward, we feel the push of resistance against the direction we are taking.  But when is resistance a form of wisdom?  What would happen if no one ever resisted any idea?  Resistance is also the agency of refinement that strips away ideas and methods that are questionable.  The tough part is understanding what role resistance is playing.

Read the whole story here

Wisdom from Daniel Goleman

From Leader to Leader
September 2002

Daniel Goleman is a psychologist, best-selling author, and award-winning journalist.  In this interview for Leader to Leader, Golemen talks about the concept developed in Primal Leadership, the resonant leader.  It is resonance that provides the ability to engage with and defuse the potential damage of organizational resistance.  If you are not familiar with the work of the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Drucker Foundation) this is a wonderful way to get introduced

Read the article here.

The Leadership Bookshelf: The War of Art

Steven Pressfield

This book is one of the most unforgiving, inspirational, kick in the pants books I have ever run across.  Pressfield is the author of The Legend of Bagger Vance and a number of historical novels on classical warfare.  He has a unique and challenging view of the integrity of beginning (and completing) any project that is important to us.  Whether you are inspired to write a novel, or start a plumbing supply business, Pressfield will all but rub your nose in any excuse you can think of for delay or distraction.  This is a short, but very powerful read. 

Read our review here.

Coaching Cases: When the Organization Resists Change, Leadership has to ask, "Why?"

A CEO and his leadership team are gearing up to get touch with recalcitrant employees who are unwilling to change.  But their meeting takes an unexpected turn when difficult questions push them to rethink the reason for resistance.

Read this month's case here

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