CM-201a · Module 3

Converting Blockers

4 min read

Not all blockers can be converted. That is the first thing to understand. The second thing to understand is that most change programs try to convert all of them, which wastes resources on the unconvertible and fails to give adequate attention to the convertible.

Blockers whose resistance is driven by legitimate concerns — governance gaps, security risks, insufficient training, unrealistic timelines — can be converted by addressing the concerns. The resistance is rational. Fix the problem that is driving it.

Blockers whose resistance is identity-driven will not move regardless of evidence. I have watched organizations spend six months addressing every technical concern a blocker raised, only to watch the blocker generate new concerns at the same emotional intensity. This is not a rational actor who needs more information. This is someone whose professional identity is under siege.

The identity-driven blocker requires one of two outcomes: role reframing (give them a meaningful identity in the new system) or executive escalation (the Executive Sponsor makes clear that adoption is not optional). The second option should be reserved for situations where the identity-driven blocker has organizational authority and is actively preventing others from adopting.

Do This

  • Diagnose blocker type before designing the intervention: legitimate concern vs. identity-driven
  • Legitimate-concern blockers: address the concern specifically and completely — they are a quality gate
  • Identity-driven blockers: role reframe first, executive escalation only if reframing fails
  • Track behavioral change, not verbal change — a blocker who agrees but does not change behavior has not converted

Avoid This

  • Treat all resistance as irrational and try to argue through it with data
  • Keep addressing new concerns from an identity-driven blocker indefinitely
  • Escalate to the Executive Sponsor before attempting individual engagement
  • Declare conversion when the blocker stops raising objections — watch the behavior, not the words