The Ministry of Not Yet
Before you try to overcome resistance, find out what it's trying to protect.
The hesitation. The repeated questions. The need for reassurance. The decision that keeps being delayed. The familiar way of doing things that somehow keeps coming back.
They can all look like resistance.
But what if they're also telling you something useful?
The Ministry of Not Yet offers a practical and memorable way to see the human responses that show up during uncertainty and change, and feel more confident about the conversation that happens next.
Same people. Seen differently.
The Traditionalist
Secretary of the Status Quo
The Permission-Seeker
Controller of Sign-Off Acquisition
The Historian
Keeper of Institutional Memory
The Pleaser
Custodian of the Peace
The Self-Doubter
Director of Unproven Talent
The Perfectionist
Head of Unfinished Business
The Keeper
Warden of What Matters
The Rationalist
Head Evidence-based Decisions
The Procrastinator
Registrar of Task Prioritisation
The Pessimist
Inspector of Risk Forecasting
THERE MAY BE SOMETHING USEFUL IN THE RESPONSE.
Someone questioning a change may be protecting quality.
Someone asking for reassurance may be taking the responsibility seriously.
Someone holding onto an established process may know what it protects.
Someone anticipating everything that could go wrong may be noticing a risk others haven't.
The strength can be useful. It's when protection starts making progress harder that the conversation matters.
The Ministry helps you look beyond the behaviour you can see and get curious about what might sit beneath it, without assuming you've already got the person figured out.
That's the shift:
DON'T LABEL THE PERSON. GET CURIOUS ABOUT THE RESPONSE.
SEE RESISTANCE DIFFERENTLY. RESPOND WITH MORE CONFIDENCE.
Through the Ministry workshops, you'll learn to:
- SPOT WHAT'S REALLY GETTING IN THE WAY: Recognise the behaviours and patterns that may signal something needs exploring, rather than immediately jumping to conclusions.
- FIND THE VALUE IN THE RESPONSE: Notice the useful strength that may sit within hesitation, questioning, checking or holding onto the familiar.
- KNOW WHAT TO SAY NEXT: Have conversations that help you understand what's happening, reduce unnecessary defensiveness and find a practical route forward.
The aim isn't to eliminate resistance.
It's to help you notice more, assume less and have a better conversation about what happens next.
EXPERIENCE THE MINISTRY OF NOT YET
The Ministry forms part of my wider work helping managers and teams have better conversations when something isn't working or needs to change.
It can be used within team and organisational workshops, and you'll also experience some of the Ministry in my open See More in Your People workshop.