Strong Will

You can't make me

People with strong will can be a “pain in the tuchus” to deal with.

They can also be the best performers on your team. But they are only at that best when they are channeled toward a positive goal.

When dealing with strong-willed people, don’t accidentally engage it. This can happen if you tell them something like “You can’t do it that way.” It sets up a barrier that they now want to overcome. Instead, say something like, “If we do it that way now, we’ll have to re-do it after part-X is added next month. If we do it this other way, we only have to do it the one time.”

Try to give them a choice, rather than dictating what you want them to do. “This week, do you want to focus on X or finish up the Y project?” You need both done, of course, but that buy-in of choosing one engages that strong will positively toward completing the work.

Validate their successes. “I didn’t think it could be done, but if anyone could do it, of course it was you. Great work!” And let them pay the consequences of their strong-will-engaged decisions. “If you insist on doing it that way, are you also willing to spend the extra time to make the revisions when the client asks for it to be done this other way?”

Channel that force-of-nature energy toward success and your strong-willed people will lead you to new heights. Engage it wrong, and expect to emit long sighs of frustration on a regular basis.

(image source: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=317641421100245&set=a.115003771364012)