Overcoming Objections and Gaining Support for Your UX Strategy

UX Insights - User Experience Leadership and Strategy

In the last email, I talked about presenting your UX vision to stakeholders and leadership. We looked at how to focus on the value you offer and how to tailor that message to your audience's specific needs. But, successfully driving through your strategy involves more than just a well-crafted presentation. It also needs a strategic approach when you are in the room with those key decision makers.

I want to share some additional thoughts on that today.

The Problem with Asking Permission

One common mistake I see is when UX practitioners pitch their strategy as something they need management to sign off on. This can trigger a cautious mindset in people. They might start thinking, "Is this going to cost me money?" or "What are the implications for me?" and the conversation quickly becomes a critique.

A Better Approach: Ask for Help

Instead, I recommend going in and asking for their help. Explain your goals clearly. Tell them you're trying to improve in specific areas and deliver on the goals they care about. Then, explain that you believe your strategy is the way to achieve this. Crucially, ask for their perspective. Ask if they agree with your approach and what they think about it.

Why This Works

This approach of drawing them in and asking for their feedback does two powerful things.

First, you're appealing to their ego a little bit. You're saying that you value their opinion and believe they can help you. People are generally quite receptive to that.

Second, if you can genuinely take on board their comments and tweak your strategy based on their feedback, they've essentially given you permission already. If you've incorporated their suggestions, they are more likely to be happy with it. People like to be consistent with their previously stated views, so it becomes very unlikely they will reject it. Even if you don't apply all their recommendations, having a dialogue about it means they feel a sense of ownership over your strategy.

Find Your Allies

It also helps significantly if you do some preparation before you speak to management. Go and seek allies. These are other people who are excited by your strategy and vision and are willing to support you in your conversations with leadership by saying, "Yes, I'm behind this too." The more voices you have, the more momentum your strategy picks up. This means management is much more likely to approve it. It's really worth trying to create excitement around your strategy before you try to make it official.

Start with Design Champions

When looking for potential allies, start with the obvious people. These are the individuals who already value design and UX within your organization. You likely know who they are. Even if they don't use the specific term "user experience," they are certainly affected by the negative consequences of a poor user experience. Typically, these will be people in marketing or customer service.

Find Change Advocates

Next, look for those who are dissatisfied with the status quo. Your best allies are often those who are unhappy with current processes and want things to change. For example, product owners who feel frustrated that the UX team has become a bottleneck, or that you can't contribute as much as they'd like, can often be useful allies.

Prepare for Objections

When you start talking to potential allies, senior management, or any colleagues, you need to be ready for objections. There will be many thrown at you, and you need to have responses prepared. While I won't list every possible objection, here are some common ones you might hear:

• Red tape: "We need to go through procurement for that." This is especially common in larger organizations.
• Resource constraints: "We haven't got enough people to do this."
• Risk aversion: People don't like to do anything different because it might be dangerous.
• Lack of evidence or data to support your proposed approach.
• Return on investment (ROI).
• The objection of others: "That's a great idea, but you'll never get it past so-and-so."
• Change fatigue: People are tired of changing their behavior.
• Poor market conditions or economic situation.

Broadly speaking, I have three different tactics for these situations:

• Minimize the impact: Emphasize that what you're proposing will impact others very little. As long as people don't have to do extra work, they are normally more open to change.
• Stage the rollout: Suggest a trial period. Implement changes in stages while monitoring to ensure they are having the desired effect.
• Don't ask for anything extra: No extra money, people, or time. This gives people very little room to object since you're not asking anything of them.

Be Patient and Persistent

With all of this, you need to be patient and persistent. Don't just make a one-off attempt. Follow up and keep the conversation going with updates and additional information as needed. That's why you want to avoid a situation where management simply says no. By talking about getting their help rather than their permission, you create opportunities to follow up and continue providing information gradually.

Stay committed. Perseverance is not only important to achieve your goal. It also shows dedication to your vision. This can persuade people over time that your strategy isn't just a passing idea but something you are committed to and believe is important. It's important to recognize that shifting your role and strategy is a marathon, not a sprint.

Next Time

That's all I want to say about defining your role and strategy for now. In the next email, we're going to look at how you can have a much bigger impact on projects within your organization, even with limited resources. This is where we'll really begin to unpack some elements of that strategy and how it can help you have a bigger impact on projects. But that's for next time.