My friend Robin works at a mid-sized accounting firm. Accounting is one of those industries that is overwhelmingly White. The owner of the firm is trying to diversify their staff because he knows their team will be strengthened if they have new talent with new perspectives. Many of the clients they serve are small to mid-sized businesses and the business owners themselves are more diverse than ever.

Aside from being an all-White firm right now, the staff at the accounting firm is comprised of a lot of older accountants who think diversity is a “bunch of nonsense” or “just caving in to political correctness.” Robin said to me, “The owner of the firm is trying to do the right thing and make change at our firm, but it's like pushing the elephant up the stairs. A lot of the team doesn't take any of it seriously or thinks it's all just B.S. and I don't know if we'll be able to do this if the team isn't on board and supportive.”

This is a common issue many leaders face when working to create a workplace that is more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Their all-White or mostly White team thinks it's unnecessary, stupid, or a waste of time. Change at work is always hard for most employees because it requires new approaches and relearning or training, and most employees like things just the way they are.

When it comes to putting the work in to make your team, department, or company more diverse, you should expect some resistance from your team—maybe not from all of them, but there are almost always a few who “like things just the way they are.” They don't want to change, and they don't want to have to filter their comments (because they know that they often say things that are either overtly or mildly racist or inappropriate). They don't want to sit through any diversity training. They think DE&I is just a new “business trend” that companies are doing to make themselves look good.

As a leader, you need to be alert to this mindset within your team, and you need to address it head on. You cannot be wishy-washy on this matter. You cannot start this effort and then abandon it. You can't let those who aren't supportive of this (at least in their actions at work) drive your business. You're the driver. You set the direction and you take the wheel. Naysayers and derailers will sabotage your efforts and prevent your success if you don't confront their objections and destructive actions and nip them in the bud. Let's talk about what kinds of comments and behavior you can expect to deal with.

NAYSAYERS

Naysayers fall into two groups: Those who start trashing an effort before it's even begun and those who find fault in everything along the way. Naysayers do nothing to help solve problems or address issues that inevitably come up. Naysayers will make comments that consistently belittle an initiative or put down the people doing the real work. Here are examples of the types of comments that naysayers make:

• “I've been here for twenty years. I've seen this kind of thing come and go. This won't last. It's the ‘flavor of the month’ approach.”
• “This will never work. A friend of mine works for a company that tried this, and it was a huge failure.”
• “Ha—let's see how THIS goes! No one asked US what we thought of this.” (Note: This kind of comment can lead to sabotaged efforts because the naysayer feels overlooked and wants to prove that without them or their input, nothing will work.)

Naysayers are toxic to your organization, especially when it comes to creating a more inclusive workplace. To truly build an inclusive culture, you need people pulling together to make things happen, not poking holes in new ideas and saying, “It'll never work.” On top of that, their chronic complaining slows progress and hurts morale.

Here are three ways to deal with naysayers and get them to shift from negative, unhelpful comments to positive, constructive input:

1. Create a time and place for input and ideas. This is important, because naysayers often do their damage after a meeting or behind your back. While some naysayers are bold and challenge everything, others are quite insecure and petty and will only disparage ideas and efforts when “the coast is clear.” By creating specific times for discussion and ideation, such as regular meetings, you also create the appropriate environment where criticism and concern can be brought up for discussion. If the naysayer is trashing efforts behind the scenes, you can call them on it and say, “Ed, in our weekly meetings, you haven't shared your concerns about this, but I've heard that you feel we're making a big mistake. The purpose of these meetings is to collectively discuss our progress. If you have something to say, this is the place to do so. It's inappropriate to do otherwise.” (Side note: I read an article once about a study that found that the word inappropriate is highly effective. No one wants to be inappropriate, especially at work. The study said that even small children understand that being “inappropriate” is not OK. It stated that children respond better and behave better when told, “Stop that—it's inappropriate” versus “Stop that—that's very bad.” It's a powerful word. Use it when you must keep someone in line.)
2. Use optimism. Naysayers tend to be pessimistic. They see the flaws in everything instead of seeing the possibilities. They focus on problems instead of solutions. By using optimism to direct the conversation, they won't have a platform for their negative comments. Optimism forces people to focus on what can be done, rather than what can't. Here are examples of how to use optimism to shift a naysayer's focus to find productive outcomes:
   • “Ed, let's talk about what's working so far before we get into the problem areas.”
   • “Ed, what suggestions do you have for improvement?”
   • “Ed, what would you like to see changed for the better?”
   • “Let's take the position that we're going to be successful with this. What do you suggest we do next to ensure we're on track for success?”
3. Confront naysayers about the destructive comments they make. Confronting naysayers shines a spotlight on their duplicity (saying one thing, or nothing, in a meeting, then saying something critical later). “Ed, in our meeting last week to finalize our outreach programs for diverse candidates, you expressed no concerns, and, in fact, you nodded agreement with our approach. I've learned that you actually feel the approach is flawed and you have questions about things that we'd already reached agreement on last week. I was surprised to learn this so late in the process. You're withholding your opinions when we can discuss them together and solve problems, then later you're saying you've had concerns all along. That's unacceptable. It wastes everyone's time and doesn't move us forward. You need to be a productive member of the team, contributing appropriately.” This is a warning shot. Once you've addressed this and told the naysayer to contribute appropriately, you're in position to use stronger language if it happens again: “Ed, we talked about this. This cannot and will not be tolerated. It stops right now. Do you understand? If it happens again, your job is at risk.” Or “If it happens again, we'll need to make some changes. It's up to you, Ed.”

These three tactics should be used in the order above. The first one sets the stage for constructive collaboration. If that doesn't work, the use of optimism and focusing on what will work creates a framework that doesn't enable the naysayer's chronic complaining. Finally, confronting the naysayer lets them know they're out of line and that there are consequences.

DERAILERS

Another challenging type of employee is the derailer. Unlike a naysayer, a derailer might not be negative or pessimistic at all. They can be outwardly positive, masquerading as a “team player,” while actually sabotaging your progress in passive and insidious ways. Derailers can be dangerous to your efforts, and they can be hard to spot. Here are seven behaviors that will help you identify potential derailers within your team:

• Selfish. They are not a team player.
• Disengaged. They do just enough to get by. I call them coasters. They just coast along on the work of others.
• Untrustworthy. They fail to keep their word or commitments. Other team members do not trust them. They will share information that was told to them in confidence.
• Emotionally reactive and unpredictable. They're impatient or a hothead, or both, and are prone to exploding at others, so people try to avoid working with them.
• Unfair. They play favorites, blame others for their own mistakes, or put disproportionate work on some while giving others easy assignments.
• Closed-minded. They're unwilling to try new ideas, listen to feedback, or explore others' views.
• Info-hoarding. They withhold information. They don't share important information or updates with others, thereby ensuring that team members or projects fail.

As a leader, it's imperative that you identify naysayers and derailers and work to change them. You must be direct with them, outlining their behavior and why it's unacceptable. You must make it clear that change is necessary if they want to keep working in your organization. You'll help them by guiding them and providing feedback on their progress, but it's up to them to get on board.

It's not easy. But your success with DE&I depends on building a culture that everyone understands, accepts, and participates in. One of my clients, Toyota, has a saying: “You can change the people. Or you can change the people.” Toyota gives their associates every opportunity to improve and succeed. They coach them and, if necessary, provide additional training. They actively work to change and better their employees if they are not performing their jobs well. But ultimately, if they are unable to change the people, they change the people.