How To Build Empathy with Sustainability Naysayers & Cynics

The most frustrating aspect of promoting sustainability is the cynicism and apathy of those who don’t see the need for sustainability initiatives. Concerns that seem so obviously important to us are contemptible to them. We are tempted to try to force or manipulate these colleagues in an attempt to reach our sustainability goals. Force them by mandatory company policies, or manage them temporarily by contests and other incentives. But for long-term success, we must inspire them to collaborate with us.

We can only inspire others if we understand their point of view well enough that we know what motivates them, what is important to them, what they really value. When you can truly stand within another person’s point of view and speak to them, they will hear what you say and be moved by it.

Empathy is the most important communication and influencing tool for a sustainability team. Empathy is the ability to see, feel and understand the world from another person’s point of view. Include exercises as part of green team building activities because critical bonds form when participants’ minds open to empathy.

Empathy Exercise

Assign each person the task of preparing a speech to be given while role-playing the strongest naysayer in their department. They should know the naysayer well enough to articulate their views. The green team member will prepare and give a speech explaining why sustainability is a waste of time, or costs too much, or is a silly fad — reflecting the naysayer’s position. If the green team member has trouble expanding on the idea, they may interview the naysayer formally or informally beforehand. The idea is to understand the world from this person’s point of view.

The naysayer may be invited to hear the speech and participate in the discussion, but it is not necessary. It might be fun to turn the tables and let the naysayers role-play the green team.

While the exercise is fun, the speech must be sincere, not satirical. The point is not to ridicule this colleague, but to genuinely understand the naysayer’s point of view so strongly that the team member can argue for their position.

Follow-Up Discussion

After the speeches, team members should discuss what they learned from studying their assigned naysayer:

• valid points discovered,
• new factors to be taken into consideration,
• ideas for presenting the sustainability case to him or her in an effective, impactful way.

The team’s only chance of persuading this person to the sustainability cause is from this position. This exercise will help you to better understand that point of view.