Stop Fighting Resistance and Start Learning From It (feat. Dr. Jeffrey Yip)
Jeff is a business school professor at Simon Fraser University, where he teaches leadership in the Executive MBA and executive education programs. He is known for his listen and build approach to leadership, which helps organizations with transformational projects through listening. Jeff brings this approach to executive programs, including the AI-Empowered Leadership program at Simon Fraser University, the KPMG Digital Academy, and the Technology Leadership Program for Chief Information Officers in Canada.
HOST
Matt Poepsel, PhD
Vice President & Godfather of Talent Optimization
GUEST
Dr. Jeffrey Yip
Professor, Simon Fraser University
Dr. Jeffrey Yip is a business school professor at Simon Fraser University and a leadership scholar known for his Listen and Build approach to leading change. Through his work with executive leaders and organizations, Jeffrey helps people rethink resistance, not as something to push through, but as a signal that something meaningful is happening beneath the surface. In this episode, he explores how resistance shows up in the nervous system when change feels threatening, and why anxiety and exhaustion are at the heart of so much organizational pushback. Drawing on real-world leadership examples, he introduces the concept of “pain storming” and shows how listening first creates clarity, trust, and momentum. With a grounded and human-centered perspective, Jeffrey offers leaders a practical way to navigate change by understanding people before trying to move them.
Key Takeaways:
- Resistance is a signal, not a flaw, it shows where something feels unsafe or unresolved.
- Change feels hardest when it threatens security, competence, or control.
- Listening first helps leaders move faster with less friction.
- Real progress starts by understanding the problem before jumping to solutions.
- Effective change comes from leading people, not just managing process.
Additional Resources:
Jeffrey Yip, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Simon Fraser University: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yipjeffrey/ Check out Listening Works: https://www.listeningworks.ca/ Take a look at Jeffrey’s blog: https://www.psychologytoday.com/nz/blog/listen-and-build
Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/
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