Your organisation isn’t change resistant, it’s just not very good at leading change

“Everybody is so change resistant” is code for “I’m not very good at leading change”.

I’ve heard this a lot. I’ve said it before.

But describing others as change resistant is what we say when we’ve failed to drive through a change that sticks.

It’s the easy way out. Because it’s easier to blame others than it is to admit we failed to adequately plan and execute an effective change management plan.

But our job isn’t to lead change in theory – or only when it’s easy.

Our job is to lead change in the exact conditions in which we’re employed.

Which means – whether people are more or less change resistant – meeting them where they’re at and leading them on that change journey. Easy or hard, that’s the mountain we must climb as leaders – this is what we signed up for when we put our hands up for a management role.

Leading change can be harder in some organisations than others – especially those with change fatigue and/or a history of botched change management.

But people everywhere are resistant to poorly executed change.

So, next time you’re feeling like everyone around you is change resistant, channel that energy into learning about better change management models (start with Kotter’s 8 steps and the ADKAR model), investing more in change management planning and executing that plan with discipline.

And the secret with change management? Do more than you think you should have to for longer than you think you should have to. The number one problem I’ve observed with change management is not leaning into it hard or long enough.

Like Sisyphus rolling his pet boulder up the hill – we take our foot off the change accelerator too soon and the boulder rolls right back down to where we began.

In which case people aren’t so much change resistant as they are poorly led.

When we lead change well, the resistance fades.