Weekly Leadership Series: Acknowledge Our Own Resistance to Change

“But that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

This may be the most detested objection when it comes to creating organizational change. If we all cringe when we hear it, why does it keep coming up?

It comes down to a fundamental truth about each of us: humans, by nature, are resistant to change. That includes your boss, your teammates, your customers and yes, even you. Even though we say we hate the excuse, our natural tendency is to push back when confronted with the unknown.

They say that the first step in solving a problem is realizing there is one. Participating in change is no different.

Change is inevitable and the speed of change in the workplace will only accelerate in our lifetime. Everyone has a role to play in creating positive change – that’s a big part of what it means to be a leader. But before we can talk about which changes or how they’ll be implemented, we need to begin by acknowledging human nature.

For change to be successful, we’ll need to overcome our own resistance first, even if it makes us uncomfortable.

Key Takeaway: The first step in creating change is acknowledging our own resistance.