Overcoming Resistance to Change in Educational Settings

How do you take a resistant team and guide them through a successful transformation? I led a team that went from evaluating programs to developing them—a complete transformation. At first, there was a lot of pushback, but by understanding their concerns and using a thoughtful approach, we made the transition work.   ---Here’s what I learned--- 🔸Resistance isn’t about the change—it’s about fear of loss. Through candid one-on-one conversations, I discovered the team feared losing their expertise. 🔸Facts don’t inspire change. Stories do. Rather than overwhelm them with reasons for the shift, I shared stories. Emotional buy-in through storytelling sparked curiosity. 🔸Small behavioral nudges lead to lasting change. We didn’t push the team into full-scale program development right away. Instead, we used small steps that eased them into the transition. This made the change feel natural, not overwhelming. 🔸Your biggest resister can become your strongest advocate. I focused on the team’s informal leader—the person everyone trusted. Once he embraced the change, the rest followed. 🔸Embrace failure as a stepping stone to success. We reframed setbacks as learning opportunities. By openly discussing challenges and solutions, we created a culture where innovation thrived and fear of failure diminished. 🏡 Think of change like remodeling a house. Exciting, but full of unexpected snags. In business, it’s the same—something always comes up. Plan for it. Expect it. 💡 Key Lesson: Resistance isn’t a roadblock—it’s part of the process. Expect pushback and guide your team with strategic nudges. What unexpected challenges have you faced when leading change?

We don’t resist change. We resist not knowing where we’ll land. Most pushback is rational. We hold on to what’s worked because the next step isn’t clear. If we don’t see the logic, If it doesn’t feel safe to try we stall. Every time. The job isn’t to “manage resistance.” It’s to de-risk what’s ahead. Here are 7 strategies that have helped my teams (and me) move through change faster: 1. Model it first → If leaders don’t go first, nothing moves. → We follow behavior, not slide decks. 2. Share the why, not just the timeline → Don’t wait for the perfect plan. → Share what’s changing, what’s at stake, and what we’re betting on. 3. Involve the people closest to the work → Real alignment doesn’t come from top-down decisions. → It comes from early input. 4. Make the first step feel doable → We don’t need the full blueprint. → Just a clear first move we can act on with confidence. 5. Train for what’s different → Belief ≠ readiness. → We resist when we don’t feel equipped. 6. Name what’s really going on → Resistance often hides fear or confusion. → Ask early. Ask directly. Don’t let it build. 7. Show it’s working and work hard on what’s not → Small wins build trust. → But trust grows faster when we’re honest about what still needs fixing. Most of us try to scale with complexity. But the real unlock? We simplify. That’s how we move forward - together. * * * I talk about the real mechanics of growth, data, and execution. If that’s what you care about, let’s connect.

“They’re being difficult. They just don’t want to change.” Sound familiar? Let’s talk about what might really be going on: change fatigue, not resistance. And if that's the case, your org might be out of shape. Change fatigue isn’t resistance. It’s a warning sign. And it’s time we treated it like one. I recently hosted a session for our internal Change Management Community of Practice. When I introduced the idea of Change Fitness, most hadn’t heard the term, but instantly recognized its cousin: change fatigue. Change Fitness = an organization’s ability to sustain and absorb transformation over time. It’s not about the volume of change—it’s about the impact. Fatigue shows up as disengagement, silence, missed milestones, and cynicism. According to Prosci, change saturation happens when the disruption exceeds your organization’s capacity to absorb it. Imagine a bucket: The size = your change capacity The water = disruption When it spills = it burnout So what’s filling your org’s bucket? • Too many projects, not enough alignment • Communications that confuse instead of clarify • Leaders pushing isolated changes without visibility (or care) into other efforts • No structured CM plan—causing more chaos than calm Here’s what I often see: Leaders label fatigue as “resistance” and double down on “driving adoption” (usually more emails 🙃). But what’s really needed? Relief. Clarity. Focus. That’s where Change Fitness comes in. Just like physical fitness helps us meet physical demands, Change Fitness allows organizations and individuals to meet the demands of ongoing transformation. Instead of asking: “How do we drive adoption?” Try asking: 🔺 “Did we demonstrate the benefits of the last change?” 🔺“Have we responded to what’s draining our teams?” 🔺“Are we reducing friction—or adding more effort?” If you’ve built that trust, reinforced those muscles, and practiced good CM habits, your org will be more fit than most. Ways to build Change Fitness: • Use Prosci’s Change Saturation Assessment • Audit comms to simplify (less jargon, more showing) • Map your change portfolio to catch collision points • Equip managers as coaches, —not just messengers Because fatigue has a voice, it just speaks quietly...until it runs out of steam. Have you seen fatigue misread as pushback?

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗗 "Where there is power, there is resistance." —Michel Foucault That quote stopped me cold when I first read it. Because suddenly, every eye-roll, crossed arm, and "this too shall pass" comment made perfect sense. We've all been there. You're facilitating PD, feeling good about your content, when someone becomes 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯—arriving late, questioning everything, clearly disengaged. Your first instinct? They're being difficult. They don't want to learn. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀. Think about it. When do YOU resist? • When you feel powerless • When your expertise isn't valued • When you don't see the relevance • When you feel unsafe to make mistakes • When change feels forced, not chosen 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. It's your participants saying:  🔸 "I need more choice in my learning."  🔸 "I need to feel valued for what I bring."  🔸 "I need to understand why this matters."  🔸 "I need psychological safety to take risks."  🔸 "I need time to process what's changing." 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘁? Most resistance happens when we use "power-over" instead of "power-with." When we: • Tell instead of involve • Control instead of collaborate • Judge instead of understand • Rush instead of honor the process 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲—𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿. What if we got curious instead of defensive? What if we asked: "What do you need to make this learning work for you?" 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀? 𝗟𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 👇 P.S. If you want to grow as a PD facilitator, here’s my free Three Mistakes You’re Making with Your PD… and What to Do Instead tool: https://lnkd.in/guKwkGyu #ProfessionalDevelopment #Resistance #Power #Leadership #AdultLearning