Managing Resistance To Change In Nonprofit Organizations

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.

How I Learned to Decode Transformation Resistance: "Everyone seems supportive of our digital transformation." Famous last words from a CEO whose initiative failed spectacularly. The signs were all there: - Meetings full of polite agreement - Questions focused on logistics, not vision - Energy levels dropping after announcements - Key people suddenly "too busy" for planning sessions We weren't reading the emotional subtext. Here's the EQ framework that turned things around: The SERA Method for Emotional Intelligence: SENSE the Emotional Climate - Notice energy shifts during meetings - Observe who stops participating - Track changes in informal conversations - Pay attention to body language patterns Actionable: Start every transformation meeting with an energy check. "On a scale of 1-10, how are you feeling about this change today?" INTERPRET the Underlying Emotions - "Need more details" often means "I'm scared" - "Seems rushed" often means "I feel overwhelmed" - "What about customers?" often means "What about me?" RESPOND to Emotions First, Facts Second Before: "The timeline is non-negotiable." After: "I understand this feels fast. Let me explain the support we're putting in place..." Actionable: Lead every response with emotional acknowledgment. "I hear that you're concerned about..." then provide information. ADAPT Your Communication Style - High anxiety = Slower pace, more details - Low engagement = More involvement opportunities - Strong resistance = More one-on-one time Actionable: Match your communication style to the emotional state you're observing. The transformation turned around when we stopped managing change And started managing the emotions around change. ♻️ Repost this to help other navigate transformations successfully. 🔔 Follow Sara Junio for more insights on Transformations and Leadership Communication.

"If you have to force change, you've already failed." This became painfully clear when I learned why the majority of organizational transformations collapse… Last week, in a workshop with Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA, I learned a term that fundamentally altered how I view organizational psychology: Reactance. I now call it "The Corporate Immune System" - and it's quietly destroying your change initiatives. Here's the counterintuitive truth most leaders miss: The harder you push for change, the stronger the organizational antibodies become against it. Consider this paradox: When you mandate transformation, you simultaneously create its greatest obstacle. When you force evolution, you guarantee devolution. When you demand innovation, you breed stagnation. HARD TRUTH: Your brain has a freedom detector. And when it senses a threat, it doesn't just resist - it architects elaborate systems of opposition. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲: 1. The Autonomy Principle "Don't push the boulder. Build the slope." * Every forced change creates an equal and opposite resistance * The energy you spend overcoming resistance could have been spent creating momentum * Psychological safety isn't a buzzword - it's the foundation of transformation 𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘅 "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘁" * Speed of implementation ≠ Speed of integration * Involvement beats compliance by a factor of 4 * The time you "waste" in collaboration is recovered tenfold in execution 𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 "𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲" * Trust is the hidden multiplier in all transformation equations * Authority can mandate behavior but never belief * The best change strategies make resistance harder than adoption Here's what the research shows: * 70% of change programs fail to meet their objectives (McKinsey) * Projects with excellent change management are 6x more likely to succeed (Prosci) * Organizations with effective change management practices report 143% higher ROI compared to those with minimal change management (Prosci) Intellectual humility moment: I had to unlearn a decade of "best practices" to understand this fundamental truth - the most effective change feels chosen, not imposed. What conventional wisdom about change leadership do you need to unlearn? #OrganizationalPsychology #ChangeManagement #LeadershipScience Tamsen Webster - Your reactance framework revolutionized my approach to change.

“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?