Resistance Isn’t the Problem. It’s Information About the Problem.
When employees push back against organizational change, resistance is often treated as something to overcome. Leaders may respond with more communication, additional training, or stronger expectations for compliance. The assumption is that if people understood the change or recognized its benefits, they would be more willing to move forward.
But resistance isn't always a sign that people don't understand the change or refuse to support it. Sometimes it's a signal that something important hasn't been addressed.
Resistance may be telling us more about the change than we realize.
What Resistance Can Reveal
Resistance is rarely as simple as employees being unwilling to change. People may understand the business rationale while questioning how the change will affect their work. They may support the Future State but lack confidence in their ability to operate within it. Others may be concerned about losing autonomy, relationships, expertise, or a sense of stability.
Consider an employee who continues using an old process after a new one has been introduced. It's easy to conclude that the employee is resisting. But perhaps the new process creates delays, the training didn't address real-world situations, or the employee's manager continues rewarding behaviors associated with the old way of working.
The behavior is visible. The reason behind it may not be.
Don't Confuse the Symptom with the Cause
When leaders label resistance too quickly, they risk responding to the behavior rather than understanding what's driving it.
More communication won't necessarily resolve a capability gap. Additional training won't address a lack of trust. Stronger expectations won't eliminate operational barriers that make the new way of working difficult.
This is why diagnosing resistance matters. What are employees saying? What are they doing? Where is the change creating uncertainty, frustration, or unintended consequences? Are the concerns isolated, or do patterns suggest a broader organizational issue?
These questions shift the conversation from “How do we get people to stop resisting?” to “What is their response telling us about what needs attention?”
Listening Doesn't Mean Agreeing
Treating resistance as information doesn't mean every concern is valid or that every objection should change the direction of an initiative. Organizations still need to make decisions, establish expectations, and move forward.
It does mean taking the time to distinguish between concerns that reveal genuine barriers and those that reflect discomfort, competing priorities, or disagreement with a necessary decision.
Employees don't have to agree with every aspect of a change to contribute valuable information about how it is being experienced. And leaders don't have to abandon a decision to demonstrate that they've listened.
The objective is to use what we learn to make better decisions about how to support adoption.
LaMarsh Perspective
At LaMarsh, we believe understanding the human experience of change is essential to managing it effectively. Resistance should not automatically be viewed as an obstacle to eliminate. It can provide valuable insight into the beliefs, concerns, organizational conditions, and practical barriers influencing people's movement toward the Future State.
When change practitioners and leaders investigate those signals rather than react to them, they are better positioned to identify what people need and where the change approach may need adjustment.
Leadership Reflection
Think about a change where employees are being described as resistant. What evidence supports that conclusion? Have you explored the reasons behind their responses, or have you focused primarily on changing their behavior?
Before asking how to overcome resistance, ask what the resistance is trying to tell you.
The answer may reveal something important about the change itself.