What if some of the resistance slowing your change initiative is actually confusion?
“Even great change is met with differing levels of resistance.” That’s a line I share frequently with clients about to undergo, or in the midst of, organizational change.
With change coming more rapidly than ever, one tried-and-true tool remains central to successfully navigating it: communication.
What Makes Change Difficult for Teams?
Resistance is a natural human response to change. Change disrupts familiar routines, affects our sense of control and competence, and replaces comfortable norms with uncertainty.
When team members don’t understand why a change is happening, what it means for them, or what they need to do next, their hesitation can be mistaken for resistance. They may continue following familiar processes, wait for direction, or rely on coworkers to help them make sense of it.
From our perspective as leaders, those behaviors can look like barriers to progress. Communication helps us determine whether the issue is opposition, confusion, or a practical concern we have not considered.
Communication Is Never One and Done
In a national survey of 18,665 U.S. employees, Gallup found that employees experiencing organizational change were 4.3 times more likely to be engaged and 65% less likely to experience change-related fatigue and burnout when they strongly agreed that leaders communicated effectively.
As leaders, we usually have a significant head start in adopting change.
By implementation, we have discussed alternatives, asked questions, made decisions, and had time to adjust. Managers and their teams may be hearing the details for the first time just as implementation begins.
We are ready to move. They are trying to understand what it all means to them.
That readiness gap cannot be closed with an announcement or one training session. It requires a communication plan that begins before rollout and continues until the change becomes the new normal.
Consider Your Frontline Managers
Before finalizing the communication and implementation plans, bring a representative group of frontline managers into the discussion. They work closest to the team members who will carry out the change and can identify concerns we may not see from the executive level:
- What concerns are their teams likely to have?
- Where could the transition become confusing?
- What practical effects may have been overlooked?
Early involvement gives managers time to process the change, challenge assumptions, and become well versed in both the rationale and the details before guiding their teams through it.
Communicate Early, Often, and Transparently
Communication needs consistent language and a reliable rhythm. Each update can answer three questions:
- Where are we in the process?
- What are the early results?
- What has changed since the last update?
- What happens next?
Senior leaders need to explain what is changing, why it’s changing, what the organization is working toward, and the implementation timeline.
Frontline managers then translate that message into what team members need most: how their work will change, what happens next, what is expected of them now, how to give feedback, and when updates will be provided.
Using several channels helps reinforce the messages:
- All-hands meetings establish the organizational direction and give high-level updates.
- Team-level meetings and one-on-ones address specific implications.
- Skip-level conversations give senior leaders direct insight into questions and concerns.
- Written follow up confirms what was shared and provides a reference as the change moves forward.
Transparency is critical throughout. Remember, vague messages create more questions and assumptions. Specific information, even when incomplete, builds trust and supports momentum.
Create and Close the Feedback Loop
Two-way communication gives us an ongoing view of how the organization is managing change.
Build time into meetings for questions and listening. Ask what is working, where barriers are emerging, and what teams need to move forward.
Then close the loop.
- Answer what can be answered in the moment.
- Track questions that require follow-up and return with a response.
- When input changes the plan, say so.
- When a suggestion cannot be used, explain why.
Without follow-through, requests for feedback are hollow and quickly lose credibility.
The Wrap
Even excellent communication will not eliminate every concern, disagreement, or resistance. It will, however, reduce preventable confusion, surface practical issues early, and give managers and teams a clear path throughout the transition.
Before labeling an individual or team resistant, examine the communication they have received. Do they understand why the change is happening, what it means for them, what comes next, and where to raise concerns?
Direct answers help us determine whether the issue is resistance, confusion, or a need for additional support.
If your organization is navigating significant change and would benefit from confidential, professional support, let’s talk about how PERSPECTIVES can help.
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Author Karen Pelot, MBA, MDR, PCC, is the Principal and lead practitioner at PERSPECTIVES.
