Why don't they just change already?
If people in your organization aren’t changing like you wish they would, blaming it people simply being resistant to change is a lazy diagnosis. Convenient, sure. But not helpful.
Here’s what would be helpful: taking a good, hard look in the mirror and asking yourself: Why am I failing to change their behavior?
Well, here are the usual suspects:
The change isn't relevant to them
You (over)engineered a shiny and complex solution. But if it doesn’t solve their problem better than what they already do, they won’t budge. Would you?
The change doesn't fit their identity
You’re not just asking them to change tasks—you’re asking them to change how they see themselves. How they do things today fits with their self-image: who they are and what they’re good at. This new way of working? Not so much. The mismatch is simply too big, or worse, a straight-up clash.
The change doesn't work in real life
It's a nice idea. Looks great in slides. But you missed something: Context. Constraints. Trade-offs. There are barriers that make it too hard or risky for them to do what you ask.
You overestimated conformity
You assumed everyone could just work the same way. But surprise: people aren’t clones. Different teams, roles, and realities mean your one-size-fits-all solution is more like one-size-fits-none. Or at best, a compromise no one’s excited about.
You're asking for too much, too fast
Change takes time. Headspace. Energy. Plus, chances are, someone else is already asking them to change something else. Simultaneously. Perhaps in a totally different direction. Cue confusion, frustration, or just plain inaction.
You're too vague about what they should do
You’ve rolled out new roles, new values, new systems—great! But you haven’t told people what you actually want them to do differently on Monday. New behaviors don't just emerge magically.
Bottom line?
People aren’t being difficult. They’re being reasonable. So before you diagnose resistance, double-check your change.
Need help figuring out what’s really in the way? Great! If you ask us, real change starts with trying something new, paying attention—and just the right amount of Friktion.
Want to dig a little deeper into this topic first? Then I recommend giving this a read:
Six things you should be doing to get your transformation rolling
Vadim Feldman
Founder and Management Consultant
