You’re Responsible for Results. They Don’t Want to Change.

You’ve been brought in to lead a team. But every time you suggest doing something differently, you hear the same response:

“That’s how we’ve always done it.”

You’re accountable for results, yet the people you depend on don’t see a reason to change.

Push harder, and they dig in. Back off, and you’re responsible for a process you believe needs improving.

How do you move forward when your authority to make a change hasn’t earned their confidence yet?

For a younger manager working with an experienced team or someone joining an established team, this can feel personal. You hear resistance as a challenge to your ability to lead.

Meanwhile, the team may wonder whether you understand their work well enough to change it.

Implementing change requires addressing both concerns.

Understand What You’re Asking People to Leave Behind

You see the benefits of the new approach. Your team knows the benefits of the current one.

They’ve developed routines, solved problems, and learned shortcuts. Even an imperfect process can feel dependable when people know how to make it work.

Before explaining your solution again, ask your team:

• what the current approach helps them do well
• what they would be concerned about losing if we changed it

You’re looking for information that can strengthen the change.

Their answers may reveal a practical obstacle, an overlooked consequence, or uncertainty about succeeding with something unfamiliar.

Understanding what people value helps you explain what needs to change, and what deserves to be preserved.

Connect the Purpose to the Practice

When you tell your team everyone needs to start using a new process, you’re telling people what to do. This doesn’t help them understand why the effort matters.

Make the problem and the solution visible:

• Explain what happens when the new process isn’t utilized
• Define how the new behavior corrects the problem

Example: “When updates aren’t recorded, the next shift has to track someone down. That delays service and creates extra work. Starting Monday, enter each job update before the end of your shift.”

To support the change and the follow through, invite input on how to make the new expectation workable, provide practice or guidance where needed, and then set a date to review progress.

If the process creates a legitimate problem, address it. If someone understands the expectation and can meet it but continues refusing, follow your organization’s accountability process.

Address the Tension Without Making It a Contest

You may feel tempted to prove yourself by having every answer or shutting down objections.

Instead, let your team know you value their experience and that you want their input on making the change practical. But also remind them that you are responsible for improving results, and you need everyone to follow the agreed process.

Show that their input matters by acting on useful feedback. People watch what you do after asking for their opinion.

This week, consider a change you’re struggling to implement. Have you made the problem clear? Understood what people are protecting? Defined the next step?

You can require a new behavior. Building confidence in the change takes more: a clear purpose, a workable process, and leadership people can trust.

Jo-Aynne Von Born, Leadership/Executive Coach

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