The Root of Resistance: Why Your Team Pushes Back on Strategic Change

Strategic change is essential for progress — but it’s rarely welcomed with open arms. Many leaders face a common challenge: their team resists every shift, no matter how promising or necessary. The knee-jerk reaction is often to question the team’s mindset, motivation, or even their capabilities. But in my experience, resistance is not the real problem. It’s a symptom.

The real issue? Exclusion.

If They’re Not In, They Push Back

Resistance is expected when people are not involved in the strategy from the beginning — when they aren’t invited into the debates, the workshops, the causes behind the change. If a strategy is built behind closed doors and handed down for execution, it becomes someone else’s idea. And when people don’t see their fingerprints on a plan, it’s natural for them to poke holes in it.

By the time a strategy reaches implementation, the team has one job: follow through. But without context or connection, most people won’t buy in. Instead, they default to finding flaws, raising objections, or dragging their feet — not out of malice, but out of disconnection. They don’t believe in the change because they were never part of building it.

Inclusion Is the Antidote to Resistance

When your team is part of designing the strategy — even if just through initial discussions or feedback loops — everything changes. You’re not just rolling out a new plan; you’re activating ownership. People support what they help create.

Here’s what that can look like:

• Running workshops to gather insights and test ideas early on.

• Bringing in team leads to challenge assumptions before the strategy is finalized.

• Co-defining success metrics with those who will own them.

• Creating space for bottom-up contributions, not just top-down directives.

By involving people in shaping the “why” and “how,” you eliminate much of the friction that shows up during the “what.”

No Shortcuts: Participation is Non-Negotiable

If you want a strategy that sticks, don’t treat the team as passive recipients. Treat them as co-authors. Yes, this takes more time up front. Yes, it’s more complex. But the payoff is worth it: deeper engagement, faster implementation, and fewer battles over buy-in.

In short: if your team is resisting every change, look at how the change was made. Was it built with them, or for them?

Because when people feel seen, heard, and involved, resistance isn’t the story anymore. Ownership is.