The key points in 30 seconds:
→ Resistance to change is normal. It is not primarily a people problem.
→ Change is hard on three levels: people, organization, cause & effect. The three reinforce each other (Hartman, 2026).
→ It's often the most competent people who push back, because they think things through and feel the double workload.
→ What helps: use resistance as feedback, change in small steps, and anchor change as a learning process.
Why this matters for leaders: If you read resistance as stubbornness, you often lose exactly the people who think hardest about the work. If you read it as feedback, you learn where the change is snagging in day-to-day work.
It's almost never about willingness
When I get on site, I notice: it's almost never about willingness. I see one pattern again and again. A new system is introduced, but employees are still held to the old goals and standards. And the new work comes on top. That's double work.
It's often the most competent people who push back. They think things through, they still care deeply, and they see where things don't add up in practice. But they aren't heard, because resistance is annoying.
Why change is so hard: three levels
In a recent model, Lorne Hartman (2026) describes why organizations resist change. He distinguishes three levels:
1 People
The familiar takes less energy. We prefer what we know and seek security.
2 Organization
The system seeks stability. Organizations absorb disruptions.
3 Cause & effect
Consequences are hard to predict. In complex systems, no one knows exactly what a change will set off.
All three reinforce each other.
Model based on Hartman (2026)
Three things make the difference
Take resistance seriously
And use it as feedback. Where is it snagging? What now counts twice? If you listen to objections, you learn where the change doesn't work in practice.
Change in small steps
Instead of overwhelming people. And say clearly what goes away in return, so there's no double work.
Anchor change as a learning process
Try, evaluate, adjust. Not as an order from the top.
Why good intentions alone rarely suffice is the topic of my article Change That Lasts.
How I work
Look on site at where things are really stuck. Turn a few adjusting screws. Stay on it until it runs without me.
Be honest
Do you hear sentences like these in your company? Then it's worth taking a closer look before someone leaves. Often they're exactly the people you need most.
Source
Hartman, L. M. (2026). Why organizations resist change: A multilevel model of human, systemic, and causal constraints. Organizational Psychology Review, 16(4), 425–439.
You talk, I listen.
Do you hear sentences like these in your company? A coffee, 30 minutes: you talk, I listen. No sales pitch.