5 Strategies to Handle Resistance to Implementing the New Strategy

Resistance is not the opposite of alignment. It’s information. When leaders treat it as something to override, they often intensify it. When they work with it skillfully, resistance becomes a doorway to stronger execution.

Many leaders miss resistance altogether or recognize it, but don’t know how to work with it productively.

In fast-moving environments, resistance is often interpreted as a threat to momentum, so it gets shut down quickly through authority, urgency, or repeated messaging. While this may create short-term compliance, it almost always drives concerns underground, where they resurface later as disengagement, stalled execution, or quiet erosion of trust.

The cost isn’t just relational, it’s strategic.

Here are five strategies that help leaders address resistance early before it hardens into disengagement.

1. Slow the pace just enough to restore safety.

At the start of the year, many teams are already operating with elevated cognitive load — carrying last year’s outcomes while absorbing new expectations. If leaders push immediately into speed, resistance increases. A brief pause to clarify priorities, decision paths, and success criteria reduces threat and allows better thinking to return.

From a neuroscience perspective, perceived pressure activates the brain’s threat response, narrowing focus and limiting flexibility. A steadier pace helps keep the prefrontal cortex online, supporting reasoning and buy-in.

2. Name resistance without labeling it as a problem.

When leaders acknowledge hesitation, uncertainty, or friction out loud, it reduces defensiveness. Silence, on the other hand, allows resistance to go underground. Naming what you’re sensing, without blame, signals that dialogue is welcome and that leaders are paying attention.

This creates psychological space for people to express concerns before they become entrenched behaviors.

3. Distinguish between resistance to the strategy and resistance to how it will be implemented.

Teams often agree with what needs to happen but resist how it’s being rolled out — timelines, resourcing, sequencing, or ownership. When leaders assume resistance is ideological, they miss opportunities to make practical adjustments that dramatically improve execution.

Clarifying this distinction early prevents unnecessary polarization and keeps energy focused on solutions.

4. Make trade-offs visible and shared.

Resistance frequently arises when teams are asked to absorb new priorities without relief elsewhere. When trade-offs are implicit, people protect themselves by slowing down or disengaging. When leaders clearly name what is being deprioritized, resistance softens because expectations feel more realistic.

Shared trade-offs build credibility and trust, especially at the beginning of the year.

5. Reinforce meaning before demanding momentum.

Execution accelerates when people understand why this strategy matters now. Reconnecting the work to organizational purpose, customer impact, or long-term stability helps teams move beyond compliance into commitment.

Early reinforcement of meaning creates resilience particularly when implementation becomes challenging later in the year.

Handled well, resistance becomes an ally. It reveals where clarity is missing, where capacity is stretched, and where leadership presence matters most.

Leadership Practice

Identify one area where resistance is showing up early this year.

Before trying to fix it, ask yourself:

• What might this resistance be protecting?

• What information hasn’t been fully surfaced yet?

• What adjustment could reduce friction without compromising direction?

Approach the conversation with curiosity rather than urgency — and notice how the dynamic shifts.

Author

Athena Williams, Founder and CEO of Tenacious Leadership Institute, partners with senior leaders and organizations navigating complex transformation at scale. For more than two decades, she has supported executives at global companies including Fortune 500 and high-growth organizations to strengthen leadership capacity, accelerate transformation, and deliver results that hold under pressure.

Her work sits at the intersection of neuroscience, leadership behavior, and execution - helping leaders think clearly in complexity, lead decisively through disruption, and align teams and organizations during critical inflection points. Through executive coaching and leadership development programs, Athena supports transformation that shows up in stronger decisions, sharper execution, and sustained performance across people, teams, and the enterprise.

Take the next step in strengthening how you lead transformation.