You defined your strategy, started your transformation, and explained it to your team. A shift is in progress. But after a few weeks or months, something is off. Progress has slowed down. The enthusiasm is getting dark. Resistance has reappeared in new forms. And your momentum of change is stagnating.
This scenario is more common than most CEOs realize. The study consistently shows that 60% to 70% of organizational change initiatives failed. One important reason? Resistance does not end after kickoff. It evolves. Leaders often treat resistance like a high initial hurdle. In reality, it is the repetitive signal that changes are processed, challenged and internalized. If left unaddressed, these continuous waves of resistance can quietly derail momentum. However, strategic involvement can accelerate adoption and enhance transformation.
Understanding the cycles of continuous resistance
From strategic pivots and post-M&A integration to structural reorganizations, BTS works with leadership teams from dozens of Fortune 500 companies to navigate major transformations. In almost every case, repeated blind spots are seen. It's a resistance to return when the leader thinks he has overcome it.
why? Because people don't process everything at once. They experience it in the waves. Each wave of realization – how change affects teams, workloads and relevances absorb fresh responses. What may appear to be regression is often the deeper processing layer based on a deeper level of understanding.
For example, software clients undergoing a shift in key pricing and transition to the market first appeared to have all the right pieces in place. Their plans were thorough and they paid attention to what different group of employees needed to succeed in their “new” jobs. However, as the transition spent the fiscal year, a new wave of resistance emerged, especially among the sales team. Rather than treating this as an unexpected pushback, the leadership team predicted these ripple effects by introducing appropriate timing checkpoints before the quarter and year-end. We also adjusted the reporting process to make it easier for sellers to track both old and new results. This level of active transparency and support reduced the disruption and eased the burden of transition.
In the early stages of change, resistance emerges as questioning and skepticism. “Does this actually happen?” or “What does this mean to me?” This marks concept Phase – Testing its logic and feasibility where people are still trying to understand big ideas.
As changes shift Practical Territories – When people start using new systems, work with new structures, or provide services to their customers in different ways, the barriers offered arise. This resistor works better. It appears as a friction, a bottleneck, or workaround. Employees now believe that change is real and they bump into what they actually need to make it happen.
lastly, Reliable Phases, resistance can be difficult to find, but they are equally consequences. It appears in a subtle way: underusing new tools, returning to old habits under pressure, or inconsistency across the team. At this stage, the changes are technically live, but the organization has not yet been completely internalized. This may be the most dangerous stage.
This cycle is where many CEOs carelessly lose momentum. They treat resistance as a problem to resolve at the start of the conversion. Recognizing this progression and the resistance of unique forms in each phase takes, leaders can attract it as a key factor in long-term recruitment rather than disrupting it.
One of the most powerful rebirths I have seen among senior leaders is the transition from control of resistance to learning. At a healthcare technology company, we worked with over 200 leaders to unravel this idea. My team asked them: “What kind of data will the data involved in employee resistance give you?” Their answer was illuminated. Resistance uncovered communication gaps, which teams need more support and need to surface trust issues, and pointed out the actions to leadership that need to be changed.
Leaders with this insight adopted a discovery attitude. Instead of defending the decision, they used research questions to explore hesitation and uncertainty. They have learned that they are not against managing resistance, but as an invitation to adjustment, clarification and adaptation.
Leadership mindset changes to unleash progress
As CEO, you probably haven't heard every pulse of resistance directly. However, your role in how resistance is assembled and responded will result in a difference between a stopped change and a persistent transformation. Here's what that shift looks like:
•From instruction of change at key moments to coaching. In a world of continuous chaos, there is no finish line. Just the next shift. A CEO who appears like a coach (check-in, play coordination, encourage learning) builds momentum that continues beyond a single initiative.
•From viewing resistance as a problem to perceive it as feedback. Resistance is data. It reveals what is unclear, what feels dangerous, and what needs to be reinforced.
•From understanding to predicting the moment of realization. Most people need to listen to the message 7-10 times before it sticks to it. And yet, they may need to see how it applies specifically. Expect it, plan it and normalize it. Early in my career, the wise executives taught me what I kept up to 20 years later.
Practical moves to regain momentum
Here's how CEOs can make continuous resistance without burning out or backtracking:
1. Give the pattern a name. Pay your team up to see questions, reservations, doubts, and other ideas (aka resistance) expected, ratings expected and appreciated. This reconstructs the story early.
2. Map typical traps. In my job, the three most common flashpoints are change in reward, redefine role/report, and change in expectations. Address these explicitly and frequently.
3. Listen to what resistance is telling you. What are people saying to you about their frustration with change? Is it an inconsistency, a skill gap, or a false incentive? Each pushback is a clue.
4. Communication with rhythmic consistency. A repetitive message is required to realize staggering. Leaders who cascade communication in sync with the cycle stay before the dip.
5. Build muscle resilience. Resilience is not just an individual characteristic. It is the ability of the organization. For CEOs, this means creating space for continuous reflection, readjustment and enhancement throughout the transformation. A short periodic check-in serves as a low-friction moment to spotlight progress, surface tension, and model adaptability.
A successful CEO in a transformation is not the one who pushes the hardest. They are those who normalize and continue to lead resistance as part of the process. They recognize and build a system that supports the emotional labor involved.
In a non-stop world of reinvention, the ability to redeem and decode resistance – in the waves, the waves, no longer an option. It's competitiveness. The more you engage in fluent, the faster your organization will adapt.
