You’ve done the groundwork—defined the strategy, launched the transformation, briefed your teams. The shift is underway. But weeks or months later, something’s off. Progress has slowed. Enthusiasm has dimmed. Resistance has reemerged in new forms. And your change momentum has stalled.
This scenario is more common than most CEOs realize. Studies consistently show that 60% to 70% of organizational change initiatives fail. One key reason? Resistance doesn’t end after kickoff—it evolves. Leaders often treat resistance like an early high hurdle to clear. In reality, it’s a recurring signal that change is being processed, challenged, and internalized. If left unaddressed, these successive waves of resistance can quietly derail momentum. But when engaged strategically, they can accelerate adoption and strengthen the transformation.
Understanding the Cycle of Successive Resistance
At BTS, we’ve worked with leadership teams at dozens of Fortune 500 companies navigating large-scale transformations—ranging from strategy pivots and post-M&A integration to structural realignment. In nearly every case, we see a recurring blind spot: resistance that returns just when leaders think they’ve moved past it.
Why? Because people don’t process change all at once. They experience it in waves. Each new wave of realization—how the change affects their team, their workload, their relevance—sparks fresh reactions. What may seem like regression is often a deeper layer of processing based on a deeper level of understanding.
For example, a software client undergoing a major pricing and go-to-market shift initially appeared to have all the right pieces in place. Their planning was thorough, and they were attentive to what different employee groups needed to succeed in their “new” jobs. But as the transition crossed fiscal years, a fresh wave of resistance emerged, especially among the sales team, whose compensation would be affected differently across two fiscal periods. Rather than treating this as unexpected pushback, the leadership team anticipated these ripple effects by introducing well-timed checkpoints before quarter- and year-end. They also adjusted reporting processes to help sellers track both old and new results more easily. This level of proactive transparency and support helped mitigate confusion and eased the strain of transition.
In the early stages of change, resistance often surfaces as questions or skepticism: “Will this actually happen?” or “What does this mean for me?” This marks the conceptual phase—where people are still trying to make sense of the big idea, testing its logic and feasibility.
As the change shifts into practical territory—when people start using the new systems, working in new structures, or serving customers differently—additional barriers emerge. This resistance is more operational: it shows up as friction, bottlenecks, or workarounds. Employees now believe the change is real, and they’re bumping into what it actually takes to deliver on it.
Finally, in the reliable phase, resistance can be harder to spot but just as consequential. It shows up in subtle ways: underuse of new tools, reversion to old habits during pressure, or inconsistency across teams. At this stage, the change is technically live, but the organization hasn’t fully internalized it yet. This may be the most dangerous phase.
This cycle is where many CEOs inadvertently lose momentum. They treat resistance as a problem to solve at the beginning of a transformation, rather than a strategic signal that must be continuously decoded and addressed throughout. Recognizing this progression and anticipating the unique forms resistance takes at each phase enables leaders to engage it as a critical driver of long-term adoption—not a disruption to it.
One of the most powerful reframes I’ve seen among senior leaders is the shift from controlling resistance to learning from it. At a healthcare technology company, I worked with over 200 leaders to unpack this mindset. My team asked them: “What data does engaging with employees’ resistance give us?” Their answers were illuminating. Resistance, they discovered, exposed communication gaps, revealed which teams needed more support, surfaced trust issues, and pointed to leadership the behaviors that needed to change.
Equipped with this insight, leaders adopted a discovery posture. Instead of defending decisions, they used probing questions to explore hesitation and uncertainty. They learned to treat resistance not as dissent to manage—but as an invitation to align, clarify and adapt.
The Leadership Mindset Shifts That Unlock Progress
As a CEO, you’re likely not hearing every pulse of resistance firsthand. But your role in how resistance is framed and responded to makes the difference between stalled change and sustained transformation. Here’s what that shift looks like:
• From directing change to coaching at critical moments. In a world of ongoing disruption, there’s no finish line, just the next shift. CEOs who show up like coaches—checking in, adjusting plays, encouraging learning—build momentum that lasts beyond any single initiative.
• From seeing resistance as a problem to recognizing it as feedback. Resistance is data. It reveals what’s unclear, what feels risky, and what needs reinforcement.
• From assuming understanding to anticipating realization moments. Most people need to hear a message 7 to 10 times before it sticks. And even then, they may need to see how it applies to them specifically. Expect it, plan for it, normalize it. Early in my career, a wise executive told me something that has stuck with me even 20 years later: “When you’re tired of repeating yourself about a change, that’s when people are just starting to hear you.”
Practical Moves to Reengage Momentum
Here’s how CEOs can engage successive resistance without burning out or backtracking:
1. Name the pattern. Let teams know upfront that questions, reservations, doubts, and other ideas (aka resistance) are expected and appreciated, as they demonstrate engagement. This reframes the narrative early.
2. Map the typical traps. In my work, the three most common flashpoints are: compensation changes, role/reporting redefinitions, and shifts in expectations. Address these explicitly and often.
3. Listen to what resistance is telling you. What are people telling you about their frustrations with the change? Is it misalignment, skill gaps, or misplaced incentives? Each pushback is a clue.
4. Communicate with rhythmic consistency. Staggered realization requires repeated messaging. Leaders who cascade communication in sync with the cycle stay ahead of the dips.
5. Build resilience as a muscle. Resilience isn’t just an individual trait; it’s an organizational capability. For CEOs, this means creating space for ongoing reflection, recalibration, and reinforcement throughout the transformation. Short, regular check-ins can serve as low-friction moments to spotlight progress, surface tension, and model adaptability.
The CEOs who succeed at transformation aren’t the ones who push the hardest. They’re the ones who normalize resistance as part of the process and keep leading with intention. They recognize the emotional labor involved and build systems to support it.
In a world of nonstop reinvention, your ability to engage and decode resistance—over time, in waves—is no longer optional. It’s a competitive edge. The more fluently you engage it, the faster your organization adapts.
