Change is a leadership job: Help people get to the other side
Years ago, I had the opportunity to be part of the change management effort for a large enterprise resource planning implementation. I wasn’t responsible for making software decisions or solving technical challenges — thankfully. Instead, my responsibilities were on the people side: user training, site readiness and communications. Other people were responsible for making sure the system worked. My job was to help make sure people were ready for it.
This project made me realize something I’ve seen many times since: Organizations don’t experience change. People do. No matter how sound the strategy or compelling the business case, change doesn’t succeed simply because leaders made a good decision. People must make the journey too. Facing change is like looking across a river you’re not sure you can cross, and a leader’s job is to help team members get safely to the other side.
Remember: You’ve had a head start
One mistake I see is that leaders forget how long they’ve had to process a change. By the time employees hear about a new system, process or strategy, leaders have discussed it for months. They’ve considered alternatives, worked through concerns and become comfortable with the decision. Then they announce it and wonder why everyone isn’t immediately on board.
Your employees’ journey doesn’t begin until you tell them. Some will be excited. Others will be skeptical or worried. Resistance isn’t always an indication that someone is difficult or unwilling to change. Sometimes they’re simply trying to understand their new reality. Give people a chance to catch up.
Make sure there’s something for everyone
During our ERP implementation, we learned that effective training and communication had to include something for everyone. Some people needed the big picture: Why are we doing this? Others needed practical information: What will I do differently Monday morning? Some needed hands-on training. Others wanted reference materials they could use later. Even employees who weren’t directly using the new system needed to understand how workflows, colleagues or customers might be affected.
That’s an important lesson for any change: Don’t design communication around what leadership wants to say. Design it around what different groups need to know, understand and do.
Use readiness conversations to head off resistance
Readiness conversations ahead of the launch helped us understand key questions: What are people hearing? What are they worried about? What don’t they understand? Where are managers struggling to answer questions? What resources aren’t ready?
Having these conversations early gives leaders an opportunity to address concerns early. It also helps us recognize that perceived resistance contains valuable information. The employee questioning a new process likely sees a problem you’ve missed. The manager saying her team isn’t ready may have identified a training gap. The person asking the same question on repeat is a sign your communication isn’t as clear as you think.
Instead of trying to eliminate resistance, get curious about it. You’ll better understand where the change needs reinforcement.
Communicate, even when you don’t have every answer
Uncertainty creates a vacuum, and people will fill it. You won’t always have all the answers, and that’s ok. Tell people what you know and what you don’t. Be clear about what has been decided, what hasn’t and when they can expect more information.
And communicate more than once. In my experience, leaders often become tired of repeating a message at the time employees are finally beginning to absorb it.
Pay attention to what people are leaving behind
Leaders tend to focus on what an organization will gain from change: efficiency, growth, better technology or stronger processes. But employees often think about what they’ll lose: familiar routines, expertise, relationships, confidence and the comfort of knowing exactly how to do their job. Acknowledging these losses doesn’t mean avoiding change; it means recognizing the human experience of it.
Build the bridge
Our ERP implementation also taught me that “go live” wasn’t the finish line. Technology can function as designed, but if people aren’t prepared to use it, don’t understand what is expected or don’t know where to turn for help, then you’re not finished.
That’s true of almost every organizational change. Leaders can’t eliminate uncertainty or make change painless. But we can build the bridge between what people know today and what we’re asking them to embrace tomorrow.
We can explain why we’re crossing. Provide the training and resources people will need when they arrive. Listen when someone points out that part of the bridge looks shaky. Slow down when necessary, and adjust the route when new information tells us we should.
A leader’s job isn’t simply to announce the destination. It’s to help people get there safely.
This article appears in September SBJ 2026.