October 20, 2025 • 26 mins
In this episode, I’m talking about one of the hardest — but most defining — parts of leadership: facing opposition when you’re implementing change.
If you’ve been following this three-part mini-series on implementing change, you know we’ve been walking through what it really takes to implement change successfully. In episode one, we talked about ownership and commitment — the foundation every leader needs before change can take root. In episode two, we unpacked what to expect and how to do it — the mindset, people, and tactical steps for making change stick.
And now, in this final episode of the series, we’re diving into opposition — what it is, how to recognize it, and how to respond without losing focus or momentum. Because any time you try to move something forward, opposition will come. The question is: will you let it derail you, or will you stay the course long enough to see transformation?
What You’ll Learn:
- The difference between resistance (internal hesitation) and opposition (external pushback)
- The two types of opposition — passive and active — and how to identify each
- Why opposition is normal when change begins—and what to do about it.
- How to focus on your early adopters, create proof of concept, and build momentum.
- The importance of keeping your eyes on the mission and not getting distracted by drama.
- What to do when someone refuses to align with the change
- Why time, patience, and conviction are your greatest allies in leading through change.
- What Nehemiah teaches us about staying faithful to the work God called you to do.
Scripture Reference:
Nehemiah 6:3 — “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”
Resources & Links:
- Learn more at clearauthenticbrands.com
Related Episodes:
- Episode 09: The First Step Implementing Real and Lasting Change
- Episode 10: How to Implement Change and What to Expect in the Process
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amy Dardis (00:11):
Welcome to the Building A Clear, Authentic
Brand Podcast.
I'm your host, Amy Dardis.
And today we're diving into oneof the most difficult but also
most defining parts ofleadership: dealing with
opposition when you'reimplementing change.
If you've been following thisthree-part mini-series, you know
(00:31):
that we've been walking throughthe process of implementing
change.
Episode one in this mini-serieswas talking about ownership and
commitment, two things we haveto have in order to successfully
implement change.
Then moving on to like what todo to implement change and what
(00:51):
to expect in that process.
And then now we're comingaround to this third part, which
is opposition.
Because the truth is, anytimeyou try to move something
forward, anytime you try toimplement something new, change
in some way, you will faceopposition.
(01:14):
It's not a matter of if, it'sjust a matter of when.
And how you respond to thatopposition determines whether
the change takes root or it diesin the process.
So let's start a little bit bydefining the difference between
(01:35):
resistance versus opposition.
Last episode we talked aboutresistance that you will face
it, it's natural.
So resistance is internal andit's emotional.
It's hesitation, discomfort, orreluctance people feel when
(01:56):
something familiar is changing.
It's often subconscious andpeople may not even realize that
they're resisting.
And it's very common during theearly stages of processing
change.
And I shared the story offeeling resistant every time I
go to play a new board game.
(02:18):
Because even though I likeboard games and I'm excited to
play it, there is this internaland emotional part of me that's
just like, ah, what if I don'tunderstand this game?
What if I don't like it?
What if it takes too long?
What if it's not worth it?
And it's just, it's almost aninvoluntary reaction, but it's
(02:40):
something we work through.
Now, opposition is external andit's intentional.
It is a conscious resistance tochange that really aims to
influence that the change stops,that it does not happen, that
we prevent the change fromtaking place.
(03:01):
And in this analogy, metaphor,not sure the correct term that
we're using here, but when itcomes to change, I like to think
of it as a pendulum, right?
So on one side of the pendulum,we have opposition.
On the other side of thependulum, we have adoption.
(03:24):
And in the middle isresistance.
Now, ideally, you present anidea and someone starts with
resistance and moves towardsadoption.
And since we're making up thisanalogy, then the pendulum
doesn't come back down, right?
(03:45):
Like we're making up our ownrules here.
But other times we havesomeone, we present change, we
present a new idea, and someonestarts with opposition.
And the goal here is to movepeople along the process.
(04:07):
Now, when we have opposition,it has two forms.
We have passive opposition,which are people who resist
change quietly.
It looks like compliance on thesurface, but it's resistance
underneath.
It's the people who tell youwhat you want to hear to your
(04:32):
face.
They say okay, they might evensay good things about it
publicly, but there's nofollow-through.
There is no action.
There is no change.
It is just all lip service.
And then they go about and dotheir own thing anyway, because
(04:54):
the thoughts in their head aresaying, I don't like this.
I don't think this is gonnastick.
So I'm just gonna keep doingwhat I'm doing and I'll wait for
this thing to fall apart.
And I'm not gonna waste anyenergy or effort to try and
adopt this change because Ibelieve that it's not gonna
work.
(05:14):
The other type of opposition wehave is active opposition.
This is the most obvious kind.
It's open pushback, it'squestioning, arguing, resistance
to decisions.
When you have activeopposition, you know you have
opposition.
And when we implement change,whether it's technology, a
(05:38):
process, a structure, a newculture shift or way of
operating, opposition will makeup twenty percent of your
people.
This is this is a generalestimate.
This is not scientific and itis not specifically accurate,
(06:02):
but it is just to give you anidea.
Like if you have a hundredpeople in the room, twenty of
them are going to have thisopposition in some way, and
there are varying degrees ofopposition.
So just like we have thispendulum, just because they're
(06:26):
opposing it, just becausethey're actively reluctant to
this change, they don't believeit's worth it, they don't
believe it's going to stick,they don't that doesn't
necessarily mean that they areon the far end of this
opposition.
They just could be a little bitpast natural resistance, or
(06:47):
they could be further on downthe line.
So everybody is going to bedifferent.
And in the very, very beginningof implementing change, we
can't make any hard and fastassessments just because it's
all new anyway.
So we're not even gonna worryabout it too much at the very,
(07:08):
very beginning because thingsare going to change along the
way, and whatever someone startsout as, it doesn't define them.
It's just like a bad firstimpression.
I mean, it's just you justgotta give them a chance.
You just gotta go and talk tothem again and give them some
time to process and then laterkind of see where things shake
(07:31):
out.
So everyone else, if they'renot in active or passive
opposition, they are either inon the fence, which is like
they're neutral either way.
They're just like, okay, I havethis natural resistance.
I'm not overly excited aboutit, but I'm also not like, oh,
(07:52):
this is not gonna work.
I'm against it.
They're just like, okay, well,let's just see how it goes.
And if it goes and it sticks,then I'm on board.
And if not, then that's okaytoo.
I'm comfortable doing what I'vebeen doing.
Or you have your people who areyour early adopters.
You have the people who can seethe vision, they get excited
(08:13):
early, they start to takeaction, and those are the people
you get to spend a lot of timewith in order to get that
traction, get that momentum, andstart to have that proof of
concept.
So when you're dealing withopposition, whether it's passive
or active, how do what do wedo, right?
(08:35):
So the first thing, which Imentioned before, is we just let
it play out for a little bit.
We just observe, we look aroundat people and we just kind of
see how they're reacting.
And in my head, I willcategorize them just very
(08:56):
gently, and again, not at first,but within the first few
months, I will start to be like,okay, where do I think this
person falls?
Where would I categorize themin this bucket of being in
opposition, being neutral, orbeing on board?
(09:17):
And then I will start to focuson the people who are the most
on board.
So while you have people whoare opposing the change, one,
your passive people, they're nota huge threat because they're
not going around and sayingthings to other people.
(09:39):
If anything, they're they'retalking like they're on board,
they're just not doing anythingabout it.
So it's just like, okay, I'mgonna watch that.
I'm just I'm gonna watch howthat plays out.
Your active opposition isdefinitely going to be the
biggest threat, but they don'thave to be the only voice in the
(10:01):
room, nor do they have to bethe loudest.
So think of it like you have ateam of people, you have a group
of people, and they are oneperson or they are a small
minority.
So the first thing we have todo is we have to balance it out.
So that way the most, theperson who's the most actively
(10:24):
in opposition, everybody is notbeing only listening to that
voice.
Like, there have to be multiplevoices in the room in order to
like maintain this assemblanceof balance and like, oh, this
person is saying these badthings, but then this person is
saying these good things.
So we do that by spending timeand energy planting seeds and
(10:48):
getting the most traction we canas quickly as possible.
You have to get proof ofconcept, you have to be able to
have success stories.
So you're gonna do that withthe people most likely to follow
through and act and getexcited.
And then you have more peoplein your corner, you have more
(11:12):
people on board, and it's notjust the this select few of
people who are bold enough toopenly oppose you.
So the other kind of it's a lotof it is a mindset shift, a lot
of it is remembering that weare focusing on the bigger
(11:33):
picture.
We are knowing that we'reworking towards something that
we believe in.
We talked about this in boththe first and the second
episodes in this series.
We talked about this ownership,right?
Like this, we believe that thisis worth it.
(11:53):
We believe that it's for thegreater good.
So even though we faceopposition, even though we're
going up against theseobstacles, we know that it's
worth it.
Because if we don't do it, ifwe don't follow through, if we
stay the same, it will be morepainful and more destructive
than anything that we'recurrently facing now.
(12:15):
So we're keeping our eyes onthe mission, on the calling.
And that is the focus.
And there will be people andthere will be opposition that
wants to distract you from that.
And we can't get caught up inthat.
We can't get caught up in thedrama, in the arguments, because
(12:37):
then we're allowing there to beenergy towards that because
negative attention is stillattention.
So if, you know, you're aparent of a toddler, it's like
you have the tantrum.
And sometimes you have to justlet them play it out and express
their feelings withoutnecessarily you putting all of
(13:02):
your time and attention to dothat when there's something more
important that needs to happen.
But then you're also teachingthem or training them that when
they make a big enough stink,when they say things loudly
enough and obvious enough, thatthen you derail this momentum
(13:27):
that you're trying to get, andthen you're focused on dealing
with this negative interactionthat's really just stalling you.
So it's not about winning thatopposition over at first.
It's really about winning asmany people over as possible so
(13:50):
that this change actually startsto implement.
And in the process, you areyou're keeping like you're
keeping your eyes on themission, you're not getting
trapped into their game, you'renot losing control of the
situation.
(14:10):
And the other part of uhopposition is just because it
starts as opposition and justbecause there are varying
degrees of opposition, itdoesn't mean that they will
always oppose the idea.
The important part here is tomeasure the progress and
(14:30):
adoption to the change.
So the question is is theamount of opposition you're
facing, is that changing?
Is that lessening?
And this requires a longertimeline.
Like, this is not a week, thisis not maybe even a month, like
this could be a few months.
And so it's on you to havethick skin to get through this,
(14:57):
focus on the people who areexcited about it, get those
wins, and let that time pass.
So, time is your friend in thissituation.
If you can stay focused on thebigger picture, then days and
weeks and months are going topass by, and you can look and
(15:17):
see, well, was this initialopposition did it wear off?
I mean, did they kind of gettheir feathers all ruffled about
it, be a little loud andcomplaining about it, but then
did they get over it?
Did they see that other peoplegot on board?
Did they see that, oh wow,everybody else is is kind of
(15:39):
moving in this direction?
And I'm hearing these successstories and it's starting to be
a good thing.
So I guess I guess it's not asbad as I think.
So allow them the time toprocess, allow them the time to
adjust, and time will do itswork, but not in all cases.
(16:01):
So if you have someone who iseither passive or active in
their opposition, really one ofthree things will end up
happening.
Like there, there I don't knowthat there's a fourth option
here, but well, I guess therecould be a fourth one.
(16:22):
But ideally, three thingshappen.
So number one is they get onboard.
Whether that's fully or notfully, like maybe your active
objection moves to passiveobjection.
Sorry, active opposition movesto passive opposition.
Like we're making progress.
(16:44):
And they lose that energy, theythey realize it's a fight that
they're going to lose.
It's not a mountain thatthey're they're going to die on,
and they just realize thatthey're running out of steam on
that, and they're gonna move on,and they're just kind of going
to accept it.
They may not ever fully love itor accept it, but they're no
(17:09):
longer opposed.
They might not be your biggestpromoters and and the biggest
fans of this new change, butagain, just give it time and
give it time and see wherethings shake out.
So, what we're seeing here isthat that pendulum is moving in
the right direction.
Option number two is they don'taccept this change.
(17:32):
So they're going to leave.
They are going to leavevoluntarily when they realize
that change is happening, thisis a thing, they see everyone's
getting on board, but they justdon't want to accept it.
They don't want to be a part ofit.
It is too much for them.
And so they will leave.
(17:55):
And that's good.
That is that's good foreveryone involved.
The third option is that you,as the leader, recognize that
they are not going to change.
They are not going to move fromthis place of opposition.
And you make the decision forthem to leave because ultimately
(18:18):
it is an issue of misalignment.
They are not aligning with thischange, with this operations,
with how we vet with how wevalue doing business, and it's
causing friction.
It is causing problems, it iscreating double standards, and
your business cannot continue tooperate at its highest level of
(18:43):
potential while allowingmisalignment.
Like misalignment derailsbusinesses.
The fourth potential option,which I don't even want to be an
option on the table here, isthat they stay in opposition,
they do not get on board, andyou allow them to stay.
(19:06):
You allow that misalignment tohappen, which will hurt your
business.
It will hurt your team, it willhurt the standards, it will
hurt the output and the outcomeand the results that you guys
are able to achieve.
So it's possible, it's entirelypossible that that could
happen, but that's not healthyand it's not good for anyone
(19:29):
involved.
It's not good for yourbusiness, and it is not good for
you as a leader.
It is not good for theemployees who are getting on
board and seeing that there aredouble standards, and it's not
good for the employee who'sallowed to continue to be in
opposition and continue to be inmisalignment.
And that breeds friction,toxicity, drama, distrust,
(19:56):
internal chaos, and that willderail your business.
So I don't want that for you.
So this opposition, you know,like when we're implementing
change, when we're movingthrough this process of
implementing something new, itreally does change, it changes
(20:20):
our business because we're we'redoing something new.
It's changing our team and theway that we can work through
something together, we can allkind of face this fear and
uncertainty and learning curve.
And as a cohesive unit, we'reovercoming these challenges
together, we're building trustand we're seeing results, we're
(20:41):
getting wins.
And it's bringing us closertogether.
And through that, I mean, forus as a leader, for us as this
individual who is spearheadingthis change, it's changing us
through this process because inany process of implementing
(21:02):
change, since you're dealingwith opposition, you're dealing
with resistance, you're dealingwith people, there's only so
much we can do as humans, Ithink.
And if anything, change hastaught me that I need God more
than anything.
And I can do all of the things,but I'm also praying with all
(21:24):
that I have that he is openingdoors, he is softening hearts,
he is opening eyes, and he ismoving and working on my behalf
and inviting just the power ofthe Holy Spirit into this
process, into this changeinstead of striving in my own
strength.
(21:44):
And a story in the Bible thatjust really portrays this, these
concepts of like thisopposition and staying committed
to the mission is in Nehemiah.
And Nehemiah is rebuilding thewall because God calls him to,
(22:06):
he gives him this clear mission,this purpose, and he knows
exactly what it is he needs todo.
But he was daily just dealingwith opposition.
And in spite of that, he didn'tstop.
(22:27):
He continued to pray, hecontinued to prepare, and he
continued to keep building.
And Nehemiah 6.3 says, and Isent messengers to them.
Okay, I guess let me give alittle context here.
So he's called to build a wall,and there are three people,
three influential, active, veryactive opposition people who are
(22:54):
badgering him all the time,trying to get him to stop
building this wall.
It's to Tobias, Sandballot, andGesham.
And they are just they'rebadgering him, they're sending
him letters, they're trying totrick him.
They are just throwingeverything they've got at him to
(23:16):
keep him from building thiswall.
So they send them this letter.
They're like, we need you tocome and meet with us.
We need to talk about this.
And Nehemiah's response says, Is and I sent messengers to them
saying, I am doing a great workand I cannot come down.
Why should the work stop whileI leave it and come down to you?
(23:40):
And that's Nehemiah 6.3.
So his response was this, allof these ideas that we've talked
about and how we should handleopposition and saying, like, I
am doing a great work.
Like I believe that this isworth it.
I am clear on this mission, onthis vision, and I need to see
(24:01):
this through.
I cannot come down.
And it says, Why should thework stop while I leave it and
come down to you?
So, with these people who wantto create this active
opposition, it's like, whyshould we stop what we're doing?
Why should we get derailed?
Why should we allow ourselvesto be distracted and go and deal
(24:23):
with this situation and stopthe work that we're doing?
We can't.
We have to stay on mission.
We have to know that what we'redoing is a great work and it's
worth it.
And it's not just that you needthis CRM or that you need this
new process.
It's the principle of what itstands for.
(24:44):
It's this idea that when youset out to implement change,
when you set out on thismission, that you will see it
through.
It is the principle of thematter.
And it's not because this thingthat you're implementing is, I
(25:05):
mean, it's all surface levelstuff, I guess, in just the
world, like if we're having aneternal mindset, right?
But it's when God calls us tosomething, we're going to see it
through.
We're not going to allow peopleto derail us.
And it's this conviction thatbuilds so that when we have
other battles that we have toface, when we have other change
(25:28):
efforts that we have to gothrough, we've we've been
shaped, we've been refined,we've been strengthened.
Our endurance has been builtthrough these trials along the
way.
Like God uses all of theseexperiences to shape us for his
purposes, for his kingdom.
(25:49):
And that is when we look at itlike that, we're like, wow, that
is going to carry over into somany different areas of my life.
And it's going to also carryover into the lives of the
people around me.
So when you're on this mission,just remember, you don't owe
(26:12):
every critic a conversation.
You owe your calling, yourcommitment.
You owe it to see it throughbecause it's bigger than you.
So that wraps up our three partseries on implementing change.
(26:33):
You can learn more at ClearAuthentic Brands dot com.
That's all for this episode.
I will see you in the next one.
Welcome to the Building A Clear, Authentic
Brand Podcast.
I'm your host, Amy Dardis.
And today we're diving into oneof the most difficult but also
most defining parts ofleadership: dealing with
opposition when you'reimplementing change.
If you've been following thisthree-part mini-series, you know
(00:31):
that we've been walking throughthe process of implementing
change.
Episode one in this mini-serieswas talking about ownership and
commitment, two things we haveto have in order to successfully
implement change.
Then moving on to like what todo to implement change and what
(00:51):
to expect in that process.
And then now we're comingaround to this third part, which
is opposition.
Because the truth is, anytimeyou try to move something
forward, anytime you try toimplement something new, change
in some way, you will faceopposition.
(01:14):
It's not a matter of if, it'sjust a matter of when.
And how you respond to thatopposition determines whether
the change takes root or it diesin the process.
So let's start a little bit bydefining the difference between
(01:35):
resistance versus opposition.
Last episode we talked aboutresistance that you will face
it, it's natural.
So resistance is internal andit's emotional.
It's hesitation, discomfort, orreluctance people feel when
(01:56):
something familiar is changing.
It's often subconscious andpeople may not even realize that
they're resisting.
And it's very common during theearly stages of processing
change.
And I shared the story offeeling resistant every time I
go to play a new board game.
(02:18):
Because even though I likeboard games and I'm excited to
play it, there is this internaland emotional part of me that's
just like, ah, what if I don'tunderstand this game?
What if I don't like it?
What if it takes too long?
What if it's not worth it?
And it's just, it's almost aninvoluntary reaction, but it's
(02:40):
something we work through.
Now, opposition is external andit's intentional.
It is a conscious resistance tochange that really aims to
influence that the change stops,that it does not happen, that
we prevent the change fromtaking place.
(03:01):
And in this analogy, metaphor,not sure the correct term that
we're using here, but when itcomes to change, I like to think
of it as a pendulum, right?
So on one side of the pendulum,we have opposition.
On the other side of thependulum, we have adoption.
(03:24):
And in the middle isresistance.
Now, ideally, you present anidea and someone starts with
resistance and moves towardsadoption.
And since we're making up thisanalogy, then the pendulum
doesn't come back down, right?
(03:45):
Like we're making up our ownrules here.
But other times we havesomeone, we present change, we
present a new idea, and someonestarts with opposition.
And the goal here is to movepeople along the process.
(04:07):
Now, when we have opposition,it has two forms.
We have passive opposition,which are people who resist
change quietly.
It looks like compliance on thesurface, but it's resistance
underneath.
It's the people who tell youwhat you want to hear to your
(04:32):
face.
They say okay, they might evensay good things about it
publicly, but there's nofollow-through.
There is no action.
There is no change.
It is just all lip service.
And then they go about and dotheir own thing anyway, because
(04:54):
the thoughts in their head aresaying, I don't like this.
I don't think this is gonnastick.
So I'm just gonna keep doingwhat I'm doing and I'll wait for
this thing to fall apart.
And I'm not gonna waste anyenergy or effort to try and
adopt this change because Ibelieve that it's not gonna
work.
(05:14):
The other type of opposition wehave is active opposition.
This is the most obvious kind.
It's open pushback, it'squestioning, arguing, resistance
to decisions.
When you have activeopposition, you know you have
opposition.
And when we implement change,whether it's technology, a
(05:38):
process, a structure, a newculture shift or way of
operating, opposition will makeup twenty percent of your
people.
This is this is a generalestimate.
This is not scientific and itis not specifically accurate,
(06:02):
but it is just to give you anidea.
Like if you have a hundredpeople in the room, twenty of
them are going to have thisopposition in some way, and
there are varying degrees ofopposition.
So just like we have thispendulum, just because they're
(06:26):
opposing it, just becausethey're actively reluctant to
this change, they don't believeit's worth it, they don't
believe it's going to stick,they don't that doesn't
necessarily mean that they areon the far end of this
opposition.
They just could be a little bitpast natural resistance, or
(06:47):
they could be further on downthe line.
So everybody is going to bedifferent.
And in the very, very beginningof implementing change, we
can't make any hard and fastassessments just because it's
all new anyway.
So we're not even gonna worryabout it too much at the very,
(07:08):
very beginning because thingsare going to change along the
way, and whatever someone startsout as, it doesn't define them.
It's just like a bad firstimpression.
I mean, it's just you justgotta give them a chance.
You just gotta go and talk tothem again and give them some
time to process and then laterkind of see where things shake
(07:31):
out.
So everyone else, if they'renot in active or passive
opposition, they are either inon the fence, which is like
they're neutral either way.
They're just like, okay, I havethis natural resistance.
I'm not overly excited aboutit, but I'm also not like, oh,
(07:52):
this is not gonna work.
I'm against it.
They're just like, okay, well,let's just see how it goes.
And if it goes and it sticks,then I'm on board.
And if not, then that's okaytoo.
I'm comfortable doing what I'vebeen doing.
Or you have your people who areyour early adopters.
You have the people who can seethe vision, they get excited
(08:13):
early, they start to takeaction, and those are the people
you get to spend a lot of timewith in order to get that
traction, get that momentum, andstart to have that proof of
concept.
So when you're dealing withopposition, whether it's passive
or active, how do what do wedo, right?
(08:35):
So the first thing, which Imentioned before, is we just let
it play out for a little bit.
We just observe, we look aroundat people and we just kind of
see how they're reacting.
And in my head, I willcategorize them just very
(08:56):
gently, and again, not at first,but within the first few
months, I will start to be like,okay, where do I think this
person falls?
Where would I categorize themin this bucket of being in
opposition, being neutral, orbeing on board?
(09:17):
And then I will start to focuson the people who are the most
on board.
So while you have people whoare opposing the change, one,
your passive people, they're nota huge threat because they're
not going around and sayingthings to other people.
(09:39):
If anything, they're they'retalking like they're on board,
they're just not doing anythingabout it.
So it's just like, okay, I'mgonna watch that.
I'm just I'm gonna watch howthat plays out.
Your active opposition isdefinitely going to be the
biggest threat, but they don'thave to be the only voice in the
(10:01):
room, nor do they have to bethe loudest.
So think of it like you have ateam of people, you have a group
of people, and they are oneperson or they are a small
minority.
So the first thing we have todo is we have to balance it out.
So that way the most, theperson who's the most actively
(10:24):
in opposition, everybody is notbeing only listening to that
voice.
Like, there have to be multiplevoices in the room in order to
like maintain this assemblanceof balance and like, oh, this
person is saying these badthings, but then this person is
saying these good things.
So we do that by spending timeand energy planting seeds and
(10:48):
getting the most traction we canas quickly as possible.
You have to get proof ofconcept, you have to be able to
have success stories.
So you're gonna do that withthe people most likely to follow
through and act and getexcited.
And then you have more peoplein your corner, you have more
(11:12):
people on board, and it's notjust the this select few of
people who are bold enough toopenly oppose you.
So the other kind of it's a lotof it is a mindset shift, a lot
of it is remembering that weare focusing on the bigger
(11:33):
picture.
We are knowing that we'reworking towards something that
we believe in.
We talked about this in boththe first and the second
episodes in this series.
We talked about this ownership,right?
Like this, we believe that thisis worth it.
(11:53):
We believe that it's for thegreater good.
So even though we faceopposition, even though we're
going up against theseobstacles, we know that it's
worth it.
Because if we don't do it, ifwe don't follow through, if we
stay the same, it will be morepainful and more destructive
than anything that we'recurrently facing now.
(12:15):
So we're keeping our eyes onthe mission, on the calling.
And that is the focus.
And there will be people andthere will be opposition that
wants to distract you from that.
And we can't get caught up inthat.
We can't get caught up in thedrama, in the arguments, because
(12:37):
then we're allowing there to beenergy towards that because
negative attention is stillattention.
So if, you know, you're aparent of a toddler, it's like
you have the tantrum.
And sometimes you have to justlet them play it out and express
their feelings withoutnecessarily you putting all of
(13:02):
your time and attention to dothat when there's something more
important that needs to happen.
But then you're also teachingthem or training them that when
they make a big enough stink,when they say things loudly
enough and obvious enough, thatthen you derail this momentum
(13:27):
that you're trying to get, andthen you're focused on dealing
with this negative interactionthat's really just stalling you.
So it's not about winning thatopposition over at first.
It's really about winning asmany people over as possible so
(13:50):
that this change actually startsto implement.
And in the process, you areyou're keeping like you're
keeping your eyes on themission, you're not getting
trapped into their game, you'renot losing control of the
situation.
(14:10):
And the other part of uhopposition is just because it
starts as opposition and justbecause there are varying
degrees of opposition, itdoesn't mean that they will
always oppose the idea.
The important part here is tomeasure the progress and
(14:30):
adoption to the change.
So the question is is theamount of opposition you're
facing, is that changing?
Is that lessening?
And this requires a longertimeline.
Like, this is not a week, thisis not maybe even a month, like
this could be a few months.
And so it's on you to havethick skin to get through this,
(14:57):
focus on the people who areexcited about it, get those
wins, and let that time pass.
So, time is your friend in thissituation.
If you can stay focused on thebigger picture, then days and
weeks and months are going topass by, and you can look and
(15:17):
see, well, was this initialopposition did it wear off?
I mean, did they kind of gettheir feathers all ruffled about
it, be a little loud andcomplaining about it, but then
did they get over it?
Did they see that other peoplegot on board?
Did they see that, oh wow,everybody else is is kind of
(15:39):
moving in this direction?
And I'm hearing these successstories and it's starting to be
a good thing.
So I guess I guess it's not asbad as I think.
So allow them the time toprocess, allow them the time to
adjust, and time will do itswork, but not in all cases.
(16:01):
So if you have someone who iseither passive or active in
their opposition, really one ofthree things will end up
happening.
Like there, there I don't knowthat there's a fourth option
here, but well, I guess therecould be a fourth one.
(16:22):
But ideally, three thingshappen.
So number one is they get onboard.
Whether that's fully or notfully, like maybe your active
objection moves to passiveobjection.
Sorry, active opposition movesto passive opposition.
Like we're making progress.
(16:44):
And they lose that energy, theythey realize it's a fight that
they're going to lose.
It's not a mountain thatthey're they're going to die on,
and they just realize thatthey're running out of steam on
that, and they're gonna move on,and they're just kind of going
to accept it.
They may not ever fully love itor accept it, but they're no
(17:09):
longer opposed.
They might not be your biggestpromoters and and the biggest
fans of this new change, butagain, just give it time and
give it time and see wherethings shake out.
So, what we're seeing here isthat that pendulum is moving in
the right direction.
Option number two is they don'taccept this change.
(17:32):
So they're going to leave.
They are going to leavevoluntarily when they realize
that change is happening, thisis a thing, they see everyone's
getting on board, but they justdon't want to accept it.
They don't want to be a part ofit.
It is too much for them.
And so they will leave.
(17:55):
And that's good.
That is that's good foreveryone involved.
The third option is that you,as the leader, recognize that
they are not going to change.
They are not going to move fromthis place of opposition.
And you make the decision forthem to leave because ultimately
(18:18):
it is an issue of misalignment.
They are not aligning with thischange, with this operations,
with how we vet with how wevalue doing business, and it's
causing friction.
It is causing problems, it iscreating double standards, and
your business cannot continue tooperate at its highest level of
(18:43):
potential while allowingmisalignment.
Like misalignment derailsbusinesses.
The fourth potential option,which I don't even want to be an
option on the table here, isthat they stay in opposition,
they do not get on board, andyou allow them to stay.
(19:06):
You allow that misalignment tohappen, which will hurt your
business.
It will hurt your team, it willhurt the standards, it will
hurt the output and the outcomeand the results that you guys
are able to achieve.
So it's possible, it's entirelypossible that that could
happen, but that's not healthyand it's not good for anyone
(19:29):
involved.
It's not good for yourbusiness, and it is not good for
you as a leader.
It is not good for theemployees who are getting on
board and seeing that there aredouble standards, and it's not
good for the employee who'sallowed to continue to be in
opposition and continue to be inmisalignment.
And that breeds friction,toxicity, drama, distrust,
(19:56):
internal chaos, and that willderail your business.
So I don't want that for you.
So this opposition, you know,like when we're implementing
change, when we're movingthrough this process of
implementing something new, itreally does change, it changes
(20:20):
our business because we're we'redoing something new.
It's changing our team and theway that we can work through
something together, we can allkind of face this fear and
uncertainty and learning curve.
And as a cohesive unit, we'reovercoming these challenges
together, we're building trustand we're seeing results, we're
(20:41):
getting wins.
And it's bringing us closertogether.
And through that, I mean, forus as a leader, for us as this
individual who is spearheadingthis change, it's changing us
through this process because inany process of implementing
(21:02):
change, since you're dealingwith opposition, you're dealing
with resistance, you're dealingwith people, there's only so
much we can do as humans, Ithink.
And if anything, change hastaught me that I need God more
than anything.
And I can do all of the things,but I'm also praying with all
(21:24):
that I have that he is openingdoors, he is softening hearts,
he is opening eyes, and he ismoving and working on my behalf
and inviting just the power ofthe Holy Spirit into this
process, into this changeinstead of striving in my own
strength.
(21:44):
And a story in the Bible thatjust really portrays this, these
concepts of like thisopposition and staying committed
to the mission is in Nehemiah.
And Nehemiah is rebuilding thewall because God calls him to,
(22:06):
he gives him this clear mission,this purpose, and he knows
exactly what it is he needs todo.
But he was daily just dealingwith opposition.
And in spite of that, he didn'tstop.
(22:27):
He continued to pray, hecontinued to prepare, and he
continued to keep building.
And Nehemiah 6.3 says, and Isent messengers to them.
Okay, I guess let me give alittle context here.
So he's called to build a wall,and there are three people,
three influential, active, veryactive opposition people who are
(22:54):
badgering him all the time,trying to get him to stop
building this wall.
It's to Tobias, Sandballot, andGesham.
And they are just they'rebadgering him, they're sending
him letters, they're trying totrick him.
They are just throwingeverything they've got at him to
(23:16):
keep him from building thiswall.
So they send them this letter.
They're like, we need you tocome and meet with us.
We need to talk about this.
And Nehemiah's response says, Is and I sent messengers to them
saying, I am doing a great workand I cannot come down.
Why should the work stop whileI leave it and come down to you?
(23:40):
And that's Nehemiah 6.3.
So his response was this, allof these ideas that we've talked
about and how we should handleopposition and saying, like, I
am doing a great work.
Like I believe that this isworth it.
I am clear on this mission, onthis vision, and I need to see
(24:01):
this through.
I cannot come down.
And it says, Why should thework stop while I leave it and
come down to you?
So, with these people who wantto create this active
opposition, it's like, whyshould we stop what we're doing?
Why should we get derailed?
Why should we allow ourselvesto be distracted and go and deal
(24:23):
with this situation and stopthe work that we're doing?
We can't.
We have to stay on mission.
We have to know that what we'redoing is a great work and it's
worth it.
And it's not just that you needthis CRM or that you need this
new process.
It's the principle of what itstands for.
(24:44):
It's this idea that when youset out to implement change,
when you set out on thismission, that you will see it
through.
It is the principle of thematter.
And it's not because this thingthat you're implementing is, I
(25:05):
mean, it's all surface levelstuff, I guess, in just the
world, like if we're having aneternal mindset, right?
But it's when God calls us tosomething, we're going to see it
through.
We're not going to allow peopleto derail us.
And it's this conviction thatbuilds so that when we have
other battles that we have toface, when we have other change
(25:28):
efforts that we have to gothrough, we've we've been
shaped, we've been refined,we've been strengthened.
Our endurance has been builtthrough these trials along the
way.
Like God uses all of theseexperiences to shape us for his
purposes, for his kingdom.
(25:49):
And that is when we look at itlike that, we're like, wow, that
is going to carry over into somany different areas of my life.
And it's going to also carryover into the lives of the
people around me.
So when you're on this mission,just remember, you don't owe
(26:12):
every critic a conversation.
You owe your calling, yourcommitment.
You owe it to see it throughbecause it's bigger than you.
So that wraps up our three partseries on implementing change.
(26:33):
You can learn more at ClearAuthentic Brands dot com.
That's all for this episode.
I will see you in the next one.
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