Leading Through Resistance - How to Stay Anchored and Effective
🕒 Reading time: 6–7 minutes
By William F. Nazzaro, founder of The Time to Lead Institute, leadership expert, and trusted advisor to leaders navigating transformation and cultural change.
📣 This piece is designed to be shared with leadership teams, change agents, and culture champions. Use it in conversations, coaching sessions, or offsites where resistance shows up—and clarity is needed.
If you’ve ever tried to lead real change, you already know resistance doesn’t just show up—it escalates.
In Part 1, we unpacked the four predictable stages: ignore, ridicule, attack, and dilute.
Now, it’s time to turn inward toward what it takes to keep going when things get hard.
This part is about staying anchored, protecting your integrity, and learning to navigate resistance as it shows up in people, not just in processes.
When It Gets Hard (And It Will)
This isn’t just professionally hard, it’s soul work. The kind that keeps you up at night, questioning if it’s worth it.
Confidence wavers. Passion fades. The work starts to feel... heavy. That’s when the temptation to shrink shows up. To pull back. To stay safe.
But real change leaders?
They’re anchored by something deeper than praise, position, or visibility. They choose conviction over comfort. And they stay committed to the kind of leader they want to be, especially when silence would be easier.
Where Most Give Up (And Why You Shouldn’t)
It’s inevitable. If you’re leading real change, not just talking about it, but pushing the boundaries, resistance isn’t a risk. It’s a certainty.
And here’s what most people miss: The resistance doesn’t fade right before a breakthrough—it flares up.
When you’re on the edge of traction—when your message starts to land and momentum builds—that’s when the pushback hits harder. Faster. Closer to home.
Why?
Because breakthroughs shake the system.
They demand new thinking. New structures. A new level of you.
And everything around you—unspoken norms, political dynamics, even your self-doubt—rises to test your resolve.
That’s the moment most leaders retreat. But if you know what’s happening, you can choose to rise instead.
If you’ve felt that pressure lately, you’re not failing. You’re closer than you think.
How Anchored Leaders Push Through
Over the past 20 years, I’ve worked shoulder-to-shoulder with leaders navigating the messy, high-stakes terrain of organizational change and resistance.
Across industries such as aerospace, automotive, banking and financial services, healthcare, human resources, insurance, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, software, and telecom—I’ve seen resistance manifest in every form imaginable.
Different names. Different missions.
Same patterns.
I’ve sat with senior leaders blindsided by resistance they never saw coming. And I’ve coached quiet change agents who held the line when others folded. Across every industry, the ones who endure aren’t always the loudest—they’re the most anchored.
However, I’ve also seen what separates the leaders who survive the pushback from those who shrink back.
Here’s what the most grounded, resilient change leaders do—especially when the pressure rises.
1. Know Your Anchor
When resistance gets personal, and it will, logic won’t be enough to hold you.
Passion fades. But purpose? That stays.
You need absolute clarity on why this change matters. What’s at stake if nothing changes? What truth matters enough that you’d stand by it, even when the room goes quiet?
That clarity is your anchor.
It steadies you when others question your motives, or when your doubts try to shake you.
And it’s what helps you show up with integrity—even when the pressure tempts you to shrink, silence yourself, or conform.
2. Stop Seeking Permission
Waiting to be invited to lead is a trap.
If you see something others don’t, or aren’t ready to name, that’s your cue to step forward.
Lead with respect. Stay relational. But don’t shrink to match the room.
An open door doesn’t mean your work will matter.
And sometimes, being effective means taking the lead, even if it means standing alone.
3. Use Precision, Not Volume
Raising your voice won’t change minds.
Sharpening your message might.
Influence doesn’t come from intensity—it comes from clarity.
Say less, mean more. Speak with precision.
4. Find Allies Early
You don’t need everyone. But you do need someone.
A trusted colleague. An ally. A sounding board. Someone who helps you stay focused when things get noisy.
Look for those who’ve seen what you’ve seen—even if they’re not saying it out loud yet.
Build quiet alignment. Shared ownership. Unspoken momentum.
Movements always start small. But they move faster—and last longer—when you’re not alone.
5. Redefine What Success Looks Like
In real change work, you rarely get applause.
You don’t always get full buy-in.
And some of your best work? Won’t be recognized until much later—if at all.
Redefine success as moving the needle, not moving the mountain.
It might look like shifting one mindset.
Influencing one key decision.
Or showing what conviction looks like when no one else is ready to act.
And sometimes?
Success is knowing you stayed true to your values—even if you had to walk away.
Organizational Resistance Profiles You Will Encounter
Beyond structural resistance, there’s human resistance.
It shows up in meetings, in decisions that stall, in emails that never get answered.
These patterns aren’t flaws. They’re protection strategies, conscious or not, used when change threatens comfort, control, or identity.
You’ll likely recognize these. These aren’t fixed traits; they’re the ways people brace themselves when they feel unsure, exposed, or unprepared for what’s next.
Common Resistance Behaviors:
- When someone nods but avoids follow-through…
They may seem agreeable, but underneath, they’re withholding buy-in. - When someone brings “we’ve tried that before” energy…
That skepticism might come from real scars, but it still closes off what’s next. - When someone publicly supports change, but privately stalls it…
It’s often a sign they feel uncertain or unsafe, not that they’re trying to undermine you. - When someone insists on keeping things as they are…
They may see themselves as protectors of what once worked, not as obstacles to progress. - When someone supports change but slows everything down…
They may be trying to preserve stability, not sabotage the mission.
It’s easy to get frustrated when you see these patterns.
But these are adaptive behaviors, not character flaws.
Your job as a change leader isn’t to judge—it’s to see clearly, lead skillfully, and stay anchored in the bigger picture.
Action Steps: Leading Through Resistance:
- Don’t label people—watch for patterns of behavior.
- Seek to understand what they’re protecting, not just what they’re resisting.
- Connect change to what matters to them.
- Include them early—but don’t confuse inclusion with consensus.
- Stay anchored while offering clarity, empathy, and vision.
Resistance is rarely about you. It’s about what change disrupts in them. Knowing how it manifests in people gives you an edge and a path forward.
The Bottom Line
If you’re facing resistance, it doesn’t mean you’re wrong.
It means you’re at the front edge of something real.
You don’t need all the answers. But you do need to lead.
This isn’t about your competence, it’s about your courage.
I’ve seen firsthand how culture steamrolls even the best strategies.
If you want to change the culture, it starts with leadership.
When leaders are clear and committed, change is possible.
When they’re hesitant or divided, it happens in name only—if at all.
You’re not too much.
You’re not alone.
Your work is not invisible.
It matters more than you know.
Reflection Prompt for Leaders
Where do you see resistance showing up in your organization right now—through silence, skepticism, or delay? What’s one conversation you haven’t had yet that could shift that dynamic? Could you write it down? Then decide how you’ll start that conversation this week.
👥 Share this article with a peer or team who’s navigating tough change. Use it as a conversation starter at your next leadership offsite, 1:1, or strategic planning session.
👤 William F. Nazzaro is the founder of The Time to Lead Institute and an ICF-certified leadership and performance coach. A lifelong learner, William has spent over 30 years guiding organizations and senior leaders through complex transformations, helping them stay anchored, grow their influence, and build cultures where people and results matter. He believes leadership is a privilege and a choice, one worth making with integrity and heart. Learn more at www.timetolead.com.
