You introduce a change that makes perfect sense.

The problem is real. The data supports it. The new process is better.

And yet…someone still pushes back.

We've spent the last few episodes looking at resistance from the perspective of the person experiencing the change.

But what happens when we turn the lens back on ourselves?

What if the way we're responding to resistance is actually making things harder?

In this episode of Thoughts on Change, we're exploring the uncomfortable gap between our intent and our impact as change leaders—and how our attempts to help, convince, explain, or fix can sometimes create even more resistance.

Because we're usually not making things worse on purpose. We're trying to help.

And that's exactly what makes this so tricky.

What You'll Learn

In this episode, I explore:

• Why good intentions don't necessarily create good impact
• The difference between what change leaders intend and what people actually experience
• Why we naturally focus on other people's behavior but our own intentions
• How our responses can contribute to a resistance spiral
• What automatic responses might reveal about how we lead change
• How to start noticing the patterns that show up when we encounter resistance

The Intent-Impact Gap

Most change leaders aren't trying to make someone's life harder. We're trying to help. We want better processes, better systems, better results, less frustration, and more capability.

But the other person doesn't experience our intent. They experience our behavior. They experience our words, our questions, our actions, and what happens after the conversation.

They experience our impact.

And sometimes there's a pretty significant gap between the two.

Intent is what we meant to create.
Impact is what we actually created.

The bigger that gap becomes, the more likely we are to experience problems—and potentially more resistance.

When Helping Doesn't Help

Imagine someone tells you: "I'm worried this new process is going to make my job harder."

You want to help. So you explain why the new process will actually make their job easier. You give them the data. You walk through the future-state process.

You leave thinking: "Great. I addressed their concern."

They leave thinking: "They didn't listen to me at all."

The intent may be completely genuine. But the impact can still be very different from what we intended.

When We Defend Our Intent

When someone reacts negatively to our attempt to help, our first instinct can be to explain ourselves: "That's not what I meant." "I was only trying to help."

And those things may all be true. But when we focus on explaining our intent, we're asking the other person to understand our experience. What they may need instead is for us to understand theirs.

Rather than defending our intent, what if we got curious about our impact?

Try: "That's interesting that you experienced me that way. That's not the impact I intended. Help me understand what landed that way."

Now we're investigating instead of defending.

The Resistance Spiral

Resistance can quickly become a cycle. We share that something is going to change.

Someone resists. We respond with information. They dig in. So we give them more information. They get frustrated. So we explain ourselves. They pull away. So we push harder.

And suddenly...we're in a resistance spiral.

They're responding to us. We're responding to them. They're reacting to our reaction.

And neither person is really talking about what's underneath the conversation anymore. We're just trying to get the other person to move.

When We Turn the Person Into the Problem

CI and change leaders are trained to see problems. We improve processes and systems.

Those are incredibly valuable skills. But when we apply that same mindset to the people we're asking to change, we can accidentally turn the person into the problem.

Someone isn't buying in. "What's wrong with them?"

Someone isn't engaging. "What's their barrier?"

Someone won't follow the process. "Why are they resisting?"

Before we know it, we're treating a human being like a thing to fix. And that probably isn't going to create the engagement we're hoping for.

What Am I Doing Right Now?

The next time someone resists something you're leading, pause before asking: "What do they need from me?"

Instead, ask: "What am I doing right now?"

Don't judge the answer. Just notice it.

Because if certain situations consistently bring out the same responses in us, there may be more going on than just a communication technique.

Meet Your Resistobot

Change leaders can be smart, experienced, caring, and genuinely well-intentioned—and still become a less-helpful version of themselves when resistance shows up.

Not because they're bad leaders or they don’t care but because something about that moment triggers an automatic response.

I've started calling those responses our ResistobotsTM. And the ResistobotTM isn't necessarily the problem.

It's actually trying to help.

Your Factron wants to help by giving you the facts and data.

Your Quickshift wants to help by solving the problem.

Your Commandax wants to help by creating structure in the chaos.

Your Doctrina wants to help by teaching.

Your Softstep wants to help by keeping the relationship safe.

Your Shellout wants to help by getting you away from the discomfort.

These aren't random behaviors. They're often strengths that have become automatic responses under pressure—and that we end up overusing.

The Question I Want You to Start Asking

Before you ask: "Which ResistobotTM am I?"

Start with a simpler question: "What happens inside me when someone resists me?"

Notice what you feel. Notice what you want to do. Notice what you actually do. And then notice what happens next. The goal isn't to become a better judge of yourself. It's to become a better observer.

The Big Takeaway

Here's the shift I want you to experiment with:

Good intentions are not enough to create good impact.

That doesn't mean your intentions don't matter. They absolutely do. But if we're serious about helping people navigate change, we have to be willing to look at the space between:

what we intended...and…what people actually experienced.

And when someone's resistance gets stronger after we've tried to help, instead of immediately asking: "What's wrong with them?"

try asking: "What might I be doing that is contributing to this?"

Not as blame. As information. Because that question opens a door. And behind that door is a whole fascinating world of automatic responses, strengths, fears, and habits that show up when we're under pressure.

Including our ResistobotsTM.

Your Experiment

The next time someone resists you, pause. And ask yourself three questions:

• What am I intending to create?
• What impact might I actually be having?
• What am I doing right now in response to their resistance?

Don't try to fix it yet. Don't try to change your response yet. Just notice it. Because awareness comes before choice. And choice is where this gets really interesting.

Links

Video:

https://youtu.be/fEYfssa5aZU

Thoughts on Change:
https://www.kellymallery.com/thoughtsonchange

Find Your ResistobotTM Quiz:

https://www.kellymallery.com/findyourresistobot

Credible Heard Used:
https://www.kellymallery.com/credibleheardused

Get in touch!

I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to email me any time with questions or comments: [email protected]

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram!

Learn More

If you are interested in learning more about me and how I support CI practitioners grow their credibility faster so they can have greater impact with less heartache and exhaustion, check out my website:

KellyMallery.com

There, you can find the Find Your ResistobotTM Quiz, that helps you identify your hidden patterns when resistance shows up.

You introduce a change that makes perfect sense. The problem is real. The data supports it. The new process is better.

And yet…someone still pushes back.

We often call this resistance to change. But what if resistance isn't really about the change itself? What if people are trying to protect something they believe the change will take away? Maybe it's their competence. Their control. Their identity. Their status. Their security. Or their sense of belonging.

In this episode of Thoughts on Change, we're going one level deeper into the psychology of resistance and exploring what people may actually be protecting when they push back on change.

Because the same change can create completely different reactions in different people.

And understanding what someone believes they're going to lose can completely change how we approach buy-in, resistance, and change management.

What You'll Learn

In this episode, I explore:

• Why resistance to change may actually be a protective response
• Why the same change can create completely different reactions in different people
• How perceived loss can shape people's reactions to organizational change
• Why people may be protecting their competence, control, identity, security, belonging, or status
• Why loss can feel more significant than an equivalent gain
• How the behavior we see on the surface can point to something deeper underneath
• Why giving people more data doesn't necessarily address the real concern
• How CI practitioners can accidentally make resistance worse by immediately trying to reassure or convince
• Why resistance can be valuable information about what your change may have missed
• Questions you can ask to understand what someone is really trying to protect
• How to shift from overcoming resistance to creating a future people are willing to step into

Resistance May Be Protective

When someone pushes back on a change, it's easy to assume they're trying to stop us. They're being difficult. They're negative. They're stuck in the past.

But what if resistance is actually protecting something that matters to them? If someone believes a change will make their job harder, threaten their credibility, reduce their control, or make their skills less valuable, pushing back may be their way of protecting themselves from a future that feels threatening.

The behavior is about the change. But the fear underneath it may be about what they believe they'll lose.

The Same Change. Completely Different Losses.

Imagine you're automating a manual process. You see less tedious work, more consistency, and fewer headaches.

Someone else might see their job disappearing, their skills becoming irrelevant, increased monitoring, or less control over how they work.

Same change. Completely different perceived losses.

And that's one reason the phrase "people resist change" can be so unhelpful. It puts very different experiences into one bucket.

Instead, we can start asking: What are they trying to protect?

What Are People Afraid They'll Lose?

When we introduce change, we're often focused on what people will gain:

• More efficiency
• Better quality
• Less work
• Better tools
• More visibility
• Fewer problems

But the person experiencing the change may be focused on what they believe they're going to lose.

They may be worried about losing:

• Competence — "I'm good at this today. Will I still be good at it?"
• Control — "Will I still have influence over how the work gets done?"
• Identity — "If this changes, will the thing that makes me valuable still matter?"
• Security — "What does this mean for my job, workload, or future?"
• Belonging — "Will I still fit into this team or organization?"
• Status — "Will people still respect me and value my expertise?"

And people don't always tell us directly which one is at stake. Instead, we see the behavior. The questions. The objections. The avoidance. The criticism.

The insistence that the change won't work.

Resistance Can Give Us Better Information

What if we stopped treating resistance as an obstacle to overcome and started treating it as information?

When someone says: "This is going to create more work."

Maybe they're telling us about a future where they're already overloaded.

When someone says: "This isn't going to work."

Maybe they're worried about being responsible for the consequences if it fails.

When someone says: "I don't want to do it that way."

Maybe there's something about the current way of working that they don't want to lose.

The resistance may be telling us something about the future we're creating that we haven't seen yet. And sometimes that information can actually make the change better.

The Question I Want You to Start Asking

The next time you encounter resistance, don't immediately ask:

"How do I overcome this?"

Instead, get curious.

Ask:

• What do they think they're going to lose?
• What do they think is going to get harder?
• What are they afraid will happen?
• What are they uncertain about?
• What does this change mean for their role, identity, competence, control, or security?
• What are they imagining that I aren't?

And then ask an even more important question:

"What would have to be true for them to feel able to step into this future?"

Sometimes the answer is more information, or training, or involvement, or reassurance.

And sometimes...It's changing the change.

The Big Takeaway

Here's the shift I want you to experiment with:

Don't stop at the resistance. Get curious about what it's protecting.

People may not simply be resisting your change. They may be protecting something they believe they will lose when that change becomes their reality. And when you understand what that is, you have something much more useful than another argument to work with.

You can help create a future that people are actually willing to step into.

Links

Video

Thoughts on Change:
https://www.kellymallery.com/thoughtsonchange

Credible Heard Used:

https://www.kellymallery.com/credibleheardused

AME Workshop Signup:

https://www.ame.org/international-conference/transform-resistance

Get in touch!

I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to email me any time with questions or comments: [email protected]

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram!

Learn More

If you are interested in learning more about me and how I support CI practitioners grow their credibility faster so they can have greater impact with less heartache and exhaustion, check out my website:

KellyMallery.com

There, you can find the Find Your ResistobotTM Quiz, that helps you identify your hidden patterns when resistance shows up.

Have you ever introduced a change that made perfect sense…

The problem was real, the data supported it, the new process was better.

And yet…Someone still pushed back.

Maybe they said, “That’s never going to work.” Maybe they avoided the change. Maybe they kept doing things the old way.

And we call it resistance to change.

But what if we're looking at resistance all wrong? What if people aren't actually resisting the change?

What if they're resisting the future they imagine will be true when the change is implemented?

In this episode of Thoughts on Change, we're going deeper into the psychology of resistance and exploring a hypothesis that could completely change how we think about buy-in.

What You'll Learn

In this episode, I explore:

·       Why the same change can create completely different reactions in different people

• How our brains fill in the blanks when we're imagining an uncertain future
• What Daniel Gilbert's research on affective forecasting can teach us about resistance to change
• Why we often predict how a future change will make us feel—and why those predictions aren't always accurate
• Why more data and a stronger business case don't necessarily eliminate resistance
• How a perfectly good change can still feel threatening
• Why resistance can be valuable information about the future someone is imagining
• How to shift from trying to convince people to getting curious about the future they're seeing

What If People Aren't Resisting the Change?

When someone says, “We've tried that before,” or “That's never going to work,” it's easy to assume they're resisting the change itself.

But what if we asked a different question?

“What do they think their world is going to look like if this change actually happens?”

Because we don't all imagine the same future. You might look at automation and see less manual work, more consistency, and fewer headaches. Someone else might see their job disappearing, their skills becoming irrelevant, or increased monitoring.

Same change. Completely different imagined future.

And if you believe that future is coming, of course you're going to react to it.

Our Brains Fill In the Blanks

Every change has a future attached to it. And when we don't know exactly what that future will look like, our brains start filling in the blanks.

• What will my day look like?
• What will I be responsible for?
• Will I still be good at this?
• Will people still need me?
• Will I have any control?
• What happens if I can't figure it out?
• What happens if I fail?

We don't just respond to the change that's being proposed. We respond to the future we're imagining.

And that future can look very different depending on who's doing the imagining.

We Don't Just Imagine the Future. We Imagine How It Will Feel.

This is where the research gets really interesting.

Psychologists Timothy Wilson and Daniel Gilbert have studied something called affective forecasting—how we predict our emotional reactions to events that haven't happened yet.

And it turns out we're not always very good at it.

We tend to overestimate how intensely, and for how long, we're going to feel the emotions we associate with future events.

Think about what that means for change.

Someone hears: “We're going to automate this process.”

And their brain doesn't just imagine what will happen, it starts predicting:

• “I'm going to feel anxious.”
• “I'm going to feel incompetent.”
• “I'm going to feel like I don't have control.”
• “I'm going to hate this.”

Now they're reacting in the present to emotions they expect to experience in the future.

Even when that future hasn't happened yet, the feelings they're predicting can still influence what they do today.

This Is Why Data Doesn't Always Solve Resistance

This is where we can get ourselves into trouble as CI practitioners.

Someone pushes back, and we think: “They just don't have enough information.”

So we give them the data, the business case, ROI, the chart. And they still aren't convinced. So we give them more data.

But what if they're not actually questioning whether the change will work? What if they're worried about what it means for them?

Data might answer: “Will this work?”

But it doesn't necessarily answer: “What will my life be like if it works?”

And that may be the question they're actually trying to answer.

Even Good Change Can Feel Threatening

The change doesn't have to be bad for the future to feel threatening.

A process can be safer. A system can be more efficient. A technology can eliminate tedious work.

And people can still resist. Because people don't experience change as a spreadsheet. They experience it as a future they're going to have to live in.

That future can bring uncertainty around:

• Status
• Competence
• Control
• Autonomy

The change may be objectively better. But the future they imagine may not feel better.

Resistance Is Information

What if, instead of seeing resistance as an obstacle to overcome, we saw it as information we need?

Resistance can give us clues about the future someone is imagining.

When someone says: “This is going to create more work.”

Maybe they're imagining a future where they're already overloaded and this change adds another responsibility.

The words they're saying are about the change, but the fear underneath them may be about the future.

The Question I Want You to Start Asking

So here's the shift I want you to experiment with.

The next time you encounter resistance, don't start with: “Why are they resisting?”

Start with: “What future are they resisting?”

• What do they think they're going to lose?
• What do they think is going to get harder?
• What are they afraid will happen?
• What are they uncertain about?
• What does this change mean for their role, their identity, their competence, their control, or their security?

And most importantly: What are they imagining that you aren't?

Because that question might tell you far more about the resistance than another PowerPoint ever will.

The Big Takeaway

Here's my hypothesis:

People don't actually resist change. They resist the future they imagine will be true when the change is implemented.

That doesn't mean every objection is fear. It doesn't mean every change is good. And it doesn't mean resistance is always irrational.

It means that when we encounter resistance, there's probably more happening beneath the surface than disagreement with the change itself.

Links

Video

https://www.kellymallery.com/thoughtsonchange

https://www.kellymallery.com/changeshaper

Get in touch!

I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to email me any time with questions or comments: [email protected]

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram!

Learn More

If you are interested in learning more about me and how I support CI practitioners grow their credibility faster so they can have greater impact with less heartache and exhaustion, check out my website:

KellyMallery.com

There, you can find the Find Your ResistobotTM Quiz, that helps you identify your hidden patterns when resistance shows up.

Have you ever led an improvement that made perfect sense on paper…

The process was better.
 The problem was real.
 The solution was solid.
 Everyone agreed it was a good idea.

And then…

People struggled to actually make it work. And suddenly, what looked like resistance starts showing up.

But what if we looked at this differently?

What if our job as Continuous Improvement practitioners isn't just to implement improvements?

What if our job is to make success easier?

In this episode of Thoughts on Change, we're taking that idea apart and looking at four things we can do to create the conditions for people to succeed in a new process, new way of working, or new culture.

What You'll Learn

In this episode, I explore:

• Why our job as CI practitioners goes beyond implementing Lean tools and improving processes
•  How clarity about what "good" looks like makes change easier to adopt
•  Why we need to define both outcome expectations and behavior expectations
•  How openly discussing barriers can help us improve the improvement
•  Why experimentation should be the norm—not a sign that our original solution was wrong
•  How making success easier can create more buy-in and reduce unnecessary friction

Start With Clarity

One of the simplest ways to make success easier is to make sure people can actually see what success looks like.

We often assume people understand because we understand. We've lived with the project for weeks. We've studied the data. We've built the process. We've talked through the methodology.

But the people expected to work in the new system may be seeing it for the first time. If you can't picture what "good" looks like, how do you know whether you're doing it right?

Two of my favorite questions for creating clarity are:

"Play me the movie."  And:  "If I peeled back the roof and watched people working in this new way, what would I see?"

Those questions force us to move beyond vague statements about improvement and actually describe what success looks like in practice.

Outcomes Aren't Enough

It's easy to define the outcome we're trying to achieve.

Reduce defects, increase throughput, improve safety, meet the production target.

But outcomes are only half the equation. People also need to understand the behaviors that will help create those outcomes.

In this episode, I share a story from a recent Kaizen event where an unexpected behavior expectation could have completely undermined the results we were trying to achieve. The team could technically hit their numbers while still behaving in a way that would prevent the improvement from working.

That experience was a great reminder: If we don't define the behaviors that create the outcome, people will create their own definition of success. And sometimes that definition is very different from ours.

Barriers Are Information

Here's another uncomfortable one for us CI folks:

When someone tells us why our improvement won't work, our first reaction can be to defend the idea.

Yes, we worked hard on this. Yes, we've analyzed the data. Yes, we've thought this through. Maybe, we know this is better.

But what if the person pointing out the obstacle isn't attacking the improvement? What if they're giving us information we need?

"I don't understand."

"This won't work on night shift."

"We don't have enough time."

"This creates another problem."

These aren't necessarily complaints. They're clues. They tell us where success is currently difficult.

When we create an environment where people can openly talk about those barriers, we get the opportunity to remove them before they turn into frustration, friction, or resistance.

Experiment Instead of Enforce

There is another way we can make success easier:

Stop expecting the first version to be perfect.

Every team is different. Every shift is different. Every culture is different. Every situation is different.

So instead of saying: "This is the new process."

What if we said: "This is our current best idea. Let's start here and learn."

That changes the relationship people have with the improvement. They're no longer being asked to simply comply with a solution someone else created. They're being invited to help make the solution work. And when people help build something, they're much more likely to own it.

The Four Things That Make Success Easier

When you put all of this together, success gets easier when people have:

• Clarity about what good looks like.
• Expectations about both the outcomes we want and the behaviors that will get us there.
• Open communication about barriers and obstacles.
• Experimentation that allows us to adapt the solution to the people and situation.

These aren't complicated concepts, but they can completely change how we approach Continuous Improvement and change management.

Reflection Questions

Think about a change or improvement you're currently leading and ask yourself:

• Can the people doing the work clearly describe what "good" looks like?
• Have we defined both the outcomes we want and the behaviors we expect?
• Can people safely tell us what isn't working?
• What barriers are people experiencing that we may be overlooking?
• Are we treating those barriers as information—or as resistance?
• Are we allowing people to experiment and adapt the solution?
• What is one thing I could remove that would make success easier?

The Big Takeaway

Our job as CI practitioners isn't simply to create better processes, it's to help people succeed in those processes. That means creating clarity, setting expectations, listening for barriers, and making experimentation part of the work.

The goal isn't to make people change. The goal is to make success easier.

And sometimes, when we do that really well, people don't need nearly as much convincing as we thought they did.

But What If They Still Resist?

Now, you might be thinking:

"Kelly, I've done all of that."

"I've created clarity. I've set expectations. I've asked for feedback. I've experimented."

"And people still resist."

Exactly.

Because making success easier is incredibly important…but it's only half the story.

Sometimes people resist even when the process is better, the expectations are clear, and success is easier.

Why?

That's where we're going next. Resistance isn't always about the process. It's often about something much deeper. And once we understand what's really happening underneath resistance, the entire conversation around buy-in starts to change.

Links

Video

https://www.kellymallery.com/thoughtsonchange

https://www.kellymallery.com/changeshaper

Get in touch!

I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to email me any time with questions or comments: [email protected]

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram!

Learn More

If you are interested in learning more about me and how I support CI practitioners grow their credibility faster so they can have greater impact with less heartache and exhaustion, check out my website:

KellyMallery.com

There, you can find the Find Your ResistobotTM Quiz, that helps you identify your hidden patterns when resistance shows up.

Have you ever noticed that some improvement efforts seem to take on a life of their own?

People start talking about them. Others want to get involved. New ideas begin showing up. The improvement spreads beyond what you ever imagined.

Then there are the other projects…

The ones where every meeting feels like you're dragging a wagon uphill. Every action requires another reminder. Every conversation feels like convincing.

If you've ever wondered why some change efforts build momentum while others slowly lose steam, this episode is for you.

In this episode of Thoughts on Change, we're wrapping up the C.H.A.N.G.E. Shaper™ series with the final characteristic:

E: Energize Positive Momentum.

Sustainable change doesn't happen because you push harder. It happens because people start pulling with you.

What You'll Learn

Many of us believe our job as Continuous Improvement leaders is to motivate people. So we give inspiring presentations, we explain the vision again, we try to convince people why the change matters.

But motivation isn't usually the problem.

In this episode, I explore:

• Why reducing friction creates more momentum than increasing motivation
• How the physics of momentum can help us think differently about organizational change
• Why small, visible wins build confidence faster than big visions
• The difference between celebrating success and celebrating learning
• How your own attitude toward change spreads throughout an organization
• Practical questions to identify where momentum is slowing—and what you can do about it

Momentum Is Built, Not Forced

One of the biggest ideas I share in this episode is that people usually don't need more motivation. They need less friction.

Fear, confusion, competing priorities, lack of clarity, not seeing progress.

These are the things that quietly drain momentum. As C.H.A.N.G.E. Shapers™, our role isn't to keep pushing forever. It's to remove enough friction that people begin moving on their own. And then our job is to protect that momentum from being stopped.

Small Wins Create Big Momentum

Early in my career, I believed people would get excited by the big vision.

Sometimes they did. But most of the time, they simply wanted to know if today could be a little better than yesterday.

That's why small wins matter. They're believable. Every successful experiment, every improvement, every lesson learned creates evidence that change is possible.

And that evidence builds momentum far more effectively than enthusiasm alone.

Celebrate Learning, Not Just Success

One of the biggest traps organizations fall into is celebrating outcomes while ignoring learning.

Someone runs an experiment and it doesn't work. But they discover something valuable. They eliminate an assumption and they prevent an expensive mistake.

And what happens?

Nothing.

When we only celebrate successful outcomes, we unintentionally teach people that experimenting isn't safe. Instead, we should celebrate curiosity. We should celebrate trying. We should celebrate learning.

Because learning creates improvement and improvement creates results.

Energy Is Contagious

Whether we realize it or not, our attitude toward change spreads. So does our frustration, our cynicism, and our optimism.

People watch what we do far more closely than they listen to what we say.

That doesn't mean pretending everything is wonderful. It means acknowledging reality while intentionally highlighting progress.

The work is hard and we're making progress.

Reflection Questions

As you think about the change effort you're currently leading, ask yourself:

• Where is momentum already happening?
• Where does the work still feel heavy?
• What friction can I remove?
• What progress have I forgotten to celebrate?
• Am I recognizing learning as much as outcomes?
• If someone followed my example, would they become more energized—or more exhausted?

The Big Takeaway

The best change leaders don't create momentum by becoming louder, more inspiring, or more convincing.

They create momentum by making success easier.

They remove friction. They celebrate progress. They recognize learning.

And they create conditions where people naturally want to keep moving.

Sustainable change isn't powered by motivation. It's powered by momentum.

Wrapping Up the C.H.A.N.G.E. Shaper™ Series

Over the last six episodes we've explored what it really means to become a C.H.A.N.G.E. Shaper™:

• Connect with Curiosity and Compassion
• Help with Intention
• Advocate for What Really Matters
• Navigate the Business Environment
• Get to the Right People
• Energize Positive Momentum

These aren't Lean tools and they aren't Six Sigma tools.

They're human skills.

Because lasting change has never been about the tools. It's always been about the people.

Thank you for joining me throughout this series. I hope these conversations help you spend less time fighting people—and more time shaping change.

Links

Episode Page

C.H.A.N.G.E. Shaper™

Video

Get in touch!

I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to email me any time with questions or comments: [email protected]

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram!

Learn More

If you are interested in learning more about me and how I support CI practitioners grow their credibility faster so they can have greater impact with less heartache and exhaustion, check out my website:

KellyMallery.com

There, you can find the Find Your ResistobotTM Quiz, that helps you identify your hidden patterns when resistance shows up.

Have you ever had an idea that everyone agreed was a good idea… after it was too late?

You did the analysis. You gathered the data. You built the business case. Maybe you even created the world's most beautiful PowerPoint deck.

And then someone said:

"You really should have talked to Susan three months ago."

Ouch.

If you've ever watched a great improvement idea stall because it reached the wrong people—or reached the right people too late—this episode is for you.

In this episode of Thoughts on Change, we're continuing the C.H.A.N.G.E. Shaper™ series with the G: Get to the Right People.

Because here's one of the hardest lessons many Continuous Improvement practitioners eventually learn:

Great ideas don't spread because they're great. They spread because the right people believe in them.

What You'll Learn

Many of us believe our job is to build the best possible solution.

So we gather more data.
 Create better presentations.
 Answer every possible objection.

But the quality of the solution is only part of the equation.

In this episode, I explore:

• Why talking to the wrong person first can quietly kill even your best ideas
• The difference between decision makers and true influencers
• How to identify the people who can accelerate—or unintentionally derail—your change effort
• Why involving people early creates stronger solutions and less resistance
• The role curiosity plays in building influence
• A practical stakeholder mapping exercise you can use on your very next project

The Right Person Changes Everything

One of the stories I share comes from early in my career.

I believed I'd found a simple way to eliminate a costly source of scrap that was wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. My manager liked the idea—but didn't think Engineering would approve it.

Engineering wasn't convinced either.

The project should have ended there.

Instead, I kept asking questions until I found someone else: a product test technician who understood exactly what evidence the design engineers would need before they'd support the change.

That single conversation completely changed the outcome.

A few months later, the engineers approved the design change, the problematic parts were eliminated, and the savings became reality.

The lesson wasn't that my idea became better.

The lesson was that I finally found the right person.

Four Questions Every Change Leader Should Ask

Rather than guessing who should be involved, I recommend asking four simple questions:

1. Who feels the problem?

The people living with the frustration already understand why change matters.

They bring urgency that data alone never can.

2. Who owns the resources?

Who controls the budget, people, equipment, time, or attention needed to make the change happen?

Excitement doesn't fund projects.

Resources do.

3. Who influences the decision?

The organization chart tells you who approves.

The influence chart tells you who shapes the approval.

Those aren't always the same people.

4. Who could accidentally stop this?

This may be the most overlooked question.

Who might feel surprised?
 Who might lose something?
 Who might unintentionally create resistance simply because they weren't involved early enough?

Thinking through these questions before launching your idea dramatically increases your chances of success.

A Common Mistake I See Women in CI Make

Many women in Continuous Improvement wait until an idea is fully polished before sharing it.

We want every answer.
 Every data point.
 Every possible objection addressed.

Unfortunately, while we're perfecting the solution, nobody else even knows it exists.

Then we unveil it… only to discover someone could have pointed out an important concern weeks earlier.

I've done this more than once.

What I've learned is that involving the right people earlier rarely weakens an idea.

It almost always makes it stronger.

People are far more likely to support something they helped shape.

Reflection Questions

As you think about the change effort you're currently leading, ask yourself:

• Who actually feels the problem I'm trying to solve?
• Who controls the resources needed to solve it?
• Who truly influences the decision makers?
• Who could unintentionally create resistance if I leave them out?
• Which important conversation have I been avoiding?
• Am I spending more time refining my idea than sharing it with the people who matter?

The Big Takeaway

Successful change leaders don't just build great solutions.

They intentionally build relationships with the people who can help those solutions succeed.

Ideas don't spread through organizations because they're logical.

They spread through conversations, trust, influence, and involvement.

When you consistently get your ideas in front of the right people, at the right time, in the right way, your influence grows—and so does your ability to create meaningful change.

Coming Next

Next up, we wrap up the C.H.A.N.G.E. Shaper™ series with the final letter:

E: Energize Positive Momentum

Starting change is only the beginning. The real challenge is creating the energy that keeps it moving long after the kickoff meeting is over.

Links:

Video

Podcast Site

C.H.A.N.G.E. Shaper™

Get in touch!

I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to email me any time with questions or comments: [email protected]

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram!

Learn More

If you are interested in learning more about me and how I support CI practitioners grow their credibility faster so they can have greater impact with less heartache and exhaustion, check out my website:

KellyMallery.com

There, you can find the Find Your ResistobotTM Quiz, that helps you identify your hidden patterns when resistance shows up.

Have you ever had an improvement idea that was absolutely the right thing to do… and it still went nowhere?

The data was solid. The problem was real. The people closest to the work agreed it needed to happen. And yet somehow the project stalled, got deprioritized, or quietly died in a meeting.

If you've ever experienced that, you're not alone.

In this episode of *Thoughts on Change*, we're continuing the C.H.A.N.G.E. Shaper™ series with the **N: Navigate the Business Environment**.

Because here's a hard truth many Continuous Improvement practitioners eventually learn:

**The best idea rarely wins. The idea that fits the environment does.**

What You'll Learn

Many of us got into Continuous Improvement because we love solving problems. We want to improve processes, eliminate waste, and make work better.

What we don't always realize is that organizations aren't just systems of processes.

They're systems of people. And wherever people gather, politics, influence, relationships, competing priorities, and timing all play a role in how decisions get made.

In this episode, I explore:

* Why "office politics" aren't inherently bad

* How to navigate organizational dynamics without becoming manipulative

* The difference between an org chart and an influence chart

* Why understanding social networks is critical for sustaining change

* How timing can make or break even the best improvement ideas

* The role social capital plays in gaining support for change

* How advocacy and navigation work together to increase your influence

The Current Is Stronger Than You Think

One of my favorite metaphors from this episode is the idea of navigating a river.

You can spend all day yelling at the current because you think it should flow differently. Or you can learn how the current moves and use it to help you get where you're trying to go. Organizations work the same way.

The strongest change leaders aren't the ones who fight the environment. They're the ones who understand it.

Four Organizational Currents Every CI Leader Must Understand

1. Goals and Priorities

One of the fastest ways to lose traction is assuming everyone cares about the same things you do.

You may be focused on waste reduction and flow.

Your plant manager may be focused on labor costs.

Your VP may be focused on customer delivery.

None of them are wrong. They're simply looking at the business through different lenses.

2. Influence (The Real Kind)

Your org chart is not your influence chart. Every organization has unofficial influencers:

* The veteran operator everyone trusts

* The supervisor people listen to

* The engineer whose opinion carries weight

If you don't understand who influences whom, you're making change much harder than it needs to be.

3. Timing

Sometimes your idea isn't wrong. It's just early.

Many of us respond to resistance by explaining harder, building more slides, and gathering more data. But sometimes the organization simply isn't ready.

4. Relationships and Social Capital

Relationships matter. A lot.

Think of social capital like a bank account. Every time you help, support, listen, and contribute, you make a deposit. Every time you ask for time, attention, resources, or support, you make a withdrawal. Too many withdrawals without deposits eventually leave you overdrawn.

An Important Conversation for Women in CI

I also spend some time discussing a reality many women face while building relationships across organizations.

Building trust, showing genuine interest, and connecting with people are critical change leadership skills. Unfortunately, those behaviors can sometimes be misinterpreted, leading to uncomfortable or inappropriate interactions.

I share a personal experience and offer practical guidance on:

* Establishing clear boundaries

* Finding allies and advocates within the organization

* Documenting concerns when boundaries are repeatedly crossed

No woman should have to navigate those situations alone. If you need help, please get in touch.

Reflection Questions

As you think about your current change efforts, ask yourself:

* Do I understand the priorities of the people whose support I need?

* Do I know who truly influences this decision?

* Is the timing helping me or hurting me?

* Have I built enough social capital to support this effort?

* Am I fighting the current or working with it?

The Big Takeaway

The best change leaders don't just understand processes. They understand the entire environment they are operating in and trying to change. Change doesn't happen in a vacuum. It happens inside organizations full of competing priorities, limited resources, and human beings doing their best.

When you learn to navigate that environment instead of fighting it, change gets a whole lot easier.

Coming Next

Next up in the C.H.A.N.G.E. Shaper™ series:

**Get to the Right People™**

Because sometimes the difference between an idea that spreads and an idea that dies is simply who hears it first.

Links:

Video

Thoughts on Change webpage

Get in Touch

Get in touch!

I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to email me any time with questions or comments: [email protected]

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram!

Learn More

If you are interested in learning more about me and how I support CI practitioners grow their credibility faster so they can have greater impact with less heartache and exhaustion, check out my website:

KellyMallery.com

There, you can find the Find Your ResistobotTM Quiz, that helps you identify your hidden patterns when resistance shows up.

Change efforts don't usually fail because they're bad ideas.

They fail because they're buried under noise.

As Continuous Improvement leaders, we see problems everywhere. We spot waste, inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and opportunities that others miss. But one of the hardest lessons to learn is that not every problem needs to be solved right now.

In this episode, we continue the C.H.A.N.G.E. Shaper™ series by unpacking the third characteristic:

Advocate for What Matters

Because advocacy isn't about pushing harder, selling your ideas better, or convincing people you're right. It's about helping people see what truly matters and connecting improvement efforts to the outcomes the organization needs most.

The Hidden Trap for CI Leaders

Most CI professionals are naturally drawn to solving problems.

The challenge is that organizations rarely suffer from a lack of problems to solve. They suffer from a lack of focus.

When every opportunity becomes a priority, teams become overwhelmed, leaders become distracted, and improvement efforts lose momentum.

Advocacy is the ability to cut through the noise and answer one critical question:

What problem do we need to solve right now?

Not what problem we can solve.

Not what problem we want to solve.

What problem will have the greatest impact on the goals the organization is trying to achieve?

What You'll Learn

In this episode, you'll learn:

• why advocacy is about alignment and clarity rather than persuasion

• how to connect frontline problems to strategic business goals

• practical questions to uncover the barriers preventing progress

• why not every improvement opportunity deserves immediate attention

• how to translate CI-speak into ValueSpeak™ so leaders understand the impact

• what to do when leadership still says "no"

Connecting Strategy to Reality

Organizations often communicate strategy through high-level objectives:

"Increase EBITDA."

"Improve labor productivity."

"Reduce costs."

But those goals rarely mean much to the people doing the work every day.

This is where CI leaders create value.

Your role is to connect the organization's strategic goals to the real frustrations, obstacles, and problems people experience on the front line.

When leaders can see how frontline issues impact business results—and frontline teams can see how their daily challenges connect to organizational goals—clarity begins to emerge.

That's advocacy.

Questions That Help You Find What Matters

When you're trying to connect strategy to improvement work, ask questions like:

• What conditions need to exist for us to achieve this goal?

• What would have to be true for this to happen?

• What currently prevents us from reaching this target?

That final question often reveals the real barriers standing in the way of progress.

From there, your job becomes identifying which problems matter most and validating them with data.

Because data has a way of cutting through assumptions and helping people focus on reality.

Learning to Say "Not Right Now"

One of the most difficult parts of advocacy is deciding what not to work on.

Some problems are real.

Some opportunities are valuable.

But not all of them are the highest priority.

Advocating for what matters sometimes means helping people understand that a problem will not be solved today—not because it isn't important, but because something else is more important right now.

Remember:

You're not saying "No."

You're saying "Not right now."

And that focus is often what allows organizations to make meaningful progress.

Translating CI-Speak into ValueSpeak™

One of the biggest challenges CI leaders face is communicating upward.

We often present problems through the language of process improvement while senior leaders are listening through the language of business outcomes.

Leaders want to understand:

• How much money will this save?

• How will this improve productivity?

• What business result will this affect?

• How does this support our strategic objectives?

The stronger your ability to translate problems into ValueSpeak™, the easier it becomes to build support and create alignment.

Reflection Questions

Think about a change effort you're leading right now and ask yourself:

• What truly matters in this change effort?

• Have I clearly explained why it matters—in their language?

• What does the organization need us to solve right now?

• What can we say "not right now" to so we can focus?

• Where am I avoiding advocacy because it feels uncomfortable?

The Shift

Advocacy gives change structure.

It helps organizations focus their attention, energy, and resources on the problems that will create the greatest impact.

Without advocacy, change becomes scattered.

With advocacy, change becomes purposeful.

And that's where real results begin.

What's Next?

Next up in the C.H.A.N.G.E. Shaper™ series:

Navigate the Business Environment

Because even the best ideas struggle when you don't understand how decisions actually get made.

Want More Support?

Most of the women I work with aren't struggling because they lack knowledge, skill, or good ideas.

They're struggling because they can't get those ideas heard, understood, and acted upon.

They're stuck between leadership priorities and frontline realities, trying to create change without the influence they need.

That's exactly what we work through inside Credible. Heard. Used.

It's a 5-month development program designed specifically for Continuous Improvement leaders who want to build credibility, increase influence, and get their ideas used.

You'll find more information in the link below.

Video

Links

ValueSpeak™ Quick Translation Guide

Credible. Heard. Used.

Thoughts on Change Page

Get in touch!

I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to email me any time with questions or comments: [email protected]

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram!

Learn More

If you are interested in learning more about me and how I support CI practitioners grow their credibility faster so they can have greater impact with less heartache and exhaustion, check out my website:

KellyMallery.com

There, you can find the Find Your ResistobotTM Quiz, that helps you identify your hidden patterns when resistance shows up.

What actually makes change stick?

Is it:

• the tool? 
• the process? 
• the storyboard? 
• the training? 

Or is it something much deeper?

In this episode of Thoughts on Change, I sit down with Mark Rosenthal and Laurel Martin to unpack one of the biggest challenges in Continuous Improvement:

Why organizations can implement Lean tools… and still struggle to create lasting behavior change.

And honestly? This conversation gets to the heart of what real change leadership actually looks like.

What We Explore

We dig into:

• why psychological safety matters in Continuous Improvement 
• how leaders unintentionally reinforce the wrong behaviors 
• why curiosity is more powerful than blame 
• the difference between compliance and genuine engagement 
• how Kata and TWI are often misunderstood as “tools” instead of leadership development systems 
• what it really means to “integrate, not implement” 
• why unresolved disagreement at the leadership level quietly kills transformation efforts 
• and how sustainable culture change happens through repeated responses—not presentations 

One of My Favorite Moments

One of the strongest themes in this conversation is this shift:

Instead of asking:

“How do we get people to comply?”

What if we asked:

“What kind of response are we reinforcing?”

Because every leadership reaction teaches people something.

When leaders respond with:

• blame 
• defensiveness 
• pressure 
• control 

People learn to:

• hide problems 
• avoid risk 
• stay quiet 
• protect themselves 

But when leaders respond with:

• curiosity 
• experimentation 
• safety 
• learning 

People begin to think differently.

And that’s where culture shifts.

The Power of the First Reaction

We also talk about how important those first few seconds are when something goes wrong.

That moment when:

• a standard isn’t followed 
• an experiment fails 
• someone raises a concern 
• resistance appears 

Your first reaction matters more than you think.

Because leaders are constantly teaching people:

·       what is safe

·       what gets punished

·       what gets rewarded

·       and what kinds of thinking are welcome

Compliance vs Commitment

One of the biggest takeaways from this episode:

Compliance is not the same thing as commitment.

If your change effort depends entirely on:

• convincing harder 
• presenting more data 
• pushing people toward agreement 

You may get short-term compliance…

…but not real ownership.

Real teamwork requires:

• trust 
• safety 
• involvement 
• and genuine alignment 

A Powerful Reframe

One line from the conversation that really stuck with me:

“Integrate, don’t implement.”

Because sustainable change doesn’t happen when we drop a Lean tool into an organization and hope people use it.

It happens when:

• people understand it 
• it fits their context 
• it solves a meaningful problem 
• and leaders reinforce the behaviors needed to sustain it 

What This Means for CI Leaders

If you work in:

• Continuous Improvement 
• Operational Excellence 
• Lean leadership 
• manufacturing leadership 
• culture transformation 
• organizational change 

This episode is a reminder that your real job isn’t installing tools.

It’s shaping:

• systems 
• responses 
• behaviors 
• and learning environments 

Reflection Questions

As you listen, think about:

• What behaviors are being reinforced in my organization right now? 
• How do leaders respond when problems surface? 
• Are we building compliance… or capability? 
• What reactions are unintentionally creating fear or defensiveness? 
• Are we integrating improvement into culture—or just implementing tools? 

The Big Takeaway

Sustainable change is not about:

·       installing a storyboard

·       running a workshop

·       forcing agreement

It’s about intentionally shaping how people think, respond, learn, and engage over time.

That’s the real work.

Connect with the Guests

This episode features insights from:

• Mark Rosenthal 
• Laurel Martin 

Both bring deep experience in Lean thinking, leadership development, Kata, and organizational learning.

Enjoying the Podcast?

If you’re trying to move culture instead of just install tools, hit subscribe and share this with another CI warrior who’s navigating the messy human side of change.

Video

Get in touch!

I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to email me any time with questions or comments: [email protected]

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram!

Learn More

If you are interested in learning more about me and how I support CI practitioners grow their credibility faster so they can have greater impact with less heartache and exhaustion, check out my website:

KellyMallery.com

There, you can find the Find Your ResistobotTM Quiz, that helps you identify your hidden patterns when resistance shows up.

If you work in CI, helping probably feels like second nature. In fact, it’s probably one of the reasons you got into this work in the first place. But here’s the uncomfortable question we’re digging into today: Is your helping actually helping?

There’s a fine line between helping people grow and accidentally creating dependence. And if you cross that line, your help can quietly become harmful—for them and for you.

The Hidden Trap for CI Leaders

Many of us in CI become the scheduler, organizer, reminder system, problem solver, answer machine. At first, that support may be necessary. But over time? You can unintentionally train teams to rely on you instead of building their own capability. That’s when frustration grows, burnout starts creeping in, resistance increases, and you become the bottleneck in the very change you’re trying to create.

What You’ll Learn

In this episode, we continue the C.H.A.N.G.E. Shaper™ series by unpacking the second characteristic:

Help with Intention

You’ll learn:

• the difference between helpful help and hurtful help
• how overhelping creates dependency in teams
• how to recognize when you’ve crossed the “helpful line”
• practical ways to step back without abandoning people
• how boundaries can actually increase your credibility and respect

The Vicious Cycle of Overhelping

Overhelping creates a pattern that looks like this:

You step in to help: → people depend on you → you become overwhelmed → frustration builds → resistance increases → burnout follows.

Helping with Intention Looks Different

Helping with intention does not mean abandoning people, withholding support, or saying “figure it out yourself”. It means being intentional about what support they actually need, what capability they need to build next, and how you can help them grow without becoming dependent on you.

Powerful Questions to Ask Instead of Giving Answers

One of the biggest shifts? Moving from answering to asking. Some favorite coaching questions from the episode:

• “What problem are you trying to solve?”
• “What do you already know about that?”
• “How could you find that out?”
• “Who else might know more about this?”
• “How could you test your understanding?”

Sometimes giving the answer quickly is just another form of doing the work for them. And as uncomfortable as it can feel, stepping back may actually be the most supportive thing you can do.

Reflection Questions

Think about a current project or team you’re supporting. Ask yourself:

• Where am I stepping in too quickly?
• Who am I unintentionally training to depend on me?
• Am I helping because it’s best for them… or because it feels safer for me?
• What question could I ask instead of giving the answer?

The Shift

Helping with intention shifts you: from hero to leader. That’s where sustainable change starts to happen.

What’s Next

Next up in the C.H.A.N.G.E. Shaper™ series: Advocating for What Is Really Important

In noisy organizations, helping people improve isn’t enough—you also need to know how to connect change to what truly matters.

Want More Support?

Most of the women I work with aren’t struggling because they lack knowledge or skill.

They’re struggling because their approach isn’t landing the way they think it is. They’re overhelping and overexplaining. And exhausting themselves trying to create change.

That’s exactly what we work through inside Credible. Heard. Used.

You’ll find more information here

Video

Get in touch!

I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to email me any time with questions or comments: [email protected]

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram!

Learn More

If you are interested in learning more about me and how I support CI practitioners grow their credibility faster so they can have greater impact with less heartache and exhaustion, check out my website:

KellyMallery.com

There, you can find the Find Your ResistobotTM Quiz, that helps you identify your hidden patterns when resistance shows up.