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Management & Leadership vocabulary · Change Management

Resistance to change

Meaning in management & leadership, with examples

nounCommon term

In management & leadership, resistance to change means: The unwillingness of people to accept or adapt to a new way of working, often caused by fear of losing something, lack of information or tiredness from earlier changes.

In Turkish: değişime direnç, değişime karşı direnç

How it is used

A core idea in change management. Managers expect, face, reduce or overcome resistance to change. It can be open, such as complaints, or hidden, such as people quietly continuing the old process.

Example sentences

  1. We expected some resistance to change, so we involved the team in the design from day one.

  2. Most resistance to change comes from uncertainty, not from laziness.

Common collocations

  • overcome resistance to change
  • face resistance to change
  • reduce resistance
  • signs of resistance
  • change managementThe planned way an organisation prepares, supports and guides people through a major change, such as a new system or a merger, so that the change is accepted and lasts.
  • buy-inReal agreement with and support for a plan or decision from the people it affects, so that they actively help to make it work.
  • change fatigueThe tiredness, frustration and loss of interest that employees feel when they face too many changes too quickly, which often makes new changes harder to introduce.
  • change agentA person who actively promotes change in an organisation and helps to carry it out, whether as a leader, a consultant or an employee who influences colleagues.
  • transparencyThe practice of sharing information openly and honestly, so that employees, shareholders or the public can see how decisions are made and how the organisation is doing.

More terms: Change Management

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