I am feeling a resistance from tenured peers

26 Comments

1. AnonymousDecember 12,2025 at 7:24PM UTC

   I assume that your job is to evaluate, suggest and make changes and unfortunately a good number of people do not like change. It's not you personally, it is what you represent. If they aren't saying the comments to you directly, ignore the noise. If they are, find a way to tactfully address and/or come up with some sort of smart comeback. Also, if you can't go to your boss about this (if it's hindering your ability to do your job) then yeah, that's an issue. And when you say your HR is junior. What does that even mean?

2. AnonymousDecember 12,2025 at 7:45PM UTC

   Thats helpful. I think the resistance to change is a huge part of it.

   By junior I do not mean younger but that this is a big big step up from prior roles for them and sadly it shows. So I feel they are ill equipped to help. Although HR represents the company and manages the risk the situation poses and not an advocate.

3. AnonymousDecember 12,2025 at 8:25PM UTC

   I am in HR and totally understand that people hate change (and I've seen it happen too many times that people get too comfortable in their role, too long and change comes about and they are left behind). And in your situation, this is where you want HR in your corner. You are trying make improvements in the company. This could be a learning experience for this HR professional.

4. AnonymousDecember 12,2025 at 9:01PM UTC

   Some experienced workers like myself would prefer that newcomers of the company actually try to understand my job before they try to make improvements to my process. I've probably already tried their suggestions and I know why they won't work. Just saying that's my experience. Not saying that's what you're doing.

5. AnonymousDecember 13,2025 at 12:01AM UTC

   Leadership is hard and not for the faint of heart.

   I would make sure you are leading by example. Then create events or opportunities for praise and public shout outs. Then, when things need to be addressed, do so in writing, in person and keep your manager copy. Shine a light and asking for their help and then encourage their involvement with positive feedback.

   There are books and podcasts and Tedtalks to help you develop these Leadership qualities.

6. SPQDecember 13,2025 at 2:28AM UTC

   Having been in OpEx and the realm of change management, executive leadership needs to be the face, the voice, and vision for change. They actually need to actively talk the talk and walk the walk. If change isn't embraced and given significance at the top, there is no hope for one or two people to fight that battle alone.

   One of the things that my multinational organization did really well was mandate OpEx/CI projects at the Director level. It was part of the Director's scorecard and made visible across National reporting (you were in the red or green, based on % of improvement). Another company I worked for instituted OKRs, owned by executives and made transparent to each and every employee in the company. Transparency holds people accountable.

   Now, this may not be engrained into your company's culture or values, like they are mine.

   If you want to try to move the needle or gain buy-in, next time your executive asks you to fix something, ask him to attend your kick-off and to make some opening remarks:

   1. Why is this project important (relative importance against all other projects)? What are the table stakes? What is the outcome he is expecting and what is the risk if we don't do this right or if we don't do this right now?

   2. What makes the people in this room, on this project, special? Why were they specifically hand-selected to execute this vision?

   3. What are the expectations he (your executive) has for this team? How are they expected to collaborate and work together? What does he want to achieve by mid-project?

   - Get your executive to express the vision and outcomes.

   - If you have the authority, nominate a lead on your project team to give a 5 min presentation half way through the project.

   - Make sure goals and metrics are collaboratively set between you and the executive, and progress is monitored and reported on. Build it into your company's OKRs or QBRs if possible.

   If you have no power or authority, you can take a look at Kotter's Change Management Model or ADKAR to assess for operational change readiness.

7. Heather CutlerDecember 13,2025 at 2:10PM UTC

   Excellent advice, this is the path forward.

8. Alexis GladstoneDecember 13,2025 at 1:32PM UTC

   A lot of great perspectives have already been given. I'll share my change leadership two-cents. First yes, I call it change leadership and not management because in my perspective you manage processes and lead people. You can't implement any change successfully without the people.

   Since it doesn't appear like senior leadership is acting as the face, you need to do your best to get at least one tenured person on board. This is done through 1:1 engagement with them. It's not asking if they are good, it's asking for their insights. It's asking what is working and what could be better, then letting them help you craft it. Once you get one on board, others will follow (hopefully).

   You also need to paint the picture of where the group is, where they are going, and why it will be better, even while it's bumpy along the way.

   To sum it all up, it's all about communication and dialogue.

   Good luck.

9. AnonymousDecember 13,2025 at 1:37PM UTC

   Implementing change is hard, especially when you aren’t getting support from leaders. I went through something similar two years ago. Leadership preached change and accountability but when I tried to implement it I was told to sit down and be quiet.

   Then I read David Horsagers Trusted Leader book and it really helped me adjust my tactics to gain better buy in. I realized I was trying to rip a band aid off before making sure my team was ready for the sting. Once I implemented the 8 pillars of trust, I built stronger relationships with the teams, got their buy in by building trust, and was able to implement the changes and growth. Maybe try reading the book to see if it helps you as much as it did me?

   PS - no this is not an ad for his book. It really did help me immensely!

10. Dr. Patty GrossDecember 13,2025 at 1:58PM UTC

    The closest I came to this type of experience was when I followed a manager who ruled his teams with a "whip and a chair." I went from a SME position in one group to managing a group in which I had no specific experience in the subject matter.

    What I did first was interview the staff, as I have a keen sense for those who only tell me what they think I want to hear. As I held staff meetings to institute changes, I erred on the side of over-explaining, rather than giving commands without explanation. Often, if they understood the "why" of the change, it was much easier to motivate them to implement it. I was generous with accolades when people did well, especially for those who I felt needed a boost to their self-esteem, as that had been severely eroded for most of them by the previous manager.

11. Barb HansenDecember 13,2025 at 2:04PM UTC

    TL;DR: What you’re experiencing is common when you’re brought in to drive change among long-tenured peers.

    This isn’t a failure on your part, it’s a classic “influence without authority” challenge. The good news is that this is a learnable leadership skill, and with the right framing, tools, and strategy, you can navigate it successfully without burning bridges or burning out.

    You’re not imagining this. What you’re describing is classic resistance to change, especially when the change agent is newer and the people being asked to change have tenure, history, and informal power.

    A big part of leadership, particularly in roles like operational excellence, transformation, product, or change, is managing up and managing sideways, not just managing down. And you’re in one of the hardest versions of that: leading and influencing without authority.

    This is a real, learnable skill. Entire disciplines like change management and product management exist largely because people need to move organizations forward without being anyone’s boss.

    A few framing points first (the pep talk part):

    * Resistance is not a personal failure, it’s a predictable response.

    * Tenured peers often hear “fix this” as “you’ve been doing it wrong for 10 years.”

    * Public niceties + private sniping usually means fear, not malice.

    * The fact that execs are directing you to fix things means they trust you, even if others don’t yet.

    Now, here’s a short list of core skills for leading without authority that will help you navigate this:

    1. Stakeholder mapping

    Understand who actually has influence (not just titles), who is threatened, who is neutral, and who could become an ally. Not everyone needs to be convinced, some just need to be neutralized. Learning that "convincing some and neutralizing others" was my goal, instead of trying to convince everyone, changed how I managed projects.

    2. Reframing change as risk reduction

    Long-tenured teams respond better to “this will protect us / make audits easier / reduce fire drills” than “this is more efficient” or “best practice.”

    3. Language discipline

    Avoid “we need to fix” or “this is broken.”

    Use “where this creates friction,” “what’s getting in your way,” or “what leadership is worried about.”

    4. Pre-alignment (never surprise people)

    If execs tell you to fix something in someone else’s area, talk to that person before anything is visible. Public surprises create private enemies.

    5. Borrowed authority

    When possible, explicitly anchor work to leadership priorities:

    “This is coming directly from X’s concerns”

    “This is tied to Y’s goals for the quarter”

    6. Small wins, not big reforms

    Big overhauls trigger defensiveness. Quiet, incremental improvements build credibility and reduce pushback.

    7. Documented neutrality

    Follow up conversations with calm, factual emails:

    “Per our discussion, here’s what we agreed to try.”

    8. Emotional detachment

    This is the hardest one. You cannot take resistance personally if you want to survive change roles. Their reaction is about loss of control, not your competence.

    I’d strongly recommend looking into podcasts/books/courses on:

    * Influencing without authority

    * Organizational change management

    * Product leadership in matrixed orgs

    And here is a tip that I learned early in my product management role (where leading without authority is a core skill), the ability to let others win.

    Sometimes, especially when we’re brought in to “fix things,” we feel pressure to be the visible source of every good idea. In resistant environments, that can backfire. If you can intentionally give some of your ideas away, letting a tenured peer present them, champion them, or be seen as the driver, you can turn resistance into alliance.

    When people feel like they get to shine in the change process, they stop seeing you as a threat and start seeing you as a partner. You still get the outcome you want, but now you’ve built trust and momentum instead of friction.

    This doesn’t mean diminishing your role or letting others take credit for everything, it means being strategic about where visibility matters and where influence matters more.

12. AnonymousDecember 13,2025 at 4:28PM UTC

    Wow! This is an excellent response, one of the most useful posts I've ever seen on here - thank you!

13. AnonymousDecember 13,2025 at 6:26PM UTC

    Huge thank you this was a very thoughtful response.

14. Dawn CrossDecember 14,2025 at 4:35PM UTC

    These are great answers and I would add one more - see what some of the more influential of the group might want to see change wise, then bring it up, gently, acknowledging who mentioned it - I.e., “Sally had an idea that I think would be good. Her idea is (x). I would like to hear other ideas you may have and while we may not be able to do all, we can look into those that may fit our group/company best.”

    This goes to influencing and leading with authority- and getting buy-in from those who have been there a long time.

15. Wamboi SusanDecember 16,2025 at 1:37PM UTC

    Thank you , I found this insightful.

16. GirlBossanova934974December 13,2025 at 2:54PM UTC

    I would avoid the concept of "old school thinking" and such. This is a simple problem and it should not be overthought. When these changes are being handed out, the first question that should be asked is "What's in it for ME?"? You're asking for process changes and changes to the way people do things. OK! What's in it for them? That needs to be clearly explained and communicated. Are you making lives any easier? Staying competitive? Growing profits? Bigger paychecks coming? Snide comments come when none of that has been clearly communicated. Don't let others spread your message........They will do with it as they see fit.......

17. AnonymousDecember 13,2025 at 4:53PM UTC

    Change is hard, change is hard for tenured folks and also for new folks. Keep that in mind as you travel through the role. Try doing a reset. Meet with each team member that you impact and explain to them the role you have been hired for. Let them know that leadership has hired you for change and that you want their input on how to process improve but that there will be times when their ideas may not get heard or implemented because of conflicting decisions and options. Let them know their value is their experience but that your role is to cull ideas develop new programs and implement them which can for some people cause stress and discomfort. Call it out openly and let them know you understand. Let them know your job is NOT easy but that you hope that they will directly to your face share how they are feeling and what you need from them and them from you in return to make sure everything goes smoothly when new ideas transition in. Hopefully this can shift their thinking when dealing with these changes. As for you, I would suggest you do a personal restart. Get rid of the I can't deal with this or I can't do this and try again. If you cannot soften the troops by making changes within your own mentality and way of collaborating and leadership and HR are not there to support you, and you still feel you need that (I think you really don't after all they selected you to do this job!) then it is time for a move to a company where your function is in a better supported team. Good luck, you got this sister!

18. AnonymousDecember 14,2025 at 5:23AM UTC

    You can have a suggestion box to improve processes and get consensus on making these improvements. They will feel involved and will be willingly co-operative.

19. AnonymousDecember 14,2025 at 7:44PM UTC

    All the years I worked in many different roles taught me that every human has limitations to their knowledge and abilities, no matter how much training and education they receive. People will find the way to do the job that fits with their abilities and limitations, and will resist change to the death, if it means doing something above or beyond their ability. I learned about this years ago with a salon owner. She taught me that, in school, a new stylist will be able to develop proficiency with two, maybe three types of hair cuts, but not all styles. This is why so many women will ask for a particular cut, and walk away with the wrong cut or a bad cut, because the stylist can't admit to clients that she is the expert with Bob cuts, but is terrible with flips and waves. She will lose business. She will always do the same few styles she is comfortable with on every client, regardless how it looks on them, or what the client wants, because she has limitations - and we all do this in our fields, we do things based on what we are good with, and our limits. The key, without hurting feelings or pointing this out, because people will deny it to the end, is to look at the end goal - what are the exact changes being asked for, what result is being sought and why, have those answers down solid. Then find out if the persons who are required to work to these new changes have the skill sets and abilities to work within those changes, and if not, are they flexible enough to learn and practice new skills until they have it down, or are they going to resist changing, try to have management come down on you instead, to protect their status quo? Just something to think about when asking resistant people to change. By the way, with stylists, figure out what your favorite cut and style is called in the industry, research and seek stylists who are good with that cut and love doing it - look at their clients portfolio pictures, clients will mostly have the stylists favorite cuts on most heads. My stylist is a 70s feathered flip expert, a style I pull off well, she could not cut a pixie or Bob to save her life.

20. AyianDecember 15,2025 at 4:01PM UTC

    We absolutely do not all do this in our roles. I have researched and learned whatever I didn't know to succeed in any role I wasn't already fully equipped to do. Even so, I routinely find situations that I have not encountered or read about before and seek out knowledge to properly address what I'm deficient in. I realize that this is not standard, but I reject your concept that everyone does only what they know in their job.

21. AnonymousDecember 14,2025 at 9:35PM UTC

    We have had someone come in with “new” ideas- they were ideas we have implemented before that failed so yes, we were resisting trying them again. Maybe see why exactly they are resistant to some things.

22. AyianDecember 15,2025 at 3:56PM UTC

    Process improvement is a difficult role. The following are my experiences of resistant thinking:

    A) You just got here, I refuse to respect you or any of your professional experience.
    B) You don't know my job, so you don't have any insight to give that is relevant.
    C) This is the way we've always done it.
    D) You're not my boss, I don't have to do anything you say.

    People who are so inefficient that management brought in process improvement professionals absolutely WILL NOT do anything that they are not REQUIRED to do. Additionally, people like this don't like being told what to do by ANYONE - they likely resent their boss as well, but keep it quieter because it will affect their employment. You can address this by having one-on-ones that you *record*, with their knowledge so they don't feel blindsided (tell them it's for you to refer back to later to soften how it feels to them). Ask them what areas they would like to see improvements in, what they are prepared to do to make those happen, and what kind of support they need in implementing that. They may give you a response that you aren't expecting or they may refuse the concept of improvement entirely, in which case, you have them on record refusing what the executive has asked to have improvement in. Directly discuss what you've been asked to do and that it is not personal, this is the job you were hired by the executive to do. State that you want to help them be successful with the transition in operations. The goal here is to turn an obstinate mentality towards accepting your help in the form of guidance on changes and making the connection between the executive and yourself clear. After the one-on-one, ask that their job description be altered to include whatever process improvement was discussed. If they have no job description, ask that HR create one, including those improvements. This sets the stage for lower management to be held accountable for ensuring that the employee performs their function and can be used for both performance evaluations and PIPs.

    If the executive has not already done so, ask that you be formally introduced department or company-wide with a discussion on the scope of your role and specific guidance to comply with your requests to the best of their abilities. This further creates a clear line between the executive and your involvement.

    Make sure to get lower management on board. If they too are resistant, you need to bring this to your executive and make them aware that you cannot affect the change they want without lower management's direct involvement. This is factual, not an opinion, so be sure to present it that way. If lower management refuses to engage, suggest that a team lead be selected who is responsive to creating change. This may require hiring someone from outside the department or even outside the organization.

    Create progress reports for every employee who is affected by the changes your executive wants made. You know best how much time between reports to allow. Include the recordings of your one-on-ones, any communication you've had about the changes (be sure to follow up any verbal exchange with an email summarizing the exchange), check-ins with the employee, and current progress. Submit these to your executive with a summary, maybe even color coding them for those with full adherence, those with some progress, and those who refuse to make edits to their procedures. You might provide them to lower management if they're on board and possibly involve HR in PIPs, if you have executive authority to do so.

    This organization did not become stagnant out of nowhere. Culture is directed by executives. If you become desperate, you may wish to directly state this to the executive, who may, with clear progress reports, begin to see the error in 'no smoke lol' and start to make some staffing decisions. Sometimes executives need specific, clear evidence that what they're trying just isn't working (IE: process improvement with no teeth).

    Best wishes, truly!

23. Sophia KellyDecember 15,2025 at 7:40PM UTC

    People will be more likely to accept your influence gladly if you accept theirs and they feel you really undertand where they are coming from and why they do things their way now. My guess, if you are getting pushback this universally, that you didn't listen first to why they do it the way they do now. They are not going to listen to you unless they feel like you get them. In the process, I think you'll come to a way of doing things that will be a better fit for the organization. I also suggest focussing on some low hanging fruit with high benefits and low disruption to staff to get some high value wins in there that they will value. Focus on things that actually improve their work experience, or which they have been wanting changed for awhile. And when I say 'they' I don't mean upper management, I mean front line or lower mgmt.

24. Titra HamiltonDecember 15,2025 at 8:24PM UTC

    I have done process improvement work for many clients over the years. In addition to other great suggestions that others have posted, what helped me was articulating management's goals and objectives for wanting change. Ask them for their perspective, as subject matter experts (and even consider using that term when speaking to them), about the "as is", current pain points, what resources/processes/tools/training/checks/approvals/reports would make their lives easier while simultaneously meet senior management's aims. Work with them to draft the "to be" and even ask for volunteers from the "old heads" to present it to management. You develop business cases for senior management to give spot bonuses, raises or even promotions for their involvement. When they say "no", encourage "yes, but" instead. They know where all of the dead bodies are buried and are probably afraid for their jobs. Advocate for them! Engage them more and use empowering action words, instead of limiting ones, and you'll get it done. You have all of the tools. Good luck.

25. AnonymousDecember 16,2025 at 3:48PM UTC

    It could be a combination of irreverence and cynicism. It could be that maybe., you're just one in a long line of previous process implementation managers whose ideas didn't quite go over so well. Whatever the reason, you're going to have to proceed differently. It may mean that you're going to have to, for lack of a better word, "court" these folks. Really engage them, find out what they're thoughts are about your ideas - why they think they will or will not work. Also, listen with the intention to fully understand. Maybe they're feeling that their thoughts or ideas have been disregarded by management in the past. Yes, it's important that a company embraces change and adjusts accordingly. But sometimes at times, it can worth slowing down a bit to ensure that every voice is heard before moving forward. Just my opinion, of course.

26. Paulla Fetzek, MSEdDecember 17,2025 at 2:38PM UTC

    Hello!

    As a "10+ year" employee myself (I've been at my current company for nearly 23 years), I DO understand how people feel when someone new comes in.

    To begin, there is nothing wrong with "Old School" thinking and processes. They're old school for a reason - often because they work. This doesn't mean they can't be changed or made better, but it's helpful if people stop making it sound as if "old school" is a bad thing.

    As for the aggression - this could be in regard to how people are approached. If you're telling people that their "old school" way of thinking is outdated - you're not likely to be met positively.

    I admit to having "old school" ways myself. I've been in the corporate environment for over 35 years. There are things I formulated at my very first job (1989!) that I do to this day. If you were to tell me I'm bad for doing this, not only would I disagree with you, but also I wouldn't appreciate it.

    However, if you came to me saying something like, "I can appreciate how your years of experience have allowed you to do what you do. I have some ideas that may help improve things..." I'd be happy to listen and willing to try.

    I don't mean to accuse you of doing any of the things I talked about. I'm simply saying - as one who's on the "old school" side, that I can understand hesitancy at times.