Team Resistance and How to Respond as a Leader

I worked with a senior leader who managed a global division. He was rolling out changes he believed would benefit everyone. Most teams were on board – except one.

That one team always resisted.

“They act like they don’t want to do any work,” he said, half joking, but clearly frustrated.

He wasn’t a bad manager – he was one of the good ones. He genuinely cared about his people and wanted to strengthen relationships across the organization.

But like many well-intentioned leaders, he couldn’t see why this particular team kept pushing back, especially when the changes were intended to help them.

He saw their resistance as selfish. Why couldn’t they see the bigger picture like he used to do when he was in their position? Back then, he told me, you did what needed to be done “for the good of the company.” That’s just how it worked.

Why didn’t this group get that?

The Hidden Story Behind Team Resistance

I reflected to him that times have changed. A lot of us have been burned by doing things “for the good of the company” only to watch the company fail to return the favor – in recognition, compensation, or even basic respect.

Change is hard. Even when leaders have good intentions, people naturally worry about how change might impact or even harm them before they can consider how it might help.

And if trust has been broken in the past, it’s even harder. Team resistance often stems from broken trust. People become skeptical and self-protective. Those feelings don't vanish just because the org chart changes.

Concern from the team can look like resistance to the leader when it's actually a need for reassurance.

I asked him if he knew of anything that might have caused distrust with that team.

He paused – and then remembered that their former manager had a track record of favoritism and other harmful behaviors.

The team had been burned before.

It hadn’t occurred to him that the team’s resistance might be less about him and more about the scars left behind. Because it happened before he came on board and he’d replaced that manager, he hadn’t considered that context in the team’s reactions.

Even with a strong manager now in place, the responsibility to rebuild trust hadn’t disappeared. That work was still on the table.

Once he understood that, everything shifted.

He began to see the team’s resistance not as defiance, but as information.

Rebuilding Trust After Team Resistance

We explored strategies for rebuilding trust, integrating team input into the change process, and partnering with his direct reports in a way that honored their manager’s authority while also supporting my client’s broader goals.

This client was doing his best to improve things for his team, but like many leaders, he was managing change with limited context, without realizing how much the past still shaped the present.

Trust isn’t built overnight, especially when it’s been damaged by the organization.

It’s not restored through blanket policies or one-time meetings.

It’s rebuilt through consistent action, acknowledgment of harm, and following through on promises.

When leaders take responsibility for restoring trust, even for harm they didn’t personally cause, they show the kind of integrity that builds lasting change.

When they consistently show up, they can transform team resistance into engagement.

Support for Leaders

If you're facing team resistance, navigating old wounds, or working to lead with both clarity and care, you're not alone.

Let’s work together to uncover what’s really going on and build a path forward that supports your people and your goals.

Schedule a conversation to explore how coaching can help you navigate leadership challenges with confidence.

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