The Art Of Change
Reading Time: 10 Minutes
You might have heard this quote somewhere before:
"Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change."—Tony Robbins
Handling change has always been a challenge, and it still is.
Most people hit a point where they’re stuck between two truths: they know it’s time to change, but they also want to avoid the discomfort that comes with it.
Can you relate?
I can, especially as a Millennial. I grew up expecting a predictable and steady career. But my reality has been anything but linear. As Wired puts it, we live in the age of the "squiggly" career now.
Here's what I've learned about change along the way.
Change is a skill. It's something you can get better at, just like anything else. One thing I noticed about the best leaders I've worked with is that they can "read a room."
They sense when to move forward with change and when it's wiser to stay put.
Call it intuition if you like, but they've mastered the art of change. It's a huge part of leading well.
Change doesn’t always have to hurt.
Sometimes it hits us out of nowhere.
But other times, we choose it ourselves.
Any change can be active or passive. Proactive or reactive.
Learning to tell the difference, and knowing when to act is one of the most valuable skills in business (and life).
Proactive vs. Reactive Change
A good example of the difference between proactive and reactive change?
Just look at Yahoo vs. Google.
Yahoo didn't disappear, but it lost its top position in the market in the early 2000s. Yahoo didn't refuse to change; it actually changed a lot.
Most of its moves were reactive, though, like buying up companies without a clear plan and missing out on lucrative opportunities like Google and Facebook.
They were trying to keep up.
Reactive Change is when you shift because you have to.
Proactive Change occurs when you make a change because you've thought it through. A mission or a purpose drives what you do.
The best companies move like pro surfers. They don't chase every wave. They know when to ride and when to wait.
What Do The Experts Say?
A McKinsey study found that teams led by proactive leaders were more productive and adapted faster.
Similarly, the Journal of Applied Psychology found that leaders who can adapt their styles to the situation build more innovative teams.
In a shifting world, the bigger risk can be unclear change.
Why Is Change So Hard?
Let's clear this up.
There's a misconception that humans stay put because they're lazy. But people don't resist adapting due to laziness or a lack of willingness. They avoid it because their brains are trying to protect them.
Change messes with our routines and mental shortcuts, and our brains don't like that one bit.
So what's going on here?
According to a 2024 article in Entrepreneur, here's what the experts say happens when we face change:
→ When you disrupt habits, simple things become harder, and your brain has to work overtime.
→ Uncertainty triggers stress, and we feel out of control.
→ Sometimes, top talent can be more afraid to fail because they have more to lose.
→ Change can also feel personal; it messes with our identity, status, and relationships.
And we're wired for loss aversion. So we'd rather stick with what we know than risk something new, even if it's better.
When moving through change, we typically don't just flip a switch. Instead, we move through stages:
Not ready → Thinking about it → Preparing → Acting → Sometimes relapsing
At work, tensions between these stages build.
Factors like deadlines and team dynamics can make change feel even riskier. Disruption is the new norm now. But humans haven't evolved to handle such a rapid pace.
That's where Change Fatigue kicks in.
Change Fatigue isn't just stress or tiredness. According to the NeuroLeadership Institute, Change Fatigue is a sense of burnout and emotional numbness that causes people to check out.
This effect can filter into a company's culture. Eventually, each change feels heavier than the last. According to Harvard Business Review, the effects of change fatigue can ripple to every part of the business.
In short, change fatigue slows you down.
What Does Resistance To Change Look Like?
Not all pushback against change looks the same. Sometimes it's loud, and other times it's quiet.
You've probably seen both.
It could look like:
→ Loud: Someone is openly pushing back in a meeting.
→ Quiet: They're missing deadlines, zoning out, showing up late.
It's easy to misidentify these two distinct types of resistance.
What do the Experts say?
A recent article by Fengmuhan Li from the Academic Journal of Management and Social Sciences breaks resistance into two types:
1. Active Resistance
An example could be someone who openly refuses to cooperate with change. It's the brain going into "fight mode," trying to regain control.
2. Passive Resistance
It's harder to notice passive signs of resistance. It manifests through avoidance, delay or disengagement. The brain is going into "freeze or flight mode" to avoid stress.
Both come from the brain feeling under threat.
So, How Do We Get Past This?
One powerful tool is the SCARF model by David Rock.
It explains what your brain looks for when it's deciding whether to embrace or resist change.
→ Status: "Will this make me look less capable?"
→ Certainty: "What will happen next?"
→ Autonomy: "Do I have any control here?"
→ Relatedness: "Will I still belong here?"
→ Fairness: "Is this being handled fairly?"
People tend to shut down when they feel any of these threats. So, we need to design change with human behaviour in mind.
Which means:
→ Clear communication about why the change is happening
→ Creating safe spaces to ask questions without judgment
→ Involving people so they feel part of the process
→ Offering short, helpful training that builds confidence
These steps help the brain move from defence mode to growth.
3 Steps To Beat Change Fatigue
Name what you feel
Simplify what you can
Find what you can control
The Signs We Miss
Here's how to spot reactive warning signs before they turn into bigger problems. Or proactive signs of growth, so you don't miss out on opportunities.
5 Reactive Signs That It's Time To Change
Catch these warning signs early so you can adjust before things break.
1. Performance Peaks
Performance is flat. The effort may be there, but the results aren't improving. If this is the case, there's a skills gap.
2. People Avoid New Tools
If your team dodges that new system, they might be confused, untrained, or overwhelmed. Focus on positive communication.
3. Your Talent Is Leaving
Especially in technical roles, they might see change coming and don't want to get left behind.
4. More Sick Days
Absenteeism and apathy often signal stress or burnout. It’s time to check the workload. Help your team by breaking down complex training into bite-sized chunks.
6. Customers Are Changing, But Your Team Isn't
If your customer's needs are evolving but your processes aren't, you're falling behind.
5 Proactive Signs It's Time To Grow
The best workplaces build systems to identify these signs early and respond to them fast.
1. Work Feels Tiring or Dull
→ They may not be lazy but rather ready for a new challenge. If someone's not clicking with their role, learning can help reconnect purpose with output.
2. They Ask for Support
→ Mentorship, coaching, or even requests for feedback are signs of a desire for growth or change.
3. They're Rethinking Their Goals
→ When someone starts talking about the future, align learning with where they want to go next. Curiosity about other functions or roles is a sign that someone wants to expand their skills and capabilities.
4. Burnout Or Feeling Stuck
→ Feeling stuck often means the role and the person no longer match. A change can realign values and work.
5. Repeated Praise In One Area
→ When someone has mastered one area, it may be time to provide a new challenge before they outgrow their current work.
Nudging People Into Smarter Change
Not all change needs to be dramatic.
Sometimes, all it takes is a small prompt at the right moment.
That's where new technologies like Nudgetech can be helpful.
Nudge Technology (or "Nudgetech") combines behavioural science (the study of how people make decisions) with AI (Artificial Intelligence).
Think of a GPS but for work. Small cues guide you towards better choices, and you build this into your workflow.
According to the Harvard Business Review, more companies are now using algorithms to nudge their teams to adopt healthier habits, make smarter decisions, and accelerate their learning.
How Nudgetech Works
→ It spots signs like a drop in engagement or missed goals.
→ Only prompts when it matters (so it doesn't annoy you too much!)
→ The system suggests hyper-personal actions based on goals.
Real-World Results
Companies like Kraft Heinz have already seen success.
When managers used Nudgetech tools, their teams reported making better decisions and feeling more supported. A 2024 Gartner study found similar results.
The goal is to create an environment or culture where change happens naturally.
Building A Culture That Changes on Purpose
The companies that scale the fastest have one thing in common:
A culture that adapts.
It's a myth that culture is fixed. Companies create a strong learning culture that adapts.
That means:
→ Learning isn't just a one-off workshop
→ It's not just something people do in a course once a quarter
→ You build adaptive daily workflows with simple nudges and real-time feedback
Why this works:
LinkedIn's 2025 Workplace Learning Report found that companies using AI-powered learning saw huge gains:
→ 78% of sales reps said they felt more confident
→ 83% of leaders said training was more useful when interactive and in the moment
4 Foolproof Ways To Embed Learning Into Culture
1. Swap out training invites for nudges
→ Swap out clunky training sessions for short, clever prompts during the workday.
2. Use Tools You Already Have
→ Build feedback into Slack, Notion, or any other tool your team uses. Think check-ins, reminders, and small reflections.
3. Measure Real Change
→ Forget who finished what. Examine the actual changes in how people work, think, and collaborate.
4. Celebrate Curiosity
→ Reward experimenting, even the messy or unsuccessful ones. And learn from mistakes. A culture that learns fast, adapts early, and supports its people wins.
In 2025, the real asset is a culture that adapts. It's one where learning is just a part of the day.
Understanding change is imperative because the future of work isn't just about technology but also about people.
That means designing systems with humans in mind.
Ready to Build A Culture That Scales?
Grab the Superhumxn Culture Stack here.
The Culture Stack is your mini-playbook for building learning, trust, and adaptability into the DNA of your company.
