A leader who pushes a change agenda too hard risks building resistance and resentment, or even alienating his people. Here are three ways you can challenge the prevailing wisdom and make change happen quietly:
1. Model the change.
Demonstrate the way you want things to change through your own language and behavior. Often, seeing a leader do something first gives people the courage to try it themselves.
2. Turn negatives into positives.
Find ways to reframe people’s resistance as opportunities for change. This requires that you listen carefully, understand the underlying reasons for the opposition, and address them directly.
3. Find allies.
Chances are someone else in the organization wants the change as badly as you do. Find that person and pool your resources and ideas.