In organisations with constant transformation, change stalls when employees resist and leaders disengage. This article shows how L&D can interpret pushback as information, rebuild leadership visibility, create listening loops, align learning to purpose, and reinforce new habits so change sticks in daily work. Anne Katrine Carlsson Sejr shows us how.
In most organisations today, transformation is the norm rather than the exception. New systems, new organisational designs, new strategies. Yet too often, transformation efforts stall because the people expected to make it happen push back, and leaders look away.
L&D professionals… operate at the junction between leadership intent and everyday reality
This is a defining challenge for L&D professionals as we operate at the junction between leadership intent and everyday reality. We see both sides of the disconnect: employees overwhelmed by yet another initiative, and leaders disengaged from the hard work of sustaining change. When this happens, L&D can either be a passive observer, or the bridge that connects the two sides.
Drawing on ideas from my book Maneuvering Monday, and building on lessons from practice, this article explores how L&D can play a pivotal role when resistance rises and leadership wavers.
Resistance is not failure, it’s feedback
When people push back and leaders disengage, they usually have good reasons. It may be that the change conflicts with practical realities, past lessons, or unaddressed constraints. Too many organisations label this as “change resistance” and move on. Or implement extensive strategies to “manage resistance”.
Pushback is often a sign of a deep care for the work, and equally important, critical thinking. The key is curiosity over judgment. Instead of assuming that people are lazy or unwilling to change, L&D can liaise with line management to uncover what’s behind the resistance. When people challenge a transformation agenda, they may be highlighting risks, dependencies, or inconsistencies that leadership or transformation consultants have missed. Listening early builds trust and can save the organisation from expensive missteps. Waiting until you are forced to listen costs credibility, momentum, and perhaps disengagement.
Five focus areas for L&D to unlock transformation in times of resistance
Below are five interlinked areas where learning professionals can make an impact when change meets resistance and leadership disengagement.
1) Leadership visibility and role-modelling
When leaders look away, transformation loses momentum. Employees notice the gap between what leaders say and what they do. L&D can help re-establish that connection by involving leaders directly in the learning activities of the transformation. Invite them to co-facilitate sessions, join peer dialogues, and share their own learning stories.
Often, leaders who disengage haven’t lost interest, they’ve lost alignment or confidence. They may feel uncertain about how to engage their teams or unsupported by their own management. L&D can offer coaching, leadership development, and reflection spaces to help them re-energise. Leadership disengagement is likely not apathy, but a signal that conditions for success need to be rebuilt.
2) Two-way communication and listening loops
Transformations can fail even though you have great communication teams helping managers communicate on all the right channels. Because all these efforts do not make a difference if no one listens or cares.
L&D can facilitate listening loops through team retrospectives and feedback sessions where employees can safely voice concerns. When those insights are fed back into the design of learning and change programmes, it sends a message that peoples’ voices shape the journey. If done right, this can turn resistance into co-ownership and support.
3) Aligning learning strategy with purpose and values
When transformation feels disconnected from purpose, pushback grows. L&D can help bridge this by ensuring every learning initiative connects clearly to organisational values, showing how the change will help employees make an impact. And if there is no connection, L&D should not force it, but challenge management on the decision to complete the training activities.
Resistance often signals a fear of the unknown and of not being able to keep up. An antidote to this fear is capability-building that clearly shows how the employees contribute to the purpose of the transformation.
4) Behaviour change and habit reinforcement
Completing training activities as part of a transformation is the first step. You do not get the benefits of the training until people start exhibiting the new behaviours they learned. Sustainable transformation depends on new habits taking root.
L&D can embed reinforcement mechanisms such as micro-learning nudges, peer-coaching, recognition systems, and storytelling that celebrates small wins. Keep the spotlight on the behaviours that matter most. If leaders look away, these mechanisms help maintain focus and progress. Over time, they turn change from a project into a normal way of working.
5) Why this matters for L&D now
Today’s L&D function is not just about designing courses. It’s about enabling transformation. When employees push back, we interpret the feedback. When leaders look away, we help them look again, with renewed clarity and purpose. Respecting experience, listening deeply, and connecting learning to real work are not “soft” interventions, but strategic levers for success. Learning should never feel like time stolen from the job. It should feel like time invested in doing the job better.
Practical questions for L&D professionals:
- Are we treating resistance as insight, not insubordination?
- Have we created meaningful spaces for people to express what’s really going on?
- Are our programmes connected to organisational purpose and day-to-day work?
- Are leaders visibly modelling learning and transformation behaviours?
- Do our development efforts build capability and confidence?
Focus for change
When transformation hits the challenges of resistance and leadership disengagement, the answer isn’t more PowerPoint decks or extra training hours. Instead, it’s an increased focus on empathy, alignment and capability.
People want to work. They want to succeed. L&D’s mission is to make that possible. To enable, not impose. By respecting experience, listening early, supporting leaders and embedding learning into the flow of work, we can turn pushback into insight and momentum. In the end, organisational transformation is less about managing change and more about enabling people. And that’s exactly where learning and development can lead.
Anne Katrine Carlsson Sejr (AK) is the co-author of Maneuvering Monday
