“Instead of slowing down and meeting the team in their resistance, I started to try and drag them because I saw the vision of the possible improvement, but they did not see it.”
Tom shares a powerful failure story about a team that didn’t feel the urgency to improve their way of working. Despite management wanting the team to become more effective, Tom found himself pushing improvements that the team actively resisted. Instead of slowing down to understand their resistance, he tried to drag them forward, leading to exhaustion and ultimately his decision to leave the assignment. This episode explores the critical lesson that it’s not our job to save teams that don’t want to be saved, and the importance of recognizing when to step back.
Self-reflection Question: When you encounter team resistance to change, how do you distinguish between healthy skepticism that needs addressing and fundamental unwillingness to improve?
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About Tom Molenaar
Tom is a team coach with a background in social psychology and behavioral influence. He is passionate about fostering collaboration, and helping teams flourish and achieve their potential. His approach blends insight, empathy, and strategy to cultivate lasting team success.
You can link with Tom Molenaar on LinkedIn.
