There is no doubt about it. We’re living in a time where the pace of change feels faster than ever.
Take AI as an example. Just a few years ago, it was something out of a sci-fi film. Now it’s everywhere—shaping how we work, learn, communicate, and make decisions. And with that comes a constant pressure to keep up, stay relevant, and not fall behind.
This isn’t an isolated example—it’s the reality across almost every sector.
New systems, restructures, shifting priorities, evolving roles. What might once have taken years now happens in months, sometimes weeks.
And yet, despite change being a normal and necessary part of life, many people still find it uncomfortable, draining, or even overwhelming.
That’s something we talk about a lot with the organisations we work with. Whether we’re supporting large-scale organisational change through leadership development, upskilling and team coaching—or helping individuals navigate personal change through coaching and development—the same patterns show up again and again.
Even though we are going through huge amounts of change, as a collective, we are awful at it. We resist, we catastrophise and we avoid.
Take AI as an example. Just a few years ago, it was something out of a sci-fi film. Now it’s everywhere—shaping how we work, learn, communicate, and make decisions. And with that comes a constant pressure to keep up, stay relevant, and not fall behind.
This isn’t an isolated example—it’s the reality across almost every sector.
New systems, restructures, shifting priorities, evolving roles. What might once have taken years now happens in months, sometimes weeks.
And yet, despite change being a normal and necessary part of life, many people still find it uncomfortable, draining, or even overwhelming.
That’s something we talk about a lot with the organisations we work with. Whether we’re supporting large-scale organisational change through leadership development, upskilling and team coaching—or helping individuals navigate personal change through coaching and development—the same patterns show up again and again.
Even though we are going through huge amounts of change, as a collective, we are awful at it. We resist, we catastrophise and we avoid.
Who Moved My Cheese?
Years ago, I read Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer
Johnson.
It’s a simple story about how different characters respond when what they rely on suddenly disappears. Some adapt quickly. Others hesitate, overthink, or stay stuck long after the situation has changed.
At the time, it offered a helpful lens: people respond differently to change, and those who adapt quickly tend to move forward more successfully.
But it left a question unanswered… Why?
Why do some people move forward with relative ease, while others feel stuck, resistant, or overwhelmed—even when they want to adapt?
There have been countless models and ideas around change, so many ways we can approach it as individuals and organisations. And yet, we still struggle – New Year’s resolutions, new roles or responsibilities or simply trying something new at your favourite restaurant. We don’t like change.
It’s a simple story about how different characters respond when what they rely on suddenly disappears. Some adapt quickly. Others hesitate, overthink, or stay stuck long after the situation has changed.
At the time, it offered a helpful lens: people respond differently to change, and those who adapt quickly tend to move forward more successfully.
But it left a question unanswered… Why?
Why do some people move forward with relative ease, while others feel stuck, resistant, or overwhelmed—even when they want to adapt?
There have been countless models and ideas around change, so many ways we can approach it as individuals and organisations. And yet, we still struggle – New Year’s resolutions, new roles or responsibilities or simply trying something new at your favourite restaurant. We don’t like change.
When Change Became Unavoidable
Not long after the Covid-19 pandemic began, I read Neuroscience
for Organizational Change by Hilary Scarlett, alongside Managing and
Leading People Through Organisational Change by Julie Hodges. The timing
couldn’t have been more relevant.
The pandemic taught us such a lot about change. Changes that would usually take years to implement, happened overnight. And why? Suddenly the stakes for NOT changing were bigger than those that could come from changing. And so we changed.
And yet, alongside that progress, we saw something else.
Fatigue. Overwhelm. Disengagement. Initiatives that didn’t quite land.
This is where the neuroscience lens becomes critical.
The pandemic taught us such a lot about change. Changes that would usually take years to implement, happened overnight. And why? Suddenly the stakes for NOT changing were bigger than those that could come from changing. And so we changed.
And yet, alongside that progress, we saw something else.
Fatigue. Overwhelm. Disengagement. Initiatives that didn’t quite land.
This is where the neuroscience lens becomes critical.
What’s Happening in the Brain
One of the most important insights I took from from Scarlett’s work is this:
In simple terms, when people are under sustained pressure or uncertainty, their capacity to think clearly, learn quickly, and adapt effectively is compromised.
What we saw during the pandemic is that change did happen—rapidly, and at scale—but not by accident. Where organisations were able to move people with them, a few things tended to be in place.
There was a clear and compelling reason for change. The “why” wasn’t abstract—it was immediate, visible, and often urgent. This reduced uncertainty and helped the brain make sense of what was happening.
Communication was frequent, transparent, and human. Not just polished updates, but honest conversations that acknowledged what wasn’t known as well as what was. That consistency helped create a sense of stability, even when everything else felt uncertain.
There was also a greater sense of shared experience. Leaders and teams were often navigating the same challenges at the same time, which—when handled well—helped build trust and connection rather than distance.
And importantly, many organisations gave people more autonomy than they had before. Whether it was flexibility in how work was done or faster decision-making at different levels, this sense of control helped reduce the brain’s threat response and enabled people to adapt more quickly.
When people struggle with change, it’s not behavioural—it’s neurological.
The brain’s primary role is to keep us safe. And when we encounter uncertainty, loss of control, or unpredictability, the brain can interpret this as a potential threat. In response, the brain activates its threat system—often referred to as fight, flight, or freeze. At the same time, stress hormones such as cortisol are released, and activity in the prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain responsible for reasoning, learning and decision-making) is reduced.
In simple terms, when people are under sustained pressure or uncertainty, their capacity to think clearly, learn quickly, and adapt effectively is compromised.
What we saw during the pandemic is that change did happen—rapidly, and at scale—but not by accident. Where organisations were able to move people with them, a few things tended to be in place.
There was a clear and compelling reason for change. The “why” wasn’t abstract—it was immediate, visible, and often urgent. This reduced uncertainty and helped the brain make sense of what was happening.
Communication was frequent, transparent, and human. Not just polished updates, but honest conversations that acknowledged what wasn’t known as well as what was. That consistency helped create a sense of stability, even when everything else felt uncertain.
There was also a greater sense of shared experience. Leaders and teams were often navigating the same challenges at the same time, which—when handled well—helped build trust and connection rather than distance.
And importantly, many organisations gave people more autonomy than they had before. Whether it was flexibility in how work was done or faster decision-making at different levels, this sense of control helped reduce the brain’s threat response and enabled people to adapt more quickly.
Rethinking Resistance
This reframes something we hear a lot in organisations: resistance to change.
Because what looks like being disruptive or awkward on the surface is often something very different underneath. It can be the brain to regain control of a situation that feels threatening.
When we understand that change triggers real, biological responses in the brain, it shifts how we approach it—whether as leaders, colleagues, or individuals navigating our own change. It moves us away from “Why are people resisting?” and more towards “What do people need to feel safe enough to adapt?”
And that shift is where more effective, sustainable change begins.
So, What Helps?
We don’t need to do everything differently—but we do need to be more intentional. Here are a few things you can to better support change for yourself and for your team or organisation.
Final thought
Change isn’t going anywhere. If anything, it’s becoming more constant, more complex, and more demanding. But the challenge isn’t that people are unwilling to change. It’s that we’re asking brains wired for survival to operate in environments that demand continuous adaptation.
When we understand that—when we work with the brain, rather than against it—we don’t just manage change more effectively. We lead it in a way that actually works.
When we understand that—when we work with the brain, rather than against it—we don’t just manage change more effectively. We lead it in a way that actually works.