E30: Are You Doing Change Management Wrong? Probably

2025-03-30

Top-down change is easy to mandate but nearly impossible to make stick without the people it affects. Why do so many leaders still default to pushing change from the top when it so often leads to resistance, confusion, or quiet disengagement? In this episode, Zovig Garboushian challenges the old playbook and shares a more human-centered approach to change management, one that invites participation, builds trust, and actually works. Zovig unpacks the common ways people react to change—fight, flight, freeze, and fawn—and how leaders can s...

Top-down change is easy to mandate but nearly impossible to make stick without the people it affects.

Why do so many leaders still default to pushing change from the top when it so often leads to resistance, confusion, or quiet disengagement? In this episode, Zovig Garboushian challenges the old playbook and shares a more human-centered approach to change management, one that invites participation, builds trust, and actually works.

Zovig unpacks the common ways people react to change—fight, flight, freeze, and fawn—and how leaders can spot these behaviors before they become roadblocks. You’ll hear why open-source change, a model that puts employees at the center of planning and implementation, leads to stronger outcomes and less pushback.

If you’re leading through change right now (or about to), you’ll walk away with clear ideas for building a real plan, communicating with purpose, and helping your team feel safe and supported through the messiness. Because resistance isn’t a problem to avoid. It’s a signal worth listening to.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Change Management

02:06 Ineffectiveness of Top-Down Change

03:44 Resistance to Change

05:00 Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn Responses

08:52 Addressing Resistance in Change Management

10:30 ProSci Framework for Change

13:32 Shifting Implementation to Employees

15:29 Focusing on Talking, Not Telling

18:42 Role of External Organizations in Change Management

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