Engage your employees for optimal results
For a goal to be successful there must be some change involved. If nothing needed to change then you would already be achieving what you wanted, right? For a variety of reasons most people are typically resistant to change. Address the elephant in the room. Plan for your team’s needs just as carefully as you plan for all the technical and operational details involved in meeting your goal. 
Inertia costs opportunities
You’ve probably got a version of this story yourself: A friend of mine started a new job and management was very excited about the fresh eyes, technical expertise, and efficiencies he could introduce. A few months later, management is back in their offices and my friend is struggling to make any improvements because the employees don’t want to change. They say
your idea might work, BUT…that’s not the way we do things…it works fine the way I do it…there’s too much risk if the new way doesn’t work…
At least they’re upfront with their resistance.
Even more challenging are the employees who smile, nod and pretend to be on board and then go back to work and quietly derail and delay anything new. (If you mandate change and employees are afraid to speak up you’ll have a lot of this going on.)
These are not necessarily bad people or bad employees. It’s just that most people don’t like change. Think of those popular and accessible classic business fables like Who Moved My Cheese and Our Iceberg Is Melting. Help your team see the benefits of making adjustments and how it’s relevant to their jobs. What’s in it for them? Find out what they need to succeed. Celebrate true buy-in and progress. And keep moving forward.
