When I talk with leaders about the challenges they’re facing, I hear the same questions over and over again.
“Why don’t people get it?”
“Why don’t they support what we’re trying to do?”
“Why do our meetings seem to go on forever without accomplishing much?”
One CEO even asked me, “How come all I get is malicious compliance?”
Those are fair questions. Most leaders genuinely want people to support change. They know how to build a project plan, manage a budget, and keep things moving.
So why do so many well-planned changes lose momentum?
I think it’s because we’ve developed a mindset that says the only thing that really matters is the plan itself. We focus on deadlines, deliverables, and budgets — which are all important — but we forget to ask where the energy is going to come from. How are people going to move from simply accepting the change to actually supporting it?
Too often, we treat support as something we’ll add later if we have time.
I think that’s the mistake.
Think Like a Barista
Let me explain with one of my favorite analogies.
I love a good latte. And I’ve never heard anyone order one and say, “Hold the milk.”
Why? Because a latte isn’t espresso with milk added afterward. The espresso and the steamed milk are blended together from the beginning. They’re both essential ingredients.
I think organizational change works the same way.
Instead of asking, “How do we add support to this project?” we should be asking, “How do we build support into the work we’re already doing?”
Every meeting, every conversation, every update is an opportunity to strengthen support instead of simply communicating information.
Three Small Shifts That Make a Big Difference
I once worked with a planning team that was preparing for a major organizational change. They had done an excellent job on the technical side of the project, but they were convinced the upcoming stakeholder meeting was going to be a disaster.
The first thing they did right was admit it.
They felt safe enough to say, “We’ve got a problem.” That may sound simple, but many organizations skip that step. People recognize trouble long before they’re willing to talk about it.
Next, I asked them a question:
“What’s going to be on your stakeholders’ minds when they walk into that meeting?”
They filled an entire flip chart with concerns, fears, and objections they expected to hear. Once we had those concerns in front of us, we could start making sense of them.
Some people simply wouldn’t understand the change.
Some would be reacting out of fear.
Others wouldn’t trust the people leading the change.
Suddenly, the meeting they had planned didn’t match what people actually needed.
So instead of scheduling another meeting or creating a separate engagement initiative, they redesigned the meeting they already had.
The agenda was almost the same.
The attendees were the same.
The timing was the same.
What changed was their approach.
They intentionally looked for ways to reduce fear, answer concerns, and begin building trust while still accomplishing the technical objectives of the meeting.
The result was a completely different conversation—and much stronger support for the change.
Start Small
One of the biggest mistakes I see is leaders trying to change everything at once.
You don’t have to.
In fact, I’d encourage you to start small.
Look at the next meeting on your calendar. Ask yourself:
“How could I build just a little more support into this conversation?”
Maybe it’s asking a better question.
Maybe it’s spending a few extra minutes listening before presenting solutions.
Maybe it’s acknowledging concerns instead of rushing past them.
Small adjustments like these often create far more momentum than one big initiative.
One Final Thought
When change efforts struggle, the answer usually isn’t another project plan.
It’s remembering that support isn’t something we add after the work is finished.
Support is part of the work.
If we can begin blending trust, understanding, and genuine conversation into the way we lead change every day, people are much more likely to move forward with us.
Think like a barista.
The best change efforts don’t separate the work from the support.
They blend them together from the very beginning.
If you’d like to explore this idea further, I’ve written a book called Seizing Moments of Possibility. It’s a short, practical read with exercises you can begin using immediately, and it expands on many of the ideas I shared in this video. You can download a free digital copy of the book here. I hope you’ll download a copy and see what might be useful in your own work.
About the Author, Rick Maurer
