Neuroscience reveals that resistance to change isn’t stubbornness—it’s biology. Four key brain regions—the amygdala, entorhinal cortex, basal ganglia, and habenula—all react to change as a potential threat by triggering fear, disorientation, habit disruption, and fear of failure. When leaders understand these brain responses, they can design change strategies that calm threat responses, rebuild confidence, and support lasting adaptation.

Strong sponsorship is the cornerstone of successful change. Yet, organizations often overlook the importance of recognizing leaders who do it well. When great sponsorship goes unacknowledged, momentum fades—and so does motivation.

Leaders don’t want to hear about the noise of change—they want to see progress. During implementation, they care most about what affects time, cost, and results. The key to gaining their attention is blending data with story—presenting facts that quantify risk and pairing them with context that shows impact. When leaders see risk framed in business terms, they act decisively to keep the change on track.

A well-designed change initiative can still fail if it’s under-resourced. Whether it's time, people, tools, or budget, insufficient support creates friction and signals that the change isn’t truly a priority. This article outlines how to resource change realistically and strategically using the LaMarsh Managed Change™ Model.