🟡 Resistance Series: Episode 3 The Passive Team Problem

The quiet kind of resistance you can’t afford to overlook.

In case you missed it: The last two editions in this series covered the invisible cost of capacity constraints and the fog caused by playing the "lack of clarity" card. Today, we dive into a different, but just-as-dangerous form of resistance: passivity.

The kind that looks calm on the surface… but is silently eroding the transformation underneath.

❓Why does passivity matter so much in transformation?

Because transformation can’t thrive when too many are sitting on the sidelines.

One of the most overlooked markers of resistance is passive team behaviour. They’re not outwardly fighting the change. But they’re not fully in. They’re waiting. Watching. Commenting from the stands.

And this is where a good transformation or change leader listens for clues.

But great ones?

They go and find them intentionally. They read the room. They decode silences. They take the time to understand why the energy isn’t moving.

🧩 When you start a new role or program, assess this first.

One of the most essential things to do at the beginning of any transformation program is this:

Score the team’s passive level.

Ask yourself:

• Is this a proactive team that wants to shape and engage?
• Do they only speak up when the topic directly concerns their turf?
• Or are they quietly waiting to receive a semi-finished product so that they can critique it?

Because each requires a different leadership posture.

Passive teams aren’t a personality issue. They’re a risk signal. And if you don’t understand what’s behind that passivity early, you’ll misdiagnose, waste time, and likely hit hidden resistance just when you think things are gaining traction.

🧠 Don’t ignore the middle layer. That’s where the story lives.

One of the biggest missteps I see?

Leaders are crafting transformation programs without middle management input. Relying almost exclusively on senior leadership direction, and when pushback arises, deflecting with:

“This is what the CEO wants.”

“The leadership team has already agreed.”

If you’re using the name of a senior leader to end the conversation, you’re fueling the resistance, not easing it.

The middle management layer often holds a very different understanding of what the change means, how it's being interpreted, and what people think they are expected to do.

And you need their lens to shape a transformation that’s embraced, not just executed.

⚠️ Please stop throwing big labels at nuanced problems.

When someone joins a team and instantly declares, “This is an empowerment issue,” I pause.

Not because empowerment isn’t essential, but because labels without context are lazy.

‘Empowerment,’ ‘psychological safety,’ ‘team harmony’... they’re good ideas. But thrown around generically, they become meaningless.

Let’s dissect what might actually be going on with a passive team:

• They’ve seen more failures than successes. Their passivity is protective.
• They’ve inherited the change. It wasn’t their idea. They have no buy-in.
• They're waiting for the organisational restructuring to be finalised before engaging. There is nothing to do with you or your program.
• Their leader sounds collaborative but is quietly building a personal empire that shields them from disruption.

Different root causes. Different solutions. And if you misdiagnose it as “lack of empowerment,” you’ll miss the very leverage point that would have made the difference.

🔍 So, what’s the takeaway here?

Passive teams don’t become passive overnight. And they’re not passive because they’re lazy or indifferent. There’s always a reason.

And as a transformation leader, your job is to uncover that reason early, before the silence becomes a wall.

So next time you’re in a room where things feel “calm,”

Don’t relax.

Start listening harder.

More clues to resistance are hidden in what’s not said than in what is.

Till next week

Jess

🌍🏆 Honoured to be named among PEX Network’s Top 50 Business Transformation Leaders to Follow in 2025.

Proud to stand with leaders turning transformation from talk into action; in boardrooms, on the ground, and in moments that rarely make headlines.

True transformation isn’t a trend. It’s built on time, tension, and truth.

👏 Congratulations to all recognised, and thank you to PEX Network for celebrating the people driving real progress.

🔗 Full list: https://lnkd.in/epm79n33

If you’re in change or transformation as a sponsor, leaders, consultant or aspiring to enter this field…

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Jess Tayel

Founder of the Transformation Leadership Institute and People of Transformation membership & community.

Enable Organizations to Become Future Fit Through their Transformations & Change efforts.

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