It can be tough managing a team at the best of times and then your organisation announces a change that you’re expected to implement. You’re a manager. It’s expected of you. It comes with the territory. Suck it up buttercup!
But what if you don’t agree with the change? What if you have your own doubts and concerns?
In season one episode seven, I share some of the strategies that have helped many of the managers I’ve worked with over the years. Heck, these are things that also helped me when I was managing teams!
I hope you find this helpful.
If you’ve listened to episodes five and six, you’ll know that the second half of season one is focused on change.
With that in mind, I’m going to share an issue that came up in a group coaching context recently. I’ve been working with four different groups of managers, and we’ve been focusing on managing change well. Partway through, we looked at communicating change effectively. The same question was asked by members of the group – “What do I do if I don’t agree with the change that’s happening?”
Different managers. Different groups. Different parts of the organisation. Same issue.
Stuck in the middle
It can sometimes be a tough gig as a manager. You’re constantly having to assess and evaluate different situations. Particularly if you’re in the same quandry as the managers I mentioned, where you’re being asked to get your team on board with a change you don’t agree with.
Here are my top tips if you’re in this situation.
- Reflect on why you’re feeling so against the change. Do you feel like you haven’t been involved (so you’re feeling angry)? Do you not have enough information (so you’re feeling uncertain)? Take some time to write out your feelings.
- One of the things I talked about with Rachel Miller, in episode eight was the importance of safe spaces for managers to process how they feel. Is there a group you’re part of, with other managers, where you can talk things through? Or maybe you have a coach or mentor that you can talk to? Making sense of and managing your own feelings and emotions is crucial before you talk to your team.
- Think about what is in your control. I talked about this in episode five, where I referenced Stephen Covey’s Circle of Control. While the change taking place is out of your control – perhaps because the decision has already been made senior leaders – what is in your control is how you approach the situation. What will you say? What won’t you say? How will you respond if any of your team get upset? How will you respond if your team has questions you can’t answer yet? How often will you update your team? All of these things are in your control.
- Create a script for yourself. I don’t mean something you read out verbatim, like a robot. That would just be weird. I mean writing out on no more than a page of A4 the key points to get across. What is happening? Why is it happening? When is it happening? Just stick to the facts. If there are things you don’t know that you think you need to know before you speak to your team, get in touch with the appropriate person to ask them for the information. Alternatively, if you have an in-house internal communication person or team, then get advice from them.
- Remember, you don’t have to have all the answers. Particularly if it’s the beginning of the change and if the change is a bit, shall we say, messy and unclear. Say this to your team. You’re part of the feedback loop. Not only are you feeding to your team from senior leadership, but you are also feeding back from your team. Those questions your team asks are useful for others to know, so they can create a Frequently Asked Questions guide. For example, you might feedback questions to the internal comms team, or the change project team.
Final thoughts
I hope you found these ideas helpful, or at the very least reassuring if you’re already doing some of them. You’re human too, experiencing the breadth and depth of emotions and feelings during change, just as your team does. I think the key thing is to not suffer in silence or alone.
Take time to process your feelings and then work out, either by yourself, or with others how you’re going to manage yourself while you manage your team through the change.
About the Manage with Confidence podcast
The Manage with Confidence podcast is full of practical and evidence-based tools, tips and skills to help you be the best people manager possible.
It was launched in 2026 by Dr Hayley Lewis and is listened to by people managers, HR professions and coaches in 22 countries around the world. It exists to support people managers, because better managers means better business and better worklife.
You can find the podcast online including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and YouTube.
Post author: Dr Hayley Lewis. First published on the HALO Psychology website 13 August 2026 (updated 19 October 2026).
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