The faster you push for change, the harder it pushes back
Unless you understand how living systems really transform.
Many conversations with founders, leaders, and change-makers begin here:
“I know what needs to change - but the system resists.”
“People say they want transformation, but still cling to the old ways.”
“I’m torn between giving autonomy and keeping things under control.”
Sound familiar?
This is the wilderness of leadership, not just the outer complexity of markets, AI, and organizational systems, but the inner complexity of change itself.
Change is not mechanical - it is alive
We were taught to drive change: set a vision → align people → execute the plan.
But real change is not linear. It is not a mechanical process. It is living.
It moves through:
awareness
emotion
relationship
the subtle energy of the system
When we push harder, resistance grows stronger, because systems (like people) are wired for autonomy and coherence.
This is not philosophy. It is physics, biology, and psychology.
When a system feels threatened, it protects itself. Just like children discovering independence, they don’t resist growth, they resist being controlled.
When we listen deeper, change becomes possible
When we soften and listen, something shifts. The system begins to self-organise. Energy that was locked in resistance becomes movement.
This is the art of regenerative leadership: understanding how transformation truly happens. Through participation, not force. Through relationship, not control.
Real leadership is the ability to hold tension without collapsing between:
freedom & responsibility
stability & change
self & system
It is staying open enough to sense what wants to emerge, yet grounded enough to hold the field steady as it unfolds.
When we lead like this, tension becomes information. Resistance becomes energy. Change becomes something we co-create, not manage.
A question to sit with
What tension, in yourself, your organisation, or the world, might hold the seed of transformation, if you stopped trying to fix it and instead listened to what it is protecting and what potential it may carry?
If you are curious about regenerative leadership, conscious transformation, living systems & complexity, get in touch.
