Leading Thoughts for May 7, 2026

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with:

I.

Carey Nieuwhof on large and loud opponents to change:

“The loudest people affected by a proposed change are those who are most opposed. The more opposed people are, the louder they tend to become. The problem arises because the noise of opponents to any change will make you a bad mathematician.

“You will confuse loud with large. And you will confuse volume with velocity. You will begin to believe that because opponents are loud, they are many, and because they have volume, they have momentum. Those are the two traps almost every leader falls into at some point. We simply assume loud means large, and that volume signals velocity. But loud does not equal large. And volume does not equal velocity. Just because a voice is loud doesn’t mean you should listen to it most.”

Source: Leading Change without Losing It: Five Strategies That Can Revolutionize How You Lead Change When Facing Opposition

II.

Julia Dhar, Kristy Ellmer and Philip Jameson on leading change:

“Leaders of successful change do more than follow a checklist; they draw on a nuanced understanding of human nature to respond to unique challenges every day. For this reason, we sometimes say that change leadership is a rough-water sport. Every four years, you may watch some footage of an Olympic event called canoe slalom, in which competitors crash down a course of surging whitewater—reading the currents ahead of them, positioning their boat in the right spots at the right moment, and getting back on course when the unexpected occurs. Just like these competitors, change leaders need to predict and respond to the changing currents of human behavior, emotion, and thought across their organizations. Like canoe slalom, leading change is messy and tough—and there is no such thing as a perfect run.”

Source: How Change Really Works: Seven Science-Based Principles for Transforming Your Organization

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Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index.

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 01:47 PM
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