The strategy is clear.
So why isn’t anything changing?

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What do you do when the vision is clear, but your team, your leadership, or your stakeholders aren’t shifting with you?

If you’ve ever felt like you’re saying the right things but nothing’s moving, you’re not alone.

Sustainability leaders aren’t just navigating shifting targets, complex systems, and competing priorities. You’re also carrying the weight of getting others to come along.

And that’s the hardest part.

This month’s Leadership Mindset Session with executive and transformation coach Alexandra Wicksell, founder of The Leap Space, went straight to the heart of that tension.

We invited members to come together and explore the human side of change.

The part that’s often less visible but always decisive.

Because real transformation doesn’t happen in your slide deck.
It happens in the room. In the people. Or it doesn’t happen at all.

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Why change efforts stall

Most change efforts don’t fail because the strategy is wrong.

They fail because the shift never fully lands with people.

Here’s why:

1. The brain resists uncertainty​
   Change requires conscious effort, but our brains prefer the comfort of habit.
   When people feel their status, autonomy, or sense of belonging is at risk, resistance kicks in.
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2. Strategy doesn’t equal adoption​
   It’s easy to over-focus on logic and under-invest in emotional buy-in.
   If people don’t see what’s at stake for them personally, they won’t engage.
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3. Systems revert unless rewired​
   Without shifting structures, rituals, and relationships, people fall back into old behaviors.
   Invisible resistance builds, and leaders are often surprised by how long it lingers.

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When it doesn’t land

When leaders feel pressure, the instinct is to push harder.

More facts. More logic.
More slides. More urgency.

It creates a surface-level sense of alignment. But somehow, nothing moves.

Instead of traction, you get silence.
Instead of momentum, you get polite compliance, and quiet resistance underneath.

Trust erodes. Energy drains.
And the change stalls before it ever really began.

As one member put it:

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A better approach: From clarity to shift

When change isn’t landing, we tend to double down on planning.

But what if we started somewhere else?

Alexandra introduced the The Change Compass™, a simple but powerful model that helps leaders assess the transformation they’re driving. It starts with getting clear on the change itself, then understanding where people are in relation to it, and finally finding ways to meet them where they are and move forward together.

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It’s built around three core stages:

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Start with Clarity

Before you can bring others along, you need clarity yourself.

Clarity about what is changing and why it matters.

And clarity about what success looks like in outcomes, energy, ownership, and behavior.

As part of the Change Compass exercises, Alexandra asked members to reflect on five key areas. She introduced a worksheet to help leaders map their transformation across these dimensions:

• North (Now): Where are we now? What is working? What is not?
• East (Envision): Where do we want to be? What does success look like?
• South (Story): Why are we doing this? Why now?
• West (Way Forward): How will we get there? What are the priorities?
• Center (Ownership): Who owns what? What does success or failure look like?

These questions shift strategy from plans to leadership in practice.

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Where are your people, really?

Change doesn’t start with your plan.
It starts with where people actually are emotionally, mentally, behaviorally.

Alexandra introduced a set of archetypes — recognizable patterns in how people respond to change.

Each comes with an emotional need and a practical move you can make to meet them:

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Six Archetypes in Response to Change:

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Shift. Try this next time

Once you identify where someone is in the change process, there are default responses you can try.

The next time you feel stuck in a change process, try this:

• If someone’s Frozen: slow down, simplify, and create psychological safety
• If they’ve Ghosted: reach out directly — not to fix, but to reconnect
• If they’re an Overdoer: help them prioritize and create breathing room
• If they’re a Skeptic: invite them in — make space for questions without defensiveness
• If they’re Curious: open a dialogue and frame the bigger picture
• If they’re Committed: give them ownership and room to lead

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📩 What are you navigating right now?

Let us know how this is showing up in your role.
Reply here — we’d love to feature your perspective in a future edition.

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This article is based on leadership insights from executive coach Alexandra Wicksell and her framework, The Change Compass™, developed through years of supporting leaders and organizations through high-stakes transformation. If you’re interested in exploring how Alexandra can support your leadership journey—whether through 1:1 coaching or team workshops—feel free to reach out to her and visit her website by clicking below.

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— Max 💜

P.S. Thinking about becoming a member? Visit our website to learn more about membership and see if it’s the right fit for you. 👉 Learn more​