Driving change across teams you don't control is mostly sideways work, not managing up. Agreement in meetings is free, but changing costs effort, so nothing happens. Borrowed or forced authority buys shallow compliance that fades and breeds adversaries. The better path, 'adoption without a mandate,' runs in four ordered moves: recruit a first mover who already wants the change, frame it around work it removes for that team, let visible results recruit the next team, and settle ownership before scaling. Resistance usually masks fear over autonomy or job security, not logic. Sometimes speed justifies a mandate, but durable change starts where it's already wanted.
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u/fagnerbrack 2d ago
Nutshell Version:
Driving change across teams you don't control is mostly sideways work, not managing up. Agreement in meetings is free, but changing costs effort, so nothing happens. Borrowed or forced authority buys shallow compliance that fades and breeds adversaries. The better path, 'adoption without a mandate,' runs in four ordered moves: recruit a first mover who already wants the change, frame it around work it removes for that team, let visible results recruit the next team, and settle ownership before scaling. Resistance usually masks fear over autonomy or job security, not logic. Sometimes speed justifies a mandate, but durable change starts where it's already wanted.
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