ABSTRACT
Ken, Phyllis, Jeff, Hector, and Sylvia (all featured in Chapter 7) are all off to a good start in terms of their change processes, but issues often emerge along the way when leading complex and long-term initiatives. The short vignette about Sylvia above describes some of the kinds of challenges, obstacles, and forms of resistance that change agents can face and often must wrestle with over the course of implementing their changes. This chapter will begin to examine and provide ideas for how to address obstacles and resistance that are an ongoing and perennial part of change processes. As noted at the beginning of Part II, careful analysis of the type
of change, context of change, and leadership resources helps to alleviate many of the common obstacles and sources of resistance to change. But, as change processes unfold, obstacles will always emerge that need to be overcome. The theories of change reviewed in Chapter 2 provide ideas for how to approach these perennial struggles.
