July 15, 2026

Navigating Change: 5 Strategies to Counter Common Pitfalls

Deciding to make a significant change in professional practice, confront an unproductive approach, or commit to a new initiative can be a thrilling but daunting challenge. Excitement and optimism are likely to be high at the beginning, but making changes to longstanding behaviors and practices can be hard, time-consuming work. On the other hand, if successful, the changes can transform our work experience, lift the trajectory of our career, and significantly enhance our impact.

Fortunately, many of the travails and traps associated with making significant changes are predictable. Change processes typically share common elements that present themselves in stages. Knowing and anticipating what likely lies ahead can prepare us for what we will encounter. Here are five of the most significant and common change-related challenges and counterstrategies we can employ to defeat them.

Failing to be fully convinced of what is possible. Self-doubt can be a strong counterforce to achieving meaningful and sustained change. For example, we might say that we believe all students can learn, even at high levels, yet when pressed, we may doubt whether the statement really is true or that we can ensure that all students learn. Our fear can convince us that what we envision is out of reach. Self-doubt can leave us uncertain when we confront difficult challenges or resistance and lead us to abandon our efforts prematurely.

Counterstrategy: Henry Ford is quoted as saying, “Whether you believe you can or you can’t, either way you are right.” The first step in countering the challenge of self-doubt is to recognize its presence. Naming the doubt and countering the feeling with evidence of wins—even small ones—can be a good start. Self-talk such as “I am capable, I am committed, and I will find a way” can prime the brain for success, especially if repeated frequently. Also, consider partnering with someone who can provide accurate, balanced feedback, identify and reinforce progress, and help you stay centered.

Failing to build adequate support structures. Early shifts and modifications in practice often lead to early wins and may convince us that some tips and techniques are all that are required. We might even conclude that we can make the changes we envision alone and without the guidance of others who have made the journey before us and without ongoing brainstorming and problem-solving supports. Unfortunately, this mindset can leave us vulnerable to disappointment, frustration, and thoughts of abandonment when we encounter barriers, pushback, and slowed progress.

Counterstrategy: Schedule frequent check-ins to monitor progress and gauge perceptions of how the change is working. Provide opportunities for participants to share frustrations and successes. Arrange for people who are further ahead in the work to share their journey and strategies they used to overcome challenges and barriers. Celebrate learning from missteps and mistakes as well as from wins.

Failing to set realistic goals. Goals give us a focal point and can suggest tools to measure and judge our progress. Goals can also encourage us to think through what will be required and how much time we will need to see progress and experience success. A feeling that we want to make things better or be more effective is laudable, but knowing where we want to go and what it will look like can help us find the best strategies and approaches. Goals can also help us decide to ignore or abandon distractions and ineffective options, and they can assist us in explaining why we are engaged in the effort.

Counterstrategy: Long-term and intermediate goals help us to stay focused on where the work is headed and recognize evidence of progress in early stages. Be careful to place primary effort on achieving established goals instead of on interesting but distracting efforts and opportunities. If goal achievement slows, resist adjusting the goals or compromising the vision in favor of examining other strategies and tools.

Failing to anticipate the challenges of the second stage of change processes. The reality of significant behavior change is that, often, early wins are deceptively easy while later progress is slower and more challenging. Once initial enthusiasm wears off and early progress is achieved, we can become discouraged and uncertain about how to sustain the initiative. Also, our perception of the impact of change varies over time. Known as the Weber-Fechner Law, our perception of progress shifts as we move forward. Larger increments of change are required for us to notice the difference. We can become convinced that progress has halted when, in reality, we are simply no longer noticing the progress or the progress is continuing at a slower pace.

Counterstrategy: If progress begins to slow, consider whether it is time to shift strategies, develop a new skill, or adopt some new tools. Remember, significant change often requires new skills or new ways of thinking and behaving. Slumps in progress can be evidence that it is taking time to build new approaches and that significant payoffs still lie ahead. Patience and persistence can be powerful resources at this stage in the change process.

Failing to continue learning and adapting. It is a fact that we rarely know all that will be needed to achieve success when we initiate a change. We also cannot anticipate the twists and turns our journey will take. Strategies that seemed foolproof may need adjusting, and assumptions we made will need to be revisited and may even need to be abandoned. Unless we reflect, learn, and adjust in response to what we experience, we are likely to find ourselves stuck and unable to continue moving forward.

Counterstrategy: We will not know what we need to know at the beginning, so we must revisit and reevaluate as we move forward. New skills, different strategies, and additional tools may be required. Think of the change process as a journey. At each stage, new challenges and opportunities are likely to surface. Our choice to keep learning and adjusting to new experiences and changing circumstances will ensure ultimate success.

Committing to make a significant change can be an exhilarating prospect. The opportunity to make a new or larger difference in the lives of those who depend on us can be a powerful motivator. However, we need to be ready to counter the challenges and barriers that we will experience. Fortunately, much of what lies ahead is predictable and, with thought and planning, can be overcome and removed from our path to success.