When people feel uncertainty about a change it evokes varying emotional responses such as anxiety, stress, or even grief, particularly if it involves significant life transitions or loss of familiarity. 
 
People also fear failure. What is the likelihood someone is going to be as good or better at something new than what they were doing before the change occurred? The (real or perceived) expectation of undisrupted productivity will lead to a strong disinclination to change.
 
Lastly, cultural factors can play a role in making change difficult, as norms and expectations may reinforce the status quo and discourage deviation or experimentation.
 
There is an African proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” There is more wisdom in that saying than we have time to get into now. For today, we want to keep in mind that the goal for lasting change is to go far, not fast. 
 
“But I am the boss. They should just do what I say.” 
 
While “because I said so” management might sound like a good idea, I would like you to consider how well that worked for you or your parents when they tried that? You might have complied. But I am willing to bet you complied with the letter of the law and not the spirit. 

So, how do you implement change that does not feel like pushing rope or pulling a mountain? 
 
Strategically. Thoughtfully. Patiently. 
 
Your goal should be engagement, not buy in. There are a lot of things in life I buy into, but I am still not going to do anything with it. Engagement is the involvement, enthusiasm and commitment individuals have towards a particular effort. Getting people engaged with your change means you need to appeal to their head and their heart. This begins before the change is fully thought-out, let alone implemented. 
 
Here are three things to keep in mind when you are implementing change:

As a reminder these are all the things you should know before you’ve even designed the change. Doing this well will start to peel back the unknown. Continued communication throughout the process removes that fear of the unknown and will go a long way to helping your people engage.

You want the new behavior to be as simple or simpler than the one it is replacing. If it's going to make someone’s day harder, you are going to have to spend a lot more time on the “what's in it for me” part of change management. 
 
Pro-Tip: Involve the people who are doing the work will be impacted by the change you are trying to make. This will increase engagement and lead to better outcomes. 

Remember, your people want to do good work.  If they are worried about making a mistake due to inadequate training and/or support, they are likely to continue doing things the way they have always done things.
 
Be sure to remind people about the reason why the change was made and why it should matter to them.  Encourage them to ask for help and to help each other.  And, as always, appreciate what you want to see more of.  When you see the people doing the right things rightly, call it out!  Celebrate the times when the change resulted in the desired outcome and watch your people thrive!
 
Change is hard.  Managing change is harder still.  If you want people to change, you have to lead, not direct.  Remember, change isn't just something that happens to us; it's a chance to shake things up, grow, and make things even better.  Managing and leading change is helping people to tell the story of why this is something happening with me, not to me.