Navigating Change with a Stone Age Brain

If it feels like change is everywhere, all the time—it’s because it is. Technology, economic shifts, remote work, evolving customer expectations, and global events have created a pace of constant change. For leaders, the challenge isn’t just responding to change—it’s leading through it in a way that keeps people grounded and focused.

But here’s the catch: while the world is changing fast, our brains still operate with ancient wiring. The human brain is designed to seek stability and predictability. It’s wired to detect threats and minimize risk—great for survival, but often unhelpful in fast-moving workplaces. When change arrives, even when it’s positive, the brain can interpret it as a threat. This sets off the body’s stress response, narrowing focus, increasing reactivity, and often resulting in resistance.

That resistance isn’t personal. It’s physiological. And once leaders understand that, they can begin to work with it instead of against it.

One of the most important shifts we can make as leaders is to stop seeing change as a disruption—and start seeing it as an expectation. That means helping others expect and embrace change not as a one-off event, but as part of how we grow, adapt, and evolve. When change is framed as a natural part of the work environment, people feel less caught off guard and more prepared to engage.

Of course, reframing change doesn’t make it easy. People don’t resist change as much as they resist what they think they’re losing because of it—control, clarity, competence, or connection. A leader’s role is to recognize those losses, name them when appropriate, and help people move forward with support and purpose. That might mean breaking down the change into smaller steps, reinforcing what’s staying the same, or offering new ways to succeed in the emerging environment.

More than ever, leadership today is about helping others build confidence amid uncertainty. This isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about creating clarity where you can, encouraging reflection, and showing that it’s possible to stay steady even when things are shifting. When people feel psychologically safe and included, their brains calm down, their creativity kicks in, and they’re more open to learning and adapting.

As part of our commitment to supporting leaders and teams in navigating change, we’re excited to be releasing two new learning experiences this spring:

•  eFOCUS Leading Change—a course designed to help leaders build clarity and confidence, with neuroscience-backed insights to guide teams through change
•  EVOLVE Change Readiness—a practical, all-employee course to help everyone in the organization build change resilience and readiness

Stay tuned for important announcements when these new courses become available, and consider joining us to gain this essential skill! Because succeeding in our fast-paced, modern world of constant change doesn't mean working faster; it means leading smarter to ensure that our Stone Age brains work with us.

About eLeadership Academy^®

Exclusive to credit unions, eLeadership Academy is the only online training solution that provides accessible, actionable training to develop high-performance leaders. We are on a mission to help build leadership and coaching bench strength within the system because we know credit unions are a force for good, and their leaders are the catalyst for member and employee experience. For more information, visit www.eleadershipacademy.com or contact [email protected].