Stop Sprinting a Marathon: 3 Smart Moves for Change-Weary Teams

Welcome to Love Mondays! (Yes, I've dropped the 'More'—because sometimes, less really is more.)

So, why the change? Love Mondays started as my email newsletter, and Love Mondays More was an extension of it here on LinkedIn. But now? This is where Love Mondays lives.

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If change were a workout, most organisations would be overtraining and under-recovering.

The result? Burnout, resistance, and a lot of frustrated people wondering why they’re being asked to sprint a marathon.

The reality is staring us in the face:

• 73% of HR leaders report employee change fatigue

• And 90% say their managers aren't effectively helping employees navigate it (2025 Gartner HR Priorities Survey)

• More than half of workers feel like there’s too much change happening at once

• Nearly half say their workload has increased significantly in the last 12 months (PwC Global Workforce Survey)

It’s a recipe for burnout, disengagement, and frustration. 

So if change isn’t slowing down, how do we shift from change fatigue to change energy? 

How to Turn Change Fatigue into Change Energy

1. Reduce the Load—Not Just Improve the Process

Most change fatigue isn’t about one big transformation—it’s about the relentless accumulation of initiatives. New systems, new strategies, new structures—stacked on top of already maxed-out workloads. 

• Before launching something new, ask: What can we pause or stop altogether? I’m finding a lot of leaders are working inside a culture where they don't have permission to deprioritise or they're being asked to do more with less. Peter Drucker observed decades ago that we're terrible at subtraction... and I don't think we're getting better with age. Every six months, my team and I sit down and ask: What can we stop? What can we pause? It's remarkable how much energy gets unleashed when you intentionally create space by removing unnecessary tasks.

• Give people breathing room. Change fatigue isn't just about pace—it’s about lack of recovery time between shifts. When I spent time with the Australian Army during one of their major training exercises in remote Queensland (which I detail in The Leading Edge), one insight really stayed with me: high performance isn’t 24/7. The Army works in three deliberate phases—readying, ready, and reset. No one is expected to operate at full throttle all the time. That rhythm of preparation, performance, and rest is what sustains long-term excellence.

The data backs this up too—at organisations with proactive rest strategies (like no-meeting Fridays, scheduled team reset weeks, or building recovery time into project plans), just 2% of employees are burnt out. And employees with access to these strategies perform at a level that is 26% higher. That's not just good for wellbeing—it's good business.

👉 Where can you create more space instead of adding more pressure?

2. Bring Resistance to The Table

If fatigue is fueling resistance, ignoring it won’t make it go away. We’ve all felt that eye roll moment when yet another initiative is announced—especially when the last one hasn’t even wrapped up. So instead of pushing through, invite resistance to the table.

When I’m facilitating change, I create space to ask: “What’s feeling overwhelming right now?” “What’s frustrating about how change is happening?” “What would make this feel more manageable?”

Often, the issue isn’t the change itself—it’s the way it’s being rolled out. Too many competing priorities, unclear expectations, no time to process. When leaders listen to the fatigue behind the resistance, they can make simple adjustments that turn frustration into engagement.

Resistance can be tough—but ignoring it is what turns it into a roadblock.

👉 How are you making space to hear your team’s concerns—before resistance turns into disengagement?

3. Reconnect to the Why

When people are exhausted by change, they’re not just tired—they’re often disconnected from meaning. Change can start to feel like a never-ending to-do list rather than a purposeful step forward. And when people lose sight of why the change matters, fatigue sets in faster.

One of the simplest and most powerful things leaders can do is consistently reconnect the team to purpose. Not just the company mission statement—but why this change matters right now, and how it connects to what we/you care about.

This doesn’t mean launching a motivational speech. It means weaving purpose into the way you communicate, reflect, and recognise progress.

Ask your team: “What impact do you want to have in this next chapter?” “How does this change support the kind of culture or outcomes we’re striving for?”

Purpose is a renewable energy source—but only if we remember to tap into it.

👉 When was the last time you talked about the why behind the change—not just the what or how?

Let's stop asking our teams to sprint marathons. Instead, let's create the conditions where they can run with purpose, recover with intention, and reconnect with why the journey matters in the first place. What's your first step?