Change Management: Leading Through Resistance, Not Around It
In FinTech - especially in trading and portfolio management platforms - change, whether they’re conversions, upgrades, or new workstreams, isn’t a phase. It’s the norm.
But as anyone in this space knows, introducing change to high-performing, high-pressure teams isn’t just about process or planning - it’s about people. And when those people have strong opinions, fast decision making styles, and years of deep expertise? The stakes (and the resistance) are higher.
As a Senior Project Manager and Business Analyst with a Prosci certification in change management, I’ve learned that successful change in this environment requires more than a good rollout plan. It requires trust, clarity, and influence.
Strong Minds Don’t Equate to Unwilling Minds
One misconception: strong personalities and opinions mean resistance to change.
But in reality, these are often people deeply invested in the success of the product or platform. Their pushback is usually a signal - not a roadblock.
What works is not avoiding friction, but working through it with structure and empathy:
Lead with context. Explain the “why” before the “what.” (Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle, anyone?) Smart people want to know the rationale behind a shift before they’ll invest in it.
Involve them early. Even limited input gives people a sense of ownership - and drastically lowers resistance later.
Anticipate emotional responses. Prosci’s ADKAR model is especially helpful here: knowing where someone is stuck (Awareness? Desire? Ability?) lets you respond strategically, not reactively.
Pick your champions. Strong voices can become your biggest advocates - if you equip them early and clearly. In some instances, a pilot group may work for initial buy in for the larger audience.
Change Leadership Is a Daily Practice
Change isn’t something that happens at the kickoff or go-live. It happens in every 1:1 conversation, every meeting where tension surfaces, and every moment where a team chooses to lean into something unfamiliar.
Change leadership is not about managing tasks. It’s about guiding people - especially when the pressure is on and opinions are strong.
Your Turn
If you’re leading change in fast-moving, high-stakes environments like FinTech:
What’s helped you get buy-in from teams with strong voices and strong views?
For myself, with a product I need to gain adoption on, we implemented a pilot group to act as champions from within internal client/user group. They were able to relay the benefits of a new system and bridge the gap from older workflows and processes
Let’s learn from each other.
Written by Jed Carmona
Jed Carmona is a former consultant with Alderson Loop, fulfilling a Senior Business Analyst function. His previous experience includes working in T. Rowe Price's Global Trading Technology group as an Assistant Vice President and Senior Business Analyst, overseeing various multi-asset order modeling applications and workflows. He has extensive Agile experience in SAFe, Scrum, and Kanban, having served as a Product Owner and Scrum Master, as well as a Project Manager.
This article was originally published by the author on LinkedIn on July 29, 2025, and is reproduced here with permission.