No Bullsh!t Leadership Learn From the Lifers, Don’t Repeat Their Mistakes
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Oct 21, 2025 Explore the challenges posed by long-tenured employees, or ‘lifers,’ who often resist change. Discover how their deep corporate knowledge can be both a blessing and a curse, leading to power struggles. Learn the tactics to manage resistance, including the importance of effective communication and cultural adaptation. Martin shares insights on preserving beneficial aspects of the old culture while pushing for necessary changes, and emphasizes that sometimes tough decisions are required to ensure progress.
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Lifers Hold Valuable Yet Resistant Power
- Long-tenured employees build deep knowledge and powerful informal networks that can be valuable to the organisation.
- Their built power base also makes them naturally resistant to change and protective of the status quo.
Corporate Memory Prevents Repeat Mistakes
- Lifers provide corporate memory, know where past mistakes and fixes lie, and maintain external and internal networks that 'get shit done'.
- This institutional continuity can prevent repeating past errors and ease stakeholder navigation during change.
Undermining Tactics Of Protective Lifers
- Lifers mount disinformation campaigns, white-ant, and may hold knowledge ransom to protect status and job security.
- Such behaviours can actively undermine leaders and derail change if not confronted swiftly.