Committed to Comfort Part I: You Said You Wanted Change… But You’re Clinging to Comfort!

A Gemisode® Series

Many leaders and organizations say they want change.
But when it’s time to do the work? They choose comfort. Again.

They bring in consultants. Coaches. Experts.
They draft bold vision statements and announce transformations.

And yet—when the moment comes to make decisions that require courage, vulnerability, and behavioral change?

They stall. They sidestep. They sabotage.

Let’s be real—what’s driving this isn’t strategy.
It’s fear.
Not alignment. But aversion.

They’re committed all right—just not to change.
They’re committed to comfort.

Let’s call it what it is: performative progress.
That’s not transformation. That’s optics over impact.

We’ve seen it play out time and time again—internally at organizations, and externally in consulting engagements. Despite what’s said out loud, what’s really being prioritized is status, ego, and sameness… all dressed up in the language of growth.

The reality?: when growth is performative, outcomes are predictable.

Why Do People and Organizations Resist Real Change?

Because comfort feels safe. But here’s the catch: the brain doesn’t always know the difference between safe and familiar. And that’s where the trouble starts.

Here are four psychological roots we see again and again:

1. Status Quo Bias
   The tendency to prefer the current state—even when it’s inefficient, outdated, or harmful.
   It’s why companies stick with familiar vendors, processes, and leadership behaviors—even when better options exist.

A study in the Journal of Product Innovation Management found that status quo bias significantly hinders organizational innovation and agility.
Think about it (Blockbuster is an example, btw): how many companies adopting to a new way because “we’ve always done it this way”? By the time they act, competitors have already moved ahead.

2. Loss Aversion
   People fear loss more than they value gain. So when a new initiative is introduced, they see risk, not reward.

Harvard Business Review notes that this fear leads executives to avoid bold decisions—resulting in missed opportunities for innovation and long-term stagnation. How many organizations hesitate to pivot their business model because they fear alienating existing customers—only to lose relevance with new ones?

3. Cognitive Dissonance
   Change creates discomfort—especially when it challenges identity. Leaders who’ve built careers on one approach may struggle to accept that their way no longer works.

This often shows up as denial (“We don’t need to change”), deflection (“It’s not our fault”), or blame-shifting (“The consultants didn’t understand us”). Instead of confronting hard truths, they distort reality to protect their egos—while their organizations pay the price.

4. Inertia
   Change takes energy—and when that energy is lacking, organizations default to doing what they’ve always done.

Cultures that prioritize keeping the peace over naming the truth often reinforce this inertia.
Research from APQC confirms that high-inertia organizations experience higher costs and slower decision-making—often at the expense of market relevance.

When Comfort Shows Up as Exclusion

And yes, sometimes this resistance shows up as exclusion—not just of external partners or consultants but of internal experts too. C-suite members, department heads, and rising talent are left out of key decisions—not because they lack insight, but because their presence challenges the comfort of the room.

Take this example: a CFO warns leadership about unsustainable spending during a transformation effort but gets sidelined because their pushback feels inconvenient. The result? Poor financial decisions that derail progress—and a culture where speaking up feels like a career risk.

PROSCI (2025) says it plainly: “While internal change agents are key to building sustainability, external agents offer fresh insights and specialized skills. Together, they create a well-rounded approach to change.” Ignoring either one weakens the foundation. PwC backs that up: companies that fail to leverage external expertise during transformation efforts see a 50% higher failure rate in achieving their desired outcomes.

The Cost of Clinging to Comfort

Here’s what we’ve seen:

• Missed opportunities for growth

• Increased turnover and disengagement

• Slow response to market shifts

• Eroding investor confidence

• Lost innovation—and stagnation

And worst of all? You can’t see it clearly when you’re the one standing still.

We get it—change is hard.
But stagnation? It’s fatal.

When you’re committed to comfort, you’re quietly choosing the status quo over growth—and ego over effectiveness. And That Commitment to Comfort? It’s Showing. In your culture. In your turnover rates. In your customer experience metrics. In your bottom line.

Why Does This Matter?

Because the next time your organization claims it’s culture is collaborative…
or your team says it’s inclusive…
or your leaders say they want transformation—

…we’re going to ask: Is it real—or is it just familiar?

Stay tuned to part II of this series where we’ll explore how culture becomes a cloak for comfort—the slogans, systems, and social norms that keep everyone saying they want change… while resisting the very behaviors required to make it happen.

Because while the words may be inspiring—the behaviors?
They’re exposing the truth.