When teams are slow to adopt changes, instead of calling it resistance, Jeffrey Yip recommends using “painstorming” to identify the underlying emotional and structural pain points associated with change. More than another 2×2 matrix, Yip explains painstorming as a practice of identifying the emotional and structural pain points associated with change. It reframes discomfort as diagnostic data. P.A.I.N. is an acronym to define a framework used to listen to employees and teams.
Source: Psychology Today, October 17, 2025. Link.
Painstorming invites leaders to pause and listen, to decode resistance, and shift the focus from ‘How do we make people change?’ to ‘How do we make change work for people?’”