The Death Rattle of the Old Guard: Why Their Resistance to Change Means You’re on the Right Track

Stop me if you’ve heard this one.

You bring a new idea to the board of directors.

Said board members get excited.

There’s a spark.

There’s a feeling of enthusiasm.

You can feel something shifting.

And then, almost like they’ve planned it, the whispers start.

Someone “just has a few questions” about the person leading the charge or the concept in general.

The phone calls and passive aggressive emails begin.

Doubt on the idea you brought gets sprinkled over every conversation like they're doing an impression of that Salt Bae guy.

You’re not imagining it.

That’s the old guard, and they’ve been doing this for decades.

Let’s be clear: the old guard isn’t a specific age group - it’s a mindset.

I’ve seen thirty-year-olds act like the old guard, and I’ve seen eighty-year-olds still pushing the envelope. It’s less about birth certificates and more about worldview.

The old guard measures credibility by how well you preserve tradition. They see their job as keeping things the way they’ve always been. And when something new shows up that could actually work better, their first instinct is to defend the old way, even if it’s not working anymore.

When threatened, they rarely want to talk about the idea head-on.

That would clearly require a debate on the merits, coming up with ideas that haven’t been beaten to death or actively participating in working tweak things for the better.

Those suggestions don’t always work in their favor. Instead, they go for the person.

They question motives, imply conflicts of interest, and “just raise concerns” in ways that cast a shadow. It’s not about the idea, it’s about neutralizing the person who’s carrying it forward.

And they’re not doing it because they woke up one morning deciding to be villains.

They’re doing it because their influence is slipping.

Their comfort zone is shrinking.

The methods that used to work for them don’t work anymore, and that’s terrifying if your entire identity is built around being “the one who knows how it’s done.”

Good times eh!?

Now, before we paint the entire old guard with the same brush, let’s be fair: there’s a reason institutional knowledge matters.

These folks have seen economic booms and busts.

They’ve weathered political shifts, funding freezes, and community crises.

They’ve built deep donor relationships and navigated the unspoken rules of how things get done.

They carry stories of where we’ve been and how we got here, and those stories are worth listening to.

When they’re willing to evolve, the old guard can be some of the most valuable allies you’ll ever have. They can open doors you didn’t even know existed. They can save you from repeating mistakes that cost time, money, and credibility.

But, and this is the line in the sand, that value only matters if they accept that the world has moved on.

Their role today isn’t to gatekeep or guard the walls; it’s to mentor, advise, and help the next generation lead.

If they choose not to evolve, they risk turning their greatest strength – experience - into a stubborn anchor that drags the whole sector backward.

Here’s the thing: sitting still is not stability. It’s decline in slow motion.

Everything in the nonprofit sector, since the beginning of nonprofit work, has always been changing.

Funders continuously seek change.

Donor attitudes on social issues change.

Communities constantly change.

Technology used to help the sector never stops changing.

If you think the way you’ve always done it will keep working forever, you’re not protecting your organization, you’re putting it on hospice care.

I love the nonprofit sector more than anything. But I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard, “We’ve always done it that way” as a reason not to try something different.

I’ve also lost count of how many times that phrase has been the first chapter in an organization’s obituary.

This doesn’t mean throwing everything out the window for the sake of being new. It means being willing to adapt, test, learn, and improve. It means being nimble enough to respond to the world as it is, not the world as it was twenty years ago.

But good news! when the old guard pushes back, you’ve got some options:

1. Don’t take the bait. The minute you start defending yourself against gossip, you’ve already stepped into their arena. Keep your focus on your work. Your impact speaks louder than rumors.

   
   

2. Stay mission-first. Keep returning to why you’re doing what you’re doing. If your changes are tied to impact and service, it’s harder for detractors to frame them as self-serving.

   
   

3. Build your coalition. Find the awesome people in your circle who want to create momentum. The more voices you can collect to shout out the good you do, the harder it is for one or two entrenched voices to stall it.

   
   

4. Invite them for the ride, but don’t hand over the wheel. If the institutional voices want to be constructive in doing good, welcome them in. Ask for their insights and advice. But make it clear the train is moving, and the destination is forward.

What you’re really hearing from individuals who use an incredible amount of time and energy to slow down progress and change within an organization, is actually just the death rattle of “the way it’s always been.”

The pushback you get from the old guard is often loudest right before their influence fades.

That’s not an accident, it’s a survival instinct.

They know they can’t control the narrative much longer, so they’ll try to slow the pace or shift the focus any way they can.

And it’s tempting to see this as a sign you should pull back.

Oh, but It’s not.

If anything, it’s a sign you’re exactly where you should be: creating the kind of change that makes the status quo uncomfortable.

This sector doesn’t need leaders who cling to the past out of fear. It needs leaders who can hold the wisdom of the past in one hand and the urgency of the future in the other.

If you’re willing to adapt, share power, and experiment even when it’s messy, you’re the kind of leader the next decade belongs to.

And if you’re not?

Well… change will happen with you or without you.

Frankly, I think we’d all rather walk forward together in this nonprofit sector.

But if you’re a person that chooses to sit down and pout, don’t be surprised when the rest of us keep moving.

For those of you do-gooders who are putting in the creative, forward thinking, awesomely positive and proactive work?

Keep chugging along.

You’ve got way more friends and allies who are looking to the future, than individuals who prefer to sink in the mud they’re flinging.

You got this!

-Patrick