Changing an organization’s work culture is nearly simultaneously incredibly demanding and profoundly gratifying for senior leaders.

Change is demanding because it takes time, energy, attention, and coaching. It’s demanding because real change requires leaders to define their organization’s desired culture–by formalizing its servant purpose, defining its values and behaviors, and carefully incorporating the company’s strategies and goals.

Culture change is also demanding because it requires senior leaders to model the new values and behaviors in every interaction—and then requires those senior leaders to hold everyone in the organization accountable for also model those defined values and measurable behaviors.

At the same time, culture change is gratifying because once the culture change gains traction, people of all generations are happy—even excited—about coming to work in a purposeful, positive, productive work culture. Talented, engaged people stay with your organization. Equally talented and engaged people also want to join your organization. And as we all know, talented, engaged team members and leaders deliver excellent products and services that wow your customers.

Many of the leaders and team members in your organization today—some of whom have been with the company a long time—will be an excellent match for your new culture. The best of them will continue to bring their skills, contributions, and the best of themselves to work every day. Moving forward, they will routinely show respect for their peers and enthusiasm for the new culture while they continue to drive results.

And some will not. Despite the best of intentions, as you implement intentional culture refinement, some people in the organization will not appreciate the new culture.

Four Ways People React to Culture Change

To ensure your desired culture takes root and becomes self-sustaining, senior leaders must make sure that everyone—leaders and team members alike—embraces and demonstrates your desired values and behaviors.

So, in the early months of any change process, you must be observant. You must monitor actions more than words. And you must note which leaders, teams, and individuals fully embrace the new culture—and which do not.

In our upcoming book, Good Comes First, my co-author Mark S. Babbitt and I describe typical reactions to culture change. As you look on objectively, you will notice most players fall into one of four different groups:

Early Adopters

The early adopters are aligned players across your organization who respond positively and emphatically to the change and the specifics of your new rules. They promptly embrace and demonstrate your defined values and behaviors.

Through their enthusiastic alignment to the new culture, members of this group say, “You’ve clarified what a good citizen looks like, speaks like, and acts like around here! I’m all in!”

Opt-Out-and-Leavers

The second group are players who know in their hearts this change process is not for them. They do not see the benefit of treating others respectfully. They might think values are fluff—irrelevant to the dog-eat-dog world of work.

Let them go. Sure, it will be tough to see longtime contributors, friends, and colleagues leave. But tolerating players who do not believe in the new culture—and who will not model your desired behaviors—is a formula for disaster.

When these folks self-select out of your organization, they smooth the path toward a respectful, productive culture for others by removing themselves as speed bumps and detours.

So, gracefully and lovingly, set them free. Or, as WD-40 Company CEO Garry Ridge says, “Share those employees with the competition!”