This Executive Position Paper documents staff dispositions toward change at one elementary school. The author asserts that school leaders are more likely to successfully advance change in schools by identifying the needs of four varying staff sub-groups rather than by directing the staff as a whole. This qualitative study documents a year in the life of four new programs or expectations that took place at Pennell Elementary, a public K-5 school in suburban Pennsylvania. Drawing from journal entries, individual staff interviews, focus group feedback and data on new initiatives at Pennell, the study provides a detailed look at the ways teachers within the four groups reacted to specific changes over the year. A brief review of mainstream research and recommendations on the change process is offered as a base for understanding the micro-political challenges inherent within the management of new initiatives. The author utilized a pre-determined amount of administrative involvement and oversight (directive, supportive, assistive, and authoritarian) for various changes that were promoted. The effect this approach had on program outcomes is documented within. Considerable attention is given towards a detailed description of the character traits of each identified group. There is also a discussion of the barriers to change that were confronted within each initiative. Finally, the author contrasts general frameworks for change with a more tailored approach that speaks to the varied needs of each trait group. Recommendations for advancing change by addressing the needs of each of the four groups are discussed.