"Nobody likes changes except babies with wet diapers." This old saying might make us smile, but here's something that won't: 70% of change programs fail. That's what McKinsey found in their research. Ready to join the successful 30%? Let's dive into what works.

Beyond the First Message

You've been there. You announce a change, hold a meeting, send an email – and wonder why it's not sticking. Science tells us why: people need seven or more exposures to truly grasp new concepts. One and done doesn't work. Your team isn't resistant; they're human.

Most leaders mistake silence for understanding and compliance for commitment. Real change needs more. Much more.  The truth is, while you're tired of saying it, your team is just starting to hear it. Each person processes information differently and connects with various aspects of the message. Some grasp the big picture immediately, while others need time to understand the details. Your role is to keep the message clear, consistent, and continually present.

The Co-Creation Magic

Here's what successful change leaders know: when people help create the plan, they champion its success. It's not about getting buy-in later – it's about creating ownership from the start.

For over two decades, I've specialized in turning companies around. My role has been unique – I wasn't hired for my technical expertise in any particular field. Instead, I was brought in because organizations needed dramatic change in how they operated.

What was my approach?  When I walked into each new role, I did something that made some investors nervous: I admitted I wasn't the expert. But here's what I knew with absolute certainty – the real experts were already in the building. They worked on the front lines. They knew the customers. They understood the processes. They lived with the problems every day.

Instead of locking myself away in a windowless room trying to devise solutions, I put the challenges directly to the teams. The results were extraordinary. In every single case, the solutions they created were far superior to anything I could have developed on my own. Why? Because they combined deep operational knowledge with practical experience. They knew what would work because they'd been living with these challenges daily.

But something even more powerful happened. Because these teams created the solutions, they owned them completely. There was no need for elaborate change management programs or continuous convincing. They were already convinced because these were their ideas, their solutions, their improvements. 

The magic happens when teams feel empowered to shape their future. Teams stop asking "Why are they making us change?" and start asking "How can we make this work better?"

A Leadership Lesson

This taught me something crucial about leadership. Our job isn't to have all the answers. It's to:

  • Create the right environment for solutions to emerge
  • Ask the right questions that spark innovative thinking
  • If you do not like the solutions that emerge – ask more questions
  • Remove obstacles that prevent good ideas from becoming reality
  • Provide resources and support to implement those ideas
  • Celebrate and recognize success

A Different Kind of Leadership

This approach requires a different kind of leadership courage. It takes:

  • Humility to admit you don't have all the answers
  • Patience to let solutions emerge from the ground up
  • Trust in your team's capabilities
  • Confidence to support ideas different from what you might have chosen
  • Wisdom to know when to guide and when to step back

The Power of Recognition

Change takes courage. When's the last time you celebrated that? Recognition isn't just being nice – it's strategic. It shows what success looks like and encourages others to follow.

Smart leaders actively hunt for wins to celebrate. They tell stories of early adopters. They create change champions who spread success throughout the organization. Each celebration becomes fuel for more positive change.

Recognition also helps address one of change's biggest challenges: maintaining momentum. When people see their colleagues succeeding and being celebrated, it creates positive peer pressure and builds confidence that success is possible.

Creating Lasting Change

The most successful changes stick because they become "the way we do things here." This doesn't happen by accident. It requires intentional effort to embed new behaviors into your organization's culture.

Consider these proven approaches:

  1. Build change capabilities into your hiring and promotion criteria
  2. Include adaptation skills in performance reviews
  3. Share success stories in team meetings
  4. Make continuous improvement part of everyday conversations

The Real Secret

People don't fight change – they fight loss of control and unclear benefits. Give them influence over the change, support their journey, celebrate their courage, and measure what matters. That's your path to joining the successful 30%.

The secret to successful organizational change isn't about having the right answers – it's about asking the right questions and trusting your people to find the answers. When leaders create the space for collective wisdom to emerge, remarkable things happen.

This approach has never failed me. Not once. In every situation, teams have risen to the challenge, often exceeding expectations by orders of magnitude. They've proven, time and again, that the best solutions come from those closest to the work.

If you'd like to discuss how to unleash your team's potential for transformative change, let's connect at bradhenderson@me.com.

#ChangeManagement #LeadershipSuccess #BusinessTransformation #OrganizationalChange #Consistency-Edge