At the start of every year, many people make a list of resolutions — things to start, do, or change. However, many of these resolutions become harder to sustain as the months go by (just look at gym attendance numbers in January vs. the rest of the year!).
New Year’s resolutions are like many planned change initiatives in today’s workforces: it’s easier to start them than it is to sustain them in the long term. And since the COVID-19 pandemic, change has been happening in our lives at an exponential pace. Hybrid work, the rise of generative AI, and increasing incidents that stoke geopolitical tensions around the world have all compelled organizations to pivot and adapt rapidly to keep up.
But an often-cited — and sobering — statistic in change management is that on average, only 34% of implemented change initiatives succeed. So, for business owners or leaders of transformation, the challenge really isn’t just being open to change, but also how they give themselves the best chance of success. There are quite a few best practices out there, but they boil down to the following:
ACTIVE SPONSORSHIP AND A STRUCTURED PLANLeaders need to model the behaviors they want to see in their teams and employees. The same principle applies to change projects. A systematic literature review covering several decades worth of change research reveals that one of the consistent significant factors why employees resist change is distrust in the leadership or their organization.
Having an active executive or management sponsor provides change management teams with not just a champion at the executive levels, but also a clear path to decision approvals when needed. Once you have this, dive into the project management aspect. Map a timeline of events for the proposed change because once people find out what you are proposing to do, the inevitable question is when do you plan to do it. Don’t fall into the trap of haphazardly rolling something out borne by overeagerness to implement a change. Failing to plan is planning to fail.
TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION AND EARLY ENGAGEMENTClearly inform people about what’s changing, why it’s happening, how it will affect them, and when it is proposed to happen. Use multiple channels as needed — e-mail, team meetings, and one-on-one discussions — to ensure everyone is on the same page, but be conscious of which channel to use for the kind of conversation you are having. Obviously, when a change initiative could cause someone to lose his or her job, you don’t want to e-mail that person about it.
Sometimes, people resist change because they feel excluded and powerless. To address this, bring people in early. When possible, consult them so that you can get a range of inputs on the change proposal/s, which in turn can provide you with valuable insights, increase buy-in, and help you identify potential challenges. But genuine consultation requires psychological safety within teams. If team members are worried about retaliation, or how the feedback will be received, they will just more likely silently resist.
SUPPORT FOR LEADERS TO BE CHANGE AGENTSLeadership plays a pivotal role in driving change. Ensure that leaders are engaged with the proposed change and that anyone doing team briefings feels enabled and supported in having those conversations. Prepare talking points and internal FAQs to better equip leaders who may be feeling some anxiety. The last thing you want is to roll out a change proposal where the senior leadership team is convinced of the plan, but your mid- to frontline leaders are not.
Interestingly, the department I teach with at De La Salle University has a mission of developing “reflective change agents for the common good.” This mission resonates with me because it’s a good challenge not just for management educators, but also for organizational transformation leaders, who, when planning change initiatives, can easily get caught up in the benefits the initiative will bring, but lose sight of the genuine human impact it will have.
As we start 2025, let’s remember that to change, and to change for the better, are two different goals. It’s entirely up to us which one to strive for.
Dr. Armando Ricardo J. Aguado is a professional lecturer at De La Salle University and the senior HR manager with Australia’s leading telecommunications company. Over nearly two decades, he has held corporate roles in strategic HR management, business partnering, and organizational transformation, while educating young minds and taking the opportunity to also learn from the next generation of working professionals.
