Organisational transformations are essential for staying competitive in today’s fast-paced world, but they often come with challenges that can derail progress. One of the most pressing issues is change overload—when employees and stakeholders are overwhelmed by the sheer volume or pace of changes being implemented. This can lead to burnout, disengagement, resistance, and ultimately, failure to achieve transformation goals.
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a powerful solution to combat change overload. By leveraging AI tools and strategies, organisations can streamline processes, personalise communication, optimise workflows, and make data-driven decisions that reduce stress and improve adoption rates. This guide provides actionable steps to harness AI effectively in managing large-scale transformations while preventing change fatigue.
1. Diagnose Change Overload with AI-Powered Insights
Before addressing change overload, you need to identify where it exists and how it impacts your organisation. AI-powered analytics tools can provide real-time data on employee sentiment, workload distribution, and engagement levels—helping you pinpoint areas of concern before they escalate.
How to Apply This:
Use Sentiment Analysis Tools: Platforms like Microsoft Viva Insights or Qualtrics EmployeeXM can analyse employee feedback from surveys, emails, or chat platforms to detect patterns of stress or disengagement. For example:
If sentiment analysis reveals a spike in negative feedback during a specific project phase, it may indicate that employees are overwhelmed by unclear communication or unrealistic deadlines.
Monitor Workload Distribution: Tools such as Workday or Asana’s workload management feature can highlight individuals or teams carrying disproportionate workloads. This allows leaders to redistribute tasks more equitably.
Track Change Saturation Metrics: Use metrics like the number of concurrent projects per team or the average time spent on change-related activities per week may be a start. AI dashboards can automatically calculate these metrics and flag when thresholds are exceeded.
Visualise Change Saturation: Tools such as The Change Compass can help to easily capture change impacts across initiatives and turn these into data visualisation to support decision making. Embedded AI tools help to interpret the data and call out key risk areas and recommendations.
🔍 Example: A retail organisation undergoing digital transformation used AI sentiment analysis to discover that frontline employees felt excluded from decision-making processes. Leaders adjusted their communication approach to involve key frontline change champions which improved morale and reduced resistance.
2. Streamline Communication Through Personalisation
One-size-fits-all communication often adds to change fatigue by overwhelming employees with ineffective or irrelevant information. AI can help tailor messages based on individual roles, preferences, and needs—ensuring that employees only receive what’s most relevant to them.
How to Apply This:
Leverage Natural Language Processing (NLP): Tools like IBM Watson can analyse employee communication styles and suggest tone adjustments for clearer messaging.
Segment Audiences Automatically: Use platforms like Poppulo or Dynamic Signal to categorise employees by role, department, or location and deliver targeted updates accordingly. For instance:
IT teams might receive detailed technical updates about new systems being implemented, while frontline staff get simplified instructions on how the changes will impact their day-to-day tasks.
Automate Feedback Loops: Chatbots powered by AI (e.g., Tidio or Drift) can collect ongoing feedback from employees about the clarity and usefulness of communications during transformation initiatives.
💡 Pro Tip: Combine AI-driven personalisation with human oversight to ensure messages remain empathetic and aligned with organisational culture.
3. Predict Bottlenecks with AI Analytics
One of AI’s greatest strengths is its ability to analyse historical data and predict future outcomes—a capability that’s invaluable for managing change timelines and resource allocation effectively. Predictive analytics can help you anticipate bottlenecks before they occur and adjust your strategy in real time. For example, there could be cyclical periods of the year where the change volume tends to be higher. From our research at The Change Compass, we’ve seen that across different industries, October-November, and February-March tend to be high change volume periods.
How to Apply This:
Forecast Employee Capacity: If you already have the data you can use tools like Tableau or Power BI to predict when teams will be overstretched based on upcoming project timelines and historical workload data. Alternatively, utilise The Change Compass’ forecasting capabilities to predict trends.
Identify High-Risk Areas: Predictive models can flag departments or teams likely to experience resistance based on past behaviours or current engagement levels.
Scenario Planning: Use AI simulations (such as those offered by AnyLogic) to test different implementation strategies for your transformation initiative. The Change Compass also has a scenario planning feature to help you model changes before making the decision.
📊 Example: A financial services firm used predictive analytics during its digital transformation to identify that Q4 was historically the busiest period for its customer service team. By rescheduling non-critical training sessions for later Q1, they reduced employee stress and maintained service quality.
4. Enhance Employee Engagement Through Personalised Learning Platforms
Engaged employees are more likely to embrace change rather than resist it. AI-powered learning platforms offer personalised training pathways that equip employees with the skills they need for new roles or technologies introduced during transformation.
How to Apply This:
Create Adaptive Learning Journeys: Platforms like Degreed or EdCast use AI algorithms to recommend training modules based on an employee’s current skill set and career aspirations.
Gamify Learning Experiences: Incorporate gamification elements such as badges or leaderboards into your training programs using tools like Kahoot! or Quizizz.
Monitor Training Effectiveness: Use analytics within learning management systems (LMS) like Cornerstone OnDemand to track completion rates, quiz scores, and time spent on modules.
🎯 Action Step: Pair training initiatives with clear career progression opportunities tied directly to the transformation goals—for example, offering certifications for mastering new software systems being implemented.
5. Automate Routine Tasks Using AI Tools
Repetitive tasks drain employees’ energy and time—resources that could be better spent on strategic initiatives during transformations. Automation powered by AI can alleviate this burden by handling routine tasks efficiently. This not only reduces workload but also empowers employees to focus on higher-value activities that drive transformation success.
Note that this approach is assuming the organisation has the appetite to leverage AI and automation to reduce workload.
How to Apply This:
Automate Administrative Tasks: Tools like UiPath or Zapier can automate workflows such as data entry, meeting scheduling, or report generation. For example:
Automating the creation of weekly project status reports allows project managers to spend more time addressing risks and engaging with stakeholders.
Streamline Onboarding Processes: Implement chatbots like Leena AI or Talla that guide employees through onboarding steps during organisational changes. These tools can answer FAQs, provide training schedules, and even send reminders for task completion.
Enable Self-Service Options: Deploy virtual assistants (e.g., Google Dialogflow) that allow employees to access FAQs about new policies, systems, or procedures without waiting for human support.
💡 Pro Tip: When automating tasks, ensure transparency with employees about what is being automated and why. This helps build trust and prevents fears about job security.
6. Foster Workforce Readiness Through Real-Time Feedback Loops
Continuous feedback is essential during transformations—it helps leaders course-correct quickly while keeping employees informed and engaged. However, traditional feedback mechanisms like annual surveys are often too slow to capture real-time issues. AI tools enable organisations to collect and analyse feedback at scale in real time, creating a more agile approach to managing change fatigue.
How to Apply This:
Deploy Pulse Surveys: Platforms like Culture Amp or Peakon use AI algorithms to analyse survey responses instantly and provide actionable insights. For example:
If a pulse survey reveals low morale in a specific department, leaders can intervene immediately with targeted support or communication efforts.
Monitor Collaboration Metrics: Tools such as Slack Insights or Microsoft Teams Analytics track engagement levels within collaboration platforms. If metrics show a drop in activity or participation, it could indicate disengagement or confusion about transformation goals.
Close Feedback Loops Quickly: Use automated workflows triggered by feedback results. For instance:
If employees flag a lack of clarity about a new system rollout, an automated workflow can schedule additional training sessions or send out simplified guides.
📌 Key Insight: Real-time feedback not only identifies issues early but also demonstrates that leadership values employee input—a critical factor in building trust during change.
7. Leverage AI for Change Impact Assessments
One of the most overlooked aspects of managing change is understanding its cumulative impact across the organisation. Many organisations fail to consider how multiple simultaneous changes affect employee capacity and morale. AI tools can help conduct comprehensive change impact assessments by analysing data across projects, teams, and timelines.
How to Apply This:
Map Change Dependencies: Use AI-powered tools like The Change Compass to visualise how different initiatives overlap and interact. For example:
If two major IT upgrades are scheduled for the same quarter, the tool can flag potential conflicts and recommend rescheduling one of them as well as locating the right timing.
It could also be a series of smaller initiatives all being executed at the same time, again leading to the risk that key messages may not be absorbed by impacted employees
Analyse Historical Data: Predict how similar changes have impacted the organisation in the past using predictive analytics tools mentioned previously.
Simulate Scenarios: Run simulations to test different implementation strategies (e.g., phased vs big-bang rollouts) and predict their impact on employee workload and engagement.
🔍 Example: A global logistics company used AI-driven impact assessments to identify that rolling out a new CRM system during peak holiday season would overwhelm its sales team. By postponing the rollout until after the busy period, they avoided unnecessary stress and ensured smoother adoption.
8. Enhance Employee Engagement Through Gamification
AI can make transformation initiatives more engaging by incorporating gamification elements into training programs, communication strategies, and performance tracking systems. Gamification taps into employees’ intrinsic motivation by rewarding participation and progress—making change feel less daunting and more rewarding.
How to Apply This:
Gamify Training Programs: Use platforms like Kahoot! or Quizizz to create interactive quizzes and challenges related to new systems or processes being introduced.
Incentivise Participation: Offer digital badges, points, or leaderboards for completing key milestones in transformation initiatives (e.g., attending training sessions or adopting new tools).
Track Progress Automatically: AI-powered LMS platforms like Degreed can track employee progress in real time and provide personalised recommendations for next steps.
🎯 Action Step: Pair gamification efforts with tangible rewards such as gift cards or extra leave days for top performers.
💡 Pro Tip: Ensure gamification efforts are inclusive—design challenges that appeal to all personality types, not just competitive individuals.
9. Use AI for Personalised Coaching
AI-powered coaching platforms are revolutionising how organisations support their employees during transformations. These tools provide personalised guidance tailored to each employee’s role, skills, and career aspirations—helping them navigate change more effectively while feeling supported.
How to Apply This:
Deploy Virtual Coaches: Platforms like BetterUp or CoachHub use AI algorithms to match employees with virtual coaches who provide tailored advice on navigating change.
Provide Role-Specific Guidance: Use AI tools that offer customised recommendations based on an employee’s role within the organisation. For instance:
A sales representative might receive tips on leveraging new CRM features, while a manager gets guidance on leading their team through uncertainty.
Monitor Coaching Effectiveness: Track metrics such as employee satisfaction scores or performance improvements after coaching sessions.
🔍 Example: A tech company implementing agile methodologies used an AI coaching platform to train managers on fostering collaboration within cross-functional teams. The result was a smoother transition with fewer bottlenecks.
10. Integrate Change Management into Your Digital Transformation Strategy
AI should not operate in isolation; it must be embedded into your broader change management framework for maximum impact. This includes aligning AI initiatives with existing change management methodologies.
How to Apply This:
Centralise Data Sources: Use platforms like The Change Compass to consolidate insights from various data sources into a single dashboard, think data sources such as system usage, performance KPIs and employee survey results. It also enables you to capture your change data and deliverables according to your preferred methodology and populate data with generative AI.
Align Metrics Across Teams: Ensure KPIs related to change readiness (e.g., adoption rates) are consistent across departments.
Train Leaders on AI Capabilities: Equip managers with basic knowledge of how AI works so they can champion its use within their teams.
🌟 Final Thought: The integration of AI into change management isn’t just about technology—it’s about creating a culture of adaptability where data-driven decisions empower people at every level of the organisation.
Call-to-Action: Start Your Journey Towards Smarter Change Management
The challenges of large-scale transformations don’t have to result in burnout or disengagement when you harness the power of artificial intelligence effectively. Begin by assessing your current change portfolio environment—what tools are you already using? Where are the gaps? Then explore how AI solutions can fill those gaps while aligning with your organisational goals.
Ready to take the next step? Dive deeper into strategies for agile change portfolio management here and discover how data-driven insights can revolutionise your approach today!
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept—it is here, transforming industries and reshaping how organisations operate. For change and transformation professionals, AI presents both opportunities and challenges. While it automates repetitive tasks and provides advanced insights, it also demands a shift in mindset, skillsets, and approaches to managing change.
Change and transformation professionals must now navigate a world where AI not only augments their work but also redefines their roles. Here we explore how AI is impacting the field of change management, what parts of the work will shift and evolve, and how change manager can adapt to thrive in this new era.
The Impact of AI on Change Management
AI is revolutionizing change management by automating processes, providing predictive analytics, and enabling personalization at scale. It allows organisations to identify resistance early, tailor interventions for specific stakeholders, and measure the effectiveness of change initiatives in real time. However, these advancements also mean that the traditional ways of working are evolving rapidly.
For change professionals, this transformation requires a deeper understanding of how to integrate AI into their processes while maintaining a human-centered approach. Beyond the usual AI use for pictures and communications, let’s break down the key areas where AI is making an impact:
1. Automation of Repetitive Tasks
One of the most immediate benefits of AI in change management is its ability to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks. For example:
– Stakeholder Analysis: AI tools can analyse large datasets to identify key stakeholders, map their influence networks, and predict their responses to change.
– Communication: Generative AI can draft personalized emails, newsletters, or FAQs tailored to different stakeholder groups.
– Reporting: Automated dashboards powered by AI can provide real-time updates on adoption rates, engagement levels, and other key metrics.
This automation frees up time for change professionals to focus on higher-value activities such as strategy development and stakeholder engagement.
2. Data-Driven Insights
AI enables access to advanced data analytics that were previously unavailable or too complex to process manually. Predictive analytics tools can forecast employee resistance, identify potential risks, and recommend targeted interventions before problems escalate. For example:
– Sentiment analysis tools can assess employee feedback from surveys or social media platforms to gauge morale and identify concerns.
– Behavioural analytics can track how employees are interacting with new tools or processes, providing insights into adoption patterns.
However, it is worth noting that the more data collected, including historical data, the richer the AI insights will be as it will generate more accurate observations and recommendations.
These insights allow change professionals to move from reactive approaches to proactive strategies based on real-time data.
3. Personalisation at Scale
AI empowers organisations to deliver highly personalised experiences for employees during times of change. Instead of one-size-fits-all approaches, AI tools can segment stakeholders based on their preferences, behaviours, or roles and tailor communication or training accordingly. For instance:
– Adaptive learning platforms can create customised training modules for employees based on their skill gaps.
– Chatbots powered by natural language processing (NLP) can answer individual questions about new systems or processes in real time. With the ease of designing and implementing chatbots nowadays, designing a chatbot for implementing a change initiative is absolutely feasible.
Personalisation improves engagement and reduces resistance by addressing the unique needs of each individual or group.
What Will Decrease in the Work of Change manager?
While AI enhances many aspects of change management, it also reduces the need for certain traditional tasks:
1. Routine Communication
AI tools like chatbots or automated email systems can handle routine communication tasks such as sending updates or answering frequently asked questions (FAQs). This reduces the time spent on drafting generic messages or managing basic inquiries.
2. Manual Stakeholder Analysis
In the past, stakeholder analysis often involved manual mapping exercises based on interviews or surveys. With AI-driven tools that analyse organisational networks and sentiment data, this process becomes faster and more accurate.
3. Administrative Reporting
Manual reporting on metrics like adoption rates or training completion will decrease as AI-powered dashboards provide real-time analytics. Change managers will no longer need to spend hours compiling reports; instead, they can focus on interpreting the data and making strategic decisions.
What Will Increase in the Work of Change manager?
While some tasks decrease with AI integration, others become more critical:
1. Strategic Oversight
With AI handling operational tasks, change manager will need to focus more on strategic oversight. This includes ensuring that AI tools align with organisational goals and values while driving meaningful outcomes.
For example:
– Interpreting data insights provided by AI tools to refine strategies. With the range and volume of insights generated, the change professional needs to be focused on what parts add value and where the attention should be placed
– Ensuring that predictive analytics align with broader business objectives. AI generated data will need to be evaluated together with other sources of data. There may be data points that are not captured by AI, thereby impacting the predictive recommendations.
– Balancing short-term efficiency gains with long-term cultural shifts. The use of AI must align with the appetite of the organisation and what the people are capable of adopting. The change professional needs to careful assess the extent of the shifts required and adjust the AI usage and resulting business impacts accordingly. Is the organisation actual ready for the operating model changes inflicted by AI? Work efficiency aside, what will the organisation do with excess people capacity? And will it be ready to implement various business efficiency changes resulting from AI? This is a core question that leaders need to answer.
2. Ethical Governance
As organisations increasingly rely on AI for decision-making, ethical oversight becomes a core responsibility for change manager. Whilst this may not be considered as the ‘core job’ for change managers, it is important to incorporate this as a key part of monitoring of employee feedback and adoption management. They must ensure that:
– AI systems are free from biases that could harm employees or stakeholders. If biases are found, that there is action plans to address these
– Data privacy is maintained while using analytics tools. This will affect which tool is chosen and mode is utilised.
– Transparency is upheld in how decisions are influenced by AI. For example, does the AI recommendation reference data points specifically to support transparent tracing.
Building trust in AI systems among employees will be a critical part of this role.
3. Human-Centered Leadership
Despite its capabilities, AI cannot replace human empathy or emotional intelligence—qualities essential for navigating complex organisational changes. Change manager must:
– Act as empathetic leaders who address fears about job displacement or role changes due to automation.
– Foster trust in both leadership and technology by maintaining open lines of communication.
– Focus on building resilient teams that embrace adaptability and continuous learning.
Mindset Shifts Required for Change manager
To succeed in an AI-driven environment, change manager must adopt new mindsets:
1. From Control to Collaboration: Embrace collaboration with AI as a partner rather than viewing it as a tool to control outcomes.
2. From Static Expertise to Lifelong Learning: Continuously update skills related to data literacy, digital transformation strategies, and emerging technologies.
3. From Reactive Risk Management to Proactive Adaptation: Use predictive insights from AI tools to anticipate challenges rather than reacting after they occur.
4. From Fear of Displacement to Trust in Co-Creation: Recognize that AI enhances human capabilities rather than replacing them entirely.
These mindset shifts will enable change manager to lead effectively in an era where technology plays an increasingly central role in organisational transformation.
Immediate Use Cases for Change managers to Leverage AI
As AI continues to transform the workplace, change managers must adopt practical strategies that integrate AI into their workflows while maintaining a human-centered approach. Below are actionable steps to help change professionals thrive in the AI-driven future.
1. Use AI to Enhance Stakeholder Engagement
AI provides powerful tools to analyze and engage stakeholders more effectively. Change manager can leverage these capabilities to build stronger relationships and drive alignment across the organisation.
Actionable Steps:
– Leverage Sentiment Analysis Tools: Use AI-powered sentiment analysis to gauge stakeholder attitudes and concerns from surveys, emails, or social media. This allows you to identify resistance early and address it proactively.
– Develop Personalized Communication Plans: Use AI tools to segment stakeholders based on their roles, preferences, or behaviours. Tailor communication strategies for each group, ensuring messages resonate with their specific needs.
– Deploy Chatbots for Real-Time Support: Implement AI chatbots to provide stakeholders with instant access to information about change initiatives. This reduces the burden on change teams while improving responsiveness.
Example in Practice:
A global organisation undergoing a digital transformation may use AI sentiment analysis to monitor employee feedback during the rollout of a new system. By identifying teams with low engagement scores, the change team can intervene early with targeted workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions.
2. Integrate Predictive Analytics into Change Planning
Predictive analytics is one of the most transformative aspects of AI for change management. It allows change manager to anticipate challenges, forecast outcomes, and refine strategies based on data-driven insights.
Actionable Steps:
– Identify Potential Resistance Hotspots: Use predictive models to analyse historical data and identify departments or teams likely to resist upcoming changes.
– Forecast Adoption Rates: Leverage analytics tools to predict how quickly employees will adopt new processes or technologies. Adjust timelines and training plans accordingly.
– Optimise Resource Allocation: Use AI insights to determine where resources (e.g., training budgets or change champions) will have the greatest impact.
Example in Practice:
A financial services firm used predictive analytics during a merger to identify which regions were most likely to experience resistance based on past organisational changes. This allowed the team to deploy additional resources in those areas, reducing delays and improving overall adoption rates.
3. Focus on Building Trust in AI
As AI becomes more integrated into organisational processes, trust becomes a critical factor for success. Employees and stakeholders may feel uncertain about how decisions are being made or fear that their roles will be replaced by automation.
Actionable Steps:
– Be Transparent About AI’s Role: Clearly communicate how AI is being used in decision-making processes and emphasize that it is a tool to support—not replace—human judgment.
– Address Ethical Concerns: Ensure that AI systems are free from bias and comply with data privacy regulations. Regularly audit AI tools for fairness and accuracy.
– Foster Open Dialogue: Create forums where employees can ask questions about AI implementations, share concerns, and provide feedback.
Example in Practice:
A healthcare organisation introduced AI-powered scheduling software but faced resistance from staff who feared losing control over their work schedules. By hosting workshops that explained how the system worked and allowing employees to provide input into its configuration, the organisation built trust and improved adoption rates.
4. Lead with Emotional Intelligence
While AI automates many tasks, it cannot replace the human touch required for effective leadership during times of change. Change managers must double down on emotional intelligence (EI) to complement AI’s capabilities. It may not be that employee emotional reactions and nuances are fully captured by AI, so care need to be taken in this regard.
Actionable Steps:
– Empathize with Employee Concerns: Actively listen to employees’ fears about job displacement or role changes caused by automation.
– Foster a Growth Mindset: Encourage teams to see AI as an opportunity for personal and professional development rather than a threat.
Example in Practice:
During an automation initiative at a manufacturing company, senior leaders held town halls where they acknowledged employees’ concerns about job security but emphasized opportunities for upskilling. This approach helped reduce anxiety and fostered a more positive attitude toward the changes.
5. Redefine Training Strategies
AI is transforming how organisations approach employee training during times of change. Traditional one-size-fits-all training programs are being replaced by adaptive learning platforms that deliver personalized content based on individual needs.
Actionable Steps:
– Implement Adaptive Learning Platforms: Use AI-powered tools that assess employees’ existing skills and create customized learning paths.
– Focus on Digital Literacy: Ensure employees understand how to use new AI tools effectively as part of their daily workflows.
– Provide Continuous Learning Opportunities: Move beyond one-time training sessions by offering ongoing development programs that evolve with organisational needs.
Example in Practice:
A retail company introduced an adaptive learning platform during its e-commerce transformation. Employees received tailored training modules based on their roles and skill gaps, resulting in faster adoption of new systems and improved performance metrics.
6. Balance Efficiency with Culture implications
AI brings remarkable efficiency gains, but change managers must ensure that these do not come at the expense of organisational culture. Careful analysis should be done to understand potential impacts of AI on the cultural and behavioural norms of the organisation before proceeding.
Actionable Steps:
– Prioritize Culture Over Speed: While AI can accelerate processes, take time to ensure that cultural alignment is not overlooked during rapid transformations. What behaviours need to be there to support the adoption and implementation and how are these reinforced?
– Balancing cultural norms and behaviours: Are there particular rituals and behaviours that are critical to the culture of the organisation that AI should not try and replace? Are there practices that should remain despite AI gains in efficiency due to cultural goals?
– Measure Success Holistically: Go beyond efficiency metrics by assessing employee engagement, morale, and overall satisfaction during changes.
Example in Practice:
A tech company undergoing rapid scaling used AI tools for project management but ensured that team leaders continued holding regular one-on-one meetings with employees. This balance preserved trust and engagement during a period of significant growth.
The Evolving Role of Change managers
As organisations embrace AI, the role of change manager is shifting from operational execution to strategic leadership. Key areas of focus include:
1. Strategic Visioning: Aligning AI-driven initiatives with long-term organisational goals.
2. Ethical Oversight: Ensuring responsible use of AI while maintaining transparency and trust.
3. Proactive Adaptation: Using predictive insights from AI tools to stay ahead of challenges.
4. Human-Centered Leadership: Balancing technological advancements with empathy and emotional intelligence.
Change manager who embrace these shifts will not only remain relevant but also play a pivotal role in shaping the future of work.
The proliferation of AI is transforming every facet of change management—from automating routine tasks to enabling data-driven decision-making and personalized engagement strategies. For change manager, this evolution presents an opportunity to elevate their roles by focusing on strategic oversight, ethical governance, trust-building, and human-centered leadership.
By adopting practical strategies such as leveraging predictive analytics, redefining training approaches, and leading with emotional intelligence, experienced professionals can harness the power of AI while maintaining a people-first approach. The future of change management lies not in replacing humans with technology but in combining the strengths of both for greater impact. As we move further into this era of transformation, change manager who adapt their mindsets, skillsets, and approaches will be at the forefront of driving successful organisational change—one that balances innovation with humanity.
Air traffic control is one of the most sophisticated and high-stakes management systems in the world. Ensuring the safety of thousands of flights daily requires rigorous coordination, precise timing, and a structured yet adaptable approach. When failures occur, they often result in catastrophic consequences, as seen in the tragic January 2025 midair collision between an army helicopter and a passenger jet in Washington, D.C. airspace.
Think about the last time you took a flight. You probably didn’t worry about how the pilot knew where to go, how to land safely, or how to avoid other planes in the sky. That’s because air traffic control is a well-oiled machine, built on a foundation of real-time data, clear protocols, and experienced professionals making split-second decisions. Now, imagine if air traffic controllers had to work with outdated information, or if pilots had to rely on intuition rather than hard facts. Chaos, right?
The same principles that apply to managing air traffic also hold valuable lessons for change and transformation management within organisations. Large-scale transformations involve multiple initiatives running in parallel, conflicting priorities, and significant risks. Without a structured, centralised approach, organisations risk failure, reduced value realisation, and employee fatigue.
The same logic applies to organisational change and transformation. Leaders are often trying to land multiple initiatives at once, each with its own trajectory, speed, and impact. Without real-time, accurate data, it’s all too easy for change initiatives to collide, stall, or overwhelm employees. Just as the aviation industry depends on continuous data updates to prevent disasters, businesses must embrace data-driven decision-making to ensure their transformation efforts succeed.
Here we’ll explore what air traffic control can teach us about using data effectively in change management. If you’ve ever felt like your organisation’s transformation efforts are flying blind, chaotic and uncoordinated, this one’s for you.
Lesson 1: The Danger of Overloading Critical Roles
The D.C. Midair Collision: A Case of Role Overload
In January 2025, a tragic midair collision occurred in Washington, D.C. airspace between an army helicopter and a passenger jet, claiming 67 lives. Investigations revealed multiple contributing factors, including inadequate pilot training, fatigue, insufficient maintenance, and ignored safety protocols. This incident underscored the dangers of overstretched resources, outdated processes, and poor data visibility—lessons that extend beyond aviation and into how organisations manage complex, high-stakes operations like change and transformation.
Additionally, the air traffic controller on duty was handling both helicopter and airplane traffic simultaneously, leading to a critical lapse in coordination. This split focus contributed to poor coordination and a lack of real-time situational awareness, ultimately leading to disaster. This is aligned with findings from various research that providing adequate resources is important in driving change and transformation.
Parallels in Change and Transformation Management
Organisations often suffer from similar overload issues when managing change. Many initiatives—ranging from business-as-usual (BAU) efforts to large-scale transformations—compete for attention, resources, and stakeholder engagement. Without a structured approach, teams end up working in silos, unaware of competing priorities or overlapping impacts.
There are some who argue that change is the new norm, so employees just need to get on the program and learn to adapt. It may be easy to say this, but successful organisations have learnt how to do this, versus ignoring the issue. After all, managing capacity and resources is a normal part of any effective operations management and strategy execution. Within a change context, the effects are just more pronounced given the timelines and the need to balance both business-as-usual and changes.
Key Takeaways:
Centralised Oversight: Organisations need a structured governance model—whether through a Transformation Office, PMO, or Change Centre of Excellence—to track all initiatives and prevent “collisions.”
Clear Role Definition: Initiative owners and sponsors should have a clear understanding of their responsibilities, engagement processes, and decision-making frameworks.
Avoiding Initiative Overload: Employees experience “change fatigue” when multiple transformations run concurrently without proper coordination. Leaders must balance initiative rollout to ensure sustainable adoption.
Lesson 2: Providing Initiative Owners with Data-Driven Decision Autonomy
The UPS ‘Continuous Descent Arrivals’ System
UPS has been testing a data-driven approach to landings called ‘Continuous Descent Arrivals’ (source: Wall Street Journal article: Managing Air Traffic Control). Instead of relying solely on air traffic controllers to direct landing schedules, pilots have access to a full dashboard of real-time data, allowing them to determine their optimal landing times while still following a structured governance protocol. While CDA is effective during light traffic conditions, implementing it during heavy traffic poses technical challenges. Air traffic controllers must ensure safe separation between aircraft while optimising descent paths.
Applying This to Agile Change Management
In agile organisations, multiple initiatives are constantly iterating, requiring a balance between flexibility and coordination. Rather than centralised bottleneck approvals, initiative owners should be empowered to make informed, autonomous decisions—provided they follow structured governance (and when there is less risk of multiple releases and impacts on the business).
Key Takeaways:
Real-Time Data Sharing: Just as pilots rely on up-to-date flight data, organisations must have a transparent system where initiative owners can see enterprise-wide transformation impacts and adjust accordingly.
Governance Without Bureaucracy: Pre-set governance protocols should allow for self-service decision-making without stifling agility.
Last-Minute Adjustments with Predictability: Agile initiatives should have the flexibility to adjust their release schedules as long as they adhere to predefined impact management processes.
Lesson 3: Resourcing Air Traffic Control for Organisational Change
Lack of Air Traffic Controllers: A Root Cause of the D.C. Accident
The D.C. accident highlighted that understaffing was a critical factor. Insufficient air traffic controllers led to delayed decision-making and unsafe airspace conditions.
The Importance of Resource Allocation in Change and Transformation
Many organisations lack a dedicated team overseeing enterprise-wide change. Instead, initiatives operate independently, often leading to inefficiencies, redundancies, and conflicts. According to McKinsey, companies that effectively prioritise and allocate resources to transformation initiatives can generate 40% more value compared to their peers.
Key Takeaways:
Dedicated Transformation Governance Teams: Whether in the form of a PMO, Transformation Office, or Change Centre of Excellence, a central function should be responsible for initiative alignment.
Prioritisation Frameworks: Not all initiatives should receive equal attention. Organisations must establish structured prioritisation mechanisms based on value, risk, and strategic alignment.
Investment in Change Capacity: Just as air traffic controllers are indispensable to aviation safety, organisations must invest in skilled change professionals to ensure seamless initiative execution.
Lesson 4: Proactive Risk Management to Prevent Initiative Collisions
The Risk of Unchecked Initiative Timelines
Just as midair collisions can occur due to inadequate tracking of aircraft positions, organisational change initiatives can “crash” when timelines and impacts are not actively managed. Without a real-time view of concurrent changes, organisations risk:
Conflicting Business Priorities: Competing transformations may pull resources in different directions, leading to delays and reduced impact.
Change Saturation: Employees struggle to absorb too many changes at once, leading to disengagement and lower adoption.
Operational Disruptions: Poorly sequenced initiatives can create unintended consequences, disrupting critical business functions.
Establishing a Proactive “Air Traffic Control” for Change
Enterprise Change Heatmaps: Organisations should maintain a real-time dashboard of ongoing and upcoming changes to anticipate and mitigate risks.
Stakeholder Impact Assessments: Before launching initiatives, leaders must assess cumulative impacts on employees and customers.
Strategic Sequencing: Similar to how air traffic controllers ensure safe landing schedules, organisations must deliberately pace their change initiatives.
The Role of Data in Change and Transformation: Lessons from Air Traffic Control
You Need a Single Source of Truth—No More Guesswork
Aviation Example: The Power of Integrated Data Systems
In aviation, pilots and controllers don’t work off scattered spreadsheets or conflicting reports. They use a unified system that integrates radar, satellite tracking, and aircraft GPS, providing a single, comprehensive view of air traffic. With this system, pilots and controllers can see exactly where each aircraft is and make informed decisions to keep everyone safe.
Application in Change Management: Why Fragmented Data is a Recipe for Disaster
Now, compare this to how many organisations manage change. Different business units track initiatives in separate spreadsheets, using inconsistent reporting standards. Transformation offices, HR, finance, and IT often operate in silos, each with their own version of the truth. When leaders don’t have a clear, real-time picture of what’s happening across the organisation, it’s like trying to land a plane in thick fog—without instruments.
Key Takeaways:
Create a Centralised Change Management Platform: Just like air traffic control relies on a single system, organisations need a centralised platform where all change initiatives are tracked in real time.
Standardise Data Collection and Reporting: Everyone involved in change initiatives should follow the same data standards to ensure consistency and accuracy.
Increase Visibility Across Business Units: Leaders need an enterprise-wide view of all change efforts to avoid conflicts and align priorities.
Real-Time Data Enables Agile, Confident Decision-Making
UPS has a fascinating system for managing landings, known as ‘Continuous Descent Arrivals.’ Instead of waiting for air traffic controllers to dictate their landing time, pilots receive real-time data about their approach, runway conditions, and surrounding traffic. This allows them to determine the best landing time themselves—within a structured framework. The result? More efficient landings, less fuel waste, and greater overall safety.
Application in Change Management: The Danger of Outdated Reports
Too often, business leaders make transformation decisions based on data that’s weeks—or even months—old. By the time they realise a problem, the initiative has already veered off course. When leaders lack real-time data, they either act too late or overcorrect, causing further disruptions.
Key Takeaways:
Use Live Dashboards for Initiative Management: Just as pilots rely on real-time flight data, change leaders should have constantly updated dashboards showing initiative progress, risks, and dependencies.
Empower Initiative Owners with Data-Driven Autonomy: When given up-to-date information, initiative owners can make faster, smarter adjustments—without waiting for top-down approvals.
Leverage Predictive Analytics to Anticipate Challenges: AI-driven insights can flag potential risks, such as change saturation or conflicting priorities, before they become full-blown issues.
Modern aircraft are equipped with automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) systems, which allow them to communicate real-time flight data with each other. If two planes are on a collision course, these systems warn pilots, giving them time to adjust. It’s a proactive approach to risk management—problems are detected and resolved before they escalate.
Application in Change Management: Avoiding Crashes Between Initiatives
In organisations, multiple change initiatives often roll out simultaneously, each demanding employee attention, resources, and operational bandwidth. Without real-time risk monitoring, it’s easy to overwhelm employees or create operational bottlenecks. Many organisations don’t realise there’s an issue until productivity starts dropping or employees push back against the sheer volume of change.
Key Takeaways:
Invest in Impact Assessment Tools: Before launching an initiative, leaders should evaluate its potential impact on employees and the business.
Run Scenario Planning Exercises: Like pilots in flight simulators, organisations should model different change scenarios to prepare for potential challenges.
Set Up Early Warning Systems: AI-driven analytics can detect overlapping initiatives, allowing leaders to intervene before issues arise.
The High Cost of Inaccurate or Delayed Data
Aviation Example: The D.C. Midair Collision
The tragic January 2025 midair collision in Washington, D.C. was, in part, the result of outdated and incomplete data. A single air traffic controller was responsible for both helicopter and airplane traffic, leading to a dangerous lapse in coordination. Miscommunication about airspace restrictions only made matters worse, resulting in an avoidable catastrophe.
Poor Data Leads to Costly Mistakes
The corporate equivalent of this is when transformation teams work with old or incomplete data. Decisions based on last quarter’s reports can lead to wasted resources, poorly sequenced initiatives, and employee burnout. The consequences might not be as immediately tragic as an aviation disaster, but the financial, momentum and cultural costs can be devastating.
Key Takeaways:
Prioritise Frequent Data Updates: Change leaders must ensure initiative data is refreshed regularly to reflect real-time realities.
Collaborate Across Functions to Maintain Accuracy: Transformation leaders, HR, finance, and IT should work together to ensure all change impact data is reliable.
Automate Reporting Where Possible: AI and automation can reduce human error and provide real-time insights without manual effort.
Balancing Automation with Human Judgment
Aviation Example: Autopilot vs. Pilot Oversight
While modern planes rely heavily on autopilot, pilots are still in control. They use automation as a support system, but ultimately, human judgment is the final safeguard. It’s the perfect balance—automation enhances efficiency, while human oversight ensures safety.
Some leaders may find the process of collecting and analyzing data cumbersome, time-consuming, and even unnecessary—especially when they’re focused on quick execution. Gathering accurate, real-time data requires investment in tools, training, and disciplined processes, which can feel like an administrative burden rather than a value driver.
However, the benefits far outweigh the effort. A well-structured data system provides clarity on initiative progress, prevents conflicting priorities, enhances decision-making, and ensures resources are allocated effectively. Without it, organisations risk initiative overload, employee burnout, wasted budgets, and ultimately, failed transformations. Just like in aviation, where poor data can lead to fatal accidents, a lack of real-time insights in change management can result in costly missteps that derail business success.
Moreover, having an integrated process whereby data regularly feeds into decision making, as a normal business-as-usual process, builds the overall capability of the organisation to be a lot more agile and be able to change with confidence.
Navigating Change with Data-Driven Precision
Aviation has shown us what happens when decision-makers lack real-time, accurate data—mistakes happen, and consequences can be severe. In organisational change, the same principles apply. By embracing real-time data, predictive analytics, and structured governance, companies can navigate change more effectively, preventing initiative overload, reducing resistance, and maximising impact.
Ultimately, the goal is simple: Ensure your change initiatives don’t crash and burn. And just like in aviation, data is the key to a smooth landing.
If you would like to chat more about how to utilise a digital/AI solution that will equip you will insightful data to make critical business decisions in your air traffic control of your changes, reach out to us here.
Successful transformation is not just about having a clear strategy, the right technology, or a strong leadership team—it is about managing organisational energy effectively. Like a marathon, transformation requires a well-paced approach, allowing for the right breathing space at key milestones. Without careful attention to energy levels, organisations risk burnout, disengagement, and failure to sustain long-term change.
Understanding Organisational Energy
Organisational energy is the collective capacity of employees to take action, drive change, and sustain momentum. It encompasses physical, emotional, and cognitive dimensions, each playing a critical role in how teams navigate transformation. Unlike resources such as time and budget, energy is dynamic—it can be depleted through excessive demands or replenished through strategic interventions.
The Marathon Mindset: Pacing and Breathing Spaces
Transformation is a long journey, not a sprint. Like seasoned marathon runners, organisations must be intentional about pacing and ensuring adequate recovery points along the way. Leaders often push for rapid results, but sustained transformation requires:
Phased Implementation: Breaking down transformation into manageable phases with defined milestones.
Strategic Pauses: Allowing teams to absorb changes, reflect on progress, and recalibrate before moving to the next stage.
Energy Checks: Regularly assessing engagement levels, stress indicators, and feedback to adjust the pace accordingly.
Neglecting these aspects leads to fatigue, resistance, and disengagement—ultimately derailing transformation efforts.
Awareness of Existing Capabilities and Change History
Before embarking on a transformation journey, organisations must understand their baseline. Awareness of existing capabilities, ways of working, and historical transformation experiences provides predictive indicators of how change should be approached.
Key Considerations:
Past Change Successes and Failures: What has worked and what hasn’t? Understanding past patterns helps anticipate potential resistance or enablers.
Current Workload and Fatigue Levels: Are employees already stretched with existing initiatives? Overloading teams will compromise focus and execution quality.
Organisational Culture: Some cultures thrive on rapid change, while others require gradual adoption. Aligning transformation efforts with cultural realities is critical.
By assessing these factors, leaders can tailor transformation strategies to fit the organisation’s energy levels and capacity.
Building Organisational Stamina: Start Small, Scale Up
Just as athletes build endurance through progressive training, organisations must strengthen their transformation muscle over time. This means introducing smaller changes first to test resilience and capability before scaling up to more complex shifts.
How to Build Organisational Stamina:
Start with Pilot Initiatives: Test new ways of working in controlled environments before expanding.
Gradually Increase Complexity: Move from small process improvements to larger-scale changes, ensuring teams adapt successfully at each stage.
Celebrate Early Wins: Recognising progress builds confidence and motivation to tackle bigger challenges.
Provide Learning Opportunities: Equip teams with skills and tools that enhance adaptability and readiness for change.
Leaders who adopt this progressive approach foster a resilient workforce that can sustain transformation efforts over time.
Teams with good change leaders or those teams with significant experience with change tend to be more able to work with greater volumes of change as well as greater complexity of change. With each change initiative, with the right structure, routines (including retro), the team’s capability can be built to be ready for larger, more complex transformations.
Balancing Focus and Intensity
Attention is a finite resource. When teams are bombarded with multiple initiatives, priorities become diluted, and execution suffers. Managing focus effectively is essential to maintaining high performance during transformation.
Strategies for Maintaining Focus:
Limit Concurrent Initiatives: Prioritise the most critical changes and sequence others to avoid overload.
Establish Clear Priorities: Ensure alignment across leadership to prevent conflicting demands on teams.
Monitor Workload and Stress Levels: Pay close attention to employee well-being and adjust intensity as needed.
Encourage Deep Work: Create space for teams to focus without constant distractions or shifting priorities.
When focus is scattered, transformation efforts lose momentum. By managing cognitive load, leaders enable employees to fully engage with and execute changes effectively.
The Importance of a Clear Plan
While agile methodologies emphasise adaptability, having a structured plan provides essential clarity for employees navigating complex change. Transformation without a roadmap leads to uncertainty, anxiety, and resistance. This does not necessarily mean that plans are locked in stone and cannot be changed. In contrast to this, having a plan provides a frame of reference, and expectations can be set that details including timeline may shift but that the high level approach remains the same.
Why a Clear Plan Matters:
Provides Direction: Employees need to know where the organisation is headed and how they fit into the journey.
Reduces Uncertainty: Even if adjustments are made, a baseline plan offers reassurance and stability.
Enhances Engagement: When people understand the “why” and “how” of transformation, they are more likely to commit.
Prepares for Change: Last-minute changes create confusion and stress—early planning allows for smoother transitions.
Balancing Planning with Agility
While plans must be flexible, abandoning structure altogether creates chaos. Leaders should:
Communicate a High-Level Roadmap: Outline key phases and milestones without overloading with unnecessary detail.
Adapt Plans Responsively: Incorporate feedback and lessons learned, adjusting course without losing sight of long-term goals.
Engage Employees in Planning: Co-creation fosters ownership and reduces resistance.
A well-structured transformation plan provides clarity and confidence, making it easier for teams to adapt and sustain change.
To ensure the optimal management of organisational energy, measurement is essential. Organisations need clear yardsticks to assess energy levels, performance, and transformation progress, allowing leaders to make informed adjustments when needed. Without measurement, it is impossible to determine whether teams are operating at an optimal pace or experiencing fatigue and disengagement.
Key Metrics to Track:
Change Impact Data: Understanding the magnitude of transformation on various teams helps adjust implementation approaches.
Balance Energy Demand and Supply: Leaders should prioritize work strategically, focusing on high-impact initiatives while minimizing unnecessary demands. Simultaneously, they should inspire teams by articulating a compelling vision that connects the various dots across changes
Change Readiness Assessments: Gauging employees’ preparedness for change ensures the right support mechanisms are in place.
Sentiment Analysis: Regular pulse surveys and feedback loops help identify resistance, concerns, and engagement levels.
Performance Metrics: Tracking productivity, efficiency, and key deliverables helps align transformation with business outcomes.
Adoption Rates: Measuring how well new processes, tools, or ways of working are being integrated ensures long-term sustainability.
By continuously monitoring these indicators, leaders can fine-tune transformation efforts, ensuring that momentum is sustained while preventing burnout and resistance.
Leading with Energy Management
The success of any transformation effort hinges on how well organisational energy is managed. Leaders must act as stewards of energy—pacing initiatives appropriately, building stamina, maintaining focus, and providing clear direction.
By treating transformation like a marathon—strategically balancing intensity with recovery, testing capabilities before scaling, and ensuring clarity—organisations can sustain momentum and achieve lasting success. Managing organisational energy is not just a leadership responsibility; it is the foundation for thriving in an ever-evolving business landscape.
For many organisations, transformation has become a strategic necessity. However, the success rate of large-scale transformation efforts remains low. There are various arguments about the actual percentage of success for transformation. Consulting firms often quote 30% as the standard, whilst others argue it may be up to 50%. There is also the issue of the definition of ‘transformation’ versus other change initiatives. Regardless, the actual level of success, most agree that this level needs to be much higher given the significant capital and resource focus on transformations across organisations. A critical but often overlooked factor? The way change is managed.
Despite the importance of change management, transformation offices and teams may not be taking the right approach. According to Sensei Labs’ 2024 State of Transformation survey, senior leaders in large organisations identified culture and change management as the second most pressing concern. When it comes to budget allocation, change management ranks third out of 10 of budget category expenditure ranking, following technology and consulting/advisory expenditures. Previous survey findings, such as Deloitte’s 2022 report show this expenditure to be even lower.
Note that this State of Transformation survey included over 150 respondents from various industries and largely from large organisations. Respondents were mostly Director and above level of seniority.
So, transformation offices acknowledge change management to be a key issue to be tackled, and a sizable budget is spent on various change support activities. So, what is the issues?
A Narrow Approach to Change
A concerning trend in transformation offices is that most only focus on communications, training, and stakeholder engagement as their primary change management activities. These are necessary components, but they are far from sufficient. Effective transformation requires more than just keeping employees informed and trained—it demands a structured, data-driven approach to managing change impact at scale.
Interestingly, the same Sensei Labs survey found that formal change management roles are largely absent within transformation functions. While many teams include Communications and Human Resources roles, only 14% reported having dedicated change management professionals. This absence may explain why change efforts fail to gain traction—without formalized expertise, the true complexity of change is not adequately addressed.
Another striking gap: only 12% of organisations reported measuring change impact. If change impact isn’t assessed, captured and measured, how can organisations get ready for something they are not exactly clear about at a detailed level? And subsequently how can organisations ensure adoption, sustainability, and business outcomes?
Without the clear understanding of impacts, how people will undergo change is not clear. As a result, organisations may take a ‘pan-all’ generic approach of engaging with groups of impacted functions teams, send lots of communications and put in place training sessions.
Without a precise and tailored approach to impacted stakeholder groups, change interventions may be hit or miss. It is the same as air traffic control in a busy airport. Will you use the same approach to chaperone and assist all planes to land in the same way, regardless if it’s a small chartered jet, a helicopter, a 747, a jumbo jet or a fighter jet? A helicopter doesn’t even need a runway like planes, and a fighter jet cannot land in the same area as a commercial landing zone. So, why would we not take a targeted approach at impacted stakeholder groups, each with its own unique change journey?
Addressing the Gaps in Driving Transformations
To close the gap in transformation success, organisations must rethink their approach to change management. This requires shifting from tactical, activity-based change management to a more strategic, structured, and measurable approach.
A change strategy is critical because it provides a structured, outcome-driven approach that aligns change activities with business objectives, rather than just executing a checklist of tasks. It ensures that change efforts are integrated, sustainable, and adaptive to organisational dynamics, rather than reactive and fragmented. A well-defined strategy considers stakeholder impact, capacity constraints, and potential risks, enabling leaders to make informed decisions that drive adoption and long-term success. Without it, change initiatives risk becoming disjointed efforts that fail to deliver meaningful business value.
Key areas of focus should include:
1. Identifying, Measuring, and Managing Portfolio-Level Change Impacts
Many transformation offices manage multiple concurrent initiatives, but few assess how these changes collectively impact employees, customers, and operations. A robust change portfolio management approach is needed to:
Identify cumulative change impacts across projects
Avoid change fatigue/capacity overload
Prioritize initiatives based on organisational capacity and readiness
To properly assess portfolio-level impacts, organisations must develop frameworks that aggregate data across initiatives. By tracking concurrent and overlapping changes, leaders can identify where resistance may emerge and proactively address it. Portfolio-level visibility also enables executives to make better-informed decisions regarding project prioritization and resource allocation.
Identifying and mapping out impacts is one of the most critical pieces of work to ensure change outcome success. Why? It is because effectively identifying and structuring the change impacts on stakeholders determines the resulting change interventions. If your impact assessment is ineffective, your change interventions will not hit the mark.
This is exactly the same process as a doctor diagnosing the illness. The diagnosis process requires a structured assessment process. With the wrong diagnosis it leads to a wrong treatment plan. The wrong treatment plan will not result in curing the illness.
2. Structured Analysis and Planning
Organisations must integrate structured change planning into transformation execution, including:
Complexity assessments to evaluate the scale and interdependencies of change initiatives
Current-to-future state gap analysis to understand the magnitude of change
Benefit realization planning to link change activities to business outcomes
Transition plans to ensure a smooth shift from current to new ways of working
A structured approach allows organisations to proactively mitigate risks associated with transformation. Complexity assessments, for example, help organisations anticipate challenges in large-scale transformations, enabling leaders to develop targeted interventions. Additionally, linking change initiatives to tangible business outcomes ensures accountability and prevents change initiatives from being seen as purely theoretical exercises.
A doctor does not diagnose the illness based on a generic approach or gutfeel, or worse what others tell him/her to do. The treatment plan is also based on what has found to work through research. The same should also be applied with change analysis and planning.
3. Measuring Change Progress
Change success cannot be managed if it is not measured. Organisations should implement:
Readiness assessments to gauge preparedness before rolling out initiatives
Adoption metrics to track engagement and behavioural shifts post-implementation
Feedback loops to identify resistance points and adjust strategies accordingly
Without clear metrics, organisations struggle to determine whether change initiatives are truly effective. Readiness assessments help gauge the level of preparedness within an organisation before implementation begins, while adoption metrics provide insight into how well employees are embracing new ways of working. Continuous feedback loops allow for real-time course corrections, ensuring that change efforts remain on track.
Using the same doctor-patient analogy, the doctor looks for observable data in order to assess the treatment progress. Modifications may be needed based on verbal patient feedback, observations, examinations, and reactions to medication, etc. Your change metrics should be designed to do the same, to tell you if you are progressing well towards the end state, or not.
4. System-Level Interventions to Drive Adoption
To make change stick, organisations need mechanisms that embed change into everyday operations. Key interventions include:
Establishing Change Champions networks to support peer-led adoption
Creating robust communication and capability support channels, ensuring ongoing guidance and reinforcement
Embedding change metrics into enterprise dashboards to sustain leadership attention and accountability
Change Champions play a crucial role in accelerating adoption. These individuals serve as advocates within their teams, reinforcing key messages and addressing concerns on the ground. Robust communication and support channels, such as digital knowledge repositories and dedicated coaching sessions, help employees navigate the complexities of transformation. Moreover, integrating change metrics into enterprise dashboards ensures sustained leadership focus, preventing transformation initiatives from losing momentum over time.
The Risks of Inadequate Change Management
Organisations that neglect structured change management risk experiencing several common pitfalls:
Missed Business Outcomes: If change is not strategically planned and measured, organisations may fail to realize the intended benefits of transformation efforts. And in fact this may be the most critical outcome.
Employee Resistance: Without proper engagement and support mechanisms, employees are more likely to resist changes, leading to lower adoption rates.
Change Fatigue: When multiple transformations occur simultaneously without proper coordination, employees can become overwhelmed, leading to disengagement.
Increased Costs: Poorly managed change initiatives can lead to costly rework, delays, and productivity losses.
A more intentional approach to change management mitigates these risks, ensuring that transformation efforts drive sustainable, long-term value.
Building a High-Impact Change Management Capability
Transformation offices must evolve their approach to change management by developing a high-impact capability that aligns with enterprise priorities. This involves:
Investing in Change Management Expertise: Hiring or upskilling professionals with deep expertise in change methodologies, behavioural science, and organisational psychology.
Integrating Change Management with Strategy: Embedding change management into the transformation office’s strategic planning and execution processes.
Leveraging AI and Automation: Utilizing AI-driven tools to assess change impact, track adoption trends, and provide data-driven insights.
Cultivating Leadership Engagement: Ensuring senior leaders actively sponsor and advocate for change management efforts.
By institutionalizing these capabilities, transformation offices can enhance their ability to drive large-scale change successfully.
The Way Forward
Transformation leaders must move beyond outdated, activity-driven change management approaches that have resulted in transformation targets being missed and adopt a more structured, and data-informed model around people. By embedding change impact measurement, structured planning, and system-level interventions, transformation offices can significantly improve adoption, minimize resistance, and drive sustained business value.
The challenge is clear: without a fundamental shift in how change is managed, even the most well-funded transformations with full senior leadership support risk failure. It’s time for transformation offices to bridge this critical gap and take a more disciplined, structured approach to change management.
By doing so, organisations will not only improve transformation success rates but also foster a more adaptable and resilient workforce, ensuring long-term competitive advantage in an era of continuous change.
Transformation and change professionals often find themselves in the position of defending the value of change management. Despite the critical role that change management plays in ensuring successful project outcomes, many stakeholders remain sceptical. Some view it as a discretionary cost rather than an essential function. Many change management centres of excellences have faced the axe or at least been downsized.
This scepticism can be exacerbated by comments that dismisses roles such as change managers as unnecessary. In Australia, there are even comments by a politician that positions such as change manager “do nothing to improve the lives of everyday Australians”. The context of this comment was targeting positions related cultural, diversity and inclusions advisors, along the same lines as that driven by Trump in the United States. This has upset a lot of change professionals as you can imagine.
To counter this, Change Management Centres of Excellence (CoEs) must move beyond advocacy and education to proactively demonstrate their tangible value. Let’s explore practical approaches to proving the value of change management, ensuring its sustained recognition and investment.
1. Leverage Empirical Research to Support Your Case
There is substantial research demonstrating that change management interventions lead to improved project outcomes. Change practitioners can use these studies as evidence to substantiate their value. For example:
Prosci Research has consistently shown that projects with excellent change management are significantly more likely to achieve their objectives compared to those with poor change management. According to the Best Practices in Change Management study, 88% of participants with excellent change management met or exceeded objectives, while only 13% of those with poor change management met or exceeded objectives. This means that projects with excellent change management were approximately seven times more likely to meet objectives than those with poor change management (Source).
Even implementing fair change management practices can lead to a threefold improvement in project outcomes (Source).
McKinsey found that transformation initiatives are 5.8 times more successful if CEOs communicate a compelling change story, and 6.3 times more successful when leaders share messages about change efforts with the rest of the organisation (Source).
By framing change management as an evidence-based discipline, Change CoEs can strengthen their credibility and influence senior stakeholders. Furthermore, sharing industry benchmarks and case studies showcasing successful change management implementations can add weight to the argument.
2. Calculate the Financial Value of Managing a Change Portfolio
Executives prioritize financial metrics, making it essential to quantify the financial impact of change management. This article How to calculate the financial value of managing a change portfolio provides a structured approach to calculating the financial value of managing a change portfolio. Some key financial considerations include:
Productivity Gains: Effective change management reduces employee resistance and increases adoption rates, leading to quicker realization of benefits. For instance, if a new system is introduced, strong change management ensures employees use it efficiently, eliminating productivity dips.
Cost Avoidance: Poorly managed change efforts can lead to rework, delays, and even project failures, incurring significant costs. For example, a failed system implementation due to lack of change management could require millions in additional investments to correct issues and retrain employees.
Revenue Acceleration: When changes are adopted swiftly and efficiently, organisations can capitalize on new opportunities faster. In industries such as retail, banking, and technology, time-to-market is critical. The faster employees and customers adapt to new changes, the sooner the organisation can generate revenue from those changes.
Risk Mitigation: Resistance and poor change adoption can lead to compliance risks, reputational damage, and disengagement, all of which have financial implications. A compliance failure due to lack of engagement in a new regulatory process could lead to fines and reputational loss.
To make this more tangible, Change CoEs should create financial models that quantify the cost of failed change initiatives versus successful ones. They can also track and report savings from avoided risks and improved efficiency, linking these directly to the organisation’s bottom line.
3. Demonstrate Value Through Behaviour Change
One of the most effective ways to prove the impact of change management is by tracking behaviour change. Change is not successful unless employees adopt new ways of working, and this can be measured using:
Adoption Metrics: Track usage rates of new systems, tools, or processes. For instance, if a company implements a new CRM system, measuring login frequency, data entry consistency, and feature utilization can indicate successful adoption.
Performance Data: Compare key performance indicators (KPIs) before and after change implementation. If a new customer service protocol is introduced, tracking customer satisfaction scores and response times will provide tangible insights into its effectiveness.
Employee Surveys: Gauge sentiment and readiness for change. Pulse surveys can reveal how confident employees feel about a transformation and whether they understand its purpose and benefits.
Stakeholder Feedback: Capture qualitative insights from leaders and frontline employees. Executives often rely on direct feedback from managers to gauge whether changes are being embraced or resisted.
By presenting a clear narrative that links change management efforts to observable behaviour shifts, Change CoEs can make their value more tangible. It is also beneficial to conduct longitudinal studies, tracking behaviour change over time to ensure sustained impact.
Imagine being able to present a set of behaviour metrics that are forward looking measures for benefit realisation. This can position favourably the tangible value of change management activities and approaches.
Customer Experience Improvements: Measure customer satisfaction before and after change initiatives. If a change initiative improves customer interactions, metrics such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) and retention rates will reflect its impact.
Employee Engagement and Retention: Effective change management reduces uncertainty and anxiety, leading to better engagement and lower attrition. Organisations that manage change well see lower absenteeism and stronger workforce commitment.
Organisational Agility: Organisations with strong change management capabilities adapt faster to market disruptions. Companies that successfully embed change management in their DNA are more resilient during economic downturns or competitive shifts.
Cultural Transformation: Change management plays a key role in shaping corporate culture, which influences long-term business success. For example, embedding a culture of continuous learning can make future change initiatives easier to implement.
By framing change management as a driver of strategic outcomes, rather than just an operational function, Change CoEs can enhance their perceived value.
5. Position change as a key part of risk management
Demonstrating the value of change management through risk management is a powerful approach for the Change CoE. By highlighting how effective change management mitigates various risks associated with organisational change, you can justify its importance and secure necessary support and resources.
This is particularly useful and important for the financial services sector where risk is now the front and centre of attention for most senior leaders, with the increasingly intense regulatory environment and scrutiny by regulators.
Risk in Change
Change initiatives inherently carry risks that can impact an organisation’s operations, culture, and bottom line. Effective change management helps identify and address these risks proactively. By implementing a robust change risk management framework, organisations can adapt their overall risk management strategies to cover change-related risks throughout the project lifecycle. This approach allows for early identification of potential obstacles, enabling timely interventions and increasing the likelihood of successful change implementation.
Delivery Risk
Change management plays a crucial role in mitigating delivery risks associated with project implementation. While project managers typically focus on schedule, cost, and quality risks, change managers can identify and manage risks that are delivered into the business as a result of the change. By working closely with project managers, change professionals can introduce processes to minimize the potential business impact of these delivered risks during project delivery. This collaboration ensures that the project not only delivers the required change but does so with minimal disruption to the organisation.
Quantifying Risk Mitigation
To further demonstrate the value of change management, it’s essential to quantify its contribution to risk mitigation. By adapting the organisation’s risk assessment matrix or tools, change managers can determine the probability and potential impact of each identified risk. This analysis allows for prioritization of risks and implementation of appropriate mitigation strategies.
By tracking how change management interventions reduce the likelihood or impact of these risks, you can provide tangible evidence of its value to senior leadership. By framing change management as a critical component of risk management, you can shift the conversation from justifying its existence to showcasing its indispensable role in ensuring successful organisational transformations. This not only demonstrates the value of change management but also aligns it with broader organisational goals of risk reduction and strategic success.
6. Proactively Measure and Track Value Delivery
Tracking and reporting the tangible value created by change management is essential. Organisations frequently undergo leadership transitions, and new decision-makers may question the need for a Change CoE. A well-documented history of impact ensures continuity and ongoing investment.
McKinsey research indicated that Transformations that provide both initiative-level and program-level views of progress through relevant metrics are 7.3 times more likely to succeed (Source).
To achieve this:
Develop a Change Management Dashboard: Use KPIs to track adoption rates, employee readiness, and impact on business metrics.
Create Case Studies: Document success stories with before-and-after comparisons. Case studies should include challenges, change management interventions, and final outcomes.
Conduct Quarterly Impact Reviews: Regularly present insights to senior leaders. Demonstrating trends and ongoing improvements ensures continued executive buy-in.
Link Change Efforts to Strategic Priorities: Show how change management enables key business goals, such as revenue growth, market expansion, or operational efficiency.
7. Shift from Education to Results-Driven Influence
While stakeholder education is important, it has limitations. Many executives have preconceived notions about change management. Rather than relying solely on relationship-building, focus on delivering results that speak for themselves. Key strategies include:
Pilot Programs: Run small-scale change initiatives with measurable impact. If an executive is sceptical, a successful pilot can turn them into an advocate. It is highly unlikely that executives will not want to see metrics that indicate how effective a change initiative is progressing.
Strategic Partnerships: Align with key business units to co-own change success. Partnering with Finance, HR, Risk, Operations and IT leaders can reinforce the business value of change management.
Agile Change Management: Deliver incremental wins to showcase immediate value. Iterative, feedback-driven approaches ensure continuous improvement and visibility.
Change management professionals must move beyond justification and actively prove their worth. By leveraging empirical research, financial calculations, behaviour tracking, alternative value measures, and proactive reporting, Change CoEs can secure their place as indispensable business functions. In a world where scepticism towards roles like change management persists, the best defence is a compelling, evidence-based demonstration of impact.
Do We Really Need a View of Changes Across the Organisation?
As the pace of change accelerates, senior leaders are increasingly asking for a comprehensive view of changes happening across the organisation. However, not everyone sees the need for this. Some change practitioners focus solely on project-level implementation, while others concentrate on developing change capability or leadership. So, is a broad organisational view of change necessary? The short answer is yes—and here’s why.
Why is a View of Changes Important?
1. Understanding Change is Key to Improving It
Managing change effectively requires a clear understanding of what is changing. Without visibility into the scope and nature of changes, how can we improve them? Imagine if Finance attempted to manage an organisation’s finances without access to financial data. The same principle applies to change management—without insights into ongoing changes, making informed improvements to how change is managed becomes impossible or at least ineffective.
A holistic view also helps identify patterns and systemic issues that may not be visible when looking at changes in isolation. For example, if multiple teams are experiencing resistance to similar types of change, it may indicate an underlying cultural or structural issue rather than a problem with individual initiatives.
2. Avoiding a Myopic View
Many change practitioners operate at the project level, focusing on the change they are driving without visibility into other initiatives. This narrow focus can lead to conflicting priorities, resource constraints, and stakeholder fatigue. A fragmented approach often results in duplication of effort, where multiple teams work on similar initiatives without coordination, wasting time and resources.
A lack of visibility can also cause bottlenecks. For instance, two major transformation projects requiring input from the same group of employees may create undue pressure, leading to burnout and decreased productivity. With an organisational view, leaders can identify these risks in advance and implement measures to mitigate them, such as staggering implementation timelines or providing additional support.
3. Taking a Human-Centred Approach
A human-centred approach to change means viewing change from the perspective of impacted stakeholders rather than just from a project lens. Employees and customers experience multiple changes together, not in isolated silos. To design change experiences that work, we must understand the overall change landscape and how it affects people’s daily work and interactions.
Without a consolidated view, employees may feel overwhelmed by frequent, disconnected changes. This often leads to change fatigue, disengagement, and resistance. By considering how multiple changes intersect, organisations can design more coherent and supportive transition experiences for their people, improving adoption rates and overall satisfaction.
There are some who would rather not use the term ‘change fatigue’. Sure. Other labels may be used instead. However, not acknowledging its existence does not mean that it does not exists. We can choose to not label and not address the impacts of multiple changes. By doing this it will not magically go away. This is not going to help the business perform better and reach its targets.
4. Supporting Leadership in Managing Business Performance
Leaders are concerned about how changes impact business performance. Without a consolidated view of what is changing, how those changes interact, and their organisational impact, it is difficult to provide meaningful insights. A structured view of change enables leaders to make informed decisions, mitigate risks, and optimise the overall change portfolio to support business objectives.
For example, if an organisation is rolling out a new customer relationship management (CRM) system while simultaneously restructuring its sales teams, leaders need to assess whether these initiatives will complement or hinder each other. Without this awareness, they may inadvertently introduce inefficiencies, such as duplicate training efforts or conflicting performance expectations.
5. Enhancing Organisational Readiness for Change
A key benefit of having a comprehensive view of change is improving organisational readiness. Readiness is not just about preparing individuals for a specific change but ensuring the organisation as a whole is capable of absorbing and adapting to continuous transformation.
An organisation that understands its change landscape can proactively assess its capacity for change at any given time. If several major initiatives are running concurrently, leaders can evaluate whether the organisation has the resources, cultural maturity, and leadership alignment to support them. Without this visibility, companies risk overloading employees and creating resistance due to excessive, poorly timed changes.
Furthermore, readiness assessments can identify gaps in capability, such as the need for additional training, clearer communication, or adjustments in leadership support. When organisations have a clear view of upcoming changes, they can put proactive measures in place, such as phased rollouts, targeted engagement efforts, or reinforcement mechanisms, to ensure smoother transitions and greater adoption success.
6. How an Integrated View of Change Supports Business Readiness
An integrated view of change enables organisations to move beyond reactive change management and embrace proactive change readiness. By mapping all significant transformations across the business, leaders can anticipate challenges, synchronise efforts, and prepare employees more effectively.
For example, if a company is implementing a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system while also shifting to a hybrid work model, an integrated change view allows decision-makers to assess whether these changes will create conflicting demands on employees. Instead of overwhelming teams with simultaneous process and technology shifts, adjustments can be made to stagger rollouts, align training programs, and provide tailored support.
Additionally, when businesses have a comprehensive perspective on change, they can implement readiness initiatives such as leadership coaching, employee engagement strategies, and resilience-building programs well in advance. This ensures that by the time changes take effect, the organisation is not just aware of them but fully prepared to embrace and sustain them. An integrated approach fosters a culture of adaptability, making the business more resilient in the face of continuous transformation.
Addressing Common Concerns: “It’s Too Complicated”
A frequent argument against establishing an organisation-wide change view is that it is too complex and resource-intensive. However, this does not need to be the case.
1. Start Small and Scale Gradually
Instead of attempting a whole-organisation approach from the outset, begin with a stakeholder lens. Understand how changes impact specific stakeholder groups, then expand to teams, departments, and eventually the entire organisation. This phased approach ensures manageable progress without overwhelming stakeholders.
One way to do this is by focusing on a single high-impact function, such as IT or HR, and mapping their change landscape before expanding outward. By demonstrating value in a contained environment, it becomes easier to gain buy-in for broader adoption.
2. Begin with Basic Data
There is no need to start with an elaborate data set. A simple list of initiatives is enough to begin forming a picture. Over time, additional data points—such as timelines, affected stakeholders, and interdependencies—can be added to enhance visibility and analysis.
Many organisations already have elements of this data scattered across different departments. Consolidating this information in a central repository can be a quick win that provides immediate value without requiring extensive new processes.
3. Take an Agile, Iterative Approach
Building a change view incrementally allows for continuous refinement and adaptation. By adopting an agile mindset, practitioners can deliver immediate value while progressively enhancing the data set. This approach ensures that the effort remains practical and sustainable while demonstrating benefits to stakeholders at each stage.
Using lightweight collaboration tools, such as shared spreadsheets or simple dashboard software, can help kickstart the process without significant investment in complex change management platforms.
Once you progress to a more sophisticated level where you need AI support and advanced dashboarding, check out Change Compass.
The Benefits of an Organisational View of Change
1. Improved Stakeholder Experience
By understanding the cumulative impact of multiple changes, organisations can better manage stakeholder experiences. Employees are often subject to change saturation when faced with numerous uncoordinated initiatives. A holistic view enables better sequencing and pacing of change to ensure smoother transitions.
2. Enhanced Risk Management
Without an overarching view, risks associated with overlapping initiatives may go unnoticed until issues arise. Identifying potential bottlenecks and conflicts early helps in designing mitigating strategies before problems escalate. Risks may include program delivery risk, operational risk, benefit realisation risk and various people risks.
3. Better Resource Allocation
Organisations often face resource constraints, whether in terms of budget, personnel, or time. A consolidated view helps leaders prioritise initiatives effectively, ensuring that resources are allocated to high-impact changes while minimising inefficiencies.
4. Strengthened Leadership Decision-Making
Leaders require data-driven insights to make informed strategic decisions. A comprehensive change landscape provides clarity on what is happening across the organisation, empowering leaders to align transformation efforts with business objectives.
Practical Steps to Establish an Organisation-Wide Change View
Step 1: Identify Key Stakeholders
Begin by engaging stakeholders across the organisation to understand their concerns and expectations. These may include senior executives, department heads, project managers, and frontline employees.
Step 2: Map Current and Upcoming Changes
Compile a list of all ongoing and planned initiatives. Categorise them by business function, timeline, impacted teams, and strategic priority. This will create an initial snapshot of the change landscape.
Step 3: Identify Interdependencies
Assess how different initiatives interact with each other. Are there overlapping resource requirements? Do changes in one area impact another? Recognising these dependencies enables better coordination and minimises disruption.
Step 4: Develop a Change Portfolio View
Use visualisation tools to represent the collected data in a meaningful way. Heatmaps, Gantt charts, and stakeholder impact matrices can help illustrate the overall change picture.
Step 5: Implement Governance Structures
Establish governance mechanisms to continuously update and refine the change portfolio. This may involve periodic reviews, a centralised change coordination team, or designated change champions within each department.
Step 6: Communicate Insights Effectively
Share findings with stakeholders in a digestible format. Providing clarity on how changes align with organisational priorities fosters engagement and encourages proactive collaboration.
Future Trends in Organisational Change Visibility
1. Increased Use of Digital Tools
Advanced analytics, AI-driven insights, and dashboard visualisation tools are making it easier to track and analyse change across an organisation in real-time.
2. Integration with Business Strategy
Change management is increasingly being embedded within broader business strategy execution and performance metrics tracking, ensuring alignment with long-term goals.
3. Greater Focus on Employee Experience
Organisations are recognising the importance of measuring change from an employee perspective. This includes sentiment analysis, real-time feedback loops, and adaptive communication strategies.
A comprehensive view of change across an organisation is not just a ‘nice-to-have’—it is essential for effective change management. It enables better decision-making, reduces unintended consequences, and enhances the overall employee experience. While establishing such a view may seem complex, taking a pragmatic, step-by-step approach makes it achievable and valuable.
For experienced change and transformation professionals, this shift in perspective is not just about managing change—it’s about leading it effectively in an increasingly dynamic world.
As the new year begins, it’s a natural time to reflect, refocus, and set the stage for success. For senior change and transformation professionals, this is an opportune moment to assess the upcoming portfolio of initiatives. Taking inspiration from Marie Kondo’s principles of decluttering and creating joy, we can apply these ideas to optimise our change portfolios and ensure they are designed for impact, sustainability, and value.
1. Start the Year by Decluttering
Just as Marie Kondo advises starting with a clean slate by letting go of unnecessary items, the new year offers the perfect chance to reassess the change portfolio. Decluttering is not just about removing excess; it’s about making deliberate, strategic decisions to create space for what truly matters. Many organisations find themselves burdened by legacy projects, overlapping initiatives, and unnecessary complexity. These elements consume valuable resources and dilute focus, ultimately jeopardising the success of the portfolio as a whole.
To start the decluttering process, take time to systematically review all initiatives. Begin by cataloging everything currently in progress or planned for the upcoming year. This exercise will reveal the true scope of commitments and help identify initiatives that may no longer align with the organisation’s strategic priorities. From there, engage with key stakeholders to challenge assumptions and uncover opportunities to streamline. By proactively identifying what can be paused, combined, or retired, you free up capacity for the initiatives that deliver the greatest value.
Your next PI (Program Increment) Planning will be a great opportunity to do this. As you work with other teams to assess scheduling and alignment, use this opportunity to align with stakeholder to cull and re-prioritise as required. It may be a good idea to do this prior to the PI Planning session to ensure the session is tight and focused.
Decluttering is not just about removing initiatives; it’s about creating space for the initiatives that truly matter. This exercise can involve:
Conducting a Portfolio Audit: List all current and planned initiatives. Categorize them by strategic importance, urgency, and expected impact.
Engaging Stakeholders: Facilitate discussions with leaders and project owners to challenge the status quo. Ask critical questions: Does this initiative serve a pressing need? Can its objectives be achieved through another project?
Identifying Redundancies: Often, multiple initiatives address overlapping goals. Combining efforts can streamline resources and improve focus.
2. Clarify Priorities, Focus, and Value
One of the key principles of joyful organisation is clarity. In the context of change management, clarity means ensuring that every initiative in the portfolio has a clearly defined purpose, aligns with organizational priorities, and delivers measurable value. Without this clarity, portfolios risk becoming overcrowded and unfocused, leading to wasted resources and frustrated teams.
Take a step back to evaluate each initiative against the organisation’s strategic goals. This process should involve critical questions such as: Does this initiative support our long-term vision? What specific problems does it solve? How does it fit into the broader transformation journey? Answering these questions will help identify initiatives that lack focus or fail to deliver meaningful value.
Clarity also requires a shared understanding across the organisation. Leaders, teams, and stakeholders must be aligned on what matters most. Misaligned priorities can lead to confusion, duplication of efforts, and competing demands on resources. By fostering open communication and establishing clear criteria for decision-making, you can ensure that everyone is working toward the same goals.
Creating clarity requires tools and structured processes:
Use Priority Matrices: Tools like the Eisenhower Matrix or impact-effort grids can help categorise initiatives based on their urgency and value. To read more about the Eisenhower Matrix visit this Forbes article
Define Metrics of Success: For each initiative, identify clear KPIs that demonstrate its contribution to the organisation’s goals. This helps maintain focus and provides a benchmark for future evaluations.
Communicate Priorities Clearly: Ensure that leadership and teams are aligned on what matters most. A shared understanding of priorities reduces the risk of misaligned efforts.
3. Recognise the Constraints of the Business Environment
Unlike a personal decluttering exercise, most organisations cannot afford to focus on just a few initiatives due to the fast-paced and ever-changing nature of the business world. New market demands, technological advancements, and regulatory changes often force organisations to pivot or expand their priorities mid-year. This makes it critical to design a change landscape that can accommodate both planned and emergent needs.
A well-structured portfolio balances transformational initiatives with business-as-usual (BAU) activities, ensuring that both long-term and short-term goals are addressed. However, achieving this balance requires careful planning and the ability to adapt. Organisations must be prepared to reassess priorities and make adjustments without derailing progress.
Designing the change landscape involves creating a comprehensive view of all initiatives, their interdependencies, and their impact on resources. This view should be regularly updated to reflect changes in the business environment. Scenario planning can also be invaluable, allowing organisations to explore potential outcomes and identify strategies for adapting to new challenges.
The optimal change landscape for your impacted stakeholders is one that is not cluttered, but one that is tight, focused and considered. It is not just about avoiding change saturation. It is about designing the right energy, focus, momentum and capacity.
Designing the change landscape involves:
Mapping the Portfolio: Visualise all initiatives, their timelines, and dependencies. Tools like Gantt charts or Kanban boards can help create a comprehensive view
Scenario Planning: Consider different scenarios based on potential changes in the business environment. How will the portfolio adapt if priorities shift mid-year?
Building Flexibility: Design the portfolio to accommodate adjustments without derailing progress. This might mean reserving resources for unforeseen priorities or having contingency plans for high-risk initiatives.
To do all these can be taxing. Check out The Change Compass for a view of your initiative impacts on people in terms of capacity and involvement. It also allows you to design and visualise different scenarios of different initiative sequences. You can easily see the forecasted capacity of various teams and be able to leverage AI insights on key risks.
4. De-clutter and De-prioritise Strategically
It’s common for certain initiatives to linger in the portfolio simply because they are pet projects of influential leaders. While these may have merit, it’s essential to make deliberate choices about what stays and what goes. Without these hard decisions, portfolios can become bloated, stretching resources too thin and compromising the success of high-priority initiatives.
Facilitating open conversations with stakeholders is key to successful de-prioritisation. This requires a combination of diplomacy and data-driven insights. By presenting clear evidence of an initiative’s impact (or lack thereof), you can shift the conversation from emotion to evidence. It’s also important to address the organisational culture around failure and closure. Retiring an initiative should be seen as a strategic decision rather than a failure.
Strategies for effective de-prioritization include:
Data-Driven Decision Making: Use data to demonstrate the potential ROI of each initiative. This helps shift conversations from emotion to evidence.
Transparent Communication: Be honest about why certain initiatives are being deprioritised. Transparency builds trust and reduces resistance.
Celebrate Closure: For initiatives that are retired, acknowledge the effort invested and celebrate the learnings. This reinforces a culture of continuous improvement.
5. Anticipate Trade-offs and Clashes Early
One of the most common pitfalls in change management is waiting until conflicts arise before addressing them. Portfolio clashes, resource shortages, and stakeholder fatigue can often be predicted well in advance. However, many organisations fail to have the necessary conversations early enough, leading to last-minute crises that disrupt progress. Having conversations too late means your initiative stakeholders are already invested given the significant effort and resources put in. This means it makes it even harder to change committed timelines, even when there are significant risks.
Proactively anticipating trade-offs requires a combination of foresight, tools, and collaborative discussions. Change impact assessments, capacity planning, and regular portfolio reviews are invaluable in identifying potential bottlenecks and saturation points. Additionally, creating forums for open dialogue allows stakeholders to surface concerns and explore solutions before issues escalate.
By anticipating challenges ahead of time, you create a smoother path for change initiatives to succeed. Key practices include:
Regular Portfolio Reviews: Establish a cadence for reviewing the portfolio. These reviews should assess progress, identify emerging risks, and recalibrate priorities as needed.
Engaging Cross-Functional Teams: Include representatives from impacted teams in decision-making. Their insights can help identify potential clashes that might be overlooked.
Scenario Analysis: Model different scenarios to understand how changes in one initiative might ripple across the portfolio. This foresight enables proactive adjustments.
6. Take a Holistic View of the Change Landscape
Change portfolios often focus on big-ticket initiatives, but employees experience all changes—big or small—as part of the same landscape. Every new tool, process, or initiative adds to the cognitive and emotional load of employees. Failing to account for this cumulative impact can lead to burnout, disengagement, and resistance to change.
Taking a holistic view means looking beyond the high-profile initiatives to include BAU initiatives, operational changes, and even cultural events like town halls or roadshows. All these elements compete for employees’ time and energy. By considering the full scope of activities, you can create a more realistic and empathetic plan that supports employee well-being.
Everything that takes time, focus, or mental energy should be part of the portfolio view. This holistic approach ensures realistic planning and reduces the risk of burnout. Practical steps include:
Creating a Change Calendar: Map all change-related activities, including BAU tasks and cultural events, to understand their cumulative impact on employees.
Conducting Employee Impact Assessments: Gather feedback from employees to understand how various initiatives affect their workload and well-being.
Prioritizing Communication: Ensure employees have a clear understanding of what’s coming and how it fits into the broader organisational goals.
7. Optimise Capacity and Energy
While most portfolios focus on deliverables, the real enabler of success is the energy and capacity of those who drive and experience change. Key considerations include:
Assessing the available capacity in impacted teams.
Designing sequences of change that maximize energy levels (e.g., scheduling major initiatives after quieter periods).
Factoring in recovery time after high-stress periods or significant releases.
By aligning the portfolio to the energy rhythms of the organisation, you increase the likelihood of successful adoption and sustained change. Specific strategies include:
Workload Balancing: Ensure no team or individual is overburdened. Distribute responsibilities equitably and provide support where needed.
Energy Mapping: Identify periods of high energy and focus within the organisation. Schedule demanding initiatives during these times to maximise success.
Encouraging Breaks: Build in time for reflection and recovery. Whether it’s a pause after a major release or regular team check-ins, these moments are crucial for maintaining momentum.
8. Design an Environment that Supports Success
Finally, creating the right environment for change is essential. Just as Marie Kondo encourages designing spaces that spark joy, change professionals should design portfolios that:
Foster collaboration and open communication.
Provide the necessary tools, resources, and support for employees.
Build a culture of adaptability and resilience.
‘Joy’ for the organisation is one that is balanced with achieving business objects and optimal people experience during change and transformation
A well-designed change environment creates the conditions for initiatives to thrive and for employees to embrace new ways of working. Consider:
Investing in Change Capability: Provide training and resources to build change management skills across the organisation.
Creating Feedback Loops: Establish mechanisms for continuous feedback and improvement. This ensures the portfolio remains aligned with evolving needs.
Celebrating Successes: Recognise and reward achievements, both big and small. Celebrating progress reinforces a positive change culture.
Applying Marie Kondo’s principles to change portfolio management allows organisations to focus on what truly matters, let go of what doesn’t, and create a change landscape that sparks energy and engagement. By decluttering, prioritising, and designing for capacity, senior change professionals can position their organisations for success in the year ahead. Take this opportunity to curate a portfolio that not only drives transformation but also brings clarity, purpose, and joy to the journey.
Remember, a well-organised change portfolio is not just about achieving organisational goals—it’s about creating an environment where people thrive, adapt, and contribute their best. Let this be the year your change portfolio truly sparks joy.
With complex, high-stakes change environments, change leaders know that success hinges on more than just strategies and frameworks. It rests on the ability to transform behaviours into habits—turning deliberate, effortful actions into automatic routines. After all, the core of change is largely the result of a series of behaviour changes. Here we delve into the psychology and practice of habit formation in organisational change, offering actionable insights for senior change leaders.
The Foundation: Belief Fuels Change
Change begins with belief. Stakeholders must believe that change is not only necessary but achievable—and that they themselves are capable of adapting. This foundational belief can be especially elusive in organisations with a history of failed initiatives. Skepticism and fatigue are common barriers.
Leaders play a pivotal role in cultivating belief. They must demonstrate that change is possible through a series of small, achievable wins. For instance, consider a team resistant to adopting a new project management tool. Instead of mandating full adoption from day one, leaders might first encourage the team to use the tool for a single task or project. As the team sees the benefits—improved collaboration, streamlined processes—their belief in the tool and their ability to adapt grows.
Creating belief also involves transparent communication. Leaders need to articulate why the change is necessary and how it aligns with the organisation’s goals. When stakeholders understand the “why,” they are more likely to commit to the “how.”
Additionally, addressing past failures openly can help rebuild trust. Leaders can acknowledge previous shortcomings while emphasising what will be different this time—whether it’s stronger leadership commitment, improved resources, or a more phased approach. By creating an environment where past lessons inform current actions, belief becomes more attainable.
Social Reinforcement: The Power of Community
Humans are inherently social creatures, and the behaviours of others significantly influence our own. This is why social reinforcement is a cornerstone of successful change initiatives. Change champions and team leaders serve as visible examples of the desired behaviours, demonstrating both commitment and success.
Stories are particularly powerful in this context. When change champions share their experiences—challenges faced, strategies employed, and victories achieved—it reinforces the idea that change is possible for everyone. For example, in a digital transformation initiative, a frontline employee who shares how a new system simplified their workflow can inspire others to give it a chance.
Social reinforcement also fosters accountability. When team members see their peers embracing new behaviours, it creates a sense of collective momentum that is hard to resist. Positive peer pressure can become a motivating force, pushing individuals to align with group norms and expectations.
Furthermore, leveraging social proof through team recognition can amplify the impact. Publicly celebrating individuals or teams who exemplify desired behaviours not only rewards them but also encourages others to follow suit. Recognition initiatives, such as “Change Hero of the Month,” can spotlight efforts that align with organisational goals, building a culture of reinforcement and inspiration.
From Behaviour to Habit: The Mechanics of Routine
Turning behaviours into habits involves repetition and reinforcement. According to a 2006 study from Duke University, as much as 40% of our daily actions are based on habit. This underscores the importance of embedding new behaviours deeply enough that they become second nature.
The habit loop, as popularised by Charles Duhigg in The Power of Habit, consists of three components:
Cue: A trigger that initiates the behaviour.
Routine: The behaviour itself.
Reward: The benefit or satisfaction derived from the behaviour.
Let’s apply this framework to a customer complaints initiative. Suppose the goal is to enhance customer satisfaction by encouraging consultants to proactively address complaints. The cue might be specific language from a dissatisfied customer. The routine could involve logging the complaint, initiating a structured conversation, and offering next steps. The reward? The consultant feels confident they’ve resolved the issue and improved the customer’s experience. Over time, this routine becomes habitual, reducing the cognitive load required to execute it. This is also why sufficiently forecasting and estimating the effort and load required as a part of change adoption is critical in initiative planning.
To support habit formation, organisations can utilise tools and reminders. For instance, automated notifications or visual aids like posters can reinforce cues and encourage consistent practice. Technology can also play a vital role by integrating habit-supporting systems, such as digital dashboards that track key behaviours and provide immediate feedback.
Habits are further strengthened when they are tied to personal values and aspirations. For example, a team member who values customer care will find it easier to embrace new routines that align with their intrinsic motivation. Aligning organisational habits with individual and collective values creates a powerful foundation for sustained change.
Scaling Change: Small Wins, Big Impact
Complex, large-scale changes can feel overwhelming. The key to success is to break these initiatives into smaller, manageable changes. Achieving these small wins builds momentum and confidence, laying the groundwork for tackling more significant challenges.
For instance, in an organisation shifting to remote work, a small initial change might involve standardising virtual meeting protocols. Once teams are comfortable with this, leaders can introduce more complex changes, such as remote performance management systems or asynchronous collaboration tools.
Small wins also provide measurable milestones. These visible markers of progress are crucial for maintaining stakeholder engagement and belief in the larger vision. Each success, no matter how minor, contributes to a sense of achievement that propels the team forward.
Moreover, small wins create opportunities for feedback and refinement. As each milestone is achieved, leaders can gather input to identify what’s working and what isn’t, ensuring continuous improvement. Feedback loops keep the change process agile and adaptive, responding to emerging challenges and opportunities.
Keeping the End in Sight: Navigating Obstacles
The journey of change is rarely linear. Delays, setbacks, and unforeseen obstacles are inevitable. To navigate these challenges, leaders must keep the end goal firmly in mind while celebrating progress along the way.
Regularly communicating achievements—both big and small—helps maintain focus and motivation. For example, if the ultimate goal is a 30% increase in operational efficiency, celebrating a 5% improvement early in the process can reinforce commitment and belief.
Visualisation tools such as roadmaps, dashboards, and progress trackers can also help teams see how their efforts contribute to the overall objective. This clarity reduces ambiguity and keeps everyone aligned. Leaders can further use storytelling to paint a vivid picture of the future state, inspiring teams to stay the course. This also helps to put human nuances and experiences into the data shown.
Equally important is maintaining flexibility. Leaders should be prepared to adjust timelines or approaches in response to new challenges without losing sight of the ultimate goal. This adaptability demonstrates resilience and fosters trust among stakeholders. Encouraging a mindset of learning and iteration can transform obstacles into opportunities for growth.
The Role of Measurement: Tracking Success
Measurement is integral to behaviour and habit formation. It provides objective data to assess whether changes are taking root and if progress aligns with strategic goals.
Metrics should be both quantitative and qualitative. For instance, in a customer satisfaction initiative, quantitative measures might include Net Promoter Scores (NPS) or resolution times. Qualitative data could involve customer feedback or employee reflections on their new routines.
Regularly reviewing these metrics allows leaders to adjust strategies as needed, ensuring that small changes cumulatively drive the desired outcomes. Dashboards and reporting tools can provide real-time insights, enabling data-driven decision-making.
In addition to tracking progress, measurement fosters accountability. When individuals and teams know their efforts are being monitored, they are more likely to remain committed to the change process. Transparent reporting also builds trust, showing stakeholders that their efforts are valued and impactful.
Alignment with Strategy: The Bigger Picture
In the midst of multiple concurrent changes, it’s easy for teams to lose sight of how their individual efforts support the broader strategy. Leaders must articulate this alignment clearly and consistently.
Consider an organisation undergoing a digital transformation while also pursuing sustainability goals. Leaders might connect the two by emphasising how digital tools reduce paper usage or improve energy efficiency. This alignment helps employees see the “bigger picture” and understand how their routines contribute to overarching organisational priorities.
Clarity is particularly important when behaviours differ across teams. For example, proactive listening might be a critical behaviour for customer-facing teams, while cross-functional collaboration could be the focus for back-office teams. Leaders need to explain how these distinct behaviours interconnect and drive the overall strategy.
Furthermore, aligning behaviours with the organisation’s values can deepen commitment. When employees see how their actions reflect core values, they are more likely to internalise and sustain the desired changes. Leaders can leverage organisational storytelling to create a compelling narrative that unifies diverse initiatives under a shared vision.
Practical Steps for Change Leaders
Start Small: Identify a single behaviour to change and build on early successes.
Leverage Social Influence: Empower change champions to share stories and model behaviours.
Embed Habits: Use the habit loop (Cue, Routine, Reward) to make new behaviours automatic.
Celebrate Progress: Recognise achievements, no matter how small, to maintain momentum.
Measure Impact: Regularly track progress against clear, relevant metrics.
Communicate Alignment: Ensure teams understand how their efforts contribute to the overall strategy.
Be Transparent: Share challenges and adjustments to build trust and credibility.
Provide Resources: Equip teams with the tools and training needed to succeed.
Reinforce Continuously: Ensure that reinforcement mechanisms
Transforming behaviours into habits is the cornerstone of sustained organizational change. By fostering belief, leveraging social reinforcement, and breaking complex changes into manageable steps, change leaders can build a culture where new behaviours become second nature. With clear goals, consistent measurement, and strategic alignment, these habits will not only endure but also drive lasting success.
Sustaining change requires patience, persistence, and a deep understanding of human behaviour. By focusing on the incremental steps that lead to lasting habits, senior practitioners can guide their organizations through even the most challenging transformations—one habit at a time.
Change management and clinical psychology, while seemingly distinct disciplines, share a foundational principle: both are focused on people and their ability to adapt, grow, and thrive through transitions. Change managers navigate organizational transformation, helping individuals and groups adjust to new realities, while clinical psychologists support individuals in addressing psychological challenges and fostering mental wellness. By exploring the practices of clinical psychologists, change managers can adopt a more evidence-based, empathetic, and tailored approach to managing change.
We delve into how clinical psychologists approach their work, highlighting principles and practices that can inform and enhance change management strategies.
Clinical Psychology: An Evidence-Based Practice
At its core, clinical psychology is deeply rooted in science. Clinical psychologists rely on evidence-based methods to understand, assess, and treat psychological issues. Their approach includes:
Assessment through Observation and Interviews
Clinical psychologists begin by observing symptoms and conducting detailed interviews to gain insights into an individual’s mental health. They evaluate not only the reported symptoms but also environmental and contextual factors influencing the individual’s well-being. This comprehensive assessment forms the basis for understanding the person’s unique situation.
Tailored Treatment Plans
Clinical psychologists craft individualized treatment plans based on their assessments. These plans are not static; they evolve based on the individual’s progress, feedback, and emerging needs. By constantly monitoring outcomes, they ensure the approach remains effective and relevant.
Cognitive-Behavioural Strategies
Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is a cornerstone of clinical psychology. It operates on two levels:
Cognitive: Addressing and reshaping unhelpful thought patterns that influence emotions and behaviours.
Behavioural: Directly targeting behaviours to create positive changes in day-to-day functioning.
These principles provide a structured yet flexible framework for guiding individuals toward improved mental health and well-being.
Parallels Between Clinical Psychology and Change Management
Change management, like clinical psychology, requires a nuanced understanding of human behaviour and a strategic approach to fostering adaptation. Here are key parallels and insights that change managers can draw from clinical psychology:
1. Evidence-Based Assessments
In organizational settings, change managers must assess the current state to identify potential challenges and opportunities. Borrowing from clinical psychology, they can develop a more scientific approach by:
Conducting interviews and surveys to understand employee concerns, resistance, and expectations.
Observing team dynamics and organizational culture to identify systemic barriers to change.
Analyzing environmental factors, such as stakeholder needs, organisational cultural traits and industry factors.
This evidence-based diagnostic process allows change managers to pinpoint issues with precision, ensuring their interventions are well-informed and targeted.
2. Tailored Change Strategies
Just as clinical psychologists create personalized treatment plans, change managers should design strategies tailored to their organization’s specific needs. This involves:
Recognizing that one-size-fits-all approaches rarely succeed in complex organizational ecosystems.
Customizing interventions based on the unique characteristics of teams, departments, and leadership styles.
Adapting strategies dynamically as new challenges arise or as feedback is gathered during implementation.
For example, a department struggling with resistance to new technology may require hands-on coaching and reassurance, while another may benefit more from open forums for dialogue and feedback.
3. Focus on Cognitive and Behavioural Dimensions
Cognitive-behavioural strategies in clinical psychology offer valuable insights for managing change.
Cognitive Aspect:
Change often triggers fear, uncertainty, and doubt. By addressing these thought patterns, change managers can help individuals reframe their perspectives. For example:
Communicating the benefits of change in clear, relatable terms to counteract negative assumptions. Position the change in a way that helps to inspire people and encourage them to come onboard the change process
Offering opportunities for employees to voice their concerns, fostering a sense of control and participation.
Behavioural Aspect:
Behavioural change is essential for successful adaptation. Change managers can:
Encourage new behaviours through positive reinforcement, such as recognition programs. Other methods include leader or champion role modelling, measurement and feedback.
Provide practical tools and resources to help employees adopt new processes or technologies.
By targeting both cognition and behaviour, change managers can facilitate deeper, more sustainable transformations.
Applying Clinical Psychology Principles in Change Management
To effectively integrate the principles of clinical psychology into change management, practitioners should consider the following actionable steps:
Step 1: Conduct a Holistic Assessment
Use diagnostic tools such as stakeholder analysis, employee sentiment surveys, and readiness assessments to gather comprehensive data.
Identify key influencers, potential resistors, and systemic issues that may impact the change effort.
Step 2: Develop a Personalized Approaches
Segment stakeholders based on their unique needs, roles, and levels of impact. Use personas where helpful to gain deeper sense of preferences, challenges and needs.
Design interventions that align with these segments. For example, senior leaders may require coaching on communication strategies, while frontline employees might benefit from hands-on workshops.
Step 3: Monitor and Adjust Strategies
Implement feedback loops to track progress and outcomes.
Use data analytics and qualitative feedback to tweak strategies as needed. For instance, if resistance persists, additional engagement sessions, leader encouragement or communication campaigns might be warranted.
Step 4: Foster Constructive Cognition
Encourage employees to view change as an opportunity for growth rather than a threat. Using a cognitive behavioural approach, ‘constructive self-talk’ can be utilised to be positioned as communication phrases (as well as leader or change champion talking guides) and positioning to influence how employees think about the change. Positive behaviours should also be acknowledged, role modelled and reinforced by leaders.
E.g. Rather than employees feeling like “here is another change that we need to go through that will mean we are busier and need to work longer”, use communication phrases such as “we are making it easier for our customers” or “we are contributing to reducing the complexity through this new process” at a level that targeted employee groups can connect to.
Share success stories and celebrate small wins to build momentum and confidence.
Step 5: Prioritize Emotional Well-Being
Recognize the emotional toll that significant change can take. Identifying the emotions that employee groups are feeling is the first step (as distinct from what they are thinking or saying). Offer resources such as coaching, change champion or peer support groups, or group workshops. Equip leaders with the skills to provide empathetic support to their teams.
Also, take holistic approach to look at the change environment for impacted stakeholders and assess the change loading can reveal potential risks in people capacity challenges that could derail the change.
Case Study: Clinical Psychology-Inspired Change Management
Consider an organization undergoing a major digital transformation. Employees are required to adopt new technologies, shift workflows, and learn new skills. Resistance is high, with many expressing anxiety and frustration.
Step 1: Assessment
A series of focus groups and surveys reveal that employees feel unprepared and fear obsolescence. Leaders recognize a culture of risk aversion and limited digital literacy.
Step 2: Tailored Strategy
Based on these insights, the change management team implements a phased approach:
Cognitive: Town halls and internal campaigns highlight the long-term benefits of digital transformation, such as enhanced job security and efficiency.
Behavioural: Practical workshops and mentoring programs are introduced to build digital skills incrementally.
Step 3: Monitoring and Adaptation
As the rollout progresses, feedback indicates a need for additional hands-on support. The team introduces digital “help desks” and assigns technology champions in each department.
Step 4: Celebrating Wins
Early adopters are recognized through an internal awards program, creating positive reinforcement for desired behaviours.
The result? A smoother transition, increased adoption rates, and improved employee confidence in navigating the change.
Challenges and Considerations
While clinical psychology offers valuable lessons, change managers must adapt these principles to fit organizational contexts. Key considerations include:
Balancing individual and collective needs. While clinical psychology focuses on individuals, change management must address both individual and group dynamics.
Recognizing limitations in time and resources. Unlike therapy, organizational change often operates within tight deadlines and budgets.
Navigating power dynamics and politics inherent in organizational settings.
By being mindful of these challenges, change managers can apply clinical psychology principles effectively and pragmatically.
The synergy between clinical psychology and change management offers a powerful toolkit for navigating the complexities of human behaviour during change. By adopting evidence-based assessments, tailoring strategies, and leveraging cognitive-behavioural insights, change managers can foster more effective and sustainable transformations. Ultimately, integrating these principles enhances not only the success of change initiatives but also the well-being of the individuals and teams at their core.
