6 ways to get your change initiative back on track

In two previous articles, I wrote about “resistance to change” and how it’s just a lazy excuse when change fails. I then took the liberty of pointing out the real reasons why your change initiative is failing. Ready to hear what you should try instead? Let's go!

Make change intentional!

You need to be clear about your ambition and what change you wish to see. But you don’t necessarily need to explain to everyone. People will change, not because you tell them to, but because you make changes to their context that alter what behaviors work best and are most rewarding for them. A good ambition points out a direction rather than explains an end state.

Make change contextual!

You need to understand the context of people's work. What are they doing and why? What problems are they actually solving? What are their resources to do so, and what constraints make it hard for them? And remember, we’re talking about their actual context of work, not an ideal situation from a document.

Make change experimental and adaptable!

Choose a context (team, workgroup, project, etc.) and experiment with small adjustments to make it easier and more rewarding to adopt more of the new behaviors and less of the old behaviors.

Make sense of the change!

Pay attention to what happens when you experiment. Look out for patterns and mine for insights! What’s working and not? Why? Keep an open mind to all your assumptions on what should create the change you want.

Amplify and spread!

When you see the behaviors you want more of, use those examples as social proof of the benefits of walking in the new direction.

Adapt change!

Now you’re on a roll, adapt your experiments with your new understanding of the context of work. In the beginning, don't expect dramatic change, but as you learn, your experiments will grow more precise and impactful. As experiments start to pay off, you should aim for a snowball effect!

Vadim Feldman
Founder and Management Consultant