Sustaining the Magic: The Challenge of Making Change Last
After Happily Ever After
Every fairy tale has that defining moment—the magical transformation that changes everything. Cinderella’s pumpkin turns into a grand carriage, Sleeping Beauty wakes from her cursed slumber, and everything seems perfect. But the part of the story we never hear about is what comes next. How does Cinderella learn to rule a kingdom, and what happens when the fairy godmother’s magic fades away?
In the realm of organizational change, the “happily ever after” is often an illusion. The real challenge is sustaining the magic long after the moment of transformation. Change isn’t a one-time event; it’s a journey that requires leadership, continuous reinforcement, and the involvement of every person in the organization. The real challenge lies in moving beyond the short-term implementation and embedding change into the organization’s culture and processes.
The Challenge of Sustaining Change
Just as a fairy tale kingdom must figure out how to thrive without magic, organizations face a daunting challenge once the excitement of the initial change fades. The burst of enthusiasm that comes with a new initiative is fleeting, and without a clear strategy to embed the change into daily operations, things can quickly revert to “the way they were.”
Many change efforts succeed in their early stages but falter when it comes to long-term sustainability. In the same way Sleeping Beauty might struggle to adjust to royal life in a world that has moved on while he slept, employees often find it difficult to adapt to new processes or mindsets when the novelty wears off. Without continuous support, people tend to fall back into familiar routines.
Common Pitfalls:
Lack of sustained attention: Leadership and teams often lose focus after the initial change, assuming the job is done once the change is implemented. This results in a slow return to previous practices.
Cultural resistance: Deep-seated organizational habits and values can overpower new initiatives if the change is not aligned with existing culture or if the transition was not sufficiently supported.
To overcome these challenges, we need to set long-term goals early. From the beginning, make sustainability a key objective of the change initiative. Build milestones that extend beyond the launch, ensuring that there are clear expectations for both immediate and long-term performance.
The Importance of Leadership and Vision in Sustaining Change
In fairy tales, strong leadership is often the key to a kingdom’s success. Without a wise and committed ruler, the kingdom might fall into chaos. In organizations, leaders play a critical role in ensuring that change sticks. They are the ones who must continuously remind people of the new way forward, even when the path becomes difficult.
Sustained change relies heavily on leadership’s ability to champion the new direction and model the behaviors that support it. Strong leadership is crucial not only during the implementation phase but throughout the process of embedding the change into everyday work.
Effective leaders must remain visible and engaged throughout the change process. It’s not enough to declare the change and then disappear. Leaders must show their commitment by reinforcing the change in their daily actions. This can be achieved through regular updates, attending team meetings, and consistently linking business decisions to the change objectives.
Leaders must also champion the change at every level of the organization. They are the stewards of the new culture, and their ongoing support is critical to its success. Leaders should actively develop networks of influential employees and middle managers who can act as change champions. These individuals can help spread the message, encourage adoption, and reinforce desired behaviors across the organization. It can also help to pair senior leaders with those at different levels of the organization to mentor them on embracing and sustaining the change. This helps foster a culture of accountability and support.
In order to drive their active Change Leadership, leaders must have incentives tied to the success and sustainability of the change initiatives they own. We should all be measured by outcomes, and Change Leadership is no exception.
To support Change Leaders, offer leaders specific training on how to lead through change, focusing on emotional intelligence, communication, and managing resistance.
The Transition from Project to Process
After the project team has completed their work, the operational team takes over. But just like Cinderella learning to manage palace affairs, the operational team must be prepared to sustain the changes made. Without a smooth transition, confusion and inconsistency can lead to failure.
A project is temporary, but the processes it creates are meant to be permanent. Ensuring continuity means embedding new practices into the fabric of daily operations. Handover planning is the key. Here's an example of one you might want to use:
Engage the operational team early in the project so they can contribute to the design of the change and build a sense of ownership. Their input ensures the change is practical and sustainable within daily operations.
During handover planning, discuss how to prepare operational teams during the implementation stage to take over the responsibility for change. Establish a structured handover process. This should include documentation, training, and clear expectations about roles and responsibilities post-implementation. Create detailed guides for processes, roles, and responsibilities to ensure that the new ways of working are fully understood.
Track how well operational teams are adopting the new processes using a scorecard system that measures adherence to key behaviors and outcomes.
Building feedback loops help monitor how the change is being embedded into the organization such as pulse surveys or suggestion boxes. This allows for insights into what’s working and where further adaptation may be needed. They also provide a venue for stakeholders to feel that they have a voice and that their feedback is leading to continuous improvement.
Post-Implementation Reinforcement & Training
Once the change is implemented, ongoing training and reinforcement are essential to ensure that the change sticks. Without continuous support, employees may revert to old habits, especially if new processes are not yet second nature.
It’s not enough to announce the change and expect everyone to adapt. Just like a kingdom needs to train its soldiers and advisors, organizations must provide ongoing training to ensure employees fully understand and embrace the new processes. It helps to set up tools and a continuous learning culture where employees can deepen their understanding of the new processes over time. Develop training that goes beyond the initial rollout, providing refresher courses and advanced modules as employees become more comfortable with the change. This keeps the knowledge fresh and encourages deeper mastery of new skills.
Every kingdom has its share of dissenters—those who cling to the old ways. In organizations, resistance to change can come from employees who were never fully on board or who believe the change isn’t necessary.
Regular reinforcement through communication, training, and leadership engagement ensures that the change remains a priority even after the initial success. This includes ongoing internal campaigns and success stories that keep the change top of mind. Leveraging existing communication channels can keep people informed and engaged. Conduct regular surveys to gauge employee confidence in using new tools or processes, allowing for targeted reinforcement where needed.
Also consider using mentoring to ensure employees have long-term support. Establish a network of internal coaches or mentors who can help employees navigate challenges related to the change. These individuals should be well-versed in the new processes and able to offer real-time guidance and support.
Embedding Change into Organizational Culture
Just like a kingdom thrives when its values are aligned with its people’s beliefs, change initiatives are more likely to succeed when they resonate with the organization’s core values. The transformation becomes more than just a moment—it becomes a way of life. For organizations, embedding change into the culture means making it part of the everyday experience of every employee ensuring it becomes the new norm.
Change must become part of the organizational DNA. It’s not just a new process or tool—it’s a shift in mindset that affects how people think and act every day. Ensure that the change initiative is framed in a way that aligns with the organization’s core mission and values. Employees are more likely to embrace a change that feels connected to the broader purpose of the organization.
Identifying and empowering employees at all levels to be champions and advocates for the new way of working is one very effective way to drive cultural adoption.
Reinforce the change by rewarding behaviors that align with the new processes or values. Catching people doing it “right” and publicly recognizing them is also a great way to reinforce and embed change into organizational culture. Tools like awards or other incentive structures can be a powerful motivator for sustaining change-related behaviors.
Another way to drive cultural adoption is to update the organization’s competency framework to include behaviors that support the change, making them part of performance appraisals and career development. This embeds the change and desired behaviors into the structure of the organization.
Encouraging employees to take ownership of promoting the change by leading initiatives such as innovation groups or peer support networks can also help.
Employee Ownership: Empowering Teams to Sustain Change
No fairy tale kingdom thrives on the efforts of its rulers alone. Employees must feel a sense of ownership over the change for it to be successful in the long run. Engaging employees at all levels ensures that they are not passive. Sustained change requires employee buy-in at every level.
Organizations must empower employees to take ownership of the change. This creates a sense of shared responsibility, ensuring the change lasts. One way to get this kind of buy-in is to include employees in ongoing decision-making to ensure they feel invested in the change’s success.
One way to encourage employee buy-in is to help employees understand what’s in it for them by clearly articulating the personal and professional benefits of the change. When employees see how the change improves their work life, they are more likely to support it.
Provide opportunities for employees to influence how the change is implemented and refined. This could include focus groups, feedback sessions, or innovation workshops that empower employees to shape the future of the initiative.
In fairy tales, there are always loyal knights or heroes who help the ruler enforce the laws. In organizations, change champions are those employees who embrace the new way and inspire others to do the same. Build peer-to-peer networks where employees can support each other in maintaining new practices. Or create a forum for employees to share ideas and feedback on how the change is progressing, giving them a voice in shaping the long-term success of the initiative.
Another strategy is to use gamification tools to engage employees in adopting new behaviors. Leaderboards, points systems, or challenges can incentivize participation and ownership.
Monitoring and Adaptation: Keeping the Change Agile
Even in a well-run kingdom, things don’t always go as planned. There are storms, invaders, and internal strife. Even the best-planned change initiatives require monitoring and adjustment. By continuously tracking progress and being open to feedback, organizations can adapt their approach to ensure long-term success.
Organizations must monitor the effectiveness of the change through key performance indicators (KPIs) and other metrics. Define clear KPIs from the start to track how the change is performing over time. Regularly review these metrics to ensure that the initiative is delivering the desired results. Make sure someone owns this review activity and that it is a part of the ongoing maintenance of the initiative.
Organizations must remain agile, ready to adapt and course-correct when challenges or new opportunities arise. Apply agile methods to adapt and refine the change process based on ongoing feedback. This could involve regular sprint reviews where teams assess progress and make necessary pivots. You could also utilize lean or Six Sigma principles to continuously refine processes, ensuring they remain efficient and aligned with changing organizational needs.
The Legacy of Change
In the end, the true test of a fairy tale kingdom’s greatness isn’t just its transformation but its ability to sustain that transformation over time. Did Cinderella’s kingdom prosper, or did it fall back into disarray once the magic wore off? Change isn’t just about creating a moment of magic; it’s about building a future where that magic continues to thrive, even when the fairy godmother is long gone.
Similarly, the real legacy of organizational change is determined by its longevity. To create this legacy, organizations need to focus on long-term commitment, consistent reinforcement, and the integration of the change into the core fabric of the organization.
Key Takeaways for Lasting Change:
Plan for sustainability from the start: Build long-term goals and milestones into the change initiative from the very beginning.
Engage leadership and employees alike: Ensure that both leadership and employees take ownership of the change.
Monitor and adapt: Continuously track progress, seek feedback, and be prepared to adjust course as needed.
Your 'happily ever after' requires more than just magic; it needs daily action, commitment, and adaptability. Don’t let your story stop; build the legacy of your organization beyond the transformation.
Sources for Research and Further Reading
Books:
Kotter, John P. “Leading Change”. (1996) – Kotter’s 8-Step Model on sustaining change.
“The Heart of Change” by John Kotter and Dan Cohen – The need for consistent communication.
“Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.
“The Learning Organization” by Peter Senge – Insights into creating learning systems for change sustainability.
“The Fifth Discipline” by Peter Senge – Insights into organizational learning and values alignment.
“Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” by Daniel Pink – Focus on autonomy and ownership.
“Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple Perspectives Approach” by Palmer, Dunford, and Buchanan – Offers insights on KPIs in change initiatives.
“Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time” by Jeff Sutherland – Agile approaches for sustaining change.
“Flawless Consulting” by Peter Block – Strategies for dealing with obstacles in long-term change efforts.
“The Innovator’s Dilemma” by Clayton Christensen.
Articles
McKinsey’s “The Inconvenient Truth About Change Management” – Insights into the 70% failure rate of change initiatives.
"Peer Support and Networks in Change Management” – Found in McKinsey & Company’s insights on sustaining organizational change.
Harvard Business Review's “Ensuring Accountability in Change Projects.”
“The Role of Coaching in Long-Term Change” – Found in Forbes or McKinsey resources on coaching’s impact.
Industry Reports
Prosci’s “Best Practices in Change Management”
Prosci’s ADKAR Model resources: Can provide insights on maintaining change through reinforcement phases.
Gartner and Deloitte studies on the success rates of change initiatives.
Research from SHRM on the role of recognition programs in sustaining change.
Insights from Gallup’s “State of the American Manager” report.