Make change stick

When you ask the organization to change, you are responsible for making the new work possible. Explain the business result and what managers and teams will do differently. Check the skills, tools, time, and approvals they need before setting the start date.

Examine the incentives alongside the instructions. If you want managers to develop new leaders, review whether workload and performance expectations allow time for coaching. Include evidence of developing others when you assess a manager’s contribution.

Recognize a manager’s specific coaching effort when you observe it, then check whether their team members are becoming more capable. Ask what still makes that coaching difficult and act on the conditions you control.

Plan the transition with affected managers. Arrange practice and temporary support, and agree on the evidence that would justify continuing, adjusting, or ending the change. A decline in results needs investigation; it does not by itself prove that a change is working or failing.

If an early improvement fades, investigate what changed after the intervention. Check whether demand increased, support ended, or an old target encouraged people to return to the previous method. Change the condition the evidence supports addressing, then review the result again.