How to Lead Change
Because We’re All in the Business of Leading Change
Last week, I wrote about how to lead during times of uncertainty and change. This week, I’m taking a slightly adjacent spin, and focusing on how to Lead Change.
We mostly work in jobs requiring us to work with others. While individual effort matters, most work in knowledge environments requires working in teams to achieve a collective goal.
To achieve our goals, we must enlist the support, buy-in, resources, approvals, and skills of teammates, stakeholders, leaders, and customers. This process often requires people to act (or not), start something new, or revamp their actions to support a goal.
That time you asked your peers to do the process differently? That’s a behavior change. What about that new software that allows your sales team to update their accounts and contacts? That’s a technology change and a new set of processes. Ever needed support for a new program or initiative? Ultimately, you’re changing behaviors.
Whether you realize it or not, people in today’s workplace help lead change.
The good news is that decades of research shows we can change.
If we don’t recognize that we’re in the business of change and are not thoughtful about how we engage others, ask for support, or build buy-in, we may face resistance and fail to drive the desired changes.
Most of us work in matrixed, cross-functional environments, so if we’re in formal leadership roles, we can’t command others to support us, back our initiatives, or provide the resources we need. Those with formal authority quickly learn that ordering people around rarely works in the long run.
You want to be more effective and get others to adopt your ideas, support new processes or programs, and embrace new behaviors to reach goals. However, how do you actually lead and motivate change?
Throughout my career, I’ve worked with individuals and organizations striving to lead change.
My journey began in management consulting, supporting Fortune 500 companies through complex change management initiatives. I later moved to the tech industry, where I helped companies transform by adopting new technologies and modern ways of working. Eventually, I became a leadership coach, helping hundreds of leaders navigate key transitions, whether stepping into leadership, accepting a new role, or expanding into broader responsibilities.
I’ve witnessed leaders succeed (and struggle) to lead change across programs, processes, and initiatives. If you’re not leading these changes, you’re probably trying to influence people to adopt something new: a process, a program, or an initiative.
Here are a few ideas and actions to help successfully lead change within your team or organization.
1. Map out your stakeholders and peers.
Ultimately, change lives or dies based on people’s willingness to support it. Before you roll out any change, it’s important to get a clear sense of the landscape: who’s involved and impacted and where they stand.
Start identifying and documenting the key people connected to the change, including those who are:
Directly involved in leading or implementing it
Likely to be impacted by it
In a position to support, influence, or block it
Then, make a rough assessment of where each person or group falls on the support continuum, from very supportive to resistant or skeptical. You don’t need a perfect map, just an honest snapshot of who’s in your corner, might need convincing, or could be a blocker.
Doing this upfront gives you a realistic and strategic view of what you’re walking into and helps you plan how to engage people more thoughtfully and effectively.
2. Start small with momentum and interest.
It’s tempting to roll out a change initiative on a grand scale with a big announcement, a major event, and lots of buzz. But that approach has its downsides.
Real change happens when people adopt new behaviors and actions consistently. A big launch might energize those already on board, but it can also trigger resistance or backlash from those skeptical or opposed to the change.
Research on how social movements spread shows that it typically takes 20–25% of a group to adopt a new behavior before it tips and spreads. You don’t have to reach that threshold right away. Trying to go big too soon can be counterproductive.
Instead, start small and build momentum. Begin with the people who are already excited or at least open to the change because it’s easier to swim with the current than against it. If you’ve mapped your stakeholders, look for the early adopters or champions. Bring them together, support their efforts, and let their energy and progress become a foundation for broader adoption.
Starting small doesn’t mean thinking small; it means being strategic and intentional and setting yourself up for sustainable success.
3. Look for contributions, not for compliance.
Human psychology tells us that we, as humans, do not always like being told what to do. Reactance theory says that when people feel forced to do something or told they can’t, they often do the opposite to feel in control. When you were a child, did your parents tell you, “Don’t touch the hot stove!” Then, what was the next thing you did? :)
The same goes for the workplace. When your employees are told to do something or change the way they do it, people often resist, not because the change is bad but because it feels like they don’t have a say. When we think we are excluded, our voice or ideas don’t matter, or our survival is threatened, we put up our guard and resist.
There will be times when you have to tell people what to do. For example, you may not have a choice because it’s related to a legal or ethical component. In those moments, you can communicate or engage in ways that ensure they feel heard, seen, and understood.
In psychology, there’s also the Ikea effect, where we value the things we helped build or create, even if the end product isn’t perfect.
People are more likely to support change when they feel they helped shape it. When you ask people to contribute and give them a role in designing the change, it empowers them to take ownership of the process.
4. Encourage contributions through constraints, agency, and strengths.
When getting employees to contribute and participate in the change, focus on constraints, agency, and strengths.
Constraints: Constraints allow them space to be creative and innovative. When there’s a blank canvas, it can be hard to know where to start. Reference what you’re looking for so they can generate ideas and possibilities.
Agency: Allowing them to share ideas and suggestions is also important. Be clear on the ends but flexible on the means of getting there.
Strengths: Each person participating in the change has unique strengths and skills. When thinking about the change, encourage and pull out of them what those strengths are, and lean into them. We all benefit when people lean into their best selves, so when they relate the change effort to something they are good at, actively engage, and participate, you may get your desired outcome.
5. Frameworks are fine but meet people where they are.
When leading change, we often turn to established change management frameworks to help us design and implement it in a clear, structured way. You’ve probably seen some of them: Kotter’s 8-Step Model, the ADKAR Model, Lewin’s Change Model, the 7-S Framework, and so on.
Frameworks can provide a helpful blueprint for planning and execution. But here’s the catch: while the mechanics of change (strategies, structures, and systems) may be standardized, the human experience of change is not.
Change is relational and personal. It’s about how people emotionally, mentally, and behaviorally adjust to new realities. Real change happens when frameworks meet feelings.
Framework can guide your process, but you need to meet people where they are. The change may energize some. Others may feel confused, fearful, or even resistant. The goal isn’t to force everyone through a one-size-fits-all model but to understand each person’s relationship to the change and help them move forward from their unique starting point.
6. Practice aligning say/do/reward.
Change takes hold when people consistently adopt a new behavior, practice, or set of actions over time. This adoption doesn’t always happen naturally. Most people need cues and reinforcement to remind them of the change and what they should do differently.
That’s where the “Say, Do, Reward” framework comes in.
When leading a change effort, a leader has three powerful tools:
What you say: the messages you communicate.
What you do: the actions and behaviors you model.
What you reward: the behaviors you recognize and reinforce.
Telling people about the change is important, but if they don’t see you living it, it’s hard for them to take it seriously. That’s the classic “talking the talk but not walking the walk.” We’re constantly scanning for signals about how to survive and thrive in our environment. When you reward the new behavior through recognition, praise, or support, it sends a clear message: it is safe, valued, and where we’re going.
Conclusion
If you want people to work, think, or do something new, you’re in the business of leading change. Leading change isn’t just about strategy decks, communication plans, or frameworks (though they help). It’s about people, relationships, trust, emotion, and motivation.
Your ability to navigate the human side of change, meet people where they are, give them a voice, and reinforce what matters will determine whether your efforts gain traction or stall out. Change takes time, consistency, and, above all, intention.
Call To Action
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