Help! I Can’t Make My Change Initiatives Stick

Morolake Esi
Aug 6
4 min read

Updated: Oct 6

Why effective change management is at the root of every successful transformation

You’ve just introduced a new technology that could revolutionize your business operations. Or maybe you’ve launched a new process that promises to boost efficiency by 100%. You know it’s a game changer. You excitedly share the news with your team…

…and they look at you with blank faces.

Lukewarm. Cynical. Confused. Or just completely disengaged.

You think, “Do they not see it? Why aren’t they as excited as I am?” The truth is, they don’t. Not yet.

And that’s the exact moment where change management becomes critical.

Change Doesn’t Fail Because It’s a Bad Idea—It Fails Because It’s Poorly Managed

Most people don’t resist change out of malice. They resist because change is uncomfortable, uncertain, and often exhausting. Human psychology naturally favors the familiar—even when the familiar isn’t working.

As Harvard Business Review notes, change efforts often fail not due to strategy, but due to a lack of attention to people’s emotions and behavior. You must help your team move from apathy to awareness to action—and then sustain it.

Here’s the key truth: Change only happens when the cost of staying the same outweighs the cost of making a change.

Even the most exciting initiatives will stall if people don’t believe the change is necessary, achievable, or beneficial to them.

Let me illustrate this with a story.

Change is Always Personal—At Every Level

I once mentored a young professional who landed her dream job in New York City. She was thrilled—but nervous about the city’s pace, crowds, and lifestyle. Eventually, she moved and fell in love with it.

Then came the next shift—three months of training at a suburban affiliate office. She dreaded it…until she got there. She enjoyed the calm, the greenery, the slower rhythm.

And of course, just as she settled in, she had to move back to the city. Cue another round of resistance.

The point? Even positive change creates disruption. Our minds crave stability—even when better opportunities are right in front of us.

This applies to your team, too. If you want your change initiatives to succeed, you must manage not just the process—but the people.

My Favorite Model for Leading Change: Kotter’s 8-Step Process

Dr. John Kotter’s change management model is widely recognized and research-backed. It provides a clear roadmap for helping teams move from resistance to commitment—and it works across industries and company sizes.

Let’s break it down and make it practical:

1. Create a Sense of Urgency

Start by helping your team understand why the change is needed—right now.Link the change to tangible business risks or missed opportunities if the status quo continues. The goal is to make the pain of staying the same more uncomfortable than the effort of changing.

💡 Tip: Frame the urgency in terms your team understands. What’s at stake? What happens if we don’t act?

2. Build a Guiding Coalition

You can’t do this alone. Assemble a team of influential leaders and early adopters who believe in the change and can advocate for it. Peer influence is powerful—especially in skeptical environments.

🧠 Research-backed: Teams with visible executive and mid-level sponsorship are 72% more likely to succeed in transformation efforts (Prosci, 2022).

3. Develop a Clear Vision and Strategy

Be explicit about what’s changing—and what’s not. Define success, clarify timelines, and explain how the change connects to the broader mission.

“Vague visions breed resistance. Clear visions create alignment.”

4. Communicate the Vision—Over and Over

You can’t just share the change once and move on. Repeat the message across channels. Make it part of meetings, check-ins, and even informal conversations. Most importantly—connect the vision to what matters to your people.

💬 “How will this help me, my team, and my work?” That’s what they’re asking.

5. Remove Barriers to Action

If people are willing to change but feel unsupported, they’ll disengage. Identify what’s slowing them down using two way communication channels —lack of training, unclear roles, outdated systems, fear of failure—follow up by removing these obstacles.

✅ Change feels possible when people feel equipped. Engage your stakeholders early, and often.

6. Create Short-Term Wins

Don’t wait for a perfect outcome to celebrate. Create early milestones and recognize progress along the way. This builds belief that the change is working—and that it’s worth the effort.

🎯 Behavioral science shows that small wins trigger dopamine, which motivates continued action (Amabile & Kramer, Harvard Business Review, 2011).

7. Sustain the Momentum

Once the buzz fades, so can the effort. Keep reinforcing the message, the wins, and the expectations.

📣 “Change is not an event. It’s a discipline.”

8. Anchor the Change in Culture

For the change to stick, it must be integrated into your systems:

Training programs
Performance expectations
Recognition systems
Process redesigns

Make it easy—and rewarding—for people to live the change every day.

Why Leaders Skip These Steps (and Why You Shouldn’t)

Many leaders skip these steps because they assume the team “should just get it.”But here’s the truth: You’ve already walked your own emotional change journey. You’ve thought about it for months, processed your resistance, and now you’re excited.

Your team is just starting their journey. They’re still in the “Why are we doing this?” phase.

The Bottom Line: Don’t Just Announce the Change—Lead It

If you want your initiatives to stick, you must guide people through the psychological and operational transition that change demands.

At Gold People Solutions, we specialize in helping organizations do exactly that—with tailored change management strategies that move people from resistance to resilience, and from apathy to action.

Need help making your change initiatives stick?

Let’s talk about how to create a change plan that actually works.

📞 848-863-9682📧 mesi@goldpeoplesolutions.com🌐 www.goldpeoplesolutions.com