You’ve explained the change, delivered the training and asked managers to reinforce it - but rather than the change sticking as planned- you’re stuck wondering what went wrong?
A review by Jan Voelkel, Katherine Milkman and Angela Duckworth offers a useful starting point: diagnose whether the difficulty sits with motivation, follow-through or sustaining the behaviour. Each calls for different support, so knowing where your change is wedged - will help you moved forward.
Think about the change you’re trying to lead….
1. Do people see enough value in changing?
Ask: What makes the current approach attractive? What would someone gain or lose by changing?
The paper identifies five ways to strengthen motivation:
Incentives: reward the desired behaviour. Check whether existing targets reward something that conflicts with it.
Information and education: explain the benefits, costs and consequences people may not understand.
Credible endorsements: involve someone whose judgement employees trust.
Social norms: show that relevant colleagues are adopting the behaviour, using accurate examples.
Social accountability: make commitments and actions visible to others.
For example, asking salespeople to consult delivery teams will be harder if their targets reward closing quickly while ignoring whether the promise can be delivered.
2. Do people believe they can succeed?
Ask: Does this feel achievable? What would make someone feel capable of taking the first step?
The review identifies:
Growth mindset: explain how the necessary skills can develop through practice.
Subgoals: break the change into manageable steps.
Role models: show relatable colleagues succeeding.
Advice giving: ask employees how they would help someone else make the change.
Fresh starts: use a new project, quarter or role as an opportunity to begin.
Values affirmation: give people space to reflect on values that matter to them.
Social belonging: help people understand that early difficulties are common and don’t mean they don’t belong.
A word on environment:
These approaches need a supportive environment. Reassurance about speaking up will have limited value if people are punished when they do.
3. Can people turn their intention into action?
Ask: When someone intends to do this, what happens next? Where does it break down?
The paper suggests:
Reminders: prompt people at a moment when they can act.
Clear goals: specify what successful action looks like.
Planning: decide when, where and how the behaviour will happen.
Mental contrasting and if–then plans: identify likely obstacles and prepare a response.
Checklists: make necessary steps easy to remember.
Feedback: show people whether their actions are producing the intended result.
Defaults: make the desired action the standard option.
Convenience: remove unnecessary effort, delays and practical obstacles.
Commitment devices: arrange support or consequences in advance that help people stick to their intention.
Enjoyment: make the activity rewarding now, particularly when its benefits arrive later.
For the customer deadline example, this could mean adding a delivery consultation to the proposal workflow, naming the right contact and agreeing what to do when an urgent request arrives.
4. Can people keep doing it?
Ask: Does the behaviour survive a busy week, a missed attempt or a change in routine?
The review highlights two needs:
Repetition: support and reward repeated practice so the behaviour can become more automatic.
Flexibility: allow alternative ways to carry out the behaviour when the usual routine is disrupted.
Agree a workable fallback and make restarting straightforward. A process that only works on quiet days is unlikely to last.
Use these questions with all those involved in the change. Different teams may need different responses to the same organisational change. Let us know what helped!
Reference: Voelkel, J. G., Milkman, K. L., & Duckworth, A. L. Behavior Change. Annual Review of Psychology, 78 (2027), advance publication. Original paper.