Getting a Stalled Change Initiative Moving Again
Change initiatives do not always stall because the project plan is wrong. Sometimes important decisions have already been made, but leaders and teams have not been sufficiently heard, critical issues remain unresolved, and the organization is no longer sure how to move forward.
The Challenge
I joined the initiative approximately four months after the project had started. By that point, many important decisions had already been made, but the implementation was struggling.
The project team was facing difficult questions about how to move forward, how to complete the work within the expected timeframe, and how to address issues that were becoming increasingly visible across the organization.
One of the central concerns was that the perspectives of leaders closer to day-to-day operations had not been sufficiently incorporated into the change process. Those leaders were responsible for carrying much of the change into their teams, yet they also had valuable information about where implementation was working and where it was creating problems.
Before simply pushing the existing plan forward, the organization needed a clearer picture of what was actually happening.
What We Did
I recommended that the organization deliberately listen to leaders across the affected areas before determining the next steps. With executive support, approximately 60 structured leadership interviews were conducted.
The interviews focused on the experience of the change, operational concerns, leadership challenges, unresolved questions, and barriers that could affect implementation.
The findings were analyzed, consolidated into an organizational assessment, and brought back to the project team and leadership. This created a much broader view of the initiative than the formal project structure alone could provide.
My role then expanded beyond the assessment. I supported the project team in moving the initiative forward, worked with leaders on change-related topics, facilitated difficult discussions, supported implementation, and helped connect issues emerging from the organization with the people who needed to address them.
At a Glance
What Changed
The leadership interviews gave the project team a much clearer picture of how the change was being experienced across the organization and brought important operational and leadership concerns into the implementation discussion.
The initiative regained direction, and leaders received additional support in carrying the change into their areas. The assessment also helped make several underlying organizational issues more visible, including dependencies that extended beyond the immediate project.
Not every issue could be resolved within the initiative itself. Some depended on broader organizational decisions and conditions, and several workstreams were still underway when my direct involvement ended.
That limitation was important. The project demonstrated that a change initiative can identify and address many implementation barriers, but it cannot independently solve every organizational issue that influences the change.
What We Learned
When a change initiative stalls, pushing harder on the existing plan is not always the answer.
Sometimes the organization first needs to understand what leaders and teams are experiencing, which assumptions no longer hold, and which unresolved issues are preventing implementation.
Listening is not separate from implementation. Done properly, it provides information that helps leaders recalibrate the work and make better decisions about what needs to happen next.
It also reveals an important boundary: some barriers belong to the change initiative, while others require decisions or structural changes elsewhere in the organization. Recognizing that difference is essential for managing expectations and keeping the initiative focused on what it can actually influence.
Has an important change initiative lost momentum?
Start with the challenge. We can help you understand what is slowing implementation, what leaders and teams are experiencing, and where the initiative may need to be recalibrated.
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