Over the past few months, I’ve had a lot of conversations with clients, prospects, and colleagues about the uncertainty of this moment—and the growing desire to rethink how their organizations operate.

But despite this desire, there’s often a sense of paralysis.

Having lived through and supported both stalled and successful transformations, I thought I’d share a perspective on what effective transformation actually looks like. Specifically: the key phases, and the common traps that can derail progress.

This will be a short series over the next few weeks.

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟭: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟱 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀

𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 – You sense the need for change, even if you can’t yet define it. You just know the current path isn’t sustainable, whether it’s what you’re doing, how you’re doing it, or both.

𝟮. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 – After discussion, reflection (and sometimes a crisis), leadership decides to act…and backs that decision with resources, not just words.

𝟯. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 – This phase is all about defining the future state and developing a clear, actionable transformation plan.

𝟰. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 – This is where the real work begins. Plans are implemented. Resistance is met. Culture is tested.

𝟱. 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 – Without active effort, it’s easy to backslide. This final phase is about embedding the change and ensuring it takes root, grows, and delivers lasting impact.

I’ll dig into each of these phases, and the risks and traps that come with them, in the posts to come.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸?
Have you seen your organization get stuck in any of these phases?
What helped move things forward—or what made it stall?