Why Most Change Efforts Fail (And How You Can Lead Them to Success)

Is your team struggling to embrace change?
Not because the plan is wrong, but because of how it’s led.

McKinsey found 70% of change initiatives fail, primarily due to human factors like resistance and unclear leadership.

I recently started a change management course to deepen my leadership skills, because the amount of change we’ll navigate in the next five years will likely exceed the last two decades combined.

And the more I study it, the clearer the pattern becomes:

Change doesn’t fail because of timelines, tools, or org charts.
It fails because of the emotional toll.

Resistance. Confusion. Hesitation.
These aren’t flaws in your team. They’re signals.
Signals that the disruption hasn’t been led with clarity or care.

The Truth About Change

It’s not the timeline.
It’s not the new software.
It’s not even the org chart.

It’s the emotional toll.

These aren’t flaws in your team. They’re signs that your people are moving through uncertainty without enough clarity or support.

Three Common Traps in Change Leadership

Trap #1: The Over-Communicator
Talks a lot about logistics, not enough about loss.
Overloads people with information but skips the emotional reality.

Trap #2: The Enforcer
Presents the new plan with no space for feedback or adjustment.
Gets compliance but kills commitment.

Trap #3: The Bystander
Avoids clarity, hoping the change will settle itself.
Creates confusion, misalignment, and a vacuum of direction.
Often shows up as silence when leadership is most needed.

The truth is, you don’t need to fall into any of these.
There is a better way rooted in clarity, trust, and shared ownership.

A Change Leader’s Checklist

You do not have to fall into these traps. Here is a checklist for leading change with intention:

✅ Explain the “why” in human terms, not just business logic
✅ Name what’s not changing to anchor stability
✅ Invite questions early, before resistance hardens
✅ Celebrate effort, not just outcomes
✅ Create space for people to let go of the old way

Want to Go Deeper?

Here are a few excellent resources on leading change effectively:

→ Switch by Chip and Dan Heath
How to change behaviour by aligning logic, emotion, and environment.

→ Managing Transitions by William Bridges
How to lead people through the emotional journey of change.

→ The McKinsey 7S Framework
A systems view of how structure, culture, and people interact in change.

→ The Change Curve
Based on the Kübler-Ross model. A helpful visual for understanding emotional reactions to disruption.

Looking for more insights?

Here are a few newsletters I read and recommend:

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Reflection for the Week

→ What change is your team navigating right now?
→ Have you acknowledged the emotional cost, not just the operational lift?
→ Are you leading change at your team, or with them?

Your team doesn’t need perfection.
They need presence.
They need clarity.
And they need to believe the future is worth moving toward.

Lead with presence. Deliver with empathy.

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If you're exploring leadership development support, you can learn more about working with me here.

Catch you in the next issue.

With much gratitude,
Chris