Executive Overview In today’s business landscape, traditional change management methods—relying on inspiring visions of a stable future—are increasingly failing. Change is no longer a discrete event with a clear start and end; it has become “ungovernable.” According to Gartner, only 32% of senior leaders are able to implement change initiatives on time while maintaining employee engagement.
1. The Four Factors of Disruption The current struggle to adapt stems from the convergence of four distinct characteristics:
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Stacked: Changes occur on top of one another rather than sequentially.
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Continuous: Transformation is ongoing, offering no “plateau” for recovery or stabilization.
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Interdependent: Large-scale shifts have multiple dependencies, where a failure in one technology integration can derail the entire strategy.
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Externally Driven: Pressures arrive from all sides—politics, economics, and technology—leaving organizations with little control over the catalysts.
2. Strategies for Routinizing Change Successful leaders move away from treating change as a “special occasion” and instead integrate it into everyday operations through three core strategies:
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Communicate Change as a Journey: Instead of promoting future benefits (which skeptical employees may no longer trust), leaders create urgency by highlighting the risks of inaction. Progress is validated through consistent small wins rather than a fixed destination.
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Developing “Change Reflexes”: Instead of building short-term enthusiasm, leaders equip employees with intuitive skills applicable to any scenario. These “reflexes” include openness to new experiences, effective time management, business context sensing, and emotional regulation.
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Managing the Emotional Journey: Using psychological frameworks (like the SCARF model) allows leaders to uncover the root of employee resistance. For instance, realizing that pushback against automation is actually a fear of losing professional status allows a leader to provide targeted reassurance.
3. Empowering Collective Foresight Leading organizations go beyond executive-level scenario planning by teaching teams “context-sensing.” By researching external triggers—such as AI advancements or regulatory shifts—employees gain a proactive mindset. This enables them to independently adapt and build new workflows as changes evolve, rather than waiting for top-down guidance.
Source: https://hbr.org/2026/01/why-keeping-up-with-change-feels-harder-than-ever?ab=HP-topics-text-28