Change management: motivated teams lead to success

Do you know who invented the smartphone? Apple and Steve Jobs? Wrong. The first smartphone was created in Finland by Nokia’s R&D department in 2004. Most of us have never even held that original touchscreen phone because Nokia never brought it to market. Two years later, Apple launched the iPhone and quickly became the global leader in mobile phones, leaving Nokia behind as an “old-fashioned” brand.

The reason for this industrial crash is simple: Nokia’s management was unwilling to change anything, its products, its internal processes, or business model. Change is often not obvious, especially when everything seems to be going well. Yet, in a company, it is crucial for long-term sustainability. This is even more true when it comes to learning how to change and support those affected by change, including employees and managers.

Mobilizing for Success

For a company to evolve, it must do so with its employees. Success only happens when all parties, management, staff, and leadership are aligned. There are proven models to guide this process, along with pitfalls to avoid, as resistance is common. So how can we effectively motivate everyone and get on board with the changes? Here are some thoughts to consider.

We often overlook the fact that Netflix has been around for 25 years, having started in 1998 as a DVD rental service. However, the rise of video-on-demand and changing consumer habits in the early 2000s prompted Netflix to pivot away from DVDs to streaming. Today, 230 million households are subscribed to Netflix worldwide. This global strategy shift was made possible through the CEO’s ability to rally the team around a clear and well-defined goal.

Successfully managing change like Netflix doesn’t happen by chance; it requires specific methods and recommended practices. Change that isn’t well-prepared is more likely to meet significant resistance from those who are impacted.

The 8 Steps of John Kotter

Have you heard of John Kotter? Although not widely known, this Harvard Business School professor is a prominent figure in the field of change management. He was one of the first to outline the steps involved in effective change management. For him, there are eight essential steps:

1. Create urgency: this involves stirring employees by presenting a trigger (such as a market study, a competitor’s product launch, or customer complaints).
2. Form a powerful coalition: find allies in the change process because you can’t do this alone. It’s wise to gather influential people within the organization, such as experts or seasoned employees.
3. Create a vision for the future: when proposing a change, offer a clear medium-term vision that conveys, “Here’s where I’m taking you.”
4. Communicate the vision: this vision must be articulated, explained, and reiterated repeatedly to refine the message and help others envision the future.
5. Encourage action and remove obstacles: It’s essential, more on this later, to engage employees in concrete initiatives and empower them.
6. Generate short-term wins: Don’t wait until the end of the change process to celebrate successes. Consider the project as a ladder where each rung signifies an achievement, what Kotter refers to as “interim goals to prevent discouragement and burnout.”
7. Consolidate gains for greater change: Success doesn’t equate to victory; the war is won through many battles. Patience is needed to ensure that changes are embedded.
8. Anchor new approaches in the corporate culture: Once changes are made, solidifying what began as temporary into a permanent state is crucial. Revise operational documents (processes, procedures, communications, etc.) accordingly.

Understanding Resistance to Change

You’re likely familiar with the phrase that encapsulates institutional inertia: “Why change when we’ve always done it this way?” This sentiment is quite telling. Change is not always self-evident; it can also be uncomfortable because it requires everyone to expend energy. When a company seeks to evolve, it often faces significant pushback from employees for various reasons, such as:

• Employees may not understand what will change or why.
• There might be fear of the unknown.
• They may feel less capable of facing upcoming changes.
• They could lack trust in the change.
• Concerns about losing comfort or benefits.
• They may feel overwhelmed by constant changes (some companies propose changes too frequently).

These resistances to change should not be underestimated as they can severely impact a company’s initiatives. Resistance can manifest as inertia (an unwillingness to participate), sabotage (actively undermining change), argumentation (questioning decisions), or rebellion (strikes, protests, resignations).

How to combat them

How can you counter these resistances and engage employees in changing? There are numerous strategies, as we’ve seen with Kotter.

In the change management process, the two most crucial words are “communication” and “information sharing.” At every stage of the change process, employees need to receive information that supports the necessity of the initiative. This communication should address:

• Why is change necessary? What’s the medium and long-term strategy?
• What does it mean concretely for employees?
• Why are they the right people to drive the change?
• Why is this change essential for the company?
• How will it be implemented, and at what pace?
• What benefits does this change offer everyone involved?
• How can employees facilitate success? What specific contributions are expected from each person?

Furthermore, a manager should:

• Exhibit enthusiasm. If they’re not engaged, how can they expect others to be?
• Analyze employee profiles to form the best possible teams.
• Identify negative elements early and isolate them if needed.
• Listen actively. In 2025, communication must be two-way and less authoritarian.
• Share relevant studies or data that enhance understanding of the change.
• Regularly touch base with employees throughout the management process.
• Acknowledge and reward those who contribute to the change.

The AKDAR Model

From an organizational perspective, certain tools have proven successful in managing change. One well-known model for effective change management is the ADKAR model, developed by Jeff Hiatt, a change management expert. Especially useful for mobilizing teams, ADKAR is an acronym for five English words:

• A: Awareness. Raise awareness among employees about the need for change.
• D: Desire. Instill a desire for change; employees should want it.
• K: Knowledge. Train employees on how to implement the change.
• A: Ability. Translate knowledge into skills for executing the change.
• R: Reinforcement. Ensure that changes are sustained by embedding new methods.

The steps outlined in the ADKAR model are sequential and should be executed in order. This model helps managers focus on what facilitates individual change while providing organizational benefits.

Who to Convince?

When a change is announced or a decision is shared, there are four possible attitudes and positions among the staff, often defined in psychological models:

• Allies: Employees aligned with the change.
• Opponents: Employees resistant to the change.
• Indecisive: Employees unsure of what they want.
• Torn: Employees who see both pros and cons in the proposed change.

Typically, you’ll find 15% allies, 15% opponents, 30% indecisive, and 30% torn.

A common mistake made by some managers is prioritizing convincing the opponents and the indecisive group first. This approach can be time-consuming and draining. A smarter strategy is to focus initially on convincing the torn individuals by highlighting the benefits they’ve themselves recognized. The “converted” torn group can then help sway some of the indecisives to follow suit.

Progress occurs in stages, but it is solid. This foundation is essential for successfully embedding change.

LEGO – A case study in effective change management

In 2000, Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, then CEO of LEGO, told his employees that “the house was burning.” The Danish company had to lay off thousands of employees, close factories, and even shut down amusement parks. Fast forward 15 years, and LEGO’s sales soared past 5 billion euros, three times the figure from just five years prior. How did this turnaround happen? Notably, LEGO maintained its core business of selling small plastic bricks while diversifying into digital entertainment (several successful films and video games based on popular franchises like Star Wars, Marvel, and Batman) and developing its own brands like Ninjago. These strategic decisions enabled LEGO to connect with new generations of children and teenagers. The miracle was also made possible by effective internal management, where Knudstorp meticulously guided his employees toward a revamped LEGO 2.0.

Engage in change management exercises

What if we could support change with physical activities? Walkme.com offers seven practical exercises to implement with employees during change management. Here’s one of them; others can be explored on their website.

Arrange chairs in a circle with an object in the center. Ask employees to sit and observe the object. After about a minute, have them get up and switch chairs, then describe the object from their new perspective. After that, allow them to get up and change seats again.

Every time employees view the object from a different angle, they have the chance to discover something new. Change management exercises that emphasize gaining a fresh perspective can help alleviate resistance and highlight the benefits of change.

Source: https://www.walkme.com/blog/7-change-management-exercises/

Statistic: 10%

Only 10% of employees can change an entire organization.

This sociological principle, observed in various domains by Malcolm Gladwell, is known as the “Tipping Point,” which says that “when individuals with unique behaviors join forces to make up 10% of a population, that behavior becomes the new norm.”

Source: Harvard Business Review