Building Commitment to Change

I've facilitated 500+ workshops. These 5 closing techniques are the only ones that stick. Most facilitators spend hours designing the opening and the activities. Then the last 10 minutes arrive and they panic. → "Let's share a final thought." → "Any last reflections?" → "Thanks everyone, great session!" The closing is where behaviour change gets locked in or evaporates. Most facilitators treat it like an afterthought. Here are the 5 that actually work: 1. The One Commitment Round Every participant states one specific thing they'll do differently this week. Out loud. To the room. → Not: "I'll communicate better." → Instead: "I'll start every Monday standup asking my team what's blocking them before giving updates." Vague commitments die on the drive home. Specific ones survive. Public commitment creates social accountability. Say it out loud and it costs something to not follow through. 2. The Accountability Partner Every participant pairs up. They exchange commitments. They set a check-in within 14 days. Calendar invite sent before they leave. → Not: "Let's all keep each other accountable." → Instead: "You and your partner have a 15-minute call on March 31st. One question: did you do it?" Accountability without a name and a date is just a wish. 3. The Letter to Yourself Each participant writes a short message to their future self. What they committed to. Why it matters. The facilitator collects them and emails them back in 2 weeks. A delayed mirror. When the workshop energy has faded, you get a message from yourself reminding you what you promised when you were most motivated. 4. The Team Contract The group co-creates 3-5 agreements about how they'll work together. One page. Everyone signs. Photographed and shared in the team channel before they leave. → Not: "Let's agree to be more open." → Instead: "If you disagree with a decision, raise it in the meeting, not after. If you don't speak up, you've agreed." Invisible norms become a visible artefact. When someone breaks the agreement, anyone can point to it. The contract does the confrontation so individuals don't have to. 5. The Pre-Mortem Close Instead of "how was the session?" ask: "It's 30 days from now and nothing has changed. Why?" Participants write down every reason the commitments might fail. Then for each, one thing that would prevent it. → "It'll fail because I'll get pulled into daily fires." → Prevention: "I'll block 30 minutes every Friday to review my commitment." Instead of hoping for the best, you design against failure before it happens. The pattern across all 5? Every closing that sticks has three things: → A specific commitment, not a feeling → A named person responsible for follow-up → A date on the calendar Without all three, it was a nice ending to a nice day. Nothing more. ___ Save this for later (three dots, top right). Share with friends → ♻️ Repost. Get consultant-grade workshops every Sat → https://lnkd.in/eSfeUapJ

Change initiatives too often focus on getting people to follow new rules or procedures, mistaking adherence for engagement. But in the fast-paced world of finance, where decisions drive millions (and billions) of dollars, leaders know the real lever for transformation lies beyond compliance—it’s about commitment. Here’s why: 🔹 Compliance is Surface-Level - When a team merely complies, they’re checking boxes without truly understanding or internalizing the why. Compliance may produce short-term shifts, but it doesn’t create the dynamic, agile teams that respond to market shifts intuitively and confidently. For finance organizations, this isn’t just a limitation; it’s a risk. 🔹 Commitment Unlocks Initiative - A committed team isn’t simply following orders; they’re anticipating needs, identifying opportunities, and taking ownership to ensure change isn’t a point-in-time effort but an evolving, lasting shift. In a project with a finance organization, we saw this firsthand. By decentralizing their FP&A function to improve efficiency, we empowered individual teams to shape their specific skills paths, aligning their professional growth with organizational goals. This strategic shift did more than streamline operations—it sparked a sense of ownership and investment, as team members weren’t just executing a new structure; they were co-architects of their future in the company. 🔹 Leaders as Storytellers - When finance leaders focus on the ‘why’ behind each strategic shift, helping their team see themselves in the vision, the result is a shared purpose. And shared purpose? That’s the bedrock of commitment. For one client, reframing a compliance-heavy regulatory change as an opportunity to lead by example in their sector transformed the narrative. Their people weren’t just “complying”—they were championing a cause. 🔹 The ROI of Buy-In - It’s tempting to prioritize compliance to meet deadlines and metrics, but in my experience, this leaves value on the table. Committed employees stick around, drive innovation, and advocate for the brand in ways no compliance handbook could script. They’re the differentiators that competitors notice. When employees are empowered to embrace change, they make it their own—and that’s when transformation sticks. In the world of finance, where the stakes are high, a commitment-led approach isn’t just better for morale; it’s a competitive advantage. Is your organization fostering commitment—or just expecting compliance? #ChangeManagement #Leadership #FinanceTransformation #CFOInsights #Skills #TalentManagement #Strategy

If training isn’t enough… what DOES create readiness? Simple: People don’t adopt change because you told them. They adopt because they’re prepared, supported, and bought in. Here’s what that actually requires 👇 ✅ 1) Truth — not PR Tell people what’s changing, why it matters, and what happens if you don’t change. No glitter. No corporate fog. ✅ 2) Leadership alignment If leaders aren’t modeling the new behaviors, no one else will either. Period. ✅ 3) Role-level clarity “What does this mean for me?” If you can’t answer that, they can’t execute. ✅ 4) Ownership Everyone needs to know: • what they’re accountable for • how success is measured • how progress is tracked Ownership beats awareness. ✅ 5) Space to learn + practice Training ≠ mastery. People need reps, coaching, and support as they try the new way — not just a slide deck and a recording. ✅ 6) Reinforcement If behavior change isn’t rewarded, it disappears. ✅ 7) Trust People don’t follow strategy they don’t trust. Trust is the currency. Readiness is the return. When these 7 show up? Change sticks. Resistance drops. Performance climbs. The investment pays off. Because readiness isn’t a feeling. And it’s not a memo. It’s a measurable state of alignment + capability + belief. You can build it. You can track it. You can improve it. So yes — train your people. But don’t mistake information for transformation. 👉 What would you add to this list? #changereadiness #leadership #transformation #organizationalchange

It is ten years since my first book 📚 'Sustaining Change in Organizations' was published by Sage. So in celebration of so many years writing about change here in no particular order are ten practical things to consider when implementing change: ✅ Engage stakeholders. Engaging stakeholder in change means shifting the power and agency of change from employer to employee. ✅ Ask people for their views, ideas, hopes and fears about change. The process of planned change will be much smoother if people are engaged early with it and are asked for input on issues that will affect their work. ✅ Focus on what will not change. Build in sources of stability by identifying and articulating which elements of the status quo will remain the same because people need to know what wil remain stable and not change as well as what will change. ✅ Power and politics affect all transformations. Map the political landscape of who will be affected, who can impact and who can influence the change and devise an action plan for engaging these different stakeholders. ✅ Change is an emotional process. Recognize and acknowledge the complexity of emotions that arise with a major change. ✅ Conversations are the engines of business transformations. Engage in and encourage dialogue throughout a change process. ✅ Failure is a necessary part of change. Recognize the learning from failure and share lessons learnt. ✅ Make change meaningful. For change to stick it has to be made personal by aligning it to what is of value to key stakeholders and highlighting what it means for them. ✅ Reduce the negative impact of change on wellbeing and mental health. Build wellbeing initatives into business transformations from the start and assess them: how many individuals are actively involved in them; what impact are the initiatives having; and are people applying the tools/techniques and sticking to them. ✅ Build a culture that embraces people-centric change. Process is important but people are more important when it comes to organizational change - put them at the heart of any transformation. Give them space to voice their concerns, fears, hopes and ideas. Listen and acknowledge their voices. #peoplecentricchange #leadingchange #managingchange

Nothing fools a change team faster than a wave of tactical questions that sound like buy-in: “How do I get started?” “When does training take place?” Many change managers — especially those practicing ADKAR — seem tempted to do a little victory dance when people ask “how” or “when” questions, but no “why” questions. They joyfully conclude: “Great, these are knowledge and ability questions, so they’re clearly on board and almost ready!” That’s a flawed conclusion for several reasons: ☝️ First, it rests on the incorrect assumption that change is a neat, linear journey through boxes: first awareness, then desire, then knowledge. In reality, people might ask “how” questions to assess if the change was properly thought through. They might be figuring out whether to get behind it, or to quietly brace themselves for trouble ahead. ☝️ Second, it ignores basic human and social dynamics. In most organizations, it’s simply not wise to openly question decisions. People fear being seen as difficult, negative, or not a team player. And in many cultures — national and organizational —, it’s not right to challenge direction. So instead of asking “why are we doing this?”, employees ask about dates, steps, and processes. Underneath, they may still doubt whether this change is needed at all. ☝️ Third, people often seek detail to regain psychological safety. The more they understand the mechanics, the more control they feel. But that’s about reducing personal anxiety, not a sign of commitment. ☝️ Finally, many people genuinely want to be supportive and explore ways to make things work. At best, that shows a willingness to stay open, but that’s not the same as truly desiring the change. So, how do we get a more reliable sense of where people stand? Here are some ideas: 💡 Compare feedback across different channels Anonymous surveys often reveal thoughts and concerns that people would never voice in a live setting. In large Q&A sessions, they’ll stick to safe tactical questions. In focus groups, guarded curiosity sometimes breaks into frank honesty. If themes shift dramatically depending on format, that alone tells you people don’t feel comfortable being fully candid. 💡 Use tools like a “wall of concerns” Whether it’s a physical board with sticky notes at a workshop or an online anonymous board, ask people to post their biggest questions or worries. This normalizes voicing doubts. Once the notes pile up, look for themes. If the same themes surface over and over, that shows where credibility or clarity may still be lacking. 💡 Watch how people ask A question wrapped in disclaimers like “just wondering…” or in nervous jokes often hides deeper unease. A polite nod followed by silence can say more than a dozen spoken words. If we want to know where people truly stand, we have to go about it thoughtfully — and stop mistaking various things for commitment. #changemanagement #organizationalchange

Too often, I see organizations treat change management like a box to check. A big announcement, a training session, and then done. But real change doesn’t work that way. True transformation requires: – Ongoing assessment – Adaptation – Reinforcement Without continuous effort, old habits creep back in, resistance builds, and the change fades. Here’s what effective change management looks like: ✅ 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 → People need clarity, not just at the start but throughout the process. ✅ 𝐎𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 → Training once isn’t enough. Reinforcement helps teams adapt and sustain new behaviors. ✅ 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐬 → Success isn’t set in stone. Organizations must listen, measure progress, and adjust as needed. ✅ 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 → Real change becomes part of how a company operates, not just a project with an end date. If you want change to last, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭. The best organizations don’t just manage change. They embrace it as a way of working.

“They’re being difficult. They just don’t want to change.” Sound familiar? Let’s talk about what might really be going on: change fatigue, not resistance. And if that's the case, your org might be out of shape. Change fatigue isn’t resistance. It’s a warning sign. And it’s time we treated it like one. I recently hosted a session for our internal Change Management Community of Practice. When I introduced the idea of Change Fitness, most hadn’t heard the term, but instantly recognized its cousin: change fatigue. Change Fitness = an organization’s ability to sustain and absorb transformation over time. It’s not about the volume of change—it’s about the impact. Fatigue shows up as disengagement, silence, missed milestones, and cynicism. According to Prosci, change saturation happens when the disruption exceeds your organization’s capacity to absorb it. Imagine a bucket: The size = your change capacity The water = disruption When it spills = it burnout So what’s filling your org’s bucket? • Too many projects, not enough alignment • Communications that confuse instead of clarify • Leaders pushing isolated changes without visibility (or care) into other efforts • No structured CM plan—causing more chaos than calm Here’s what I often see: Leaders label fatigue as “resistance” and double down on “driving adoption” (usually more emails 🙃). But what’s really needed? Relief. Clarity. Focus. That’s where Change Fitness comes in. Just like physical fitness helps us meet physical demands, Change Fitness allows organizations and individuals to meet the demands of ongoing transformation. Instead of asking: “How do we drive adoption?” Try asking: 🔺 “Did we demonstrate the benefits of the last change?” 🔺“Have we responded to what’s draining our teams?” 🔺“Are we reducing friction—or adding more effort?” If you’ve built that trust, reinforced those muscles, and practiced good CM habits, your org will be more fit than most. Ways to build Change Fitness: • Use Prosci’s Change Saturation Assessment • Audit comms to simplify (less jargon, more showing) • Map your change portfolio to catch collision points • Equip managers as coaches, —not just messengers Because fatigue has a voice, it just speaks quietly...until it runs out of steam. Have you seen fatigue misread as pushback?

Prosci Research: Top tactics for positioning change capability as mission-critical with executives Our research on the "Elevating Executive Engagement" report explored sponsorship from a number of angles - what they do well, where they struggle, and how practitioners can best support them. One finding in particular relates to positioning the strategic value of building change muscle. The volume, velocity and variety of change have accelerated. AI adoption alone is forcing organizations to rethink workflows, roles and decision rights. Layer on ERP modernizations, operating model shifts, regulatory pressures, workforce transitions and digital transformation, and it becomes clear that change is now structural. Given this pace, it seemed fitting to share the advice gleaned from research with real practitioners about how to engage senior leaders in the critical journey of building change capability. Here is what they said: First, practitioners who explicitly link change capability to strategy see the strongest executive engagement. When change management is framed as enabling the mission, accelerating strategic priorities, and protecting the organization’s vision during rapid transformation, it shifts the conversation from rollout support to strategy execution infrastructure. Second, an equal proportion (15%) emphasized demonstrating return on investment. Executives are accountable for financial performance, time-to-value and risk mitigation. When practitioners quantify the cost of resistance, the financial lift of effective adoption, or the bottom-line impact of building change maturity, the discussion becomes grounded in business realities rather than methodology. Third, 14% highlighted educating leadership. Many executives have never been formally taught how to sponsor change at scale. When practitioners provide focused education, it builds shared language and clarity, which often precedes stronger ownership. Fourth, measurement and reporting, cited by 11%, emerged as critical. Executives respond to metrics that align with strategic objectives. Tracking adoption, proficiency and business outcomes tied to change makes the capability and it's contributions visible.  Fifth, practitioners pointed to the power of success stories. Real examples of initiatives that achieved stronger results because change management was embedded create proof inside the system. Stories help leaders see the practical impact across functions and projects. Sixth, building internal capability was cited as essential - such as embedding change behaviors into leadership expectations and creating structured learning pathways. When change management is institutionalized, it no longer competes for attention with each new initiative. It becomes part of how the organization operates. How are you making change capability a mission-critical move for your executives? 

One of the smartest articles I’ve read recently reframed something I see every single day. Change doesn’t fail because of bad ideas. It fails in the space between what’s visible from the outside and what’s lived on the inside. In her recent Fortune piece, my friend Louisa Loran names the real friction points most transformations ignore: capacity constraints, legacy commitments, invisible incentives, and the quiet promises leaders are already carrying. Reading it, I found myself nodding — not just as a former CMO, but as someone who now works with people after they leave the system. Because here’s what I see on the human side of that same gap: People don’t resist change because they lack vision. They resist because their identity is still organized around survival inside the system. They’ve learned how to: Be reliable under pressure Carry unspoken responsibility Protect stability — even at the cost of aliveness That’s true inside organizations. And it’s just as true when individuals try to step into their next chapter. Real transformation — personal or organizational — doesn’t start with adding more ideas. It starts with making the invisible visible: the commitments, identities, incentives, and fears that quietly run the show. If you care about change that actually sticks, this article is well worth your time. 👏 to Louisa for putting language to something most people feel but can’t quite name.

The truth is that lasting personal change isn’t about willpower. It’s about design. The same way product managers build successful products, you can build successful habits and transformations. Here’s how I've applied PM thinking to my life: → Know Your User (You) Be brutally honest about your patterns, motivations, and constraints. Identify your pain points, energy peaks, and past failure traps. → Start with a Life MVP Don’t try to overhaul everything at once. Launch your “minimum viable habit.” Make it small, rewarding, and stackable. → Build a Roadmap Sequence your changes like product features. Start with keystone habits, manage your energy, and add layers only when you’re ready. → Track the Right Metrics Focus on leading indicators like consistency streaks, recovery after setbacks, and environment setup. Dont just focus on end results like weight loss or job promotions. → Run Retrospectives Check in weekly or monthly. What’s working? What feels hard? What needs tweaking? Treat setbacks as feedback, not failure. → Design for User Experience Reduce friction. Set up cues, make rewards immediate, and remove barriers. Don’t just “rely on motivation”, engineer your environment to help you win. → Avoid Feature Creep Don’t pile on too many goals at once. Go deep on one area, master it, and then expand. → Build Your Change Team Accountability partners, mentors, cheerleaders. Ensure you surround yourself with the right people who reinforce your success. 📍Your life is your product. Your habits are the architecture. Your daily choices are your feature releases. And just like any great product, #success comes from #continuousimprovement and not perfection. ⁉️What are your additional thoughts on this?? ♻️Share with your network. Follow 👉 Benjamina Mbah Acha for insights that help you plan, execute, and deliver projects with confidence.