Prioritizing Behavioral Enablement Over Executive Enthusiasm in Transformations

Most organizational transformations fail not because the strategy is flawed, but because leaders treat behavioral change as an afterthought. By ignoring the how of change, such as the specific, daily actions required of employees, executives create a hidden gap between their own enthusiasm and the reality on the ground. This post maps why this disconnect happens, how it compounds over time, and why shifting your focus from getting people excited to enabling behavior creates a lasting competitive advantage. For leaders, this requires moving away from top-down mandates toward a rigorous, evidence-based approach to adoption. If you are currently leading a change initiative, this analysis provides the framework to stop wasting human potential and start building a transformation that sticks.

The hidden cost of shut up and change

In this conversation, Julia Dhar, managing director at BCG, points to a systemic failure: 70 percent of organizational transformations fall short of their goals. While executives often blame change resistance, Dhar’s research suggests a more structural issue. Leaders are consistently more optimistic about change than employees. When executives dismiss this gap as a lack of employee enthusiasm, they fall into the trap of shut up and change, which is the belief that if you push hard enough, the organization will eventually align.

This is a failure of systems thinking. Leaders often view the how of change as unglamorous work to be delegated downward. However, when the how is not addressed early, the system responds with friction. Employees are not necessarily resisting the concept of change; they are reacting to a lack of clarity, incentives, or capability.

The emotions that employees feel during a transformation may not be your fault but they are your problem because they affect your chances of success.

-- Philip Jameson (as quoted by Julia Dhar)

When leaders ignore these emotional signals, they do not just lose momentum; they create a culture of curious anxiety. Over time, this compounds. What starts as a simple lack of clarity becomes a pervasive sense that the leadership team is disconnected from the reality of the work.

The IKEA effect and the power of co-creation

A common, non-obvious dynamic in organizational change is the IKEA effect. Research shows that people disproportionately value things they helped build. When executives design a transformation in a vacuum and then present it as a finished product, they are essentially asking employees to adopt a foreign agenda.

By involving employees in the design phase, such as letting them name the project or determine the sequence of rollout, leaders move the initiative from being the CEO agenda to a shared objective. This is not about democracy or consensus; it is about leveraging human psychology to build a moat around your project. People do not sabotage what they helped build.

People who have had a hand in creating something disproportionately value it. That is the important takeaway for executives.

-- Julia Dhar

This creates a second-order advantage: when employees are co-creators, they become the stewards of the change. This reduces the burden on leadership to constantly sell the vision, as the system begins to self-regulate and maintain momentum on its own.

The trap of executive boredom

One of the most dangerous, yet overlooked, factors in transformation failure is the shifting attention of the leadership team. Dhar notes that what often looks like change fatigue or employee burnout is frequently just executives losing interest and moving on to the next priority.

When leaders stop showing up to the drumbeat meetings or fail to celebrate early, humble wins, they signal to the organization that the change is no longer a priority. This creates a feedback loop: employees notice the lack of attention, stop prioritizing the new behaviors, and the transformation stalls. The boredom of the executive team becomes the ceiling for the entire organization performance.

Key action items

• Test for true agreement (Immediate): Have your core leadership team individually write down the what and the how of the change. If you do not get consistent answers, you do not have a strategy; you have a collection of differing opinions.
• Audit your take-up plan (Immediate): Map exactly which roles need to change, what specific behaviors are required, and why it is likely they will be able and willing to do so. If you cannot explain the why, your business case is built on hope, not reality.
• Institutionalize velvet practices (12-18 Months): Implement regular, structured opportunities for senior leaders to listen to frontline employees. This is not just for morale; it is a feedback loop that uncovers operational blockers before they sink the strategy.
• Design for momentum (Ongoing): Plan for early wins and be prepared to talk about them longer than you think is necessary. These wins serve as evidence that change is possible, which is the most effective antidote to anxiety.
• Shift from excitement to competence (3-6 Months): Stop trying to make everyone excited about change. Focus on giving them the experience of acquired competence. Success is the best motivator.
• Protect the rituals (Ongoing): If you find yourself skipping the drumbeat meetings for the transformation, you are actively devaluing the project. If you cannot commit to the cadence, the organization will not either.