The Silent Killer of Change: Why Your Transformation Efforts Revert to Business as Usual

Note: This is part five in a series that follows-up on the original article about the five most common change questions. Common change management questions suggest several underlying patterns - both in what's happening and what's not happening in organisations. If we analyse them as symptoms rather than just surface-level inquiries, we start to see some deeper, systemic challenges in play.

Change doesn't doesn’t always fail during implementation. Typically it fails in the quiet months afterwards, when everyone has stopped watching.

Have you noticed how organisational change initiatives follow a predictable pattern? There's the initial organisation expression of excitement, the kick-off sessions, the training sessions... and then the gradual, almost imperceptible slide back to the way things were before.

It’s not just frustrating - it's expensive. The resources invested, the leadership capital spent, the organisational energy consumed - all wasted when you revert to the status quo.

The Critical Mistake: Measuring Yesterday's Behaviours While Expecting Tomorrow's Results

If your measurement systems don't change, your organisation won't either.

This is the most fundamental truth of sustainable change that organisations consistently overlook. When we implement new ways of working but continue to evaluate performance using old metrics, we create an impossible situation for employees:

• We tell them to collaborate cross-functionally, but reward individual achievement.
• We ask for innovation and risk-taking, but measure efficiency and error reduction.
• We champion customer-centricity, but incentivise adherence to internal processes .

People aren't resisting change out of stubbornness - they're responding rationally to what actually matters in their performance evaluations. When faced with a choice between adopting new behaviors that leadership talks about, versus delivering on metrics that determine their career progression, bonuses, and the like - the decision is obvious.

Five Critical Steps to Make Change Stick

1. Redesign Performance Measurement First, Not Last

Most change initiatives treat performance measurement as an afterthought - something to address once the new processes are in place. This sequencing guarantees failure.

What to do instead:

• Audit every KPI, metric, and performance indicator before implementing change
• Explicitly retire measurements that reinforce old behaviors
• Build adoption metrics into performance evaluations at all levels
• Make measurement changes visible and non-negotiable

Warning sign: If your measurement redesign feels uncomfortable and encounters resistance, you're probably on the right track. Meaningful change in metrics should create tension.

2. Make Leaders the re-Enforcers - Not Just Cheerleaders

Leadership behaviour sets the standard for what's truly expected. When your leaders verbally support change but continue focusing on legacy metrics in meetings, they're actively reinforcing that the change isn't actually a priority.

What to do instead:

• Require executives to report on new metrics in every leadership forum
• Train managers to have performance conversations centred on new behaviours
• Make leadership compensation partially dependent on change adoption
• Establish zero tolerance for executives who don't model the change themselves

3. Eliminate Systems That Enable Backsliding

The path of least resistance usually leads back to old habits, especially under pressure. Any system, tool, or process that makes it possible to work the "old way" must be addressed.

What to do instead:

• Identify and eliminate workarounds that allow people to bypass new processes (often seen as 'illicit' spreadsheets used instead of the required tools).
• Modify work-flows to make adoption the easier option, not the harder one.
• Update system interfaces to reflect new priorities and processes.
• Remove access to legacy systems where necessary and appropriate.

4. Extend Your Change Time-line - Then Double It

Organisational memory is long, and the gravity pulling toward established patterns is strong. Most change initiatives dramatically underestimate the time required for new behaviours to become automatic.

What to do instead:

• Plan for active reinforcement for at least 18-24 months.
• Schedule measurement reviews quarterly for the first two years.
• Build a "reinforcement calendar" for the implementation and adoption team with milestones well past initial implementation.
• Communicate from the start that this is a long-term commitment.

5. Build Peer Accountability Networks

Sustainable change isn't maintained through top-down pressure alone - it requires horizontal reinforcement where peers hold each other accountable.

What to do instead:

• Identify and empower change champions/influencers at all organisational levels.
• Create fora where teams can share adoption challenges and solutions.
• Publicly recognise individuals who exemplify the new behaviors.
• Implement team-based metrics that create shared accountability and peer reinforcements.

The Measurement Imperative

Of all these factors, measurement alignment remains the most critical. Without it, all other reinforcement mechanisms will eventually fail.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Does our current measurement system actively reinforce the behaviors we say we want?
• Are we measuring what's truly important, or what's merely convenient to track?
• Do our people understand exactly how they'll be evaluated differently after the change?
• Have we been bold enough in retiring old metrics that conflict with new priorities?

Final Thought: There Is No "Done" With Change

The organisations that successfully transform don't just implement change differently - they understand that transformation is evolutionary, not episodic.

The most dangerous phrase in change management isn't resistance; it's "mission accomplished." When leaders stop actively reinforcing new behaviours, they start the countdown to regression.

Remember: If you don't change what gets measured, you haven't really changed anything at all. You've just created a temporary disruption before the inevitable return to business as usual.

What measurement systems have you seen successfully changed to support transformation? Share your experiences in the comments.

Clive Gower-Collins is a New Zealand-based consultant specialising in driving productivity through strategic execution. With a proven track record in driving practical value realisation, he has extensive change experience across public-private partnerships, project and portfolio delivery, and transformation initiatives throughout New Zealand, Australia, The Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea. If you're looking to enhance productivity, strengthen strategic delivery, or address change challenges in your organisation, connect via LinkedIn to set up a discussion.