Why Your Organisation Fails at Change
Change isn’t complicated. Hard? Yes. But complicated? No. And yet, most organisations fail at it time and time again. Why? Because they’re focusing on everything except what actually matters.
They’re buried in processes. Obsessed with paperwork. Building walls instead of bridges. And worst of all, they’re terrified of doing anything that deviates from the “plan.” It’s no wonder nothing ever gets done.
If your change efforts keep failing, it’s time for a wake-up call. Here’s why you’re stuck—and what needs to change.
People Solve Problems, Not Processes
Ask anyone in your organisation what’s slowing them down, and you’ll probably get the same answer: processes. The approvals, the workflows, the endless hoops everyone has to jump through just to get basic things done.
This obsession with process over people is the root of so much dysfunction. Processes are supposed to support people—not tie their hands behind their backs. But in most organisations, processes are treated as sacred. Meanwhile, teams are left frustrated, disengaged, and unable to move forward.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: people solve problems. Not your workflows. Not your ticketing system. Not your 12-step approval chain. If your processes are getting in the way of your people, you’re failing.
You Don’t Need More Documentation—You Need Results
Organisations love paperwork. Reports, plans, presentations—they’re the corporate comfort blanket. But here’s the thing: no one cares how detailed your documents are if nothing gets delivered.
How many hours does your team spend writing business cases or building slide decks? How often do those documents actually result in something meaningful? If you’re honest, the answer is probably “rarely.”
Customers don’t care about your documentation. Stakeholders don’t care about how much you wrote about what you’re going to do. They care about whether you deliver something that works. If your team is spending more time writing about the work than doing it, you’ve got a problem.
Collaboration Is Broken
Collaboration has become a buzzword in most organisations, but it’s rarely practiced. Instead, you’ve got silos. Teams working in isolation. Leaders protecting their turf. People making decisions without involving the people who will actually have to implement them.
This is why so many change efforts fail. You can’t build something meaningful without input from the people it impacts. You can’t drive progress if everyone’s working on their own version of “important.”
Collaboration isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s the foundation for getting things done. If your teams aren’t talking, your organisation isn’t changing.
Plans Don’t Survive Reality
Here’s the thing about plans: they’re guesses. They’re best-case scenarios written at a point in time when you know the least about the problem.
And yet, most organisations treat plans like gospel. They refuse to adapt, even when it’s painfully obvious the plan isn’t working. Teams are told to “stay the course” while the ship sinks.
Plans are a starting point, not a roadmap. Change is messy, unpredictable, and constant. If your organisation can’t adapt, it doesn’t matter how great your plan looks on paper—you’ll fail anyway.
The Real Problem: Your Culture
The real reason organisations fail at change isn’t processes, documentation, silos, or plans. It’s culture.
You’ve built a culture that values activity over results, control over trust, and rigidity over adaptability. And that culture is what’s stopping you from delivering meaningful change.
If you want to succeed, you need to let go of the old ways of working. Focus on empowering people. Prioritise outcomes over outputs. Break down the silos. Embrace the chaos of change.
Because the truth is simple: if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve got.
Thanks for reading! If you’d like me to help your organisation rethink its approach to change and deliver real results, let’s connect.
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