How to make change work in large organizations

In large organizations, an average of 70 to 85 per cent of all change initiatives fail. According to our many years of experience, this is particularly due to a lack of social and emotional aspects like insufficient empathy and motivation skills of executives (in addition to other reasons why transformations fail). We recently had the opportunity to present our ideas on how to make change work in large organizations to the Lean Excellence department of Deutsche Bahn, with over 200,000 employees in Germany alone. We talked in particular about the need for executives to be aware of their employees’ anti-change DNA and the change curve they are going through. They should also uncouple multidimensional changes and critically review their political behaviour. We will address these in more detail in this blog post.

1. Consider the anti-change DNA

To answer the question of how to make change work in large organisations, one should first be aware of the human anti-change DNA. That’s because people react to change in certain ways: fear, resistance, scepticism and concern are common reactions to the uncertainty that change brings. Unfortunately, many managers fail to address these reactions.

Instead, they rely too heavily on top-down communication and assume that employees will follow instructions without asking questions. However, change requires emotional buy-in, not just intellectual understanding. Therefore, leaders should take a more empathetic and inclusive approach. This means:

• Acknowledge emotions: Fears and resistance are hardwired into our DNA.
• Provide clarity: Uncertainty can create anxiety, so transparent communication about the what, why, and how of the change is crucial.
• Involve employees: By involving team members in the change process, managers can draw on their insights and foster ownership.

If managers ignore the human side of change, they risk alienating the very people who are critical to success.

2. Avoid change fatigue and hyper complexity

Another important reason for the failure of change initiatives is change fatigue. In large organisations, it is not uncommon for employees to face multiple change projects at the same time, each requiring time, energy and focus. According to Gartner Research, the average employee has experienced ten changes in 2022 – such as a restructuring, a cultural change or a new IT system.

This flood of change can overwhelm employees and lead to burnout, disinterest and reduced productivity. Employees usually go through the psychological ‘change curve’ with its phases of shock, denial, fear, anger, grief and acceptance for each change. If too many changes are introduced at the same time, it is difficult for individuals to go through these phases effectively. They get stuck in frustration or denial.

Managers can mitigate change fatigue by

• Prioritising initiatives: Focus on the most important projects and postpone or consolidate less urgent changes.
• Pace of change: Give employees time to adjust and recover before introducing new initiatives.
• Support during transitions: Provide training, resources and emotional support to help employees navigate the change curve.

Recognising the limits of the human capacity for change is essential to maintaining momentum and achieving meaningful results.

3. Empower functional leadership teams

What can also contribute to make change work in large organizations is a cultural and mindset shift in the political behaviour of managers. From our many years of consulting experience, we know that this toxic behaviour includes

• internal conflicts over roles and responsibilities,
• managers playing to the gallery,
• hiding information to protect their own interests,
• spinning intrigues and forming alliances for personal benefit and
• a poor failure culture.

Such behaviour contradicts all the principles of a functional team. Mutual trust and psychological safety can only flourish in a culture that puts leadership under the principle of ‘checking is fine, but trust is best’.

A lack of psychological safety – when employees are afraid to express their opinions or take risks – exacerbates these problems. When teams operate in a culture of fear and mistrust, collaboration suffers, innovation comes to a halt, and the organisation has difficulty implementing meaningful change.

To combat these destructive behaviours and to make change work in large organizations, they must:

• Promote transparency: Encourage open communication, give and ask for feedback, and ensure that all stakeholders have access to the information they need.
• Hold leaders accountable: Set clear expectations for how leaders behave and address misconduct quickly in order to promote learning and improvement.
• Build a culture of trust: Foster psychological safety by valuing diverse perspectives, rewarding collaboration, and avoiding blame.

4. Pay heed to these 3 additional rules

Create a change vision: Every change initiative or transformation needs a vision. These pictures of the future should be emotional. That’s why they are part of the social and emotional aspects of any transformation. Change visions contain a fervent desire. Admittedly, they are quite unspecific. But they point the participants in a clear direction. Just remember John F. Kennedy’s “We choose to go to the Moon” speech.

Relieve the middle management: Every organization relies on its managers to make change work in a large organization. It’s the managers who communicate with their teams about the transformation or change initiative(s) and involve them actively – additionally to their already demanding everyday business. This requires tailored and quickly to understand materials for the managers.

Start change management in time: Far too often, internal or external (like viadoo) driven change management gets on stage months or even years (sic) after a change has been launched. Unfortunately, in meantime many employees had either left the company or had thrown their confidence and loyalty in the wind. So when it finally comes to manage change the most urgent job is to restore trust between executives and employees. This takes a lot of time and delays the transformation of being effective. And it leads inevitably to additional internal conflicts.

A holistic approach to change management

The failure of change projects in large organisations is rarely due to poor strategy or a lack of resources. More often, the causes lie in how change is managed – or mismanaged – on a human level. By addressing typical reactions to change with empathy, reducing change fatigue and containing destructive political behaviour, organisations can create fertile ground for successful transformation.

For leaders, this means going beyond technical plans and focusing on the people who make change happen. When employees feel heard, supported, and safe, they are much more likely to embrace change and contribute to its success. In today’s fast-paced world, this holistic approach to change management is not just beneficial, it’s essential.

By the way: How did members of the Lean Excellence team of Deutsche Bahn respond to our input?

“One of the most valuable events I’ve been to so far, very well-founded, great comprehensibility, great practical relevance. Thank you very much!!!”

“Really great talk. Thank you very much.” “Thanks for the examples. They make it more tangible! :-)”