Driving Sustainable People-Centric Organizational Change

Listen to this article:

Abstract: This article presents a people-centered framework for leading sustainable organizational change, arguing that while strategic plans may initiate change, successful transformation ultimately depends on addressing the human dimensions of change by drawing on literature from scholars like Kotter and Bridges discussing how change impacts individuals psychologically and the importance of guiding people through transitional phases. It outlines a five-phase model developed from their professional experience consulting with organizations undergoing change including Assess and Prepare, Align and Inform, Empower and Engage, Guide and Support, and Revise and Refine, demonstrated through case studies from a technology startup and municipal government applying this framework to drive culture change and service delivery innovation, and how key aspects that enabled sustainable results included participatory visioning, cross-functional collaboration, compassionate coaching, and iterative refinement. This people-first approach helps overcome resistance by empowering stakeholders and supporting them through psychological transitions while sustaining momentum long-term demands persistent human-centric leadership and viewing change as a continuous journey.

As any organizational consultant worth their salt knows, effecting meaningful and sustainable change within companies is no easy feat. Employees can be resistant, management uncertain, and the status quo an ever-powerful force resisting progress. However, through research and decades of professional experience helping organizations transform, I have learned that people must be at the center of any successful change initiative. By focusing first on understanding the human dimensions of change and empowering employees throughout the process, leaders can overcome resistance and drive the types of deep-seated changes needed to thrive in today's dynamic business climate.

Today we will explore a research-backed framework for guiding people-centric organizational change. By applying this people-first lens and empowering attitude, leaders of any organization can affect sustainable transformations that thrive long after initial plans conclude.

The Overlooked Human Dimension of Organizational Change

While strategic plans and revised structures may initiate change, it is people who must implement and sustain it over the long run. Unfortunately, as experts like John Kotter have pointed out, the human aspect of transformation is often overlooked or only superficially addressed in change management efforts (Kotter, 1996). Employees experience very real anxieties related to job security, new skills required, loss of familiar routines, and more (Bridges, 2003). If not properly addressed, this resistance can derail even the most well-conceived of transformations.

William Bridges' transition model is helpful for understanding the psychological hurdles individuals face during times of change (Bridges, 2003). He outlines three distinct phases - Ending, Neutral Zone, New Beginning - that people naturally progress through as they internalize and adapt to alterations in their environments. The "Ending" involves letting go of old routines and identities tied to past ways of working. The chaotic "Neutral Zone" ensues as people try balancing old and new ways of working simultaneously. The final "New Beginning" signals internalizing and embracing new routines.

Appreciating these human transition phases is key, as they underscore why change elicits very real emotional reactions that must be navigated. Simply communicating a new strategic plan does not equate to acceptance or readiness to adopt new ways of working. Leaders must thoughtfully guide their people through the entire psychological experience of transformation to achieve sustainable results.

A Framework for People-Centric Organizational Change

In recognizing these human dimensions, over my consulting career I have developed and refined a framework to help leaders drive organizational change in a compassionate, sustainable manner. At its core, this model places people and culture front-and-center from start to finish, with five distinct yet iterative phases:

1. Assess and Prepare: Conducting honest assessments of organizational culture and employee sentiment to prepare for challenges ahead.

2. Align and Inform: Clearly communicating the "why" behind change, aligning stakeholders, and cascading information transparently.

3. Empower and Engage: Actively involving stakeholders in decision making, maximizing ownership and commitment.

4. Guide and Support: Navigating transitions compassionately through guidance, resources, and psychological support.

5. Revise and Refine: Iteratively improving on change through feedback, revisions where needed, and capturing lessons learned.

Let's examine each stage more closely:

1. Assess and Prepare: Before launching change initiatives, leaders must conduct honest assessments of their organizational culture and gauge employee sentiment. Surveying staff to understand anxieties, feedback on past efforts, desired leadership approaches and more is crucial. Additionally, auditing past change efforts reveals blockers to address proactively. This preparation helps tailor communication strategies and change management efforts to the unique cultural realities of that organization.

2. Align and Inform: With insights gathered, leaders must clearly articulate a compelling vision and case for change that inspires. Two-way engagement across all levels ensures transparency and that stakeholders understand their role. Regular "why" and "how" updates help maintain alignment and commitment as plans evolve. Structured forums provide avenues for input shaping transitional initiatives.

3. Empower and Engage: Stakeholders must be actively involved in shaping change, not just recipients of top-down edicts. Forming cross-functional teams to cocreate solutions fosters ownership over outcomes. Structured engagement from planning through implementation helps maintain involvement, spread new ideas organically, and galvanize grassroots support networks.

4. Guide and Support: As individuals progress through the natural uncertainty and loss associated with change, compassionate guidance and tailored support become paramount. Leaders address concerns transparently, provide resources to manage transitions, and normalize natural reactions. Coaching and development opportunities aid reskilling and embracing evolving roles.

5. Revise and Refine: No change plan will be flawless from inception. Continuous feedback loops and revisions based on learnings help improvement. Capturing lessons from pilots, early adopters and stumbles prevents repeating mistakes. This iterative refinement informed by frontline realities sustains momentum long-term.

This five-phase model forms the backbone of my consultancy approach and has proven highly effective across diverse organizational contexts, as the following examples will illustrate. By placing human factors front and center in a spirit of compassion and empowerment, leaders can overcome resistance and uncertainties to drive truly transformative changes.

People-Centric Change in Action

To demonstrate this framework's real-world impact, I will now explore two cases where I helped guide major transformations: a technology startup undergoing high-growth and a municipal government innovating service delivery.

Tech Startup Scales Culture Through Growth

A fast-growing SaaS startup approached me as it expanded from 50 to 500 employees in just two years. Stakeholders felt culture and engagement slipping as processes struggled to keep pace. In the first "Assess and Prepare" phase, I gathered feedback revealing anxieties around evolving roles and priorities. Teams reported siloed work lacking cohesion or understanding of others' contributions to the whole.

To address this, we engaged all levels in collaborative "Align and Inform" visioning. Employees cocreated mission and value statements aligning rapidly evolving work under a shared purpose. Transparent communication norms and forums helped spread updates organically. In the "Empower and Engage" stage, teams applied design thinking to map interdependencies and opportunities for cross-pollination. Out of this emerged an agile structure with rotational "Temp Teams" tackling cross-cutting challenges.

As new ways of working took hold, I provided one-on-one "Guide and Support" coaching to help with the psychological transitions. Managers received training to normalize uncertainty and resistance to change as natural reactions. Monthly "Revision and Refinement" forums captured progress, pain points and additional needs to further refine the evolving culture.

Two years later, the startup continues scaling rapidly with highly engaged employees embracing flexibility, autonomy and continual improvement. Cross-functional collaboration yields innovative solutions, while rotational teams prevent silos from resurging. By centering change on understanding people's perspectives and empowering grassroots participation, culture scaled harmoniously alongside exponential growth.

City Government Streamlines Service Delivery

A mid-sized municipality also underwent a major transformation centered on modernizing services for residents. Local officials embarked on a strategic planning process to assess current service models and citizen needs in the "Assess and Prepare" stage. Insights from public surveys, focus groups and department head interviews exposed siloed "fiefdoms" producing duplicative and inefficient processes.

To kick off the "Align and Inform" phase, we helped shape a compelling vision of "One City, Seamless Service" through community ideation sessions. Regular town halls and digital updates maintained transparency as plans evolved over 18 months. Online forums posed challenges for cross-departmental "Temp Teams" to address in the "Empower and Engage" stage. This prompted organic collaboration, while solution "prototyping" built grassroots support.

As unified service "pods" emerged from the teams, I facilitated "Guide and Support" sessions to ease employees through transitions. Managers learned to recognize and address anxiety through the psychological “Ending, Neutral Zone, New Beginning” phases. Automation of common functions reduced redundancy within pods. Ongoing "Revision and Refine" gathered feedback through digital surveying of residents and municipal staff.

Now four years later, customer satisfaction has increased 15% with streamlined access to coordinated services. Employees report higher engagement and purpose in citizen-centric roles versus past siloed functions. By catalyzing grassroots participation and guiding transitions compassionately, public servants seamlessly deliver coordinated experiences meeting evolving community needs.

Sustaining the Journey of Continuous Improvement

As these examples illustrate, placing people and culture at the core enables leaders to achieve transformations that powerfully impact strategic, operational and human outcomes. However, the job is never truly done - change becomes a dynamic, continual journey of adaptation requiring ongoing nurturing and refinement. Sustaining momentum over the long run demands both persistence in the guiding framework and leaders who authentically model this people-first mindset.

Looking back, the most impactful organizational transformations I’ve witnessed all shared certain traits: compassionate leadership maintaining regular human touchpoints; iterative not “big bang” change allowing organic adaptations; and grassroots participation empowering people to shape evolving work in a spirit of ownership and purpose. By keeping the lens focused on understanding people’s realities, anxieties and aspirations throughout, even the most radical of changes can take root as sustainable, energizing cultural shifts that thrive for years to come. In an ever-more volatile business environment, this people-centric approach forms the most promising path forward for any brave organization wishing to continuously reinvent itself.

Conclusion

While strategic initiatives may prompt transformation, it is people who sustain change through their determination and spirit of progress. As any consultant knows, the human experience of change involves very real psychological hurdles that leaders must thoughtfully address. By placing understanding employee perspectives and empowering grassroots participation front and center, it becomes possible to surmount inevitable uncertainties and resistance. The five-phased framework discussed provides a compass for any leader wishing to guide their people through transitional waters in a way that inspires commitment, agency and energy for continual improvement long into the future. While challenging, a people-first lens forms the surest route towards affecting deep-seated, evolutionary shifts empowering any organization to thrive amidst today’s dynamic business climate.

References

1. Bridges, W. (2003). Managing transitions: Making the most of change (3rd ed.). Da Capo Press.

2. Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press.

---

Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Associate Dean and Director of HR Programs (WGU); Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD/HR/Leadership Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.

---

Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2025). Driving Sustainable People-Centric Organizational Change. Human Capital Leadership Review, 24(3). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.24.3.4