Change doesn’t happen overnight; it doesn’t just flip like a light switch. It’s more like driving a car uphill: you need the right engine, good fuel, a willing driver, and a road that doesn’t disappear under your wheels. But when the journey succeeds, you’ll reach higher ground: healthier workplaces, increased profits, and sustainable productivity.
The Car & What Powers It
Think of your organization as a car on a long journey. To make good progress:
- The Engine: The core processes, tools, and workflows you use.
- The Fuel: Employee engagement, buy-in, and energy.
- The Steering and Navigation: Leadership, strategy, culture.
- The Tires and Suspension: Adaptability, resilience, support systems.
- The Road: External environment, market, changing demands.
If any one of these is weak, the ride will be rough. If they’re in sync, the car climbs smoothly, even uphill.
This aligns with Productivity Advocates’ insight in “How Leaders Fuel Productivity”: performance isn’t driven by one component but by a well-tuned connection between leadership, culture, and engagement.
Promises vs. Reality: The Driver Who Needs His Process
Consider the story of a man hired for his expertise in a specific process. During his interview, leadership promised he could work using that process and even offered a year of training to perfect it. But once he started, they changed course—insisting their process was better and denying him the autonomy he’d been promised. He quit that same day and joined a company that trusted him to drive his own process.
This story illustrates a common mistake in change management: taking away the steering wheel after inviting someone to drive. When leadership doesn’t keep its promises or ignores employee input, trust breaks down. The engine may still run, but morale stalls—and people take their talent elsewhere.
In the Productivity Advocates article “Accountability in Productivity”, we explored this exact issue: leaders who over-control or micromanage often undermine the very trust and ownership needed to sustain change.
Frequent Plan Changes: When the Route Keeps Shifting
One school district learned this lesson the hard way. The counseling department was given a new process every three years, but before one could make its intended impact, leadership replaced it with another. The counselors stopped following the plans entirely. Why invest in a route when the GPS keeps recalculating every few miles?
In organizations, too many abrupt directional changes erode confidence. According to Harvard Business Review, nearly 70% of change initiatives fail, often because leaders change plans before employees can see results or because communication breaks down mid-journey.
As the Productivity Advocates article “Leadership Accountability” suggests, consistency is the unsung hero of change. Leaders must resist the urge to “fix” what isn’t yet fully tested. Like a long road trip, you must give the car time to reach cruising speed before taking another exit.
There’s No One “Right” Route
Many organizations believe there’s a single “best” process, one perfect route that guarantees success. But just as every car and driver is different, every organization requires a unique approach.
What works in a large corporate environment might not work for a small local business. Some teams need a clear structure; others thrive with flexibility. What matters most is adapting your vehicle to the terrain you’re on, rather than forcing everyone to drive the same model.
This idea echoes the philosophy behind Productivity Advocates‘ “Maximizing ROI on Your Greatest Investment: People.” Engagement isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula. It’s about aligning leadership, culture, and individual motivation so that everyone moves in the same direction.
Employee Involvement: More Passengers, Better Steering
Research consistently shows that employee involvement is one of the strongest predictors of successful change.
According to a 2024 study published in Sustainability, organizations that actively involve employees in shaping new procedures report significantly higher adaptability and job satisfaction.
When employees feel heard, they don’t just “go along for the ride,” they help steer. In change management, that’s crucial. If you don’t involve your people, you’ll find yourself pushing a stalled car uphill.
As Productivity Advocates emphasizes throughout our work engagement and culture, empowering employees to take part in shaping change builds momentum that no top-down initiative can replicate.
Building the Habit: A Roadmap of Change
Here are some guideposts (gears) to shift through when driving change:
| Gear | What You Do | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| First Gear (Start Slowly, Build Buy-in) | Communicate clearly why change is necessary; build urgency but not panic. Allow people to test small changes first. | Prevents resistance; builds trust. |
| Second Gear (Involve & Train Together) | Let employees help design or pilot new processes. Provide training so everyone understands not just how but why. | Increases ownership and skill. |
| Third Gear (Leadership Visibility & Speed Control) | Leaders should ride in the car, show vulnerability, listen, and adjust. Don’t accelerate change so fast that people are left looking out the window. | Prevents breakdowns; maintains morale. |
| Fourth Gear (Culture & Alignment) | Align incentives, rewards, and values. Make it socially acceptable to voice concerns. Embed psychological safety. | Makes the change stick when road conditions shift. |
| Fifth Gear (Iterate and Maintain) | Regular feedback loops; monitor what works and what doesn’t. Don’t abandon the plan because of minor bumps. Adjust course as needed. | Ensures long-term gains, avoids repeating avoidable mistakes. |
When leaders shift too quickly or skip gears, the organization jerks forward and loses momentum. Smooth transitions keep everyone in sync and maintain traction even through steep climbs.
The Leader as Driver and Mechanic
Leadership in change management is like driving while also maintaining the vehicle. You’re watching the road ahead, listening for strange noises, checking the dashboard, and occasionally pulling over to make adjustments.
Effective leaders:
- Keep communication lines open (the windshield is clear).
- Encourage feedback (check the mirrors).
- Adjust when obstacles appear (steer, don’t swerve).
- Take responsibility for navigation errors (own the map).
As Productivity Advocates’ leadership insights suggest, humility and accountability are two of the most powerful forms of traction leaders can establish. Without them, even the best strategy spins its wheels.
The Road Ahead: A Sustainable Ride
Change management is less about speed and more about endurance. When organizations honor their promises, involve their people, and commit to steady progress, they not only reach their goals but they build vehicles capable of lasting success.
The ultimate destination isn’t just a new process or policy. It’s a culture where trust, engagement, and productivity all move in the same direction, one steady mile at a time.
Final Thought
Whether you’re navigating cultural change, updating procedures, or redefining strategy, remember: a car only moves forward when every part, from the driver to the tires, works together.
True change isn’t a race to the finish; it’s a journey toward alignment, consistency, and purpose.
When leaders drive with clarity, employees contribute their horsepower, and organizations maintain their engines, the road to productivity isn’t just possible, it’s powerful.
Works Cited
Productivity Advocates. (2025). Accountability in productivity. Productivity Advocates. https://productivityadvocates.com/case-study/accountability-in-productivity/
Productivity Advocates. (2025). How leaders fuel productivity. Productivity Advocates. https://productivityadvocates.com/how-leaders-fuel-productivity/
Productivity Advocates. (2025). Are you the driver of your team, or the problem? Productivity Advocates. Are You the Driver of Your Team, Or the Problem? – Productivity Advocates
Harvard Business Review. (2025). Why do so many transformations fail? Harvard Business Review. Leading Through Continuous Change
Employee Sustainability in the SDG Era: A Systematic Review of Human and Organizational Drivers across Key Sectors
DOI: 10.3390/su16042217. https://doi.org/10.1109/EMR.2018.2866860
Divya, M., Suganthi, M. (2025). Employee sustainability in the SDG era: A systematic review of human and organizational drivers across key sectors. Sustainability, 16(4), 2217. https://doi.org/10.3390/su160(PDF) Employee Sustainability in the SDG Era: A Systematic Review of Human and Organizational Drivers across Key Sectors42217