CHANGE MANAGEMENT TOOLKIT
Circling the Pyramid
Building Lasting Commitment to Change
Circling the Pyramid
In any change initiative, the overarching
objective is to drive the lasting adoption of new
behaviors and attitudes within the organization.
The challenge can be framed through a series of
questions: What is the best strategy to build
commitment to the change? How do you
monitor the level of allegiance? What is the
difference between mere compliance and full
internalization? We have developed a model to
help address these issues. Although simple in its
form and application, it has proven effective in a
multitude of change situations.
The Pyramid of Change
Commitment
As illustrated in Figure 1, the core of the model
is a pyramid projected from above. The corners
at the base of the structure correspond to specific
states of mind among the people in the
organization:
1. Persuaded: when people understand and
agree with the rationale for the change;
when they come to realize the status quo
cannot be sustained.
2. Excited: when the change truly resonates
with the interests, values and beliefs of the
people in the organization.
3. Confident: when people have confidence in
the ability of the organization to navigate the
change journey; when they believe the
leadership has the resolve to see the change
through.
4. Able: when people feel they possess the
skills required to display the new behaviors
and succeed in the new environment.
The tip of the pyramid represents the end-point,
i.e. when people adopt fresh attitudes and
behaviors.
Circling the Pyramid
The four states of mind constitute the critical
ingredients to producing lasting commitment to
change. To illustrate why, let’s consider a few
examples.
A service organization decided to redesign its
core business processes. The objectives were to
increase efficiencies, improve customer service
and capitalize on new strategic opportunities.
The corporate leaders did an outstanding job
articulating the case for the change, thus
persuading the leadership teams in the various
business units. Because the company had a very
strong customer-service culture, the initiative
resonated with everyone’s beliefs and a general
sense of excitement quickly developed. Nevertheless,
resistance surfaced shortly after the
transition plans were communicated. The
general managers of the business units were
leading the rebellion. They had come to realize a
significant portion of the implementation costs
would affect their profit & loss for the current
year. It was bad news for their bonus. Their
initial excitement quickly collapsed, replaced
with anger and resentment.
In a professional services firm, line
management and the finance department
had been complaining for years about the
accounting software. When the company
finally decided to replace the technology,
the finance group welcomed the news with
genuine excitement. It was a case of
preaching to the convinced (persuaded).
They had confidence in the technical
abilities of their I.T. colleagues. Yet, the
rollout of the project didn’t go smoothly.
