To deliver on transformation organizational changes that a company is going through, they must have people engagement at all levels of the organization. In many cases, there’s much talk about making people and change the top priority. Then reality kicks in, and the topic of change is no longer a priority or somehow feels less relevant. After all, management must deliver on the transformed business through execution of the initiative to align with the strategies, ensuring high level of confidence, support for transparency across milestones and outcomes. Rigorous methodologies, tools and testing of the programs and projects must be conducted to have a forward-looking view providing early awareness of emerging issues across the entire scope of the initiative. Clear governance must be incorporated with roles, processes, and decision rights. Unfortunately, too often change management becomes an after thought, as a separate work-stream or a standalone activity, delegated to HR, with empty concepts or useless slogans.

The reality is that change must be part of the executive agenda and so must start at the top. The key is to embed change management deeply into the design and execution of the transformation initiative. Consider it an underlying force that helps to spur business results, first by building a strong foundation together with a small top leadership team, then enabling the change to flow throughout the broader organization.