You Want Change. You’ve probably flicked on the news and wondered: How do we drive real change?

Answer: It depends on the context.

End of article. Thanks for reading. Follow me (John Power) on LinkedIn for more insights.

You’re done.

…

Hold up.

Before you go - yes, every context is different, and we should be careful with sweeping generalities (“only a Sith deals in absolutes”). But still… what ARE the general principles for making change happen?

You Want Change

You’ve probably flicked on the news and wondered: How do we drive real change?

Maybe you’re thinking about personal growth - starting with the “man (or woman) in the mirror”. Maybe you’re looking at how to lead change in your workplace.

Let’s suppose you’re a leader in a company. There’s a lot you need to do to stay competitive and relevant. You want to improve the brand. You want to integrate AI. You want to build a more positive culture. You want to change something - let’s call this "THE CHANGE."

THE CHANGE will improve ROI. It will be a game-changer. It will enhance your reputation, team kudos  – and if it goes well – maybe what you take home.

So, how do you make it happen? Your Choice...

You have three options - each requiring different levels of energy, commitment, and strategic thinking.

Option 1 – You Send an Email

You’re a leader, right? You just need to give the word.

After all, your staff are 100% engaged and 100% aligned. They’re a well-oiled machine. As predictable as an app update - tell them, and it’s done.

You craft a company-wide message. Your team reads it, understands it, and immediately shifts from the old way to the new way. THE CHANGE is complete. You pat yourself on the back.

Wouldn’t that be nice? You stop daydreaming. If only it were that easy…

You remind yourself that, despite your best efforts, like most UK companies, only 10% of your staff are actually positively engaged.

Option 2 – A Classic Transformation

You pull together everything you know about change management. You structure a three-phase plan. It looks systematic. It looks strategic. It feels right - like something a major consulting firm would propose. Your ex-consultant colleagues gives it a once-over and nods approvingly.

You’re tuned into the fact that people might need a bit of encouragement with the change. So, your plan includes a communication line across the bottom of every slide (because, of course, comms are important). What’s more, you’ve included a manager focus group to gauge employee sentiment.

You’ve thought about people. Tick. Good job.

Let’s fast-forward. At first, it seems to work. Employees are excited. Change is happening!

Then, three months in…Things look eerily familiar. Promises remain unfulfilled. Multiple interpretations of THE CHANGE emerge. Conflicting messages surface, unresolved. Employees are pulled in different directions. THE CHANGE is stalling.

Best intentions only get you so far. McKinsey research shows that 70% of transformations fail - leading to colossal wastage of $2.3 trillion. And you won’t yet yours fail. You decide to take a different approach.

Option 3 – A Human-Centric Transformation Campaign

Before launching anything, you check in with one person. Not a leader. Not a cheerleader.

Someone on the ground. Someone who isn’t a manager. Meet Cynical Simon - your high-performing, ultra-reliable, yet unfailingly sceptical employee.

If THE CHANGE can win Simon over, you’re onto something.

You’ve heard about ADKAR, a framework that has helped 900+ companies over 10 years drive successful transformations. This might be the thing to help win-over Simon.

ADKAR is an acronym for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement.

1. Create Awareness

To get people on board, they first need to be aware - not just of THE CHANGE, but why it matters.

You craft a story - a compelling, repeatable, crystal-clear narrative. Then, you spread the message - not just through emails, but everywhere.

• Teaser trailers in Teams channels

• Posters on the back of toilet doors

• Recurring visual cues that keep the change top-of-mind

Cynical Simon’s response: “Sure, whatever!” But then… he notices something different. This isn’t another one-off flash in the pan. The messaging is consistent. It’s kept up. Maybe - just maybe - it’ll be different this time…

How did you tackle awareness? You gathered key players in one room. A facilitator helps draw out a short story from many long monologue interpretations of what’s going on. You mapped key concerns, psychological barriers, and time constraints. You anticipated resistance and factored in real human behaviour. It takes time, but eventually you build out a 4-sentence story that acts as a North Star for the whole campaign.

2. Create Desire

Now that people know about THE CHANGE, they need to care.

You focus on what’s in it for them.

• You share stories, not directives.

• You use a mix of creative assets - videos, podcasts, posters, and quotes.

• You launch with a high-impact film that captures the essence of THE CHANGE.

Cynical Simon’s response: “Sure, whatever!” But… something clicks. For the first time, he relates to the people talking about THE CHANGE. They’re not just leaders in suits. They’re like him. And, huh… some of this actually sounds useful.

How did you tackle desire? You spent time with creatives who mapped out an empathy map of feelings to create and curate experiences to unlock desire. You shaped moments that candidly addressed the challenges in a way that felt authentic - but a little bit inspiring. You signalled the cognitive load of the change but made sure it was all about what was in it for them – particularly the time savings.

3. Create Knowledge

Once people are motivated, you remove all friction.

• A hub which is a one-stop-shop that houses resources, playbooks, and FAQs.

• No gatekeeping. No buried documents.

• Just clear, immediately actionable guidance.

Cynical Simon’s response: “Like I said...whatever.” But hang on… some of the content is immediately applicable. He bookmarks the site.

How did you tackle knowledge? You spent a lot of time with colleagues already engaged with THE CHANGE. You mapped out the zone of proximal development – the things that people don’t know but will be the next step for people. You find the bright spots of current success and package it into digestible nuggets for others.

4. Create Ability

People don’t learn by watching PowerPoints. They learn by doing.

• You introduce a flipped classroom approach.

• You provide real-life scenarios for practice.

• You foster social learning - people hear from peers they trust, not just leaders.

Cynical Simon’s response: “Fine. I’ll give it a go.” When he tried it – the abstract ideas become real. And when Simon remembers this day, he won’t just have muscle memory – he remembers one of his colleagues who he admires talking about one of the ideas. This memory will help him out with an upcoming challenge.

How did you do tackle ability? You used strategic communications to gain support from to all levels of the organisation. They had support from the people they report into that made them feel psychologically safe to go. People were told about the pre-work – and short videos made it actually seem fun. Everyone bought in to the training because pilots were done until it was proven to be an intervention that shifted the needle.

5. Reinforce the Change

Work is busy. A single initiative won’t stick unless it’s reinforced consistently.

• You create internal influencers who advocate for THE CHANGE.

• You provide branded assets to make sharing easy.

• You introduce a simple campaign hashtag - a subtle yet persistent nudge.

Cynical Simon’s response: “Mate - you seen this?” He posts his own testimonial. He shares what’s actually helped him. He is now ‘Superuser Simon’. His colleague, Cynical Sahira sees what he’s saying ... and gets curious...

How did you tackle reinforcement? You created internal influencers who could reinforce the message. Simple templates, questions and hashtags mean that it’s easy to join the campaign and champion everything in it. People like Simon are nudged back to the website multiple times, discussing it with his manager and weaving the skills into his goals.

The result?

It sticks. What’s more, because you’ve got THE CHANGE right – you haven’t just unlocked your ROI and some war stories for your CV. You’ve created organisational resilience in the face of the next change. Because real change isn’t just about one wave - it’s about building a company that embraces an ocean of change.

So What?

Obviously, you care about Simon (even if he can be a bit prickly). So you create a human-centric transformation campaign – and reap the rewards.

Want help making this happen?

At Mediazoo, we do this every day. We’ve helped companies inspire real, lasting change - and we’ve won 200+ industry awards for it.

If you want a partner who knows how to inspire positive change, let’s have a cuppa.

Happy change-making. 🚀