From the course: Managing Organizational Change for Managers

Proactively addressing regression to the familiar

From the course: Managing Organizational Change for Managers

Start my 1-month free trial

Proactively addressing regression to the familiar

“

- Change doesn't always fail with a crash. More often, it fades with a shrug. At first, everything's moving, teams are adjusting, leaders are communicating, people are experimenting with new ways of working, and then, slowly, subtly, things start to drift. The old system gets used again just for now. The new process is skipped just this once. The bold messaging softens. The check-ins stop. The urgency fades. That's regression. And if you don't spot it early, it becomes the new normal, again. Take Jenna, a regional operations leader who led a shift to a new digital scheduling tool. For the first month, adoption looked great. Until she noticed her team skipping back into Excel. Instead of cracking down, she pulled her managers in, asked what was getting in the way, and discovered a training gap. Many of the team weren't confident in their ability to use the tool. Within two weeks, with some refresher training, she reengaged her team and adoption bounced back. Here's why it happens. Regression isn't resistance. More often, it's fatigue or friction or fear. People get tired of the ambiguity or they hit a snag and slip back into what's familiar, because it's faster, easier, safer. And sometimes, regression doesn't start at the front lines. It starts with leaders. Leaders stop reinforcing the message. They allow exceptions. They model the old way, even unintentionally. Or they quietly disengage when the change feels too hard to sustain. As I've said to many clients, when leaders get in their own way, it's often because the discomfort of change starts to outweigh the clarity of the goal. Here's what to watch for: inconsistency, teams using old and new systems side by side, silence, drop-off in questions, feedback, or energy, workarounds, creative ways to avoid the new process, leadership drift, managers reverting to legacy behaviors. These are the signals, not of failure, but of friction. And friction means it's time to lean in, not let go. Here's what you can do. First, normalize the conversation. Call out regression early and without blame. Make it part of your team's language. You might say, "I'm noticing we're slipping back into the old workflow. Let's talk about what's getting in the way." Second, reinforce the why. When momentum fades, people need a fresh reminder of what's at stake. Reconnect the change to purpose, not just process. Third, make it visible. Bring back the scorecard. Revisit the success signals. Track adoption again if needed. What gets seen gets sustained. Fourth, look in the mirror. Ask yourself, "Where might I be contributing to regression by what I say or what I skip or what I model?" Self-awareness is your first tool. Here's the truth. Regression is normal. But so is recommitment. The best leaders don't expect the change to stick without attention. They name the drift, reset the tone, and keep moving, calmly and clearly. Because change leadership isn't just about getting to the start line. It's about staying with the race until the finish.

Contents