Remove Barriers to Organizational Change: What Leaders Can Do

The Challenge: The Ability to Remove Barriers to Organizational Change

For decades, change management consulting experts have grappled with a persistent question: why does organizational change so often stall? — especially when change is not occasional but constant. Organizations that are flexible, adaptive, and resilient are far more likely to thrive over the long term. Yet, without a clear understanding of the most common obstacles — ranging from cultural resistance to misaligned incentives — efforts to implement change will continue to encounter friction.  The ability to identify and remove barriers to organizational change is essential for any organization seeking sustained success in an era defined by disruption.

The Value of Removing Obstacles to Organizational Change
Insights from our change management simulation make one thing clear: organizations benefit immensely when the path to change is unobstructed.  By proactively identifying and eliminating obstacles, organizations not only accelerate adoption but also cultivate a workforce that embraces change rather than resists it.  Employees who experience fewer barriers during periods of change consistently report:

• Three times more likely to be productively engaged in their work
• Four times more likely to be loyal to their company
• Half as likely to leave

What Change Research Says About Barriers to Organizational Change
Why are so many companies and employees stymied by change in the workplace? In most studies and project postmortems, researchers observe three major barriers to effecting change based on three different employee beliefs.

1. Lack of Power
   One common barrier to organizational change is the concept that, because of a lack of urgency, accountability, support, autonomy, time, or resources, employees are not given the power to behave a certain way. In some organizations the lack of power presents itself as a victim mentality; in other companies leaders are not truly aligned with the espoused changes.Regardless of the root cause, the more that employees feel actively involved in and empowered to make changes in a way that makes sense, the better your chances for lasting change.
2. Lack of Ability
   Another barrier to organizational change is the belief that people affected by change are unable to act a certain way because they lack the knowledge or skills to “do it the new way.” If employees are willing to change but lack the specific skills or knowledge, you need to provide more support and more direction.When people are not confident in their abilities to change, focus on providing customized training, practice, coaching, and feedback.
3. Lack of Desire
   A third common barrier to change are employees who, even though they possess the competence to change, are unwilling to engage in a certain behavior because they have too little motivation or incentive to do so.When employees are not fully committed to change, change leaders should focus on understanding how to best reward and recognize the desired behaviors. In general, you want to reward and provide positive feedback for the behaviors and performance that you want and have negative feedback and consequences for undesired behaviors and performance.

   To be effective, rewards and consequences for change must be perceived as meaningful, timely, fair, proportionate, consistent, expected, and aligned with the changes you seek.

The Bottom Line
If your organizational change initiative is struggling, invest the time to identify your change roadblocks and actively involve those most affected by the changes to design a practical plan to turn the tide.  Then consistently monitor progress, communicate results, and hold people accountable to the new way.  Change is rarely easy, but it can be done.

To learn about how to remove barriers to organizational change, download 5 Science-Backed Lenses of Change Leadership

Tristam Brown

Tristam Brown is a seasoned business consultant and organizational development expert with more than three decades of experience helping organizations accelerate performance, build high-impact teams, and turn strategy into execution. As CEO of LSA Global, he works with leaders to get and stay aligned™ through research-backed strategy, culture, and talent solutions that produce measurable, business-critical results. See full bio.