How to Remove Barriers to Organizational Change and Accelerate Change Adoption

A Practical Guide to Remove Barriers to Organizational Change
Organizational culture survey data shows what most of us can feel everyday — teams face a constant stream of:

• Market disruptions.
• Technological advances.
• Competitive pressures.
• Evolving customer expectations.

Yet despite significant investments in change initiatives, many transformation efforts fail to achieve their intended outcomes. Why? Because leaders often underestimate the obstacles that prevent employees from embracing new ways of working.

To successfully remove barriers to organizational change, change leaders must:

1. Understand what stands in the way of adoption.
2. Take deliberate action to address those obstacles.

Whether the barriers stem from organizational culture, limited resources, inadequate skills, or low motivation, identifying and removing them is essential for accelerating results, increasing engagement, and sustaining long-term performance.

Why It Matters to Remove Barriers to Organizational Change
Research from our change management simulation demonstrates that organizations achieve significantly better outcomes when employees experience fewer obstacles during periods of change. When leaders proactively remove barriers to organizational change, employees are more likely to embrace new behaviors, support strategic initiatives, and remain committed to organizational goals.

Change management consulting research shows that employees who experience fewer barriers to change are:

• Three times more likely to be productively engaged
• Four times more likely to be loyal to their organization
• Half as likely to leave

These findings highlight an important reality: successful change is less about forcing compliance and more about creating the conditions that make change easier to adopt.

Three Common Barriers to Organizational Change That Must Be Addressed

Change management training research and project postmortem analyses consistently point to three primary reasons employees struggle to adopt change. Understanding these barriers can help leaders remove barriers to organizational change more effectively.

1. Lack of Power
   Employees may believe they cannot change because they lack sufficient authority, support, resources, accountability, time, or organizational alignment.

   In some organizations, this manifests as a victim mentality. In others, employees receive conflicting messages from leaders who do not consistently support the desired changes.

   To remove this barrier, leaders should:

   — Create a compelling sense of change urgency
   — Align leaders around the change
   — Increase employee involvement in decision-making
   — Provide the resources necessary for success
   — Empower employees to influence outcomes

   The more ownership employees feel, the more likely they are to support and sustain change.

2. Lack of Ability
   Employees may be willing to change but lack the knowledge, skills, confidence, or experience needed to perform effectively in the new environment.

   When this barrier exists, organizations should focus on:

   — Customized training programs
   — Coaching and mentoring
   — Practice opportunities
   — Continuous feedback

   Research consistently shows that confidence grows when employees receive the support necessary to develop new capabilities.

3. Lack of Desire
   Even when employees have the power and ability to change, they may still lack the motivation to do so.

   Employees are more likely to embrace change when they clearly understand:

   — Why the change matters
   — How it benefits them
   — What change success looks like
   — How desired behaviors will be recognized and rewarded

   To remove barriers to organizational change related to motivation, rewards and consequences should be perceived as:

   — Meaningful
   — Timely
   — Fair
   — Consistent
   — Proportionate
   — Expected
   — Aligned with organizational objectives

   When employees see a clear connection between change and positive outcomes, commitment typically increases.

The Bottom Line
Organizations rarely fail because change is impossible. More often, they fail because leaders overlook the barriers that prevent employees from adopting new behaviors. By identifying whether employees lack the power, ability, or desire to change, leaders can take targeted actions to remove barriers to organizational change, accelerate adoption, and improve long-term business results.

Why do some leaders drive change while others struggle, download The 5 Science-Backed Lenses Every Change Leader Should Use to identify hidden obstacles, accelerate adoption, and lead change with greater confidence and success.

by Tristam Brown: CEO

Tristam Brown is an executive 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.