How to Help Employees Believe That Change Is Their Idea

How to Help Employees Believe That Change Is Their Idea
Leaders and change management consulting experts know that change is both inevitable and not easy to implement. McKinsey, Harvard Business Review, and Bain have all cited a 70% change management failure rate.  We know from change management simulation data that the most successful work transformations happen when employees not only accept change but feel like it was their idea in the first place.

When employees take ownership of a new direction, change resistance softens, employee engagement rises, and change execution becomes smoother.

What Can Leaders Do to Help Employees Believe That Change Is Their Idea?
The key lies in active involvement, strategic communication, leadership finesse, and a collaborative approach that empowers teams to internalize change as their own initiative — that is urgent, needed, and relevant to their success.

5 Research-Backed Steps to Help Employees Believe That Change Is Their Idea
Here are five proven strategies to help employees believe that change is their idea:

1. Involve Employees Early in the Process
   One of the most effective ways to ensure that employees feel a sense of ownership over a change initiative is by actively involving them in the change strategy and design processes early on. When people feel like they have meaningfully contributed to the new direction and decision-making process, they are far more likely to buy into the result and have a stake in the direction of the change.

   By collaborating early and often, employees feel that their input has influenced the outcomes, creating a sense of shared responsibility. This shared responsibility is key to turning what could be seen as “management’s change” into “our change.”

   Just make sure that you explicitly do something with every piece of feedback.  Nothing is more frustrating than feeling like your opinion at work does not matter.  The good news is that employees who see actions taken from their feedback show a 12 times greater improvement in employee engagement compared to those who do not.

   Perhaps Steve Kerr, Head Coach of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and the USA Olympic Men’s Basketball Team said it best, “I believe leaders must possess knowledge and expertise, but with the full awareness that none of us has all the answers.  In fact, some of the best answers often come from members of the team.”

   Are you taking the time to actively involve those most affected by change?

2. Highlight the Benefits of Change and Connect to Personal Goals
   To help employees feel like they are driving the change, it is important to connect the organizational shift to their personal and professional goals. Change leaders know that most change resistance comes from fear of loss — whether it is loss of control, influence, job security, or a familiar routine. By reframing the change in terms of how it helps them individually — such as career development, skill acquisition, or a more efficient workflow — you can help shift their perspective.

   When employees see how the change can make their job easier, more meaningful, or align with their long-term career aspirations, they’re more likely to embrace it. The change becomes not just an organizational initiative but something personally beneficial, reinforcing the idea that they are behind it.

   Does your vision for change and corresponding business case for change make it easy for employees to see what is in it for them?

3. Use Influential Peers as Change Champions
   People tend to be more open to suggestions and ideas from those they trust and respect within the organization. Identify a change leadership team and key influencers within your team — those employees who others look up to and whose opinions carry weight. Engage these individuals first in the process, ensuring they help to shape the necessity and benefits of the change.

   Once onboard, these influencers can act as “change catalysts,” helping spread a positive attitude toward the new direction. When employees see their trusted peers designing and advocating for change, they are more likely to accept and even take ownership of the idea themselves. Peer influence can be more impactful than top-down directives because it feels less like an imposition and more like an organic evolution.

   There is a fitting example of this in the Michael Lewis book, Premonition — a wonderful nonfiction thriller that outlines the US Government’s response to the COVID pandemic. One chapter describes how the CDC and other government agencies with a stake in the pandemic response went from being closed and defensive to new ideas for change to being open accepting and feeling like the changes were their idea all along. According to one leader, “I have never seen any other outsider get himself so on the inside…they were asking us if it was OK to do it – like it was their idea all along.”

   Are you leveraging a change leadership team and associated change champions so that people affected by change think that the ideas for change are their own?

4. Create a Culture of Continuous Improvement
   To help employees to believe that change is their idea, we know from organizational culture assessment data that it helps to cultivate a culture of learning and continuous improvement where change is normalized as part of the organization’s DNA. In a culture of continuous improvement, employees are encouraged to constantly look for ways to do things better, and change becomes less of an event and more of an ongoing journey.

   Similar to a project postmortem, leaders in this environment facilitate regular discussions about what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to evolve. Employees are motivated to suggest new ideas and improvements, which naturally fosters a mindset where change feels self-initiated. When people expect and welcome change, they are less likely to resist it when it arrives.

   Does your workplace culture encourage and reward change?

5. Give Employees the Tools to Implement Change
   When it comes to change, employee empowerment is crucial. Employees need the tools, resources, and authority to make change happen. This means providing the necessary change management training and support while encouraging autonomy in decision-making and eliminating any roadblocks to change that hinder progress.

   When people have the means to execute on the change themselves, they are more likely to feel like they own it. By enabling them to actively drive the change, you further reinforce the perception that change was their idea all along.

   Do those affected by change have the capabilities, confidence, motivation, information, tools, resources, and support to successfully transition to the new ways of working?

The Bottom Line
To win the hearts and minds of employees and help make employees feel like change is their idea, leaders must let those affected by change understand, challenge, design, and lead the new ways of working.  This requires early involvement, high levels of trust and collaboration, and an openness to be influenced. When changes at work are embraced, they are implemented.

To learn more about how to help employees believe that change is their idea, download How to Mobilize, Design and Transform Your Change Initiative