The Secret to Making Change Stick
Lessons from Switch, by Chip and Dan Heath
Most people don’t resist change because they disagree with it. More often, they know exactly what needs to happen, but knowing and doing are two very different things.
That’s because change involves more than logic. It depends on our rational thinking, our emotions and the environment around us, and, as we explored in a recent READ TO LEAD session, when one of those is missing, even the best intentions can stall.
The Discussion
Often, the challenge isn’t change itself, but getting started, maintaining momentum and not becoming overwhelmed along the way.
When there’s a long list of priorities, multiple initiatives competing for attention and pressure to deliver quickly, the instinct is often to tackle everything at once. But that volume of work, the size of the mountain to climb, is exactly what can stop change from progressing. The bigger the change feels and the further away the goal, the harder it becomes to take that first step.
The same is true when our attention is fixed on what’s going wrong or how far there still is to travel, rather than what’s been achieved so far. It’s natural to spend time analysing problems, but we also need to celebrate the milestones as they pass. Better progress comes from noticing what’s already working and asking how to do more of it.
Underlying both discussions is something even more fundamental: clarity. We agreed that people rarely struggle because they don’t want to change. It’s usually because they’re unsure where they’re heading or what the next step looks like. When the destination is clear and the path feels manageable, change suddenly becomes much less daunting.
| “What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity” – Heath.
The Insights
In Switch, the Heath brothers introduce us to the Rider, the Elephant and the Path. The Rider represents our rational brain, the Elephant our emotional side, and the Path the environment around us. They argue that to reach your end destination, you must direct the rider, motivate the elephant and shape the path.
As the driver of the elephant, the Rider is a great thinker, but left to its own devices, it will overthink, analyse every option, and become paralysed by choice. That’s why it needs clarity and clear direction: Bright Spots it can learn from and that provide a practical route forward, and a Destination Postcard which creates a vivid picture of what success looks like and a distinct objective to work towards.
That destination postcard should appeal to the elephant too, because while the rider might be able to influence the direction of travel for a period of time, ultimately, the powerful elephant is too strong to command for long. It therefore needs its own reasons to keep moving, which comes from evoking strong emotions, breaking change down into smaller steps, and adopting a growth mindset where failure is seen as a tool for improvement.
The final task is to shape the Path. Even motivated people with clear direction drift back to old habits if the environment makes change difficult. Before asking people to try harder, ask what’s making change harder than it needs to be. Remove unnecessary obstacles, build supportive habits and make the desired behaviour the easiest option. Often the quickest way to create change isn’t increasing motivation, it’s reducing friction.
When the path is clear and well-trodden, the Rider has direction, and the Elephant has motivation, change becomes far more likely to stick.
The Action
Change rarely succeeds because of one big decision. More often, it’s the result of small actions that reduce uncertainty, build confidence and make the next step easier.
Here are five to try:
End conversations with one next step
When ending a meeting or giving feedback, avoid broad goals like ‘improve communication’ or ‘be more proactive’. Ask yourself: What’s the very next thing they need to do? and make that the next step instead.
Look for one bright spot each week
Make a habit of asking, ‘Where is this already working?’ Share examples of success, however small, and encourage others to learn from them rather than only focusing on what needs fixing.
Break big goals into small wins
If a piece of work feels overwhelming, shrink it. Focus on the first milestone rather than the finished outcome. Small wins build confidence, and confidence builds momentum.
Reconnect people with where you’re heading
Don’t assume everyone remembers the destination. Take a minute in team meetings to reconnect today’s work with the bigger picture: ‘Here’s why this week’s work matters to where we’re going’. A clear sense of direction makes everyday decisions much easier.
Remove one point of friction this week
Motivation fades quickly when the environment fights back. Pick one obstacle that makes the right behaviour harder than it should be – a form, an approval step, a recurring meeting – and remove it. Make the right behaviour the easy behaviour.
The Impact
After the session, one leadership team realised they were often making change harder than it needed to be.
The end goals were sound, but people were trying to move too many things forward at once. Looking back, they could see that when progress slowed, the instinct was usually to add another discussion or another piece of work, rather than making the next step clearer.
So they became more selective about where they focused their energy. Instead of trying to solve everything, conversations became centred on where to start and what would make the biggest difference if it moved first.
It meant less time was spent talking about the size of the challenge, and more time was spent deciding what was achievable now.
Key Takeaways
- Shrink the change: big change becomes easier when the next step is small.
- Direct the rider: clarity creates momentum, direction reduces uncertainty.
- Show bright spots: celebrate what’s working. Progress builds confidence.
- Shape the path: make the desired behaviour the easiest option, and change will stick.
One question to leave you with…
What’s one change you’re trying to lead that could become easier if you made the next step smaller?
