When it comes to leading change, the biggest mistakes I see over and over again are pretty simple and, honestly, pretty avoidable. It’s usually a mix of the usual suspects listed below.
In my manager coaching practice, I can always bet at least one of these 5 common offenders will show up in our sessions. Let’s look at what keeps new managers bringing change to their organizations up at night.
Jumping in without enough preparation.
Too many leaders think change management is just about coming up with a solid concept on paper. In reality, leading change is first and foremost about communication.
People want to know what’s coming, why it matters, and how they’ll be involved.
If they’re left in the dark, resistance grows. I’ve learned this one the hard way leading a discovery effort in my first job as a leader. I was way ahead of my team—did the research, mapped the problem space, and was working on a solution. I presented it to them, expecting approval and support, just to be met with lukewarm acceptance.
What happened there? There was broadcasting instead of involvement, and a big reveal of a huge change. Not a good start!
Setting vague goals.
“More customer focus,” “greater flexibility,” “stronger innovation mindset”—these all sound good, but they’re slogans, not direction.
Without clear, specific goals, no one knows what to actually do differently.
In my second job as a leader, I heard “We need to improve the quality of our new product.” I asked the C-level manager what that meant, but never got a clear answer.
Since then, I’ve learned that clarity is not something you get, but something you co-create. Instead of pushing, I interviewed other stakeholders, mapped the experience, and did a proper audit.
What did my manager mean by the word “quality”? I never learned that. What I learned instead is that we had a lot of work to make the product experience more consistent, guided, and easier to navigate.
Underestimating the time it takes.
Leaders often rush change and get frustrated when it doesn’t stick.
Whether it’s a new customer approach, building team spirit, or restructuring, it takes months or even years to truly land.
One experienced leader I worked with said: “Restructuring takes two years for people to really digest.” He was one of the few leaders I’ve met who had such a realistic view of timing.
It’s rare to have a real talk about how long those changes take. While being tasked to improve the quality, I inquired about the possibilities to change my team structure. I was told to hire a new senior designer. When I looked into what the average time to hire for that role in the company was, and compared that to the timeline of the project, I realized we didn’t have the time to do so. Instead, I opted for an internal transfer.
Hiring, onboarding, and setting up for success take time. We should account for it.
Seeing obstacles as distractions instead of signals.
Roadblocks aren’t annoyances to push aside; they’re valuable feedback.
They show you where risks might be hiding or where you need to adjust.
Ignoring them creates bigger problems later.
Back in my days as a mid-level designer, I used to work on solutions in isolation a lot. I wasn’t sure about my ideas and was reluctant to show the team anything that wasn’t polished.
Once I did a big presentation, and instead of hearing words of approval, I heard “Ok, that’s one way to solve this problem. What about XYZ…” I was demotivated. I took it as an obstacle and a distraction between me and my success. Instead, I could have seen it as a signal that the team had other ideas that I hadn’t tapped into yet. Which is precisely what happened after I opened up—they shared their thinking, and we co-created a path forward.
Poor communication.
Often, leaders only share updates once there are results.
The silence in between is where rumors and resistance thrive. It’s tempting to keep things secret before you’re 100% sure about a decision. That sounds good in theory, but it will just make the change management process longer. Keep close collaborators in the know from the early days, and the implementation will go smoother.
Consistent, transparent communication isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s the backbone of change.
It’s a lifelong practice
None of these problems ever go away. Let’s be clear about that. It just gets easier once you know what the typical challenges are to keep an eye on. That’s why it’s a painful learning curve for new managers. What helped me, aside from gaining experience, was being able to talk these issues through with more seasoned leaders and mentors.
First, we organized a community of practice, a peer community for mastermind-style problem solving. Later, I found someone to talk to and learned about the power of collaborative decision making. If you need that special someone, I’m happy to talk about your needs. Get in touch with me using the contact form.
