Shradha A.H. Ahuja

When Everyone Attends but No One Participates: The Hidden Cost of Unprotected Meetings

Every Tuesday at 2 PM, the same 12 people walked into the same conference room to discuss the same agenda.

Point 1 was always the starting point.
But we never made it past that.

Instead, it unraveled into cross-functional complaints, outdated grievances, and irrelevant debates.

Two hours later, the only consistent outcomes were:
No clarity
No decisions
No next steps

Just 12 drained people silently wondering: Why are we even here?

The Real Problem Isn’t the Agenda. It’s the Absence of Purpose Protection.

Most meeting failures aren’t due to poor content or weak facilitation skills.
They fail because no one holds the line on why the meeting exists in the first place.

• No one enforces relevance.

• No one interrupts the tangents.

• No one calls time on distractions.

• No one reminds the room: What are we actually here to achieve?

This isn’t a tactical slip. It’s a strategic erosion.

And over time, it has a compounding effect — not on calendar space, but on contribution energy.

When You Don’t Protect the Purpose, You Don’t Just Lose Time. You Lose People.

Here’s what actually erodes in meetings that lack discipline:

• Trust: People start withholding, not because they lack ideas, but because they’ve stopped believing anything will change.

• Energy: The most capable contributors mentally check out, not out of laziness, but as a self-preservation tactic.

• Accountability: When there are no real outcomes, there’s no pressure to show up with intent, just to show up at all.

And slowly, the organization starts rewarding attendance over impact, visibility over value, speaking time over contribution quality.

Participation Requires More Than Presence

Participation isn’t about speaking up.
It’s about believing your input matters.

If the system keeps demonstrating that it doesn’t, people adapt accordingly.

This is why silent meetings aren’t a people problem.
They’re a design problem.

And like all broken systems, it starts with good intent… and dies in poor protection.

Three Questions Every Meeting Owner Should Ask Before Inviting Anyone:

1. What exactly are we trying to move forward in this meeting — and is a meeting the best way to do it?

2. Who needs to be here to move it forward, not just to listen?

3. What does successful participation look like for each person in the room?

And once the meeting starts, protect that intent like a non-negotiable.

Because if you don’t, the meeting will be hijacked.
Not by bad people, but by the absence of boundaries.

Final Word: Discipline Is the New Inclusion

Let’s be honest - people are tired.

Not because they’re lazy or disengaged.
But because systems have trained them that their time isn’t respected.

We often talk about inclusion in terms of diversity.
But inclusion also means creating spaces where contribution feels worth the effort.

And that begins - quite simply - by protecting the purpose of the room.

When teams stop speaking up, most leaders notice too late.

By the time ideas stop flowing, something deeper has already shifted.

In meetings, only the same two or three voices speak.
The rest, head down and eyes averted, are technically present but emotionally checked out.
You ask a question, and silence follows. Unless someone is directly prompted, few speak.

The problem isn’t that the team has nothing to say.
It’s that they’ve stopped believing their ideas will go anywhere.

And when that happens, you lose more than innovation.
You lose momentum. You lose ownership. You lose the pulse of your people.

Three silent signals your team has stopped contributing:

1. They only speak when asked direct questions.

2. “Let’s table it” is your default response to new ideas.

3. The same 2–3 voices dominate every conversation.

Individually, these signs seem minor. But together, they signal a quiet withdrawal.

People stop challenging decisions.
They stop thinking creatively.
They stop taking ownership.

It’s not disengagement in the traditional sense.

It’s self-protection.

Because when psychological safety erodes, when contribution feels performative or pointless, people preserve their energy.

They show up. But they don’t show themselves.

Why this matters more than ever

In a time of constant transformation, your biggest asset isn’t a new system, tool, or framework.
It’s a team still willing to contribute, not just comply.

But contribution requires trust.

Trust that ideas will be heard, not hijacked.
Trust that speaking up won’t backfire.
Trust that new thinking won’t be shut down before it’s tested.

Without that trust, even the smartest people go quiet.

So what can leaders do to break the silence?

• Stop hoarding airtime. Make space in meetings for less vocal voices. That means managing dominant contributors and inviting quieter ones without putting them on the spot.

• Reward insight, not hierarchy. Normalize dissenting views, especially when they come from junior staff or unexpected places.

• Act visibly on feedback. Even small actions based on employee input can rebuild belief that ideas matter.

Real transformation isn’t driven by those who speak the most.
It’s powered by those who feel safe enough to say what others won’t.

Final thought

Ideas don’t die.
They just stop being shared.

If you’re leading a change agenda, your first job isn’t pushing performance.
It’s protecting the conditions where contribution can still exist.

Because once your team learns their voice doesn’t matter…

They won’t waste their breath.

I once sat in a business review where everything looked great on paper.

The service team had hit its targets.
The back office was reporting green across all SLAs.
NPS scores were stable.
Escalations were down.

And yet…
Customers were leaving.

Not dramatically.
Not with angry emails or social media outrage.
Just quietly.
One by one.

It didn’t make sense - until it did.

The problem wasn’t performance.
It was perception.

The Illusion of Metrics

We love our dashboards.
Green means good. Red means fix it. Simple, right?

Except real life, and real customers don’t operate in silos.

One team’s “on target” might still be part of a journey that’s deeply frustrating for the customer.
Because customers don’t judge your departments.
They judge the total experience.

No one says:

“Support was fast, but billing was slow, so I’ll give the company 50% credit.”

They say:

“This company didn’t deliver.”

When Everyone’s Accountable, No One Is

This is the real trap of modern performance management:
Every team does its job.
No one owns the outcome.

We measure tasks, timelines, and targets.
But we rarely ask:
“Did this feel like a win, to the one person that matters most?”

This isn’t an argument against metrics.
I track them daily.
But I’ve learned to ask one extra question:

“If I were the customer, would this experience make sense?”

And when the answer is no, it’s not a failure.
It’s feedback.
That’s where transformation begins.

Transformation Isn’t About Fixing a Department. It’s About Owning the Journey.

Fixing one team’s process won’t save a broken customer journey.
We need to zoom out and ask harder questions:

• Are we optimizing for internal convenience or external value?

• Are our metrics measuring motion or impact?

• Are we rewarding departments for performance… or the business for outcomes?

When you look at transformation through that lens, the real work becomes clear.
It’s not about doing more.
It’s about seeing better.

The Leadership Shift We Need

Great leaders don’t just chase KPIs.
They connect the dots across systems.
They see the space between green boxes on a dashboard and ask what’s being missed.

Because sometimes, what looks like progress is just well-documented inertia.

And if your customers are quietly leaving, it might not be your numbers that need fixing.
It might be your narrative.

Closing Thought

Transformation doesn’t begin with strategy decks or new tools.
It begins the moment we ask the uncomfortable question:

“Are we solving the right problem?”

In the Chaos of Change, Most Teams Freeze

Transformation doesn’t fail because people don’t care.
It fails because they don’t know where to start.

I’ve worked across banking, marine offshore, and complex shared services. And in every transformation effort, one pattern repeats:

• Urgent goals.

• Overstretched teams.

• Endless meetings trying to fix everything at once.

The result?

Inertia.

Because the more we try to move everything, the less we move at all.

You Don’t Need to Move Everything. Just What Matters.

I first learned this during my Six Sigma Green Belt training at GE Capital. We were taught the Pareto Principle: the 80/20 rule.

Back then, it felt like a project management tool.

Today, I see it as a leadership mindset.

• Focus on the 20% of problems causing 80% of the friction.

• Don’t solve everything.

• Solve what matters most—and solve it well.

That single discipline has made the difference in every high-stakes transformation I’ve led since.

The Illusion of Clarity

The biggest myth in transformation is this:
"Once we’re clear, we’ll act."

But real-world transformation rarely gives you perfect clarity. The stakes are too high. The pressure is too constant. The variables shift too fast.

So leaders wait. Teams stall. Projects drag.

The irony?

Clarity often comes after the first move, not before.

What Decisiveness Actually Looks Like

Let’s be clear: decisiveness isn’t about gut calls or bravado.

It’s about choosing impact over noise, even when you don’t have all the data.

Decisiveness means:

• Acting when you’re only 60% clear

• Prioritizing what unlocks momentum

• Letting some fires burn, so the right one gets extinguished

I’ve been in boardrooms where everyone could sense the urgency… but no one wanted to name it.

I’ve seen projects with perfect rollout plans collapse under the weight of indecision.

And I’ve also seen what happens when one person makes a clear, imperfect move that shifts everything.

A Simple Practice to Try

If you’re in the middle of change right now, pause and ask:

• What’s the one decision that would unblock progress?

• What’s the one thing you’ve been waiting to get 100% clear on… that could be actioned at 60%?

• And what’s one thing you’re solving that could wait?

That’s where real movement begins. Not with perfection. With a deliberate, timely act.

Final Thought

We love stories of sweeping transformation. But in real life?

The turning point is often a single, sharp choice that breaks the cycle of waiting.

In high-stakes work, decisiveness isn’t a trait reserved for confident personalities.

It’s a strategic skill.
A survival mechanism.
A professional responsibility.

And it’s what separates transformation that stays stuck… from transformation that actually happens.

In every transformation initiative, there’s a hidden inflection point.

It’s not found in the strategy deck.
It doesn’t emerge in the implementation timeline.
It starts when someone pauses long enough to ask the question most teams avoid:
“Why are we still doing it this way?”

Too often, transformation efforts bypass this pause entirely, jumping straight to execution, often powered by tools and systems meant to streamline what was never properly examined.

The Real Reason Tech Fails

I’ve seen organizations roll out enterprise systems - HRMS, ERP, collaboration tools—with bold promises. Six months later, many of those same teams quietly revert to spreadsheets. Spreadsheets, they trust. Workarounds they built. Because the system didn’t solve what they were actually struggling with.

The problem wasn’t the tech.
The problem was what no one stopped to question:

• The workflow that no longer made sense.

• The invisible handoffs.

• The friction teams had normalized.

Transformation doesn’t fail because we didn’t automate fast enough.
It fails when we skip the human pause that precedes clarity.

The Missing Skill: Ingenuity

That pause to decide to see what’s no longer working isn’t just common sense. It’s a behavioral skill. One we rarely teach, reward, or name.

It’s called Ingenuity.

Not innovation.
Not talent.
Not intelligence.

Ingenuity is the ability to move when things are unclear - to find clarity inside complexity and take the first step without a perfect plan.

It begins with a shift in behavior. And over the years, I’ve seen four patterns that make that shift possible: what I now refer to as the Ingenuity C.O.D.E. framework.

C.O.D.E. – A Behavior-Based Trigger for Real Change

• Curiosity
  Asking the questions others have stopped asking.

• Open-Mindedness
  Pausing long enough to notice what’s become invisible.

• Decisiveness
  Making a call before every scenario is mapped out.

• Experimentation
  Moving forward through small tests before big changes.

In one recent project, the breakthrough didn’t come from the system launch, it came in a small room with a whiteboard, where we mapped out the actual process. No assumptions. No solutions. Just clarity.

That session exposed more value than the system itself ever would have, because we could finally see what wasn’t working.

Reframing the Start of Transformation

Transformation is often pitched as forward-looking. Strategic. Tech-enabled. But most of what holds organizations back is behind them in the routines, workflows, and assumptions no one is questioning.

You don’t fix that with better tools.
You fix it by restoring visibility.

And visibility comes from the human discipline to pause, observe, and name what others have accepted for too long.

That’s where transformation really begins.
And that’s where Ingenuity is no longer optional.

Call to Action

If you're leading change, at any level, ask yourself:
What’s one process, system, or behavior that’s still running today… Simply because no one has stopped to question it?

That’s the moment where Ingenuity begins.
And progress follows.

Curiosity Isn’t Soft—It’s How Real Change Happens

Disruption is everywhere.
Yet most teams stay stuck in processes designed for a world that no longer exists.

Why?

Because questioning the status quo often feels like a risk, not a leadership move.
But here’s the thing no one tells you:

Curiosity isn’t soft. It’s how real change happens.

The Moment That Changed Everything for Me

Years ago, I found myself running a nine-week training program in a large organization—heavy slides, heavy compliance, zero flexibility. We were following “the process,” but it felt disconnected from what the business really needed.

One day, I asked out loud:
“Why does this need to take nine weeks?”

My manager didn’t like it.
“Stay in your lane. Just follow the process,” he snapped.

But that question wouldn’t leave me alone.

So I went back, mapped a six-week alternative, and nervously pitched it again. This time, surprisingly, he listened.

We got permission to run a pilot.
Same outcomes.
Three weeks saved.
Tangible business impact.

That single moment of curiosity cracked open my career in transformation.

Curiosity Is Step One - But Not the Whole Game

True transformation doesn’t happen by accident. It follows a pattern - one I now call the Ingenuity C.O.D.E.:

• Curiosity – Ask bold questions that challenge “how we’ve always done it.”

• Open-Mindedness – Consider unexpected ideas when obvious solutions stall.

• Decisiveness – Move forward when you see a better way, even if it’s imperfect.

• Experimentation – Test small before scaling big.

Whether you’re redesigning a workflow or rethinking a business model, it starts by challenging what feels "untouchable."

Why This Matters Now More Than Ever

In a world of AI, automation, and accelerated disruption, organizations don’t fail because of external forces.

They fail because of internal inertia - the refusal to question outdated processes, hierarchies, and systems.

The good news?
You don’t need permission to start asking better questions.

The real risk isn’t challenging the system.
The real risk is staying silent while the world moves on.

Your Move

What outdated process is slowing your team down right now?
What question do you need to ask - even if it feels uncomfortable?

Start there.

Because that single act of curiosity might just spark your next transformation.

Ingenuity isn’t creativity.
It’s strategic survival.

We often celebrate resilience and problem-solving, and rightly so.

But they maintain systems.
Ingenuity reimagines them.

It shows up when:

– A critical process collapses, and someone builds a smarter workaround
– Budget cuts force a team to rethink from scratch, and they find hidden value
– Standard methods fall short - and a new model quietly reshapes how things are done

These aren’t “initiatives.”
They’re survival moments - and they happen more often than we admit.

But here’s the catch:
Most organizations still treat ingenuity as accidental.
Something lucky.
Something extra.

That mindset won’t last much longer.

If disruption is constant, then ingenuity must be built in.
Protected, activated, and rewarded like the essential advantage it is.

I call it:

The survival code of adaptive organizations.

➤ Where are you seeing ingenuity emerge under pressure, and how is it being protected (or not)?

#ThoughtLeadership #BusinessStrategy #OrganizationalIngenuity #IngenuityCODE #FutureOfWork #SAAVoice

Most companies don’t get disrupted by bold new entrants.

They get dismantled - quietly - by their own comfort zones.

Transformation doesn’t fail because people resist change.

It fails because comfort convinces them there’s no need to.

The signs are easy to miss:

• Legacy roles that no one challenges.

• Outdated processes that run on inertia.

• KPIs that are tracked but not respected.

And the most dangerous sentence of all:

“We’ve always done it this way.”

I’ve led transformation through chaos, resistance, and urgent pivots.

And what I’ve learned is this:

True change begins when you confront comfort, not just complexity.

So ask yourself:

If your company had to rebuild today, what would you retire first?

And what are you still protecting… just because it feels familiar?

Title: Why Change Fails — and What to Do About It

Change doesn’t fail because people resist it. It fails because leaders don’t align people, systems, and strategy.

Resistance is rarely emotional. It’s usually a signal—a symptom of confusion, exclusion, or poor follow-through. When strategy is defined in isolation, when systems aren't adapted to support execution, and when people are expected to figure things out on their own, the result is predictable: stalled momentum, wasted effort, and transformation theatre.

In two recent short videos, I broke down what really derails change and what leaders can do to fix it. Here's the integrated view.

1. Resistance Isn't the Problem

We often label pushback as "resistance to change," when in reality, it's a response to:

• Unclear decision rights

• Lack of communication follow-through

• Misaligned structures and outdated KPIs

People don’t resist change because they’re lazy or negative. They resist when they can’t see how the change makes sense, when they weren’t part of shaping it, or when the support structure is missing.

It’s not emotional resistance. It’s operational misalignment.

2. What Actually Helps Change Land

There are plenty of change models out there, but two continue to stand out in my work:

• Prosci’s 3-Phase Process

  • A clear approach to managing the people side of change

  • Focuses on awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement

• McKinsey’s 7S Framework

  • Aligns strategy, structure, systems, skills, style, staff, and shared values

  • Particularly useful for understanding how change ripples across an organization

I think of models like GPS. They’re helpful for navigating from point A to B - but only if you know where you’re starting and what the terrain looks like. And just like with travel, no single route fits every journey.

In practice, I often blend models. Prosci helps clarify the people dimension, while 7S brings structure to the organizational side. Used together, they bring the kind of clarity and context most change efforts lack.

3. Strategy is Not a Slide. It's a System.

In many transformations, the ambition is real. The decks are impressive. The town halls are inspiring.

But execution crawls. Not because people didn’t care. But because the foundation wasn’t aligned.

If your incentives reward the old behavior, if your systems are still optimized for yesterday’s risks, and if your org design creates confusion instead of clarity - change doesn’t land.

Execution without alignment is just expensive theatre.

Final Thought:

If you're leading change, don't just roll out a new process. Pause and ask:

• Are people, systems, and strategy pointing in the same direction?

• Are we designing change, or just delivering it?

Frameworks can help. But only when the fundamentals are clear.

Because at the end of the day, people don’t resist change. They resist confusion. And real transformation only sticks when everything around it supports it.

This article integrates themes from my Streamly video series on Change Leadership. If you're a business leader navigating transformation, I invite you to follow the series or reach out to discuss what execution looks like when clarity comes first.

Watch Part 1 

Watch Part 2

Why Change Really Fails: A Strategic View on People × Systems × Execution Gaps

Everyone blames people for resisting change
But that’s not the real reason change fails.

In my work across banking, marine offshore, and professional services, I’ve seen one consistent pattern: misalignment between people, systems, and strategy derails transformation.

This is the breakdown I see most often - and what I shared recently in a visual format on LinkedIn. Here’s the deeper view:

1. Change doesn’t fail because people resist.

It fails because leadership skips the hard work of alignment. If strategy, systems, and people aren’t moving together, change stalls, or worse, backfires.

2. People don’t fear change. They fear 'chaos'.

What they resist is being thrown into uncertainty without clarity, support, or context. Change feels threatening when it’s badly led.

3. Here’s what people really resist:

Confusion – No clarity on the purpose or path
Exclusion – Change is done to them, not with them
Poor Sponsorship – Leaders disappear after kickoff

4. Intent vs. Reality: The Leadership Gap

“We’ve communicated everything.” → “No one told us why.”
“The plan is clear.” → “Execution is chaos.”
“We gave support.” → “We’re doing this alone.”

Sound familiar? It’s not a comms issue. It’s a system gap.

5. Ask this before your next transformation:

Are we leading people through change… or just leaving them to survive it?

Change doesn’t land unless you guide people through it.

6. The takeaway?

In urgent, messy transformations, there’s one pattern that holds:

Change succeeds when People × Systems × Strategy move together.


This article is adapted from my original LinkedIn post

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