Shradha A.H. Ahuja

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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