Transformation: what if the real challenge isn’t to act everywhere, but where it matters most?
written by Kristin Sax-Jansen
A major transformation project. A clear governance structure, a well-defined roadmap, technical experts already involved, and a timeline in place.
And yet, during our conversations with the leadership team of an international organization, one concern emerged:
“We’re going to move forward and leave part of the organization behind.”
The organization had already been communicating about the project. Yet questions remained scarce and employee participation limited. Behind this silence, however, were very real concerns: changing roles, new skills to acquire, new ways of working, finding one’s place in the future organization, and sometimes even the fear of losing one’s job.
The human dimension of transformation is nothing new.
But what if the real question isn’t how to support every aspect of a transformation, but where and when to act to help the whole organization move forward?
Don’t rehearse the entire score, all the time
This way of approaching transformation is partly rooted in my experience of music.
When working on a piece, musicians don’t simply rehearse the entire score from beginning to end, over and over again. Difficult passages are isolated and worked on separately. Specific sections rehearse together when an interaction requires particular attention. Then, gradually, everything is brought back into the whole.
And sometimes, something that felt difficult in isolation begins to fall into place once it is supported by the harmony of the orchestra.
The effort is focused where it is needed, when it is needed.
This is one of the principles that inspired the ROI© Method: Resonance – Orchestration – Impact.
Resonance: listen before taking action
Effective communication alone does not always reveal what is actually happening around a transformation project.
The first step is therefore to listen and understand. What different perceptions coexist within the organization? Where are the concerns, uncertainties or resistance? Which early signals are not emerging through the usual communication channels?
Creating opportunities for genuine dialogue helps bring these perceptions to the surface and directs attention toward the areas where it can make the greatest difference, rather than applying the same approach to everyone.
Orchestration: one rhythm, different tempos
Every transformation has an overall rhythm: deadlines and operational, financial or regulatory constraints that shape the project.
But a shared rhythm does not mean the same tempo for everyone.
Different functions, teams or geographies may need different amounts of time to understand, adjust to and adopt change.
Middle managers play a crucial role here. Positioned between corporate direction and day-to-day realities, they often absorb questions, concerns and operational friction, while not always being sufficiently equipped or supported to do so.
The goal is not to make everyone move in exactly the same way, but to enable the different parts of the organization to move forward together.
Impact: when the transformation starts to belong to everyone
For a transformation to create impact, it also needs a compelling narrative.
A clear story creates meaning, provides reassurance and helps people understand how they can contribute. Project sponsors play an essential role in making the vision tangible and giving it credibility.
In an international organization, this also means recognizing that the same message will not necessarily resonate in the same way everywhere.
What is communicated is not always what is received.
Impact builds progressively as teams stop seeing the transformation simply as “the project” led by a small group of people and begin to make it part of their own day-to-day reality.
Focus where it matters
This is not about underestimating the complexity of transformation. Nor is it about doing less.
It is about looking more closely at where attention and support are most needed, and allowing those targeted adjustments to strengthen the wider transformation.
Just as in an orchestra, not everyone needs to work on everything, all the time.
Sometimes, focusing on a few critical passages at the right moment is what enables the whole orchestra to move forward in harmony.
