Podcasts · No Bullsh!t Leadership
Why Transformations Fail: 5 Reasons, and 3 Ways to Cope When It's Done to You
· 17 min · S1 E427
Episode Why Transformations Fail: 5 Reasons, and 3 Ways to Cope When It's Done to You
Most transformations don't transform all that much. They cost a lot of money, they suck a huge amount of the organisation's time and energy, and no one really checks to see if the benefits were ever delivered.
If you're not on the executive team, the whole thing just happens to you. But in reality, you're not as powerless as you might think.
In this episode, I dig into what transformation really is, why so few programs actually earn that label and, most importantly, why so many transformations fail.
I unpack a recent cover story from Harvard Business Review on the false alignment trap, which provides a really useful starting point for the discussion; I then add five more common reasons for transformation disasters; and I finish with three practical ways to get a hand on the wheel when transformation is being done to you.
Links mentioned in this episode:
No Bullsh!t Leadership episodes:
Ep.189: Successful Transformation: Is There Such a Thing?
Ep.363: 10 Steps to a Positive ROI From Your Tech Investments
Ep.89: Are All Projects Doomed?
Harvard Business Review article:
The False Alignment Trap
Amazon link:
No Bullsh!t Leadership
Program link:
Leadership Beyond the Theory
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Links in the notes 9
- https://hbr.org/2026/07/the-false-alignment-trap?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter_bimonthly&utm_campaign=bestofissue_Expired_Digital%20%26%20Print&deliveryName=NL_BestOfTheIssue_20260624
- https://www.amazon.com.au/No-Bullsh-Leadership-Martin-Moore/dp/1948122782/
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