Most people have seen it happen. A wave of consultants shows up, energy rises, dashboards light up, and momentum feels unstoppable. Then the consultants leave. Slowly, the focus fades. Employees know the pattern. They’ve seen big initiatives start strong and then burn out.
At Coforge, we believe it doesn’t have to be that way. Four areas must always be considered when planning and executing a transformation. Ignoring them diminishes the likelihood of long-term success.
This sequence, leadership from within, process, focus, and communication, is how Coforge approaches transformation. It’s how we help organizations move from short bursts of activity to lasting change.
One of the clearest lessons we’ve seen is that employees always know who is in charge. If they think outsiders are calling the shots, trust fades. People assume the effort will be temporary and have learned to wait it out.
However, something shifts when leaders are their own executives, managers, and team leads. Employees pay attention. They may not agree with every detail, but they know the message is real because it comes from people they work with daily. That credibility rests on trust. And trust isn’t built overnight. It grows from shared experiences and consistent behavior. External consultants can’t make that level of confidence in a few months. They can guide, coach, and prepare the leaders, but can’t replace them.
While working on a SAFe transformation for a major insurance firm, we decided to lead it because no one on their team had the right experience. The transformation itself went well and was celebrated as a success. But once we left, the focus on the transformation and the idea of continuous improvement was lost. Soon, the detractors resurfaced and reverted to their waterfall ways of working. This diminished the value of the transformation, and most of the efficiency gains were lost. In the end, they were SAFe in name only.
At Coforge, we help identify the right leaders and ensure they’re ready for the role. Some are natural motivators, while others need help communicating or dealing with resistance. We provide that support, but the spotlight should never be on us, it should always be on your leaders.
Over the years, two models have shaped most conversations about change: Kotter’s Eight Steps and Prosci’s ADKAR®. They aren’t in conflict. They simply view change from different angles. Kotter builds energy and momentum, while ADKAR gives managers and employees clear, practical steps. Each has strengths and weaknesses. Together, they can cover each other’s gaps.
Kotter’s 8-Step
Strengths: It creates urgency and builds momentum. It inspires culture shifts. It aligns leadership and rallies people around a vision.
Weaknesses: It can feel top-down. There are risks of creating excitement without enough follow-through. It can also be overwhelming for teams at the ground level.
Prosci’s ADKAR
Strengths: It focuses on the individual. It breaks change into clear steps (awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, reinforcement). It is easy to measure and track progress.
Weaknesses: Can feel transactional. Lacks the “big why” and emotional spark. Risks become a checklist without energy behind it.
At Coforge, we don’t pick one framework over the other. We blend them based on what will work within your organization. Kotter provides the spark and the urgency. ADKAR provides the structure and reinforcement. The balance depends on the organization.
And frankly, a rigid, top-down rollout rarely works. When frameworks bend to fit the company’s culture and working methods, employees feel less overwhelmed and more engaged. That’s when change starts to stick and eventually grows into their way of working.
Change that lasts needs attention on three levels: the Individual, Culture, and the Environment.
Think of it like a three-legged stool. The stool only works when all three legs are the right length. If one is shorter, it wobbles. If one is missing, you fall off. The same is true for transformation. If you leave out the individual, ignore the culture, or fail to shape the environment, the effort becomes unstable and harder to sustain.
The Individual
People want to know about the changes in their jobs, careers, and daily work. That’s the WIIFM. But clarity isn’t enough. If people feel unsafe or left out, they won’t engage. Maslow’s hierarchy reminds us that basic needs like stability and belonging must come first. Only then can people focus on growth and innovation. Communication and marketing campaigns play a big role here. They repeat the message in simple, clear ways, helping people see how the change connects to their work and future.
Culture
Change sticks when it feels shared, and that requires psychological safety. Employees need to feel they can ask questions, share concerns, and even make mistakes without fear of punishment. When safety is present, people are more open to change and more willing to enable continuous improvement. Kotter’s idea of “enlisting a volunteer army” captures the energy needed: broad participation and visible champions across the organization.
But energy fades if nothing reinforces it. This is where Prosci’s focus on reinforcement matters. Recognizing small wins, rewarding new behaviors, and showing leaders modeling the change turns a burst of energy into a lasting culture. Together, Kotter and Prosci create both spark and staying power, but psychological safety keeps the culture healthy enough to sustain them.
Environment
Systems and structures either support the change or block it. The balance between hierarchy and Agile is critical. Hierarchy gives stability, order, and accountability. Agile gives speed, flexibility, and innovation. Both are needed. Too much hierarchy and creativity can fade. Too much agility and chaos take over. Prosci helps organizations lock changes into processes and systems so they become the norm. Kotter’s XLR8 adds the idea of a dual operating system: one side provides structure, the other drives innovation. When they work together, stability and agility stop competing and complement each other.
When all three legs of the stool are in place, the individual is engaged, culture is supported with a psychologically safe mindset, and an environment that balances stability with agility, the change is steady and resilient. At Coforge, we help organizations balance the stool, ensuring these three dimensions work together so transformation lasts.
If leadership is the anchor and process is the frame, communication is the thread that ties them together. Without it, nothing holds. Too often, organizations treat communication as announcements. Emails, town halls, intranet posts. People might read them, then carry on as usual. That isn’t real communication. Real communication inspires and instructs. It gives urgency and clarity. It makes people feel the “why” and shows them the “how.”
At Coforge, we combine the best of several approaches. Kotter’s WIIFM focus and MarCom storytelling connect emotionally. Prosci’s adoption steps and IABC standards add structure. One without the other falls short. Together, they create communication that moves people to believe and act.
We also use our ICAR rhythm: Inform people about the change, connect it to what they care about, activate them with clear actions, and reinforce progress until it becomes a habit. MarCom techniques add energy, creativity, and repetition so messages resonate.
Let’s face it: Communication has to come from the client leaders. People listen when their manager explains what’s changing and why. They tune out when it’s a consultant or a faceless announcement. That’s why we always put your leaders at the center of the story. We work with your leaders to craft the messages and give them the skills to improve continuously after we leave.
We saw this play out in one organization that focused its entire message on the new system and how employees would work in it. WIIFM was never addressed. Employees quickly drew their own conclusions. Many assumed the drive for efficiency meant staff reductions were around the corner. Fear spread, and instead of excitement, resistance grew. The lesson was clear: if WIIFM is missing, people will fill in the blanks, usually with the worst-case scenario.
Even with strong frameworks, organizations stumble. Some of the common mistakes include:
These aren’t failures of intelligence. They’re failures of consistency. We’ve seen organizations trip on these more than once, and it’s worth pausing on them because they come up repeatedly. Coforge helps leaders avoid these traps and stay disciplined.
At Coforge, we don’t believe in creating short bursts of activity. We focus on building lasting change.
Our philosophy is straightforward. Trusted leaders inside the company must lead change. Frameworks like Kotter and ADKAR are tools, not rules, and should bend to fit your organization. Transformation also benefits from paying attention to the three legs of the stool: the individual, the culture, and the environment. Communication must be at the center, connecting emotionally and practically, so people believe and act. Culture, in particular, requires psychological safety because without it, continuous improvement cannot thrive.
When these areas are considered, the probability of success rises dramatically. Employees trust their leaders. The frameworks support rather than restrict. Communication inspires and instructs. The stool stays balanced because no leg is neglected.
That’s the Coforge approach. We don’t just help you design change; we help you live it day after day.