Organizational transformations often come with asks for employees to change behaviors: Take more risks. Be experimental. Learn fast and pivot as needed. But too often leaders themselves default to legacy processes that reward predictability and risk avoidance. These three tests will determine whether you’re truly modeling the behavior you expect from your team.
The calendar test. Review how much time you spend on transformation efforts versus running existing operations. Make adjustments to balance your time between the two.
The uncertainty test. Ask: Does my leadership team have a shared experience of navigating uncertainty together? If not, work together on a live, unresolved bet. Make decisions before all the data is available, adjust as evidence changes, and own the result. This is what you’re asking employees to do.
The cancellation test. Challenge yourself to publicly stop an initiative that no longer deserves investment. Explain what changed, what you learned, and why you are redirecting resources. Ending a project you once supported is a highly visible act of change leadership.
