Insight

If Only 1 in 5 managers feel ready for change, maybe it’s not them, maybe it’s us

You can’t scroll two swipes on LinkedIn without seeing the word “transformation.” New strategy. New structure. New tech stack. And in every case, the same exhausted middle layer is expected to make it happen.
Here’s the problem: most of them don’t feel ready.
Only one in five managers say they feel equipped to lead through change (Gartner, 2024).
And they’re not being dramatic. They’re being honest.
Because what we’re still calling “change management” is often stuck in a world that no longer exists.

We’re asking managers to lead change with outdated mental models

Most organisations still treat change like it’s a sequence: plan → communicate → implement → sustain. It’s neat. It’s logical. It’s dead.
Modern change is layered, politicised, emotionally loaded and non-linear. It collides with other forces already in motion. It demands sense making, not just execution.
But managers haven’t been given the tools, or the permission, to work in that space.
And it shows:

• 54% of managers say they’re unclear on how change decisions get made
  (McKinsey, 2023)
• 65% say they’re held accountable for outcomes they had no hand in shaping
  (DDI Global Leadership Forecast)
• Over 70% of transformation efforts still fail to meet expectations
  (HBR, Kaplan & Norton)

Not because the strategy is flawed, but because it breaks down at the point where it’s meant to become behaviour.

What the data says is really going on

This isn’t about mindset. It’s about mismatch, between the complexity of modern change and the outdated mental models we’ve handed our managers. The data speaks volumes:

• Managers are still being briefed when they should be co-creating.
  60% of managers report they’re not consulted early enough to shape the changes they’re later asked to lead.
  (PwC Future of Work and Skills Survey, 2023)
• They’re stuck in two worlds, BAU and change, and being asked to “prioritise both.”
  72% of managers say they’re expected to deliver change outcomes in addition to their current responsibilities, with no adjustment in scope or support.
  (CIPD People Profession Survey, 2023)
• We’re overestimating mindset and underfunding method.
  While 82% of organisations say change is a strategic priority, fewer than one in four have embedded change capability into leadership development.
  (Brandon Hall Group, 2024)

The takeaway? Managers aren’t lacking motivation. They’re lacking a reality check from the top.

Want to know what high-performing organisations are doing differently:

They’re rewiring their expectations, and their support systems.

• Change isn’t a rollout, it’s a context shift.
  The best orgs are training managers to read the room, not just read the brief.
• They’re building change fluency, not forcing compliance.
  That means coaching in the moment, not just toolkits in induction.
• They’re treating the middle layer as architects, not messengers.

If your strategy can’t survive the translation into day-to-day decision making, it’s not a strategy. It’s a narrative.

The real question isn’t “Why aren’t they stepping up?” it’s “Why are we still surprised?”

We’ve created a change theatre: post-it notes, vision statements, brave slides…and then we throw it at managers and ask them to believe, deliver and absorb all at once.
If they feel unequipped, maybe they are.
But more importantly: maybe we’re equipping them for a version of change that no longer exists.

Let’s end on this:

If you want more of your managers to step into real change leadership, you must stop teaching them to manage change like it’s a tidy process.
You need to help them lead change as it really is: messy, human, political, adaptive.
And that means less “alignment sessions” and more real talk.
Because one in five isn’t a readiness problem.

It’s a design failure.
And it’s ours.