Personal Transition: A Leadership Reflection
A few years ago my seven-year-old daughter finally learned to ride a bike.
Her twin sister had mastered it two years earlier. Both had completed cycle training in a school hall. On paper, the capability had been built. In reality, every attempt to ride outdoors ended the same way, scraped knees, tears, and a firm decision never to try again.
Over time, the identity settled in. “I can’t ride a bike.” The outcome was desirable in theory, but not wanted enough to outweigh the fear of falling.
Then something shifted. She began talking positively about trying again. So we went to an empty car park at the local sports centre. I ran alongside her, holding her shoulder as she pedalled in shaky circles. Progress was incremental. Towards the end of the session, I let go. She managed three metres on her own. I told her it was twenty. Ice cream followed.
A week later we went to a busy park. This time, after one tentative loop with me holding on, she found her balance and rode away. I was no longer needed. Confidence grew with every metre. She was not “trying to ride a bike.” She was a cyclist.
Watching this unfold, I was reminded how similar personal transition in organisations can be.
In transformation programmes, we invest heavily in design. We define target operating models, select systems, agree governance, set milestones. In theory, the capability exists once the solution is built and training is delivered.
In practice, the first real attempt often determines what happens next.
A difficult first experience with a new system or process can reinforce self-doubt. A poorly supported role transition can confirm someone’s fear that they are not equipped for the future state. Like a fall from a bike, the emotional memory lingers longer than the technical lesson.
Three observations from that car park and park feel particularly relevant for leaders.
1. The outcome must be personally compelling.
Riding a bike only became possible when my daughter genuinely wanted it. In organisations, the strategic rationale is rarely enough. Individuals need to see what the change means for them, how it affects their work, their confidence, their prospects.
2. Early experiences matter disproportionately.
Initial failure can lock in resistance. Early wins, even small ones, can unlock momentum. Support at the moment of first attempt is more valuable than broad communication campaigns delivered months earlier.
3. Confidence grows through doing, not through explanation.
No amount of discussion about balance substitutes for pedalling independently, even briefly. Similarly, behavioural adoption in organisations happens when people try the new way, supported, encouraged and allowed to improve in motion.
The distinction between organisational change and personal transition is critical.
Organisational change is structural and visible. New processes, systems and reporting lines. Personal transition is internal. It involves identity, emotion and a temporary loss of competence while new skills form. Leaders often measure the former and assume the latter will follow. It does not always do so.
In the park, my role shifted from instructor to quiet presence. The design was no longer the issue. Confidence and repetition were.
The same applies in transformation. The value of any programme is realised only when individuals move from “this is the new process” to “this is how I work.” That shift cannot be mandated. It has to be enabled.
My daughter’s breakthrough was not about a bike. It was about belief, support and the timing of intervention.
For leaders, the lesson is straightforward. Design the future state carefully. But pay equal attention to the moment when someone first lets go and pedals alone. That is where transformation either embeds, or stalls.
From a climate transition perspective - strategy, governance and investment decisions must be matched by equal attention to human adoption. Structural alignment without behavioural transition delivers limited value. Leaders who recognise the emotional and identity shift embedded in any change initiative design more resilient organisations. They move beyond announcing the future state and focus on enabling people to inhabit it.
