It Looked Like Progress
Until we looked closer.
A few months ago, I watched a team celebrate a successful automation rollout.
The dashboards were cleaner.
The workflows were faster.
Manual steps were eliminated.
On paper, it was a win.
But a few weeks later, something felt off.
Escalations were rising.
Tone in internal chats had shifted.
Decisions were technically correct, but relationally tone-deaf.
Nothing was broken.
But something was missing.
That’s the thing about progress.
It can perform well without actually landing.
Metrics can move.
Boxes can get checked.
Leaders can report success.
And still nothing has really changed.
I’ve seen this pattern more than once.
A new process rolls out.
Adoption looks strong.
The numbers say it’s working.
But when you zoom in:
People are complying, not committing.
Managers are enforcing, not reinforcing.
Teams are doing the thing without understanding the why.
That’s not progress.
That’s the performance of progress.
And it’s dangerous because it looks like success long enough to stop paying attention.
The real question isn’t: Did we implement the change?
It’s: Did the change actually take root?
What You Can Do This Week
Before your next change update or review, pressure-test your progress with these five questions:
Are people doing this because they have to or because they see the value?
What would happen if we stopped measuring it tomorrow?
Are managers reinforcing this in their own words or echoing talking points?
Where are the workarounds? (There are always workarounds.)
What’s the gap between what people report and what you observe?
If the answers make you pause, that’s the signal.
Progress that requires constant monitoring isn’t progress.
It’s compliance with a shelf life.
Looking Ahead
This is the shift I keep coming back to.
We don’t need more change initiatives.
We need change that actually lands.
Next week: what happens when we stop building for adoption, and start building for durability.
— Ali 🧡