The Brutal Truth About Why Your Team Falls Back Into Old Habits

This expert opinion by Bruce Eckfeldt, an Inc. 5000 CEO and strategic business coach, was originally published on Inc.com.

After working with many growing companies through major changes and spending more than 10 years helping teams adopt Lean and Agile methods, I’ve seen a clear pattern. The change efforts that last aren’t always the best-designed; they’re the best-supported. The most successful leaders treat putting plans into action as just as important as making the plans themselves.

Most change efforts follow a familiar pattern. At first, there’s a lot of excitement, then a tough adjustment period, and finally, people slowly return to their old ways. After six months, things often look much the same as before. Leaders often blame the plan or the timing, but the real issue is usually simpler: they announced the change but didn’t set up the support needed to make it last. They assumed people would just follow through once they understood the plan.

But it doesn’t work like that. Just knowing why change is needed doesn’t mean people will actually change their behavior. Even if they agree with the reasons, they might still find it hard to act differently. Real, lasting change requires clear systems for getting people involved, building skills, sustaining momentum, and reinforcing new habits.

Here are five principles that help change efforts succeed rather than fade away.

1. Involvement Creates Own.

When employees help shape how changes are put in place, they care more about making them work. This isn’t just about being polite and asking for feedback. It’s about realizing that the people doing the work often spot problems and opportunities that leaders don’t see. For example, a software company introducing a new project management system found that their engineers had concerns about workflows that never came up in planning meetings. By including engineers in planning the rollout and adjusting the tool, they found issues early and gained strong supporters. process.

2. Champions Spread Influence Beyond The Leadership Team.

When change comes only from the top, it often loses steam before reaching everyone. Managers might agree in meetings, but don’t always encourage their teams to get on board. The answer is to find champions across the company—people who believe in the change and can influence others. These champions aren’t always managers. They’re trusted voices at every level who can explain the vision in ways their coworkers understand. For instance, a manufacturing company found informal leaders on the shop floor who became the real drivers of a quality program that managers couldn’t get moving. These champions had trust that no executive message could match.

3. Early Wins Build Momentum.

People want to see that change is working before they fully buy in. Skeptics look for proof, and those on the fence need a reason to get involved. Good leaders look for quick, visible wins that show progress and make the change feel like it’s really happening. These wins don’t have to be big; they just need to be real and noticed. For example, a services company launching a new client onboarding process celebrated the first few successes in company meetings and shared the results. This public recognition encouraged others to join in and gave skeptics fewer reasons to resist.

4. Capability Makes Adoption Possible.

Even motivated employees will struggle if they lack the skills or resources to succeed in the new environment. Training isn’t optional; it’s infrastructure. Leadership teams often underestimate this, assuming people will figure it out or that a single workshop is sufficient. But asking employees to change behavior without giving them the tools to succeed breeds frustration and resentment. They want to comply but can’t. The best implementations pair new expectations with clear support systems, whether that’s formal training, coaching, reference materials, or dedicated time to practice before performance expectations kick in.

5. Reinforcement Makes New Behaviors The Default.

Old habits are hard to break. Without regular reminders and support, people slip back into their old ways, especially when things get busy. That’s why it’s important to build new behaviors into everyday routines, like metrics, recognition, and daily processes. The change should become part of how the team works, not just something extra to remember. For example, a company trying to adopt a new sales method finally made progress when it changed its weekly meetings to focus on the new approach. Sales reps had to use the method to prepare, so the new behavior became automatic.

Leaders who make change last know that putting plans into action isn’t something you do after making a strategy—it’s just as important and should happen at the same time. They set up systems for involvement, support, momentum, skill development, and reinforcement of new habits right from the start. Treating these steps as essential, not optional, is what turns short-term compliance into real, lasting change.