Making Change Stick: Communication That Moves Past Barriers
Moving past exhaustion and frustration
by Mary Lou Panzano, change communications advisor
Founder and CEO at Panzano Enterprises, LLC
September 9, 2025
Change is constant. It’s one thing we can always count on. Why, then, do communicators continue to struggle with helping organizations implement effective change initiatives?
What are the barriers to success and how can these be conquered?
What role can communicators play to support leaders better as they drive change to improve their chances of success together?
The challenge is so prevalent that the central theme in the last Gallagher Employee Communications Report 2024-2025 is “Constant Change.” The report notes that change communications “blends into business-as-usual as communicators juggle ongoing transformation and fatigued audiences.”
Interestingly, just five years ago, the central theme of that report was “prioritizing people.” Today, those same individuals typically handle 8-10 major changes at work simultaneously, not counting changes they’re experiencing in their personal lives.
Change fatigue is real. It dramatically affects an organization’s ability to adapt and successfully implement change.
At the same time, businesses face numerous economic, political, societal, technological, policy, market and competitive challenges that require constant adaptation for sustainable growth.
Employee demographics have also shifted. With five, possibly six generations in the workforce, employees' needs and demands vary greatly and continue to evolve. The reality leaders face is that the skills that enabled successful change in the past are no longer effective today and they will not be in the future.
Communications Professionals: Common Barriers
How can communicators take on a bigger role in partnering with leaders to consistently drive and successfully implement change?
First, let's look at some common barriers that many communicators face and then I’ll share a proven formula to overcome them.
A Barrage of Barriers
According to the Gallagher report, unclear guidance and/or visibility from leaders endangers businesses, resulting in lost productivity and decreased engagement during times of transformation.
The most significant barriers to success include a lack of time or capacity in the communicator’s team, change fatigue among employees, poor communication from both managers and leaders and a lack of clarity from the top.
The communicator's ability to deliver is affected by challenges such as gaining a seat at the senior leader decision-making table, having clear direction and support and demonstrating value through data.
Only 2% of communicators have “change” or “transformation” in their job titles, yet one-third spend their time leading transformative change communication programs.
I relate to these challenges because that's how I felt 30 years ago when I started my career in employee communications.
Dear Communicators, I Feel You
Throughout my career, not a day went by that I didn't lead communications for major change initiatives undertaken by the global companies I worked for, in addition to managing my regular work.
It was exhausting and frustrating at first when all the effort put into communicating these change programs didn't quite produce the expected results.
The workload often felt unmanageable, with scarce resources and a limited budget, if any. Expectations for delivering communication programs that supported the success of the change effort were high, sometimes unreasonably so.
Leaders demand a lot from their teams and high expectations are to be expected. However, when the pace becomes relentless over an extended period, it becomes increasingly difficult to stay productive and maintain both physical and mental health.
This can lead to burnout.
It was frustrating to recognize that the effort spent developing and recommending strategies and tactics was either not supported by leaders or mishandled.
Much of this frustration comes from communicators not having a seat at the strategic decision-making table. Information passes through one or more levels of leadership, often with personal interpretation.
This creates confusion and mixed messages about what the change entails, why it is necessary and how it affects employees, as well as what is expected of them during the transition.
Without early involvement and only partial information, designing effective communication strategies to support the change effort often felt like aiming at a moving target in the dark.
I felt like my team, the company and I were wasting time, money and energy.
Leaders often focus on the next strategic change or opportunity, while employees further down the line are still trying to understand what is happening now and why, and how it affects them. They are still adapting to the last wave of changes.
Additionally, I’ve observed that there is a lack of focus on evaluating the implementation of the previous change before proceeding to the next.
There had to be a better way.
Breaking Through The Barriers
Although much has changed in the world, the challenges of implementing successful change efforts remain largely the same. Early in my career, I faced many of the barriers highlighted in the Gallagher report. Decades later, those same barriers still exist.
Lack of clarity from leadership about the change, why it’s necessary, what the future looks like, how the change impacts employees and what support they will receive to help adapt to it.
Lack of connection with leadership early in the strategic decision-making process, as well as with leaders, managers and the broader employee base, once the change effort begins. It’s difficult to support a change initiative when there is little engagement and involvement.
Lack of care and concern for the organization's capacity to handle multiple change efforts at once and for the impact these changes will have on employees, their families and friends at work.
A lack of courage to take action — whether to pause, course correct or proceed as planned — as information about what is working, what isn’t and why becomes available. Resource constraints, such as people, funding, and data that communicators need to do their best work often must be fought for. And the battle is not always won.
The truth is that when the initiatives that leaders aim to implement to transform the organization fail, it’s often because of poor communication.
How can we break down these barriers to success and turn them into winning strategies? I’ve managed to do this successfully.
It’s time to help others achieve the same.
The Turning Point
After my brother passed away just a few weeks before his 61st birthday, I felt a calling to leave my lucrative, yet stressful and demanding corporate executive communications job and pursue what I always wanted to do: teach.
But I lacked clarity about what to teach and to whom. Retiring from corporate life gave me the freedom, space and time to reflect on my life. Through meditation and deep prayer, I was inspired to help others learn the formula I have repeatedly used to support successful change initiatives that achieve their goals.
Communicators Winning Advantage … and Formula for Success
Communication professionals develop strategies to support change initiatives, often in addition to their everyday responsibilities. They work with and counsel leaders to craft and deliver messages related to the change and create programs that help managers and employees understand, align with and implement it.
Communicators have a clear advantage because they are connected to nearly every part of the business — and the best in the field stay informed. They understand employee sentiment and are aware of their concerns, challenges and strengths.
They manage most, if not all, communication channels and know what works, what doesn’t and why. These advantages give communicators a chance to enhance the likelihood of successful change, a capability that many other groups lack.
How can they leverage these strengths as they develop and lead the communication programs for change initiatives? Turn the barriers into success strategies, like I did.
After successfully leading a major change program at Bayer several years ago, which earned top employee communications awards, I was invited to speak about our efforts at various conferences. It was a challenge to condense three years of communications strategies and tactics into a 40-minute presentation, including a Q&A session.
As I reflected on the work my team and I did to support that program’s success, specific themes started to emerge.
These have since become the recipe for success in leading change communications programs – The 4Cs Change FrameworkTM. This approach has served me, my team and my company well. It works with any change management protocol and can be applied in business and in life.
The 4Cs Change Framework™ Success Formula
The Framework consists of four components that work together. The 4Cs are Clarity, Connection, Caring, and Courage.
While each is unique, valuable and vital for a successful outcome of the change you’re trying to make, none can lead to success on its own. To effectively implement the change and achieve the desired result, you must activate all components together.
Clarity: Know and Stick to the Goal.
Knowing your goal is the first step toward making a change happen. It sounds simple, but it can be one of the hardest things to pinpoint.
For example, I was tasked with leading communications for a major company initiative. I wasn’t at the visioning meeting where senior leaders discussed the goals and objectives of the change. I asked several of them afterward (including my boss) to share the outcome of that discussion. I was told there really wasn’t one.
As I started asking the leaders individually, I heard similar yet distinct themes and messages. I had to create something to anchor our communications strategy to.
Fortunately, they all liked it because the three bullet points I developed based on those conversations became the key message platform for the entire project.
It’s essential to know what you’re working toward, why it matters and the outcome you want to achieve and to ensure alignment with it among leaders.
Knowing the purpose of the change is just as important as committing to it.
Too often, companies and individuals shift priorities or give up too soon. It’s useless to start a journey without knowing your destination and sticking with it. Clearly define the goal of the change and your reasons for pursuing it, so you can begin developing strategies and plans to reach it.
Connection. Engage and Involve Others.
Once you are clear about what you want, engage and involve others in working toward the goal. People can test ideas, theories and plans for you before you implement them.
People like to know what’s going on and why, show their support or tell you if something doesn’t feel right.
Getting perspectives from individuals with different viewpoints is essential. One of the most effective ways to engage people in a change journey is to invite them to problem-solve, raise issues or concerns and offer support as you develop and implement your plans.
Caring. Care About the Impact.
Showing genuine concern for how change impacts employees and stakeholders is essential. If people feel you don’t care about them, they won’t care about your initiatives.
Keep the domino effect in mind by thoughtfully considering how those impacted might feel, think, and experience the change and offer support throughout the transition.
Equally important is taking care of yourself during the planning and implementation phases. You can’t effectively lead and serve others if you are not in good health: physically, mentally and spiritually.
Courage: Take the Risk; Do What’s Right.
Nothing happens unless you take action. For change to occur, you must act. To grow, you need to take risks. Be wise with your choices.
The actions you choose should bring you closer to your goal. If they don’t seem to lead to what you want or align with your values, say “no!”
Stand up for your perspective and for those who may not have a strong voice. Speak out when something feels wrong and help prevent a potential disaster.
And always do the right thing, legally, ethically and morally. If you do what’s right, you can’t go wrong.
Now You Know. Now What?
This is the proven formula or recipe for successful change. Like any recipe, you need both the ingredients — the 4Cs I just revealed—and the instructions.
There are 12 behaviors, which I call the Principles of Prosperity, that serve as guidance on how to make the framework work best. I invite you to explore them further.
Communicators continue to face the challenge of meeting the ever-increasing demands of constant change that continues to accelerate at a rapid pace.
Leaders are encountering unprecedented challenges in an environment that is more unpredictable than ever. They need guidance, advice and insights from their communication professionals now more than ever.
The 4Cs Change Framework provides a practical and effective approach for communicators to enhance their likelihood of success when collaborating with leaders, enabling them to overcome barriers that hinder their ability to achieve the desired results.
It also helps communicators and their team stay grounded and focused on what matters most, their collective success.
Mary Lou Panzano is an award-winning communications executive with over 35 years of experience in employee communications at global companies, helping leaders successfully guide strategic organizational change initiatives.
She is a certified leadership coach, communications advisor, speaker and author with a passion for helping people succeed through any change they wish to make at work or in their lives.
Mary Lou is co-author of the book, Cracking the Rich Code, Volume 18, and authored her own book, Cementing Change: Cracking the Code for Communications that Work (Fall 2025): Discover the secrets to leading successful change so you can rise above common failures that cost companies millions and overwhelm employees.
