Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Most organizational change efforts fail. Studies show that around 70% of change initiatives flop, leaving behind frustration, wasted time, and a trail of disengaged teams.
Why? Because most change focuses on the surface – new tools, new slogans, new org charts – without ever touching the structure underneath. It’s an illusion of change. And people can smell it a mile away.
Real transformation starts with rethinking how your organization actually works. And for us, that means one thing: flatten the hierarchy and redesign for clarity, speed, and autonomy.
Let’s break it down:
- Why most organizational change fails
- What is organizational change (really)?
- Types of organizational change
- Why managing organizational change is so hard
- Flatten the hierarchy: the change that works
- How to manage organizational change (the Rebel way)
- Tools and resources for managing change
- Don’t tweak. Transform.
Why most organizational change fails
So, it's a fact: most organizational change efforts fail.
Despite the money, time, and energy thrown into managing organizational change, most of it collapses under its own weight. The big announcement is made. The slide decks are rolled out. And then… nothing sticks.
Why?
Because most organizations treat change as a surface-level exercise.
They change job titles, rearrange reporting lines, or launch new internal slogans, while leaving the underlying system exactly the same.
- The hierarchy stays rigid.
- Decisions still escalate to the top.
- Control remains centralized.
It looks like a transformation from the outside, but the core structure – the thing that really shapes behavior – never moves. And the people actually doing the work don’t feel like anything has changed at all.
That’s why we take a different approach.
What is organizational change (really)?
Organizational change is the structured approach to transitioning an organization from its current state to a desired future state. The transition can be anywhere: strategy, policies, procedures, company culture, or structure. In fact, a shift in one area often means other parts of the company change as well.
It’s more than a reorg. More than a new tech rollout. And definitely more than a leadership memo.
Organizational change is the intentional process of redesigning a company’s structure, culture, systems, or strategy to adapt to new realities – or to create new ones.
That might mean:
- Moving from a traditional hierarchy to self-managed teams
- Changing how goals are set and tracked
- Evolving the company’s values or behaviors
- Shifting roles and responsibilities to align with a new mission
- Adopting more agile, adaptive ways of working
The key word? Intentional. Change happens all the time, often by accident. But managing organizational change means shaping it on purpose. It means having a vision, engaging your people, and adjusting not just the what, but the how and why of your work.
Types of organizational change
There are many ways an organization can change, but it boils down to two kinds.
Depending on what part of the organization is being changed, there are 5 main types of organizational change.
Why managing organizational change is so hard
Managing organizational change is tough. That’s when you run into the messy, emotional, and political reality of shifting how people work, lead, and relate to power.
Here’s why most change efforts stall, fizzle, or fail (even with good intentions):
Resistance to change
People don’t resist change because they’re lazy. They resist it because they’ve seen it before, and nothing ever really changes. Or worse, because past change meant confusion, layoffs, or more bureaucracy.
Trust has to be earned. And if you’re not managing expectations, involving people early, or clearly explaining the why, resistance is inevitable.
Power structures don't want to be dismantled
Change threatens power. Period. And in many organizations, power is concentrated at the top. Even when decisions would be better made closer to the work.
Flattening hierarchies, redistributing decision-making, or increasing transparency can spark major defensiveness from leadership.
You must be prepared to challenge outdated control systems to manage organizational change.
Communication breakdowns
One email doesn't mean alignment. Change dies fast when communication is unclear, inconsistent, or condescending.
People want:
- Clarity (what’s changing and why?)
- Honesty (what will be hard?)
- Participation (do we have a voice in this?)
Most change communication is top-down and overly polished. The best orgs communicate early, often, and openly, even when they don’t have all the answers.
Treating change as an event, not a process
A new strategy, tool, or team structure is just the starting line. Sustained change requires iteration, feedback loops, and cultural reinforcement.
In short, managing organizational change is hard because it’s not only technical. It’s also human and emotional. It threatens comfort, identity, and power. If you’re not addressing that human layer, the structure doesn’t stand a chance.
That’s why real change requires more than plans. It requires courage, clarity, and systems that actually support new behaviors.
Flatten the hierarchy: the change that works
Let's be honest, the deeper issue in most companies isn’t strategy, culture, or communication. It’s the structure.
Traditional hierarchies slow everything down:
- Decisions bottleneck at the top.
- Managers hoard control instead of enabling action.
- People wait for approval instead of taking ownership.
If you want to drive real organizational change, flattening the hierarchy is one of the most effective levers you’ve got.
Flattening removes unnecessary layers and pushes authority to the edges, closer to the people actually doing the work:
- Faster decisions.
- Higher engagement.
- Clearer accountability.
- More innovation, less permission-seeking.
And no, it’s not chaos. It’s clarity, with fewer middle layers getting in the way.
Real-world proof: Indaero’s transformation
Indaero is a Spanish aerospace company, founded in 1969 and headquartered in Seville, Spain.
We acquired Indaero through our impact fund Krisos in 2023. In just 12 months, we completely transformed how the company operates: the five layers of hierarchy were replaced with seven self-managing teams; we introduced full financial transparency and profit-sharing (25%) for all employees.
Here’s what changed:
- Empowerment and ownership: By transitioning to self-management, employees gained more control over their work. This empowerment fostered a sense of ownership and accountability, leading to increased engagement and motivation.
- Improved collaboration: Removing layers sparked cross-team communication and problem-solving.
- Transparency and trust: Open salaries and financial transparency aligned people with the mission and built mutual respect.
- Increased agility: With a flatter structure, decisions sped up, and the company could respond to changes in real time.
- Enhanced innovation: People started taking initiative without waiting for approval, unlocking more creativity across the org.
- Financial and human growth: The results were undeniable. 50% revenue growth, nearly doubled profits, higher salaries, and more diverse leadership.
Indaero didn’t just restructure. It rebuilt how people work, lead, and grow together.
How to manage organizational change (the Rebel way)
Most change initiatives are designed for control, not transformation. They’re top-down, tightly scripted, and only look good on paper.
That’s not how real change happens.
If you want to lead organizational change that actually works, you need to stop managing people through it and start redesigning the system around them. Here's how to do it.
Step 1. Define the purpose and vision for change.
Before anything moves, get crystal clear on why change is needed and where you're trying to go. People don’t buy into change because it’s smart. They buy in because it’s meaningful.
Step 2. Engage teams early (don't just announce).
Change doesn’t fail because the idea was bad. It fails because people weren’t part of it. Bring employees in early. Invite feedback. Co-create the process. Ownership should be the goal.
Step 3. Start with pilot teams.
Don’t roll out change across the entire company in one go. Pick one team, one unit, or one area to test the change. Try new workflows. Flatten reporting lines. Prove the concept. Iterate fast. Scale what works.
Step 4. Dismantle old power structures.
Here’s where most change efforts get scared. Real transformation means letting go: of layers, control, and outdated leadership roles. You can’t build a new way of working on top of the old one.
Flatten the hierarchy. Shift decision rights. Rebuild trust where bureaucracy used to sit.
Step 5. Replace with clarity, distributed decision-making, and radical transparency.
Removing hierarchy doesn't create chaos if you have the right structures and clarity in place. Create role-based accountability, shared goals, and transparent systems for decision-making. Everyone should know:
- What they’re responsible for
- Who they collaborate with
- How decisions get made
This is how you build confidence in a new structure.
Step 6. Measure what matters.
Don’t obsess over vanity metrics. Track the things that actually show progress:
- Team engagement
- Decision-making speed
- Cross-functional flow
- Customer value delivery
- Psychological safety
If you only measure profit, you’ll miss the early signals that your change is (or isn’t) working.
Step 7. Evolve continuously.
Organizational change isn’t a project with an end date. The best organizations design for evolution. They build in reflection, feedback loops, and rituals that make change part of how they work.
Want a detailed playbook to apply these steps inside your organization? Our Masterclass: Progressive Organizational Design walks you through how the world’s most progressive teams redesign roles, power, and structure.
Tools and resources for managing organizational change
If you’re serious about leading real organizational change, you don’t just need bold ideas. You need practical tools, frameworks, and examples to make it happen.
Masterclass: Progressive Organizational Design
Our Masterclass is built for people redesigning the way their organization works – from structure to decision-making to culture.
In the Masterclass, you'll learn how to:
- Identify what’s broken in your current structure.
- Replace outdated hierarchy with role-based clarity and autonomy.
- Redesign decision-making processes to be fast, fair, and team-led.
- Apply change frameworks used by pioneers like Haier, Buurtzorg, and Viisi.
- Avoid common traps while building something radically better.
It’s trusted by leaders from Patagonia, IKEA, Bayer, Starbucks, Fujitsu, and hundreds more. Learn at your own pace or with your team.
Learn more and join the next cohort here.
We also share our insights through our blog. Dive deeper into topics like autonomy, networks of teams, organizational change, and more here.
Don't tweak.
Transform.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from visiting 150+ progressive organizations around the world, it’s this: The companies that thrive don’t manage change. They are change.
They don’t wait for permission. They don’t layer new buzzwords on top of old power structures. And they definitely don’t waste time tweaking systems that were broken from the start.
Instead, they redesign from the ground up. They build flat, transparent, adaptive systems where people own decisions, share information, and move fast.
They trust teams. They evolve constantly. And they measure success in both human and business terms.
If your organization is stuck in change cycles that never stick, here’s a challenge for you:
- Audit your hierarchy. What’s really holding people back?
- Pilot a flatter model in one team. Test autonomy, trust, and role clarity.
- Join a global community of Rebels doing the same.
And if you’re ready to go deeper, take the next step with our Masterclass in Progressive Organizational Design.
Because real organizational change starts with the courage to redesign how work actually works.