Change Isn’t So Hard When Continual Improvement Is the Norm
We hear it all the time: “Change is hard.”
It’s almost a reflex now — the moment the word “change” enters the room, resistance follows it in like an unwelcome shadow.
I’ll be honest: I don’t leap out of bed each morning eager to reinvent my world. I like routines. Rituals. Familiarity. But even that sits comfortably with continual improvement, because improvement is about learning from experience, standard work — not about upheaval for its own sake.
As we often remind ourselves, “Not all change is improvement.”
That’s why we test. PDSA is our safety net; it helps us spot which changes actually improve the system and which belong in the recycling bin of bad idea.
A Well-Resourced Workplace… Missing the Essentials
Recently, I worked in a different environment. Modern equipment, good staffing, plenty of capability — all the ingredients for excellence. Yet something vital was missing, right where it should have been overflowing.
The team were professional, experienced, and warm. But the place was stuck in improvement limbo: ideas dismissed, the status quo guarded, and “we’ve always done it this way” echoing off every wall.
What was missing?
Joy in work — the bedrock of Lean, the heart of The Toyota Way, and a pillar of the Science of Improvement.
Listening Changes Everything
The work itself wasn’t what made the experience worthwhile. It was the people.
Even in their fatigue — and for some, near burnout — they were the highlight of my time there.
And most were disengaged. How could I tell? I simply did what improvement professionals are trained to do:
I asked questions. Then I listened.
A quick show of hands to a simple poll said everything:
“Who is currently looking for a new job?”
Too many hands.
They’d tried to improve their work, but every idea had hit a wall. Worse, some feared speaking up altogether. They cared deeply about surviving the day… but joy at work — a key element of the 'Quadruple Aim' — was nowhere to be seen. Joy at Work was clearly deemed important enough to evolve the 'Triple Aim'.
To feel unheard is one thing.
To feel that nobody even wants to hear you is far worse.
An Organisation With PDSA… But No Permission to Test
The irony was sharp.
This organisation has a PDSA-based improvement framework — on paper.
Yet here, ideas were plentiful but testing wasn’t allowed.
As someone guided by Deming and the principles of Lean, it was disheartening. The very people closest to the work — those who best understand the system — had been silenced. That isn’t respect. That isn’t leadership. And it certainly isn’t improvement.
Staff deserve to be empowered to test change ideas.
Improvement grows from the ground up, not from PowerPoint decks.
Feeling Invisible at Work
The disengagement ran deeper than just rejected ideas.
Staff told me they didn’t feel valued, recognised, or connected to the wider organisation. Their team didn’t even appear on the organisational chart pinned to the wall.
Imagine being literally erased from your own workplace.
Leadership visibility was another missing piece. When I asked if anyone had ever been visited by organisational leaders — or even heard about such visits — the answer was a collective, dispirited no.
Tick-Box Activities Aren’t Leadership
What I don’t want to see is the usual response: a flurry of tick-box activities dressed up as improvement.
One such example: Leadership Walkarounds. These can be powerful — if the right leaders show up regularly, listen with intent, follow through, and demonstrate respect through action. Without that, they’re just another performative ritual.
Listening matters.
Hearing matters.
Acting on what you hear matters even more.
The Real Reason Change Feels Hard
These staff had been proposing improvements for years. Many ideas; few approvals. And often, the rejection came with no good explanation. A small minority feared change; the majority lived with the consequences.
Here’s the truth:
Change isn’t hard when it’s grounded in testing ideas to improve the system.
What’s hard is fear, uncertainty, and the expectation of punishment for speaking up.
PDSA removes fear (with a little help)
Continual improvement reduces uncertainty.
Leadership that respects and develops people creates the conditions for joy in work — and the courage to experiment.
If we want improvement, we must let staff test their ideas.
If we want engagement, we must value their insights.
If we want joy in work, we must create systems that allow it to exist.
Change isn’t the enemy. A system that refuses to learn is.
Let Dr Deming have a few last words
When it comes to 'Joy at Work', I often reflect on a few of Dr Deming's wisdom:
"People are entitled to joy in work."
“Management’s overall aim should be to create a system in which everybody may take joy in their work.”
“The job of management is not supervision, but leadership. The aim of leadership should be to help people do a better job, with less effort, and to have joy in their work.”
References
Berwick DM, Nolan TW, Whittington J. The triple aim: care, health, and cost. Health Aff (Millwood). 2008;27(3):759-69.
Berwick DM, Nolan TW, Whittington J. The triple aim: care, health, and cost. Health Aff (Millwood). 2008;27(3):759-69.
Deming WE. Out of the Crisis. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press; 2000.
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Deming WE. The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education. 3rd ed. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press; 2018.
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