The Three Conditions That Matter Most for Transformation

Most transformations don’t fail because of poor strategy. They fail because the organization isn’t set up to change.

Leaders often focus on refining strategy, restructuring teams, and launching new initiatives. But even the most well-designed plans stall when the underlying conditions for change aren’t in place.

Our research shows that transformation success depends less on leaders’ plans, and more on whether they genuinely believe in the change. This aligns with our experience working with clients, where this gap is often rooted in a disconnect in belief. While many leaders understand the need for change, fewer are deeply convinced or able to instill that conviction across the organization, or actively create the conditions that allow change to take hold.

Russell Reynolds Associates’ Transformational Leadership Study reveals that only about one in three (29%) of leaders believe their organization has been extremely or very successful in their transformation efforts, despite a large majority (79%) of leaders agreeing that transformation is extremely or very critical to their organizations long-term growth and stability.

So why is success so elusive?

Perhaps one of the biggest barriers is organizational inertia. As leaders, you know better than anyone that changing the status quo—even within small portions of the business—is extremely hard. Yet, even when the right systems of transformation are in place, deeply ingrained ways of working can derail the most thoughtfully designed transformations. That’s why creating the conditions for change is such an important leadership responsibility.

The three conditions that drive transformation success

By linking the conditions for change to transformation’s outcomes, a clear pattern emerged. While all eight factors play important roles, three consistently have a disproportionate impact on success. Together, they account for more than half (56%) of the difference between transformations that stall and those that deliver lasting results.

Figure 1: The eight organizational conditions needed for transformation—and the three that stand above the rest

^{Source: Russell Reynolds Associates 2025 Transformational Leadership Survey}

Figure 2: Relative impact of factors on transformation success

^{Source: Russell Reynolds Associates 2025 Transformational Leadership Survey | Among CEOs, C-level leaders, and next-gen leaders (n=1,245) | Note: This analysis shows which factors are most influential relative to others. Lower-ranked items may still matter—they simply exert less relative impact in this context.}

Key Takeaways

• Transformation success depends on leadership creating the right conditions, not just strategy
  Even well-designed transformation plans fail when organizations lack the underlying readiness and belief needed to support change.
  
  
• A change-ready culture is the strongest driver of success
  Organizations that encourage experimentation, continuous learning, and challenging the status quo are far more likely to sustain transformation.
  
  
• High-impact talent accelerates progress
  Having the right people in the right roles—along with a focus on reskilling and, when necessary, reshaping leadership teams—is critical to moving transformation forward.
  
  
• Clarity turns intent into action
  Clear goals, defined roles, and a shared understanding of the “why” enable faster decision-making, alignment, and execution across the organization.
  
  
• Leadership behavior sets the foundation for change
  Successful transformations are driven by leaders who communicate consistently, align incentives, model desired behaviors, and actively shape culture across the business.

Authors

Ela Buczynska is a member of RRA’s Center for Leadership Insight. She is based in Chicago.
Bob Marcus is a senior member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Leadership Advisory practice. He is based in New York.
Sean Dineen is a senior member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Leadership Advisory practice. He is based in Boston.