From Projects to Patterns: Making Change That Lasts

Through the 5 Lenses – December Edition

Looking Back to Look Forward

Over the past few months, we've explored what it takes for change to feel human – not just efficient.

In October, we asked: what kind of culture do we want as humans and AI learn together?

In November, we discovered that the future belongs to leaders who balance kindness with data literacy. 

Now, as we close 2025, one question remains:

How do we make it stick?

Because here's what I've learned: change used to be about projects. Today, it's about patterns.

Sustainable change doesn't live in the project plan. It lives in the patterns people repeat when no one's watching: the small moments of reflection, the shared language of purpose, the everyday behaviours that turn new systems into new habits.

Why So Many Change Projects Fade (And How Long It Really Takes)

Most of us have lived this story before.  Research consistently shows that the majority of organisational transformations fail to achieve their goals, often because new patterns never take root. The launch gets energy, funding, and attention, but then the rhythm stops.

People return to old habits, priorities shift, and the “change” becomes something that happened to them, not something they live.  It's rarely the plan that fails. It's the pattern that doesn't change.

But even successful change takes longer than we think.

Studies show it takes an average of five to seven years to embed sustained change in an organisation (Prosci). For individual habits, research reveals an average of 66 days, with a range of 18 to 254 days depending on the complexity of the behaviour (UCL; Wiley Online Library).

When those habits involve teams, systems, and shared practices, the timeline extends considerably.  This isn’t about going slower. It’s about building the right rhythms from the start. Rhythms that don’t depend on constant oversight but become self-sustaining.

Organisations lose momentum because performance disciplines end with the project, incentives aren't aligned with new objectives, and leaders stop investing in the future (McKinsey & Company).

We treat transformation like a finish line instead of the start of a new way of working. When the pressure lifts, people naturally slide back to familiar routines unless something deeper shifts: how they meet, decide, learn, and connect.

From Projects to Patterns: The 5 Lenses Approach

This is where frameworks become essential, not as rigid templates, but as lenses that help us see what's missing.

John Kotter's research on organisational transformation shows that successful change depends on anchoring new behaviours in culture (ResearchGate). That means creating patterns that persist even when the change team moves on, when priorities shift, or when the initial urgency fades.

This is where the 5 Lenses come in...

The 5 Lenses: Purpose, People, Power, Process, and Practice offer a diagnostic framework for identifying what's missing when change stalls. Rather than focusing solely on delivery milestones, they surface the human and systemic conditions that make change sustainable.

When these five dimensions align, momentum becomes self-sustaining. Change no longer depends on a central project team, it becomes how the organisation learns.

The 5 Lenses: Building Patterns That Last

As we head into 2026, use each Lens to explore where your organisation's patterns support or stall progress.

🎯 Purpose – Reconnect daily work to why the change matters

Keeps energy alive long after milestones fade

Patterns that help:

• Make data visible. Use dashboards, visual trackers, or shared boards to keep purpose tangible and progress visible.
• Link daily tasks to outcomes. Help teams see how their work connects to the bigger “why.”

Reflect: Is our “why” visible in daily decisions? Which patterns are helping our change to stick?

👥 People – Share learning stories and peer role-modelling

Normalises the new behaviours and builds psychological safety

Patterns that help:

• Start every team meeting with “what’s working well.” Builds safety, celebrates learning, and reinforces what's already strong.
• Create a “change playlist.” Share short stories of progress and learning moments across teams to normalise new ways of working.

Reflect: Do we make learning safe and visible? Who or what are we grateful for in sustaining this journey?

⚖️ Power – Encourage ownership at every level

Reduces dependency on central teams or “change champions”

Patterns that help:

• End projects with “what will we keep?” not just “what did we deliver?” Gives teams ownership over which lessons and practices continue.
• Push decision-making closer to the work. Let those who do the work shape how it's done.

Reflect: Do those closest to the work have the authority to make improvements? What are we still doing that belongs to the “old world”?

⚙️ Process – Build simple feedback loops

Helps teams see and fix friction early

Patterns that help:

• Create quick feedback rituals. Short retrospectives, pulse surveys, or “friction spotting” sessions help teams identify and address issues in real time.
• Make it easy to surface problems. Anonymous suggestion boxes, open office hours, or dedicated Slack or Teams channels lower the barrier to raising concerns.

Reflect: Are our routines helping or hindering progress? How effective are our feedback loops?

🔄 Practice – Make reflection and iteration part of normal work

Turns one-off change into continuous improvement

Patterns that help:

• Reward curiosity, not perfection. Highlight teams who test, learn, and adapt in real time rather than those who just hit targets.
  
  
• Build learning into project cycles. Reserve time for reflection, experimentation, and course correction at every stage.
  
  

Reflect: What habits help us learn faster than we change? Where do we need to shift from compliance to curiosity?

👉 Choose one Lens to strengthen in early 2026 - that’s where sustainable momentum begins.

Closing Reflections

We began this quarter asking what kind of culture we want to build with AI.  We discovered that leadership of that culture must be both kind and data-literate. Now, as we head into 2026, it’s worth remembering that the real measure of transformation isn’t how many projects we launch, it’s how many patterns endure.

Change sticks when purpose stays visible, when learning stays active, and when leadership stays kind. So before the year ends, take a pause with your teams: reconnect to purpose, notice what’s working, and honour the people keeping it alive.

To every client, collaborator, and colleague who's modelled these ideas in action, thank you.  You've shown that calm, clear, human-centred change isn't just possible – it's powerful.

Here's to another year of shaping human systems in a digital age, one purposeful pattern at a time.

Further Reading 

• 1. Garcia, J. (2022). Common pitfalls in transformations: A conversation with Jon Garcia. McKinsey & Company.

  2. Robinson, H. (2019). Why do most transformations fail? McKinsey & Company.

  3. Lally, P. et al. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40, 998–1009.

  4. Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press.

  5. Prosci (2024). Organisational Transformation: What It Is and How To Succeed.

This article was co-created through a human-led process using several AI models – including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity – as thinking partners. It reflects our commitment to ethical, transparent, and accountable use of AI, where human judgement, curiosity, and oversight remain central.