Make Change Social (2/3): Strategy That Sticks

Most transformations don’t fail on logic. They fail because the “new way” feels risky. People can sense when a behavior is low-status, career-limiting, or easy to criticize. If adopting the change makes someone look naïve, slow, or disloyal to the old guard, they’ll wait it out.

The social psychology is status. Groups constantly signal what earns respect and what gets eye-rolls. People manage impressions, especially under uncertainty. So adoption becomes a social bet: will this make me look competent, aligned, and in the know, or exposed and out of step. If the old behavior still wins prestige, it will keep winning behavior.

A Status Ladder is how you flip that. You make the new behavior the path to respect. Pick 2–3 visible actions that represent the change, then attach recognition to them. Spotlight early adopters in a way that feels earned, not performative. Give them airtime with leadership, first access to opportunities, or the privilege of teaching others. Importantly, celebrate learning, not just outcomes. If “trying” is rewarded, more people will try, and the practice spreads.

Consultant move: design a ladder with three rungs. A safe starter rung anyone can do this week, a next rung that shows competence, and a top rung that signals mastery. Then build rituals around it: a weekly “show your work” moment, a simple badge or shout-out, and one concrete perk for movers. Next in the series, we’ll map the handoffs that kill momentum and fix them with a Momentum Map.