Last month, I witnessed something that perfectly crystallised a challenge I've observed consistently across organisations scaling their delivery capabilities.

I was facilitating a workshop, armed with a meticulously designed process framework. The slides were polished, the logic was sound, and the benefits were clear. Yet, I watched as enthusiasm visibly drained from the room. My co-facilitator and I exchanged that "we're losing them" look and made a critical pivot.

I put the slides away and simply asked, "What do you truly believe needs to change, what do YOU value?"

The energy transformed. What followed was refreshingly honest:

• "We start every Monday with good intentions, but by Friday we're back to whatever works fastest"

• "Nobody updates their metrics because deep down, we all resist being monitored"

• "In meetings we nod and smile at new approaches, then quietly ignore anything that feels like extra work"

The Delivery Change Iceberg

This experience reinforced what I call "The Delivery Change Iceberg" - a visual metaphor for understanding why so many delivery transformations struggle to stick.

Above the waterline: The visible behaviours we try to change - process adherence, tool usage, ceremony attendance, and documentation practices.

Below the surface: The emotions, values, and beliefs driving resistance. This includes fears about competence, concerns about visibility, and deeply-held beliefs about how work should be done.

At the deepest level: Mindset and identity questions like "Am I still valued if we change how we work?" and "Does this threaten my role or expertise?"

When organisations scale delivery beyond a few dozen people across multiple teams, projects, or products, the way of working inevitably becomes fragmented. Management responds by trying to standardise approaches, often focused entirely on what's visible above the waterline.

But here's the uncomfortable truth: they're missing what's happening below the surface.

Head, Heart, and Hands: The Reality of Human Change

Here's what I've learned about how humans actually embrace change:

1. Hands 🖐️🖐️(actions): Changing what people do is the end goal, not the starting point

2. Heart ❤️ (emotions): People don't change because it makes logical sense; they change because it feels right

3. Head 🧠 (logic): We rationalise our emotional decisions after we've already made them

Most delivery transformation efforts get this sequence backward. They focus on changing hands first (new processes, tools, ceremonies), then try to convince the head with logical arguments, while completely neglecting the heart.

Is it any wonder that resistance persists?

A Better Approach to Delivery Transformation

What might work better? Here are four principles I've found effective:

1. Start with the heart

Before introducing process changes, create space for honest conversation about emotions and concerns. Ask "What would make this change feel right to you?" not just "Here's why this makes sense."

2. Create visibility across the iceberg

Make the invisible visible. Acknowledge fears about competence, surveillance, and identity directly. When these concerns remain unspoken, they grow more powerful.

3. Build changes that address today's pain

Solutions must solve today's frustrations, not just tomorrow's vision. Ask teams to nominate their "top 3 daily frustrations" and ensure your delivery changes directly address these immediate pain points.

4. Measure the human experience

Beyond tracking adoption rates, regularly ask "How's this new approach feeling?" and track sentiment trends over time. People are not statistics—their personal experience of change matters more than numerical compliance.

A Real-World Example: The Weather Report

In one consulting engagement, I took an unconventional approach to measuring success. Rather than focusing solely on adoption metrics, I made "how do the teams feel about the new way of working" a key result.

We implemented a detailed "weather report" retrospective where team members would indicate their sentiment using rich weather and seasonal metaphors. Here's the actual template we used:

Team members could select from options that offered nuanced emotional responses:

• "Stormy, with scary thunder" (when things felt chaotic and threatening)

• "Sunny bright with a gentle breeze at my back" (when changes were supporting their work)

• "Changing inconsistent; always have my umbrella ready" (when uncertainty prevailed)

• "Spring time; positive new beginnings in the air" (for optimistic transitions)

• "Autumn; sunny days are gone and clouds are looming" (for approaching concerns)

Each option included a corresponding weather image, making the metaphor more tangible and relatable. This approach gave team members a rich vocabulary to express complex feelings about the changing processes.

We tracked these sentiments periodically as we introduced changes, creating a visual timeline of how the teams' emotional experience evolved throughout the transformation.

Importantly, this wasn't done in isolation. We paired these "soft" human-centered measures with "hard" data metrics like cycle time and delivery predictability. This balanced approach gave us a comprehensive view of both the human experience and business outcomes.

This balanced approach gave us a comprehensive view of the transformation - acknowledging both the human experience and measurable business outcomes.

The weather retrospective proved invaluable, providing insights that hard metrics alone would have missed and creating a safe space for teams to express concerns that might otherwise have remained hidden beneath the surface of our delivery iceberg.

The Path Forward

When organisations scale delivery, fragmentation isn't just a process problem—it's fundamentally human. People don't resist change; they resist being changed. They push back not because they're difficult, but because deep human needs for autonomy, mastery, and purpose are being threatened.

The next time you're planning a delivery transformation, remember the iceberg. Start below the waterline, address what's happening in people's hearts, and build changes that honour their need for autonomy and meaning.

That's when delivery changes truly stick.

Interested in exploring how these principles might apply to your organisation's delivery challenges? I'm offering a one-day workshop on "Human-Centred Delivery Change" that combines practical techniques with strategies to ensure they actually stick. Get in touch to learn more.