Organizations need to change constantly, for all kinds of reasons, but achieving a true step change in performance is rare. Indeed, in a recent McKinsey survey of executives from around the world,¹ only a third say that their organizations succeeded in doing so. Executives were also asked how their organizations designed and managed a recent change effort, how they engaged employees in it, and how involved senior leaders were.

The survey results highlight several important tactics that organizations use to transform themselves successfully. Setting clear and high aspirations for change is the most significant. A second tactic is engaging the whole company in the change effort through a wide variety of means; a highly involved and visible CEO is important, but successful companies also use various other communication and accountability methods to keep people involved—far more methods than unsuccessful companies use. Also notable: successful companies are far likelier to communicate the need for change in a positive way, encouraging employees to build on success rather than focusing exclusively on fixing problems.