Change Management & Communication — Moving People from Awareness to Action

Gap Cognition: Business by Design

In this episode of Gap Cognition: Business by Design, we unpack one of the biggest challenges organisations face: turning change awareness into real behavioural action. While most companies announce change through emails, presentations, or town halls, research shows that communication alone doesn’t drive adoption. People don’t resist change — they resist ambiguity, uncertainty, and the fear that comes with it.

Drawing from decades of organisational psychology and behavioural science, we explore why 70% of change initiatives fail (McKinsey) and what leaders can do differently to guide their teams through transition. Neuroscience research from UCLA and the SCARF Model shows that the brain interprets change as a threat, activating fear-based responses like avoidance, anxiety, and resistance. Gartner’s studies reveal that 75% of employees feel communication during change is unclear or insufficient, making it almost impossible for them to take action.

This episode explains the behavioural gap between knowing and doing. Awareness—simply understanding what is changing—is informational. But action is behavioural. People only take action when they feel psychologically safe, understand the purpose behind the change, and have clarity about what is expected of them. We explore Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why,” Google’s Project Aristotle findings on psychological safety, and Prosci research showing that employees need 5–7 repetitions of a message before it sticks.

Listeners will learn the essential communication principles that make change stick: clarity, simplicity, repetition, leadership alignment, and dialogue rather than one-way announcements. We highlight why leadership behaviour is the strongest predictor of change adoption, and how misaligned or inconsistent messages from leaders can derail an entire initiative.

This episode also offers practical, actionable guidelines for leaders and managers, including how to define the behavioural shifts required for change, how to communicate the “why” behind the change, how to support people through emotional and behavioural transitions, and how to build psychological safety so employees feel confident trying new ways of working. We discuss the importance of coaching, micro-habits, reinforcement, and modelling the new behaviour — because people follow what leaders do, not what they say.

By the end of the episode, listeners will understand how to transform change from a frustrating, low-trust experience into a clear, supported, and behaviour-led process that genuinely shifts how people work. Awareness is information — action is behaviour. The bridge between the two is communication, clarity, and leadership.

If you're a leader, HR professional, or change practitioner who wants to improve buy-in, reduce resistance, and move people confidently through change, this episode provides the insights and tools to help you lead with intention and impact.

INTRODUCTION TO GAP COGNITION

www.Gapcognition.com