Agility in change isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what matters.
- Article
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
One of the things we often hear from our clients when in the throes of a change programme is that they need to be more agile. But this is often hampered by following the ‘right’ methodologies and producing lengthy PowerPoint slides for governance and stakeholder meetings, or lengthy Excel impact assessments and plans, rather than focusing on the change itself.
We can probably all agree that too often change management becomes an exercise in documentation and process rather than impact.
And that brings the question: are those tasks really adding value?
Less activity. More intention.
Transformation programmes move fast and with that comes the temptation to layer on more change activity to keep up, more plans, more communications, more governance.
But over‑engineering change rarely improves understanding and adoption. What it does do is increase cognitive load, slow decision-making, and create work that feels busy rather than valuable.
The most effective change we see is deliberately simple. It focuses energy where it will land, rather than spreading it thinly across everything that could be done.
Clarity beats complexity, every time
Simplicity starts with clear leadership and governance. Agility improves dramatically when people know:
who owns decisions
how issues get escalated
and where decisions actually get made.
With one public sector client, we deliberately stripped governance back rather than adding more layers. By clarifying ownership and decision paths, change leaders could finally see the wood for the trees - and make fast, meaningful decisions with confidence.
Sometimes the fastest move is to slow down
There’s a phrase we often use at Marlowe: go slow to go fast.
Before launching into activity, the most successful change programmes take time to understand the landscape they’re stepping into. That means looking honestly at process, technology, roles, behaviours - and the cumulative impact landing on teams. From there, plans become more focused, more prioritised, and more realistic.
Our critical friend reviews help organisations either set themselves up properly for what’s coming next, or pause just long enough to ask: are we really solving the right problem? That pause is rarely wasted time.
Communication isn’t about saying more - it’s about saying the right things
When change feels uncertain, communication becomes even more important. But more communication doesn’t automatically equal more clarity.
The difference comes from being intentional:
What do people need to know?
Who needs to know it?
And what do they need to do with that information?
When teams understand what’s changing - and don’t feel overloaded or threatened - change becomes far easier to absorb and act on. Too much information, delivered too early or too broadly, often creates noise rather than confidence.
On a large-scale transformation with a global pharmaceutical organisation, we focused communications through trusted channels and complemented them with targeted, high‑impact engagement. The result wasn’t louder messaging - it was calmer, clearer understanding.
Not every change needs a change manager - but every change needs ownership
Simplicity also takes discipline when it comes to roles and resourcing. Not every initiative requires a dedicated change manager. But every change does require clear accountability for adoption, engagement, and readiness. When that accountability is implicit or fragmented, change activity quickly becomes reactive and inconsistent. When it’s explicit, even small change efforts can move with surprising speed and confidence.
Talk about what really matters
Finally, agile change is supported by focusing conversations on the right topics.
The strongest change leaders we work with spend less time talking about outputs and more time talking about:
readiness
impact
confidence
capacity
These conversations surface risk early - while there’s still room to adapt - rather than when pressure has already built.
Doing less. On purpose.
Ultimately, this isn’t about cutting corners. It’s about choosing where rigour genuinely adds value and removing friction where it doesn’t.
By reducing unnecessary overheads, clarifying leadership and governance, and communicating with intent, organisations can create the conditions for change to move at a sustainable pace.
So yes - agility in change isn’t achieved by doing more, faster. It’s achieved by doing less, more deliberately.
Questions to ask yourself:
How complex is the change, really?
What's the minimum documentation we can do?
How can we engage effectively?
What do we need to talk about?
Is a dedicated change manager needed?
What is the governance?
Is change leadership clear?
About Marlowe
Change can be complex but the approach to it doesn’t need to be. At Marlowe we partner with organisations to deliver large scale, complex transformation and change. We deliver business change solutions, change capability, assurance, training, leadership effectiveness and cultural change.
Our focus is on your people to ensure your change is delivered practically, successfully and sustainably. Please contact us if you would like to know more about delivering exceptional business change.
