Why Well-Managed Initiatives Still Fail to Change Practice

A school initiative can be perfectly managed and still change very little.

I’ve been reading Zombie Leadership: Dead Ideas That Still Walk Among Us and reflecting on how readily we attribute success to the person with the leadership title, rather than the collective effort that makes change possible.

In schools, middle leaders often manage the practical side of implementation skilfully. They organise resources, communicate timelines, coordinate professional learning and monitor progress.

That work matters. But completing the rollout is not the same as changing practice.

The deeper work is moving people from “I’ve done what was asked” towards “I understand why this matters and believe we can make it work here.”

Every school has people who respond differently to change. Some lean in early, excited by what is possible. Some comply because another task needs to be completed. Others are labelled “blockers” because they question the work or have watched too many initiatives arrive with enthusiasm and disappear without impact.

We can treat those responses as fixed characteristics of people. But they are often shaped by trust, relationships, past experience and whether people can see both themselves and the possibility of success in the work.

This is where followership matters.

Leadership is not demonstrated simply by what a leader says or does. It is revealed in how others understand the work, contribute to it and choose to carry it forward.

For middle leaders, that means working with early adopters as partners, helping compliant staff develop genuine ownership and listening carefully to what sceptics can see that others may have missed.

It does not mean waiting until everyone agrees. It means treating people as active contributors to change rather than recipients of someone else’s plan. This work is slower and messier than rolling out an initiative. But it is far more likely to strengthen practice and improve learning for students.

Because lasting change in schools is not rolled out.

It is built together.

You can read the research behind “zombie leadership” here:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1048984323000966