Jess Tayel DrFounder, Transformation Leadership Institute · ● Change & Transformation Leaders Mentor ● C-Suite Coach & Advisor ● Senior Executive

Everyone’s talking about transformation, but what does good look like

26 May 2026 · 2 min

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1:51

In this talk, Jess Tayel Dr. critiques the common focus on ambition, urgency, and delivery milestones in transformation programs, arguing that these metrics do not capture true transformation. She proposes a 360‑degree definition of "good" that evolves with organizational maturity and unfolds in three stages: (1) Change adoption – the extent to which new ways of working are embedded in daily practice; (2) Business agility – the organization’s ability to anticipate and respond to change without losing momentum; and (3) Scalability – having the right capabilities to grow, adapt, and capitalize on opportunities. The ultimate indicator of success is the capacity to repeatedly adapt and transform. By defining transformation in this integrated way, organizations can move beyond merely delivering projects to achieving sustainable, meaningful outcomes.

Chapters

One thing I've been noticing across transformation programs is this: we often talk about transformation in terms of ambition, urgency, and investment, but very few pause to ask, what does good actually look like? Sometimes good is framed as, we launched on time, we delivered the project to scope, but that's not the same as transformation truly happening. And while these outcomes might tick certain delivery boxes, they rarely reflect whether change has landed or whether anything has fundamentally shifted inside the organization. In many programs, what ends up scaling isn't capability, it's complexity. What good looks like in transformation often depends on the maturity of the organization And it tends to unfold in stages. Change adoption. Has the change been meaningfully embedded into how people actually work? And then we go to business agility. Can the organization anticipate and respond to change without losing momentum? And lastly, scalability. Are the right capabilities in place to give the organization the edge to grow? Adapt and capitalize on opportunities faster and better. And over time, the ultimate marker of good is this: the ability to adapt and transform successfully time and time again. When you define what good looks like clearly in an integrated, 360-degree way, you don't just deliver change, you create outcomes that are sustainable, meaningful, and built to last.