Behavioural Change Toolkit · Diagnose

Change Readiness Assessment

Score honestly. A low score isn’t a reason not to proceed — it’s a list of what to fix first, and a defensible piece of evidence when you need to tell a leader the date is wrong.

Score each 1 (not at all) to 5 (fully true).

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A · Sponsorship — weight ×3

#	Statement	Score
A1	There is one named senior sponsor, not a committee	_
A2	The sponsor can explain the change in their own words, without notes	_
A3	The sponsor has done something visible about it in the last month	_
A4	The sponsor’s peers are publicly aligned — no visible dissent at that level	_
A5	The sponsor will still be in post in 12 months	_
	Subtotal /25 → ×3 =	___

Weighted heaviest because active, visible sponsorship is repeatedly identified as the single largest contributor to change success. If A is under 15, fix this before anything else — see Sponsor Briefing Pack.

B · Clarity

#	Statement	Score
B1	We can name the specific behaviours that must change	_
B2	We know who has to change them, by role	_
B3	We have evidence — not assumption — of what’s blocking them	_
B4	We know what people will stop doing to make room	_
B5	We can say what success looks like without using a milestone	_
	Subtotal /25	___

C · Capacity and saturation

#	Statement	Score
C1	The affected teams are not already absorbing a major change	_
C2	Managers have time to lead this, not just forward emails	_
C3	There is resource for the sustain phase, not just go-live	_
C4	Nothing significant lands on these teams in the next quarter	_
C5	We know how many other initiatives are live for these people	_
	Subtotal /25	___

D · Trust and history

#	Statement	Score
D1	The last major change here was seen as successful by the people affected	_
D2	Commitments made during previous changes were kept	_
D3	People believe they can raise concerns without cost	_
D4	This isn’t a rebrand of something that was tried before and failed	_
D5	The reason for the change is credible, not obviously a cover story	_
	Subtotal /25	___

Low D is the hardest to fix and the most often ignored. If D is low, acknowledge the history out loud, early. “We know the 2023 rollout was painful and we know what we got wrong” buys more credibility than any benefits statement. Pretending it didn’t happen tells people you either weren’t paying attention or think they weren’t.

E · Design quality

#	Statement	Score
E1	The new way is genuinely better for the person doing it, not just for the org	_
E2	People who do the work were involved in designing it	_
E3	It has been tested under realistic pressure, not just demoed	_
E4	The new way is easier than the old way at the point of use	_
E5	We can make the new way the default	_
	Subtotal /25	___

If E1 or E4 is 1–2, you have a design problem masquerading as a change problem. Say this before launch. Afterwards, it will be read as excuse-making.

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Scoring

Score	Read
140+	Genuinely ready. Move.
105–139	Proceed, with named fixes for your two weakest sections
70–104	Do not launch yet. You’d be spending credibility to buy a date.
Under 70	The honest conversation is about scope, sequence or timing

Any single section under 10 is a stop signal regardless of total. A brilliant plan with an absent sponsor fails. A perfect design landing on an exhausted team fails.

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How to present a bad score

Never lead with the total — it invites an argument about the instrument rather than the substance.

1. Lead with the strongest section. It’s real, and it establishes you’re not just being negative.
2. Present the weakest section as a decision to make, not a verdict: “On current sponsorship visibility, we’d be launching without the biggest single success factor. Two options: we build that in over three weeks, or we go on the date and accept a materially lower landing. Which do you want?”
3. Have the three-week fix ready. Bringing a problem without a route through it is what makes people stop inviting you.

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