When the post-consultancy reality hits: what actually happens after the operating model launch
Every transformation ends up with two operating models
The first is the one the consultants design, and the second is the one your people actually run.
The distance between those two operating models is where your reputation, delivery outcomes, and leadership credibility quietly gets put at risk.
Not because the design is wrong, but because the humans that operate the system aren’t ready for what the design demands.
What it looks like inside your organisation
Different roles, different pressures, but the same pattern shows up. The operating model breaks first on the behaviour side, not in the design.
Example 1: The CPO who owns the roadmap, but not the decisions
A Chief Product Officer in a major bank launches a new product aligned structure. The product operating model is clean. The governance is clear on paper. The teams are excited because they’ve been asking for it for so long.
But the moment a revenue critical initiative hits a dependency, two group executives negotiate a deal outside the new operating rhythm to protect their numbers then simply inform the product team of their decision without giving them an opportunity to provide their input let alone co-create a solution.
The CPO is left saying, “I’m accountable for the outcomes, but I don’t actually control the decisions.”
She’s not resisting the model. She’s simply living the political reality the design didn’t account for.
Example 2: The CTO who can’t get the organisation to stop escalating through them
A Chief Technology Officer in an ASX50 tech-enabled business shifts to cross-functional delivery teams. The whole point was to push decisions out to be closer to where the work is actually done, enabling better quality decisions and faster speed to market on their products.
But every time a customer-impacting incident hits, the old escalation path snaps back into place. Teams bypass the new structure and go straight to him again because “it’s faster.” The teams haven’t learnt how to build relationships and play well with each other yet and probably won’t without further intervention that hasn’t been budgeted into the change management for the shift.
The operating model didn’t fail. The teams didn’t know a better way to communicate, collaborate, and decide; therefore defaulted to old muscle memory.
Example 3: The COO who sees the model breaking before anyone will admit it
A Chief Operating Officer in a diversified services company watches the first 90 days after launch. On paper, everything looks fine. In reality:
Prioritisation is slipping,
Behind the scenes negotiations are more rampant than before,
Delivery teams are confused about who decides what, and
Leaders are quietly reverting to old habits.
He’s not anti-transformation. He’s simply seeing the behavioural drifts that no one else wants to name.
Example 4: The GM of Digital who realises the model is being interpreted in five different ways
A General Manager in charge of Digital at an ASX100 organisation notices that each function has a slightly different understanding of the new operating model. Not maliciously different, just a difference in interpretations.
The result? Five versions of “how we work now.” Zero consistency and a growing sense that the model “makes it harder for us to do business with each other” across the organisation.
She’s not being negative. She’s seeing the early signs of fragmentation.
Example 5: The Head of Transformation stuck between the design and the behaviour
It’s 10am and a Head of Transformation is already exhausted, with a rapidly developing headache, after trying to mediate and resolve the different and conflicting agendas of two opposing executives. In his mind, he’s thinking “I’m responsible for landing this, but half the exec team still behaves like we’re operating under the old structure.”
He’s not failing. He’s operating in a system that hasn’t shifted its behaviours to match to the new expectations and outcomes they want.
The part no consultancy prepares you for
The consultancies can run the workshops. They can produce the artefacts. They can design the strategy and the matching operating model. But what they can’t do is:
Shift executive behaviour,
Resolve political tension,
Rebuild cross-functional trust,
Stabilise delivery when the model hits real-world pressures, or
Coach leaders through the identity shift required to lead differently.
That’s the work that determines whether the operating model lives and thrives or dies a slow and painful death. It’s also the work that most organisations underestimate or assume will ‘just happen' on its own.
The real operating model is revealed under pressure
You don’t see the truth at the launch announcement. You see the gaps slowly emerge in the first 90-180 days when:
A revenue target is at risk,
A regulator asks for an update,
A customer-impacting incident hits,
Two executives disagree on priorities and sequencing, or
A team quietly reverts to old habits.
That’s when the organisation snaps back to its old shape even when the structure has changed.
It’s not because people are resistant. It’s because the behavioural, political, and performance foundations weren’t established or stabilised in the first place.
A quick reflection if this resonates
Take 60 seconds and ask yourself:
“Where is my organisation already drifting back to the old operating model, and what behaviour is driving it?”
You’ll know the answer immediately and that answer will tell you exactly where your transformation is at risk.
If you want to go one level deeper, ask yourself:
“Who benefits from the drift and who is quietly losing power because of it?”
That’s where the real story sits.
What the reflection tells you
If you can see the drift, you’re already ahead of most organisations. The real question is what you do with that insight.
Some leaders try to push the model harder. Some quietly adjust around the cracks. Some wait, hoping the organisation will “settle” into a workable rhythm.
But the leaders who get ahead of the problem do something different. They stabilise the human system before the drift becomes the culture.
If you’re seeing the early signs, now is the time to act
You don’t need another redesign. You need to steady the transformation. Let’s work together on this. Here are three ways:
Interim Executive - when the transformation needs a senior leader inside the organisation to stabilise, steer, and deliver,
Capability Building - when product and transformation leaders are expected to know how to navigate the people, politics, and performance expectations that come with their jobs, yet no one has taught them these skills during their entire career, and
Executive Coaching - when senior leaders need a confidential, strategic partner to think clearly, make decisions, and lead through change and complexity.