How to keep up the momentum with leadership frameworks, according to BTS

A more thoughtful leadership model needs to keep momentum up from beyond the design stage and testing phases. New insight from consultancy firm BTS explores how to be successful when putting a leadership framework into place.

Leadership frameworks, designed to clarify expectations, guide decision-making, and reinforce organizational culture, are often introduced with significant fanfare, only to ‘fade into the background’, becoming ‘just another initiative’.

The insight from BTS highlights that the true power of a framework lies not in its creation but in its activation, warning that failed adoption puts strategy execution and talent alignment at risk.

Frameworks are meant to serve as vital tools, defining what great leadership looks like, yet too many organizations stop after the launch. “Behaviors are defined. Announcements are made. Posters go up... but everyday habits don’t change,” said Lynn Gracin Collins, a leader at BTS in its North American business.

The two-part challenge: Inspiration versus action

According to BTS, a major stumbling block is the attempt to make a single framework do too much, blurring cultural aspiration with behavioral expectation. This leaves employees with a concept that sounds inspiring but lacks practical application.

The most effective approach is to maintain two distinct, yet connected, elements:

• Cultural Principles: Providing direction and inspiration, establishing a shared ethos.
• Behavioral Expectations: Offering clarity and action, defining how leaders and teams must behave, especially under pressure.

“Frameworks aren’t tested in calm moments,” Collins stresses. The reality is that they prove their worth when stakes are high – during uncertainty, tension, or moments of rapid change.

The three critical activation points

To truly embed a framework, it must show up in three critical organizational areas:

1. People Decisions: Guiding how leaders hire, promote, and reward talent.
2. Business Decisions: Serving as a lens for setting priorities and making trade-offs.
3. Cultural Moments: Reinforcing how teams respond to change or challenge.

If systems like performance reviews, hiring, or recognition do not reflect the framework, it quickly becomes optional, with senior leaders often dismissing it as an ‘HR initiative’ rather than their own responsibility. It will end up going by the wayside.

Making it stick: Leaders must own the shift

The research confirms that momentum is lost in the follow-through. Activation must be intentional and move beyond general awareness. BTS recommends several key steps to ensure frameworks transition from a model to a movement:

• Practical tools: Provide immediate, easy-to-use resources, such as coaching templates and interview prompts, for in-the-moment application.
• Manager development: Move past awareness workshops to give leaders the confidence to apply the framework in goal-setting and feedback.
• Targeted communication: Tie the framework directly to business priorities, showcasing senior leader stories and real examples.

Most importantly, BTS insists that frameworks stick when leaders own them. When senior leaders use the framework to guide their own choices and conversations, "it stops being a program and starts becoming how the business runs."

Agility depends on behavior change

In today’s fast-paced environment, agility and speed are urgent imperatives. For a framework to be a true lever for transformation, it must drive real behavior change – breaking down silos and accelerating decisions.

The insight from BTS highlights that behaviors like courage, care, and a consistent focus on cross-functional collaboration are essential for speed. These behaviors matter most in defining moments: when leaders speak up despite risk, prioritize team goals over silos, or give honest feedback.

The core advice for talent leaders comes down to three maxims: Clarity beats complexity, co-creation is essential, and systems must follow story. That means keeping things simple, collaborative, and applying the framework consistently.

"If hiring, performance, and recognition systems don’t reinforce the framework, it won’t stick. Story without system is a short-term boost. System without story is compliance. Neither lasts,” Collins concludes.