How to rebuild momentum after major change

Your company just went through something big. A restructure. Layoffs. A leadership change. An acquisition.

Now your team is going through the motions. They show up, attend meetings and do their work. But the energy is gone.

Year-end is coming. You need people focused and productive, not checked out and anxious.

Here's how to rebuild momentum when major change has knocked everyone sideways.

Acknowledge what happened (don't pretend it didn't)

The biggest mistake leaders make after major change is trying to move forward like nothing happened.

"Okay everyone, that was tough, but now we're back to business."

This doesn't work. Your team just watched colleagues get laid off or their org chart get scrambled. They're processing. They're worried.

You can't rebuild momentum by ignoring that reality.

Acknowledge it directly. Not dramatically. Just straightforward and honest.

"The last few weeks have been hard. I know the restructure created uncertainty. I know some of you are worried. That's normal."

Name what everyone is thinking about. Once it's real, you can actually address it.

Give people clarity on what they can control

After a major change, people often feel powerless. Decisions were made above their heads. Things happened to them, not with them.

That feeling kills momentum. When people don't feel like they have any control, they stop trying.

Show them what they do control. They can't control whether the company does another round of layoffs. But they can control how they show up for their team, the quality of their work and how they support each other.

Be specific in meetings and one-on-ones: 

"Here's what we can't control: the market, the board's decisions, what happens next quarter. Here's what we can control: how we work together, how we support our customers, the standards we hold ourselves to."

This refocuses energy on things people can actually influence.

Reconnect work to purpose

When everything else is uncertain, purpose becomes the anchor.

After major change, people lose sight of why their work matters. They're too busy worrying about survival.

Help them reconnect. Remind them who they're serving. If you build products, talk about the customers whose problems you're solving. If you're in operations, talk about the teams you're enabling.

Make it concrete. Share customer feedback. Show recent project impact.

When people remember their work matters, momentum starts to return.

Create quick wins

Nothing rebuilds momentum like success. After major change, people need to feel successful at something.

Look for opportunities to create quick wins. Not fake wins, but real progress that people can see and feel. Pick something achievable in 2-3 weeks that will make people feel capable again.

Maybe it's shipping a feature you've been talking about for months. Maybe it's solving a problem that's been bugging customers. Or maybe it's upskilling your team on something they've been asking for—people feeling more capable is its own win.

Live training sessions work well here. They're visible, they happen fast and people walk away with new skills they can use immediately. 

Then celebrate it. Not with forced enthusiasm, but with genuine recognition that the team did something hard and did it well.

Quick wins prove that forward momentum is possible.

Rebuild connection between people

Major change fractures relationships. Teams get split up. People lose trusted colleagues. The informal networks that made work easier fall apart.

Productivity drops because people don't know who to ask for help anymore.

You need to actively rebuild those connections. Create opportunities for people to work together who haven't before. Launch a cross-functional project. Pair people on problem-solving. Or create space for shared learning experiences.

When people learn together—whether it's in a live workshop or practicing scenarios in AI simulations—they build connection while developing skills. It's work with a purpose, not forced team building.

Also create space for informal connection. Think: Slack channels for non-work stuff, coffee chats or lunches. The small interactions that help people feel less isolated.

Be visible and consistent

After major change, leaders often go into crisis mode. Back-to-back meetings with executives. Dealing with escalations. Less availability.

Your team notices. And they interpret your absence as a bad sign.

Stay visible even when things are chaotic. Show up to team meetings. Walk around (or hop on Slack). Ask how people are doing.

Consistency matters more than perfection right now. If you said you'd do weekly check-ins, do them. If you are already committed to transparency, be transparent.

When everything else feels unstable, your consistency becomes what people can rely on.

Address performance issues quickly

When everything is uncertain, there's a temptation to let things slide. When performance starts to slide, your best people notice. They're still showing up and doing good work. And they're watching you ignore the people who aren't.

If someone's struggling, address it directly and supportively. "I've noticed your work has slipped recently. What's going on? How can I help?"

Maybe they need a reduced workload temporarily. Maybe they need clearer priorities. But don't pretend you don't see it.

If your managers are avoiding these conversations (and many are, especially after major change), that's a skill gap worth addressing. Practice helps. AI simulations let managers rehearse difficult conversations in a safe environment before having them for real. Your high performers are counting on you to maintain standards.

Set a realistic pace

You're not going to rebuild full momentum in a week. People need time to adjust and figure out how to work in this new reality. Push too hard too fast and you'll burn out the people who are actually trying.

Build gradually. Week one, get people showing up and talking. Week two, start moving on small projects. Week three, increase expectations slightly.

Think of it like rehabbing an injury. You build strength incrementally, not overnight.

What momentum actually looks like

You'll know momentum is returning when:

• People start volunteering ideas instead of waiting to be told what to do
• Conversations shift from "what's going to happen to us" to "what are we going to do"
• Teams start solving problems without escalating everything
• Work starts shipping again

This won't happen all at once. It happens in small moments that accumulate. One person suggests a better approach. A team ships something ahead of schedule. Someone reaches out to help a colleague.

Pay attention to these signs. Reinforce them. Build on them.

The long game

Major change breaks momentum. That's reality. You can't prevent it.

But you can rebuild it. With honesty, clarity, purpose, quick wins, connection, consistency, accountability, and patience.

The year is ending. Whatever happened earlier, you can still finish strong. Not by pretending it didn't happen. But by acknowledging it and moving forward anyway.

Your team is watching to see if that's possible. Show them it is.

‍