Many corporations design major change programs in the pursuit of competitive advantage, only to find them frustratingly difficult to implement. That’s because a successful program depends not only on a carefully conceived strategy, but also on a culture that accepts change. No matter how well designed a program or how committed a CEO, transformation efforts are likely to founder unless every individual in an organization is prepared to change his or her behavior. Managers in particular need to develop new skills to help other employees alter ingrained working habits.

Unfortunately, change does not come readily to adults. Lectures, training modules, and workshops may lay bare the mechanics of organizational change, but they are unlikely to revolutionize people’s work practices. Most of the time, we learn only through experience. But everyday business is seldom conducive to such learning, since delays and the complexity of most companies tend to obscure the link between decisions and their consequences. Under normal conditions, managers are rarely able to see the full effect of their actions.

The impact of, say, hiring an extra sales representative may not become apparent for several months—by which time other managerial decisions will have muddied the picture. To make things...