When governments succeed in improving public services and stepping up their performance, the impact can be tremendous. For example, the most satisfied citizens are 9 times more likely than dissatisfied citizens to trust their government. Yet around 80% of initiatives to transform government performance fail to meet their objectives, according to research by the McKinsey Center for Government (MCG).

That high failure rate represents a huge waste of effort and resources—and drives increasing citizen discontent in many countries. 

What distinguishes successful transformations from failed initiatives? Research by MCG, together with dozens of real-world case studies, shows that a set of people-centric disciplines more than triples the chances of success of major change programs in the public sector.

Successful transformations are rooted in a deep understanding of human behavior, and deliberately build capability, motivation, and momentum. But such thinking is rarely part of traditional government practices and culture. In this paper, we present a set of fundamental reframes that public-sector leaders need to embrace if they are to design and deliver successful, people-centric government transformations.