Historically, major organisational changes in Shell were run by consultancies. This meant we were largely dependent on another company doing much of the thinking for us. This changed in 2008, when we began to manage organisational change ourselves.

I’m not saying external consultancies don’t have important roles to play. They do. But they are important when you need niche support in areas of the business where a company decides not to build a deep capability.

Management of change is not one of those areas. As well as taking responsibility and ownership for managing change, it’s also important for leaders in companies to listen to and involve people affected by it. It’s no use sitting in your office and dreaming up the next big idea with a few other senior colleagues. You’ve got to involve the frontline too.

That’s exactly what the Comte de Talleyrand did during the French Revolution. Observing the sans culottes heading to storm the Bastille, he said: “There go my people, I must follow them, see where they are going, and understand their intentions so that I can lead them.” This is a powerful example of taking time to understand the motivations of your teams. Reaching for the re-set button. The second lesson I’ve learnt is that big changes aren’t necessarily the right option. Sometimes, without doubt, significant change is needed. But often it’s not. And it certainly shouldn’t be the default position.

New leaders often want to hit the reset button when they take over. This is a perfectly natural instinct, but re-structures aren’t a panacea to all ills. In the end, it may well turn out that a big company re-shuffle is the best solution, but it shouldn’t be the first one. Nor should it be taken lightly, for the simple reason that even well-calculated changes cause big ripples.

One reason why leaders instinctively think about a change project is it will grab people’s attention. The trouble with this approach is that people associate a ‘change project’ as something with a start date and an end date. But this ignores the fact that change is continuous. And as such, surely it’s about having a focus – day-in and day-out – on strengthening the capability or performance of a business. Bit by bit. This can be done through well-managed tweaks which leaders across the organisation are responsible for.

The ‘everything curve’ applies here. It’s simply making the point that after a change has been made, it’s not good enough to take your foot off the pedal. If that happens, you fail to achieve continuous progress. You’ve got to continually think about change, to create that next upward curve.

It’s also about approaching organisational change with caution and managing it carefully. Because the changes you make really will affect everything.

At these moments, I tend to resort to a football analogy to make a point. So here goes. When David Moyes took charge of Manchester United he was seen by many as a safe bet. But the team’s performance plummeted. Many of the players and coaching staff were the same. But the one change in head coach from Ferguson to Moyes upset the balance and led to a staggering drop in performance.

The last aspect of this point which I want to touch on is that it’s crucial that employees don’t feel alienated when a leader does opt for a big change. Don’t rubbish the past. All you’re doing is criticising the work many of your employees have their fingerprints on. Instead, recognise that people have pride in what they do. So involving them, and having conversations, is important.

It’s always worth reaching into the DNA of the past. Then think about how that can evolve and be relevant in the future. This goes back to avoiding a stop-start approach. It’s more about an evolutionary process.

Motivation for change. The third and final lesson I’ll share is that timing and reasoning is essential when big changes are being made. For example, if a new leader takes the helm he or she may decide to initiate a big set of changes. The intention may be good. But regardless, a new leader isn’t the trigger for effective change.

However, if a number of changes beyond a company’s control prompt a leader to think that the status quo is intolerable and a future opportunity irresistible, then it may well be a good time to exploit the changing tide for the benefit of the company. None of us have a crystal ball. But even though we can’t predict the future, we can use tools – such as scenarios – to make sure that we’re making changes with good reason, and at the best possible time. Politicians demonstrate just how important timing is when it comes to making changes. There are examples across the political spectrum of changes being made at tactical, opportune moments.

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