The strategy is agreed and the budget is approved, yet the work barely moves. Here is what I look for first.
Most transformations that stall have not failed at the strategy stage. The direction was agreed, the business case was signed and the program was announced. What stops is the part in between: turning a plan into decisions, and decisions into delivered work.
The signs are usually visible before anyone says the word "stalled". Steering meetings happen on schedule but the same risks come back every month. Vendors report progress to different people. Teams are busy, yet nobody can say which priorities matter most this quarter. And when you ask who owns the outcome, you get a list of names instead of one.
When I step into a program like this, I start with ownership. Who is accountable for the result, who makes which decisions, and who needs to be in the room for them. It sounds basic, but on large programs it is often the missing piece. On the State of Texas ServiceNow program, stakeholder trust had to be rebuilt before the rest of the work could move again.
Next comes visibility: one view of status, risks, money and dependencies that leadership and the delivery teams both trust. Governance only works when the information going into it is honest and current.
Then accountability. Clear commitments, reviewed on a regular rhythm, with issues raised early rather than explained late.
None of this replaces the strategy. It gives the strategy a way to reach the teams doing the work. My approach is the same whether the organization is a global enterprise or a startup: understand the problem, bring the right people together, break down silos, create visibility, establish accountability, and move the work forward.