As finance transformation is often a multiyear endeavor, how do you sustain momentum and energy to achieve your long-term objectives?
I agree with Emilia's post about allowing end users to experience the change over time. This helps them adapt and understand the benefits of the change, aiding their adoption of the new processes. Change management methodologies can also be used to help them understand the need for the change. Delivering the project bit by bit can help them understand the need for change more at the beginning of the project, rather than dumping the end product at the very end.
I'm on the same page as about parsing out the project into smaller celebrations. This can be a huge advantage when tackling multi year projects. Another important aspect is building and maintaining trust with the team. If things aren't going according to plan, it's important to be honest about it. Everyone should be aware of the things going well and the things that need improvement. Building this level of trust is a crucial baseline for maintaining positive energy going forward. Authenticity is key - acknowledging challenges and working through them together can help maintain momentum in the long term.
By communicating the overall objective with all stakeholders involved, and then creating a road map for success, this allows insight and buy-in from relevant stakeholders to understand what is to be achieved.
Then breaking down each task and sub-project whilst linking back to the main objective creates a better understand as to what you're working towards.
Personally I've used tools like Gandtt charts and Microsoft Projects alongside a structured road map, engineered using resources from Gartner to achieve this.