Change management is dead...long live change resilience

Can you really manage change anymore, with the volatility and intensity of change in the world?

This is a question Powerful Under Pressure tackled with a group of senior leaders of companies with 50 or more employees this week, as part of our monthly Leadership Conversations series.

Our February 2025 conversation, Change Management is Dead, Long Live Change Management, was a juicy one. We're sharing some of the key elements of the discussion to support organizations dealing with constant shifts, changes, unexpected events -- all while keeping their people resilient, vibrant, and excited to give their best.

One of the crucial conversations we discussed:? Instead of managing change, what organizations need now is change resilience. In a world where it seems everything is changing all the time, you can't systematically plan and control change. Instead, change resilience emphasizes the ability to adapt and respond flexibly to constant change. The key differences are:

• Change management views change as an event to be managed through structured processes, while change resilience sees change as an ongoing practice requiring mental agility.
• Change management aims to minimize resistance to change, while change resilience embraces emotional flexibility and the ability to learn and grow through change.
• Change management emphasizes planning and control, while change resilience emphasizes iteration, experimentation, and balancing urgency with renewal.

Some other key points that we covered in our February Leadership Conversation:

• Senior leaders are finding it increasingly challenging to plan for the future -? research from HSBC shows that 51% of business leaders reporting this. Even more shocking, data from Orgvue shows 38% would prefer to resign rather than lead another change initiative. Pretty shocking, right? What is your organization doing to retain employees tasks with major transformations?
• The added burden of change initiatives on top of regular responsibilities is draining for senior leaders. They often have to work on things that don't play to their strengths, which can be demotivating. How can your organization improve responsiveness to constant change?
• Developing emotional flexibility and the ability to regulate energy/physiology is crucial for resilience. How resilient is your workforce, especially with significant shifts?
• To avoid burnout, senior leaders need to balance urgency with renewal through practices like taking breaks and intentional recovery time -- and make downtime acceptable for their people, too. What is your organization doing to intentionally avoid burnout?
• To mitigate the challenges of constant change, facilitating open dialogue with employees, share the strategic context as shifts happen, and set clear expectations for how unforeseen problems will be handled. How well is your organization communicating about the future?

If burnout, conflict, indecision, or resilience are rising issues in your organization, we welcome you to reach out for a complimentary conversation to explore how we can help.

Invitation to Our March Leadership Conversation

On March 19, 2025, Powerful Under Pressure is hosting our next monthly Leadership Conversation.

The Silent Crisis: How C-Suite Burnout Is Quietly Threatening Business Performance & What Your Organization Must Do Now

If you're a senior leader in an organization with 50+ employees, please join us Susan Bernstein, MBA PhD from Powerful Under Pressure and other senior leaders to explore the threat of rising C-Suite leader burnout.

In this virtual conversation, we’ll examine:

• The Silent Crisis of C-Suite Burnout
• Recognizing the Warning Signs
• 3 Intervention Strategies

This emerging crisis is unfolding beneath the surface, making it challenging to identify and address.

Join us for this virtual conversation, to understand this rising threat and what you can do to be protected.

Date: March 19, 2025

Time: 12 - 1 pm Eastern / 9 - 10 am Pacific

Request an invitation here.