How to Lead Growth and Change in Your Team
Change is inevitable, but successful change is intentional.
In this episode of Ask the Professor, Professor Ben is joined by Allison Cummins, CEO of Blue Outcomes, to continue their deep dive on leading teams through change.
This conversation focuses on two critical elements of initiating change: building momentum through small wins and anchoring change into the culture so that it sticks. From avoiding change fatigue to creating change champions and navigating growth-driven disruption, this episode provides practical, immediately applicable guidance for leaders managing growth, pivots, or large-scale transformation.
Here’s what you’ll walk away with from this episode:
- Build momentum through small wins: Leaders should ease teams into change by starting small, celebrating early milestones, and gradually increasing the scope of transformation to avoid overwhelm and resistance.
- Over-communication is essential: Under-communicating is one of the fastest ways change initiatives fail. Leaders must clearly and consistently explain the change to drive buy-in and gain trust.
- Anchor change into culture: Change must be formalized through processes, accountability, and regular review. Without anchoring new behaviors into daily operations, event the best initiatives will quickly fade.
- Prevent change fatigue with structure and ownership: Unstructured or short-lived changes create skepticism and burnout. Sustainable change requires clear expectations, measurement, and leadership follow-through
- Leverage Change Champions: Successful transformation depends on two-way communication. Change champions serve as trusted messengers who surface concerns, reinforce alignment, and help teams collaborate and grow together.
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