admin — 02 September 2025

In these turbulent times, how can leaders improve managing needed changes? How do you turn crises into opportunities? 

The cycles of organizational change are accelerating: In 2016, organizations averaged just two change initiatives per year, while by 2022 that number had increased to 10 per year, according to a Gartner survey. 

Leaders need to be change managers, change coaches, and change advocates. Really, they need to become “communicators-in-chief” who can build support for change while also incorporating feedback.

And when a crisis hits, organizations have a unique chance to transform themselves if they take bold steps while the window of opportunity stays open. 

This article examines the most recent trends in change management, and how they can help leaders and their organizations during these precious moments inviting change.

Never waste a good crisis

A typical piece of advice for change management is to take small steps to avoid creating change fatigue. While that may be wise counsel in normal times, a crisis operates on different logic.

Leaders should take advantage of turbulent times to achieve big goals that otherwise may be out of reach. In an August 20, 2025 article for the Harvard Business Review, professors Michaela Kerrissey and Julia DiBenigno write, “[W]e’ve observed that when tumult begins, there’s a brief window . . . when change is actually easier if leaders go about it well.”

Reframe opportunities

The authors cite the example of a roof collapse at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore (the “crisis”). Repairs would force the museum to close for two years. Taking advantage of the crisis, the director transformed the institution – once a sleepy backwater for school field trips – into a lively family destination with new attractions, thereby securing its financial future (the “opportunities”).

The plans for this transformation had been debated and delayed for years. But the roof crisis provided the push needed to make the transformation a reality. For the museum director, the change required a bold vision and the willingness to take a calculated risk.

Adaptive leadership can help leaders think outside of the box to identify existing projects that can meet an immediate need in a crisis – but also serve a larger strategic purpose.

The best approach may be to reframe a “shovel-ready” project that’s been delayed by red tape or inertia. “The idea needs to be well-planned out and ready for strong execution,” the authors write. 

Seize the moment quickly 

The window of opportunity to make change isn’t open long, however. Decisive and quick action is essential.

Reviewing the Covid pandemic, the authors found that top level executives in the healthcare field had a 12 to 18 month window, when resistance to change was minimal. Previously stalled initiatives, like one healthcare provider’s virtual “telehealth” service, were suddenly approved –which made the provider a “leading innovator” long after the pandemic had abated.

By contrast, the authors found that frontline managers had a much shorter timeline to make changes – just six weeks. After that, leadership and staff were much less willing to try new things.

Consider your organization’s window for change, to avoid losing change management momentum. “Seizing windows of opportunity requires being scrappy, making do with what you have, and mobilizing your team toward fast action,” the authors write. Leaders can prepare their teams to make such pivots by adopting the agile leadership principle of innovation and feedback cycles.

Be bold and go big 

The authors’ final piece of advice is to be bold and “go big.” While a conscientious change manager may prefer pilot projects and “costless demonstrations” as proofs of concept, a crisis demands more. 

“Pilot projects can doom change agents to miss precious moments when resources are briefly available. They can waste time generating data for decisions that in the moment are already obvious,” the authors write. In the case of the B&O Railway Museum, going big meant increasing its fundraising target from $3 million to $10 million – which it met successfully.

Going big doesn’t mean acting recklessly, though. “Opportunistic change is best suited for wins you feel confident about[.] That’s yet another reason to focus on shovel-ready projects.” 

Consider past change initiatives in your organization that have been delayed and deferred. Which ones might serve both short-term and long-term goals? The answers may improve your change management effectiveness before the next crisis hits.

Getting to yes – change management and employee buy-in

Whether or not you face a crisis, getting employee buy-in is key to successful change management. Writing in the Harvard Business Review on August 18, 2025, Rebecca Knight writes that change initiatives from the C-suite may strike frontline employees as irrelevant or disconnected from their experience unless managed well.

It’s up to CEOs and other leaders to “translate” the change for their teams, Knight writes. To meet that challenge, leaders need to be visionaries, diplomats, and “communicators in chief” rather than just decision makers. 

Listen to the team 

Leaders need to be able to “read the room” before introducing a change initiative, according to Knight. Learning to adopt different viewpoints will be key to the effort. Be open to other perspectives without passing judgment in order to enhance communication. 

Employees are more likely to confide their thoughts and concerns to their managers, making them allies and resources during times of change. Prioritize working with frontline managers to understand your teams. Shana Carroll, a director of leadership studies at Northwestern University says, “Frontline managers have an outsized influence on whether people stay motivated and see how their work matters.” Justin Willett, research director of the Novak Leadership Institute at the University of Missouri, agrees: “That relationship is where trust is built.” 

Leaders can learn valuable lessons and discover issues they may not have considered through the listening process. Wise leaders will incorporate useful feedback before rolling out change initiatives across the organization.

Align the change to individual goals 

The author writes that leaders should make the change personal for employees by explaining its practical effects and individual benefits.

While that’s helpful advice, it may not go far enough. Today’s leaders need a multidimensional approach that starts with a focus on vision, values, and purpose. Connecting organizational goals to a higher purpose is a proven way to increase growth, innovation, and employee engagement.

Everyone in the organization thinks about changes through the lens of “WIFM”: What’s In it For Me. “Rather than talking about what’s good for the company, focus on personal opportunities and connect the change to individual goals,” according to Knight. These may include new skills, a bigger role, and opportunities for advancement, she writes.

Organizations can improve their response to change even further by focusing on skills the next generation of emerging leaders will need to navigate the future of work. These include adapting to uncertainty, collaboration, and the flexibility to meet changing priorities.

Lead with empathy 

After listening and communicating, leaders must help their teams accept change. According to Shana Carroll, change causes turmoil. She says, “That’s not necessarily bad, but as a leader, you need to help [employees] navigate it with empathy and compassion.”

Leading with empathy is a great way to build cohesiveness in teams and organizations, and not just in times of change. Cohesiveness has been shown to improve both team performance and individual engagement. Leaders can learn to increase cohesiveness by focusing on people skills and EQ.

Change management comes with new challenges that require new skills. If you would like to learn more about how leaders can help their teams and organizations thrive in changing times, please contact us.

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