The days of linear, checklist-style change management plans are behind us. In today’s world, unpredictability is the norm. A new competitor emerges overnight. Regulatory shifts delay product launches. A breakthrough in AI reshapes the entire talent strategy. Change isn’t a discrete event we plan for once a year anymore.
It’s something we live with every day.
That’s why this environment calls for a new kind of leader. Someone who can move forward without waiting for certainty. One who listens deeply, makes sense of ambiguity, and brings teams with them, even when the path is still unfolding.
It’s not about having all the answers. It’s about building the confidence to say, “Here’s what we know, here’s what we’re still learning — and here’s how we’ll move forward together.”
What’s Changing in Change Management?
Frameworks like ADKAR and Kotter’s 8 Steps continue to serve as go-to guides for managing organisational change.
But in today’s environment, they often assume too much predictability. The reality? Change no longer arrives in neat phases. It overlaps, accelerates, and blindsides. Just when we think we’ve gotten a handle on one shift, something new—like a policy that upends our operations—comes along to rewrite the rules.
This is why we’re seeing a major shift: Many organisations are moving beyond treating change as a project to be managed and instead developing a change mindset—one that values responsiveness over rigid planning.
That shift requires us to ask better questions:
- Not “What’s the comms plan?” but “How are we involving the people closest to the risk?”
- Not “What’s our implementation date?” but “What signals will tell us this is actually working?”
To lead in this landscape, we need to embed adaptability deep into how we operate, not just in processes, but in behaviours, team dynamics, and how decisions get made when the ground is still shifting.
Key Strategies for Leading Change Through Uncertainty
We’re leading in an environment where clarity is rare and change is relentless. Traditional playbooks offer too little, too late. What matters now is how we lead when the path ahead keeps shifting.
These are some key strategies to help build a strong foundation for navigating and managing change:
1. Foster Learning Agility in Leaders
In times of rapid change, effective leadership isn’t about having all the answers — it’s about having the mindset to keep learning.
When we lead from a fixed playbook, we risk missing early signals or resisting pivots. But when we stay curious, ask better questions, and respond to feedback quickly, we remain adaptive — even when certainty is out of reach.
This is known as learning agility. And in practice, it might look like booking a reverse-feedback session with junior staff to hear how change is landing on the ground, or admitting during a team check-in, “I’m still working through this, but here’s what I know, and here’s what we’re testing.”
According to Korn Ferry’s CEO for the Future research, 66% of leaders identified agility and openness to change as essential traits for future success. These leaders believe that thriving in the future won’t come from simply managing change — it will come from seizing it and using it as a springboard to evolve business models, enhance operations, and drive innovation.
Learning agility isn’t a trait we simply “model, it’s something we practice out loud. When we learn in the open, our teams are empowered to follow suit, building a collective capacity for change.
2. Prioritise Transparent Communication
- Host “what’s keeping you up at night” sessions with team leads, not just to spot concerns, but to create space for honest reflection. These conversations often surface practical insights that strengthen our plans.
- Acknowledge the unknowns. If the implementation path isn’t fully clear, we can say: “Here’s what we’re piloting, and what will guide our next steps.” Being honest about what’s known, what’s unknown, and what steps are being taken (even if they’re still evolving) also builds credibility.
- Anchor communication in context. In many Singapore SMEs, change often coincides with digitalisation or new compliance pressures. To keep teams engaged, we need to connect the dots, explaining not just what’s changing but why. As Jensen Huang of Nvidia puts it, when everyone “hears the reasoning behind both the problem and the solution,” collaboration improves. That clarity of context builds alignment.
- Treat feedback as intelligence, not pushback. Transparency isn’t a one-way street. It’s a conversation. We need to actively invite feedback, listen to concerns and show that we are paying attention. That could mean holding regular “ask-me-anything” sessions, offering anonymous ways to provide feedback, and, most importantly, acting on what we hear. When people feel heard, trust grows, and resistance to change potentially drops.
3. Promote a Company Culture That Embraces Change
At the core of navigating uncertainty is a simple truth: culture drives performance. And in a hybrid, fast-evolving workplace, people need more than direction. They need connection.
When Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft in 2014, he didn’t just update the company’s strategy; he reshaped its culture. Moving from a “know-it-all” mindset to one rooted in empathy and learning helped unlock the innovation that fuelled Microsoft’s resurgence (HBR).
Korn Ferry’s World’s Most Admired Companies (WMAC) research underscores this point. Two-thirds of senior leaders surveyed said that culture accounts for 30% or more of their company’s market value. Remarkably, a third went even further, attributing 50% or more. And yet, among the 500 executives polled, culture was named the most overlooked yet critical factor influencing long-term success.
So, how do you build a culture that not only accepts change but actively embraces it? It starts with leadership.
Creating a change-ready culture requires more than a few motivational speeches — it demands a clear vision, practical expertise, and the ability to engage stakeholders in the journey. We need to model adaptability, reward learning, and create safe spaces where experimentation is encouraged and it’s safe to challenge the status quo.
To support this, invest in the right tools and frameworks. Crowdsourced ideas, employee journey maps, or “change canvases” can surface insight from the ground up, giving teams a voice in how change happens.
4. Build Change-Ready Teams
Becoming a change-ready organisation doesn’t happen overnight. It requires intentional effort to equip both leadership and employees with the mindset and tools needed to navigate transformation successfully.
Korn Ferry’s research on the World’s Most Admired Companies has identified six key transformational mindsets that help in building high-performing teams that are also adaptable. Together, they form the framework known as ADAPTS:
- Anticipate the Unexpected: Stay vigilant to early signs of change and actively challenge complacency.
- Diversity of Perspectives: Pull in outlier views. When decisions are made only by the same five voices, we may miss blind spots.
- Anchor on Purpose: Use purpose as a compass to turn disruption into opportunity.
- Progress over Perfection: Focus on taking fast, informed action rather than waiting for perfect conditions.
- Trust to Partner: Leverage collective intelligence across teams to solve complex problems.
- Sustain the Organisation: Adapt without chaos. Which processes need to stay stable to avoid burning out the team?
Learn How to Navigate Change with Your Teams with Our Change Management Courses
- Apply the change curve model to support individuals through the transition
- Build empathy to better understand and support your team during change
- Conduct stakeholder analysis to manage influence and expectations
- Identify the driving and resisting forces behind change initiatives
- Design and execute an actionable change management plan
- Tailor your influence strategies to suit different audiences
- Communicate change clearly and effectively across all levels
- https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2024/02/21/the-future-of-leadership-from-change-management-to-team-dynamics/
- https://www.kornferry.com/insights/featured-topics/leadership/evolution-of-leadership
- https://issuu.com/webershandwick/docs/csuite_outlook_2025_final
- https://www.mckinsey.com.br/our-insights/scaling-the-21st-century-leadership-factory
