[00:00:00] Lea Mitchell: Awesome. I’m gonna move us forward and officially get started. Before I dive in, I’d love to share just a snippet about hone. My name is Leah Mitchell. I’m on the customer success team here at Hone. I’ll share a l hone, I’ll share a little bit more about myself in a minute, but at hone we focus on helping organizations solve real challenges, whether that’s developing managers, supporting senior leaders.
[00:00:23] Improving performance management or goal setting processes. We really focus on continuous upskilling within your organization. We do this through our amazing coaches who I’m joined with here today. You’re gonna meet three of the wonderful coaches we work with and we have AI coach and tools that we’ve just launched as well to help support organizations.
[00:00:43] So if you’re interested in learning more about Hone, there’s opportunity for you to connect with us. Please feel free to reach out. We’ll dive into some formal intros. So as I mentioned, I’m Leah Mitchell. I’m on the customer success team here at Hone. I’m based in the Bay Area and I have spent almost two decades working in customer success and account management.
[00:01:01] I’ve been in the l and d and education technology space for almost eight years now. Have a true passion for learning and like many of you, I am navigating change daily, both at work, working at startups. It’s an ever-changing world in the startup landscape, and so that is definitely one place where I see a lot of change.
[00:01:20] But I also have a 3-year-old and aging parents that I support, in life change is constant. And so this is, a topic that I feel really truly passionate about and have really focused on, within myself. And so excited to talk to our expert coaches, to hear a little bit about what folks are saying about resiliency and how they, these coaches are helping people adapt to the ever-changing world.
[00:01:43] Change is constant as we know. And it feels like even more so today. And I think we saw this in the comments change feels radical now. That feels like change is just everywhere. So with, whether that’s technological advances that are happening quickly, rifs and reorgs, or, cost cutting times, this is a real time full of change.
[00:02:05] So we are joined here today to dig into specific behaviors that resilient cultures practice and how HR and l and d leaders specifically can grow and foster. These behaviors and I am so thrilled to join to be joined by our expert coaches. We have Shante Christian, Sheba Varghese, and Giselle Timmerman here today.
[00:02:24] These Hone coaches are currently coaching senior leaders and organizations, large and small through specific challenges, and they’ve built programs specifically to teach these skills needed for businesses to thrive in the constant and ever changing and challenging times. So I am going to kick it over to Sheba Varghese to start with an introduction.
[00:02:45] Sheeba Varghese: Good day everyone. Leah, thank you so much. I’m Sheba Varghese, one of the lead principal coaches here at Hone and also the CEO and founder of Defining Moments. And as a leadership trainer and executive coach, I’ve worked with CEOs, senior teams, emerging leaders who really wanna ground their culture and principles that hold up both in.
[00:03:03] Calm seasons, which seems so rare these days, and these turbulent ones that we’re in, especially right now. And much of the work that I do is within the startup environment. With that said, one of the things that I like to work with is the DISC framework, which we also offer here at Hone, to give teams that shared language that helps ’em understand themselves, communicate with clarity, and respond to the pressures without losing.
[00:03:27] Some level of cohesion and over the last two decades of working with people one thing I’ve seen is that resilient resilience isn’t built on quick fixes. It comes from really knowing how people are wired, how they react under stress, how to bridge those differences with respect and responsibility.
[00:03:46] So apart from training I am an author. I published my first children’s book last year called Mommy Am I Indian Today? And I’m also on faculty at the International Coaching Group. And Leah, like you, I’m in the midst of personal change where we are transitioning my mother-in-law over to the West coast and talk about change.
[00:04:03] And being in a Hone for 48 years taught that is a lot of change. So there’s personal things that we’re dealing with and professional change, and so I’m really thankful to be here today. Thank you, Leah.
[00:04:15] Lea Mitchell: You are welcome, Giselle. I’d love to hear from you.
[00:04:18] Giselle Timmerman: Yeah, thank you. I’m also a Hone principal coach, and I think what’s most relevant in regards to an intro is that I started my career in strategy consulting after graduating with a degree in the first class of a program nobody had heard of.
[00:04:33] It was positive psychology at U Penn. But for the last 20 years I’ve used that obsession to really drive my work. And that obsession is how we can bring the science of human excellence to our world of work. And so in addition to working with Hone, I run Positive Work, which is a boutique leadership development consultancy.
[00:04:55] I’m based out of Barcelona, but I work with folks in North America and emea, and we work on helping leaders to build teams that are high performing in an evolving world of work. So exactly today’s topic. I like to think about myself as operating at the intersection of leadership, wellbeing, and performance.
[00:05:14] And I’ve had the privilege of doing this with scale-ups and mature companies from around the world. Plus I taught change management for six years at the human resource Master’s level. So I’ve looked at the process side of change as well as really the human side and like the two intros earlier.
[00:05:31] My kids and the leaders I work with every day have really taught me the most about resilience. So super excited about this conversation. I think resilience and adaptability are no longer nice to haves. And it’s really the foundation of thriving cultures and we have a lot of science to back that up.
[00:05:46] So happy to share more
[00:05:49] Lea Mitchell: amazing Shante.
[00:05:51] Chantée Christian: Awesome, thank you. My name is Shante Christian and I like to consider myself as an ambassador of awareness. I have two decades of experience in management consulting, mostly within the federal government and coaching, but it ha I have crossed different sectors, including Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits.
[00:06:11] Universities and literally small business than anything else. I think that one of the things that I love most about what I’ve been able to do in the last 20 years or so, is that I’ve been very specific in program and project management. Organizational change management. And that is the gamut of all of the things.
[00:06:30] But what I bring specifically to my clients and to the space is I like to call it like a unique blend between emotional intelligence, business acumen, and social impact. And when we’re able to do that, we’re, I’m able to. Walk in a space where I can be committed to being a catalyst for growth and change and inspired action.
[00:06:49] I too am obviously a coach at Hone, but I also have two companies. And so one of them is called My Best Shift, where I do a lot of my management consulting and coaching stuff. And then the other one is the multimedia side of my house where I have my. For bestselling books and of my award-winning podcast that really hones in on pun intended hone in on authenticity, awareness and acceptance, and what happens when we change.
[00:07:15] ’cause change isn’t just from a an organization perspective, it’s also from an individual perspective. And I also teach at George Mason University and have a slew of certificates and a million different things. But I won’t even go into all that and I’ll just say thank you for having me, and I’m excited.
[00:07:32] Lea Mitchell: There is not, I can’t think of three better people to guide this discussion. You all are amazing and I’m so excited to dig in. So I’m gonna stop sharing my screen and we’re gonna get into our conversation now. So the first question I have to kick us off is what kind of changes or disruptions are you noticing in organizations right now?
[00:07:51] I just wanna start us off there. What are the things you’re hearing in different organizations? Sheba, you went off mute. So I’d love to start with you.
[00:07:59] Sheeba Varghese: I’ll just mention too, ’cause I’m gonna leave the rest for my colleagues here. So one of the things that I’m seeing constantly is restructuring and role shifts.
[00:08:07] Companies are trying to redesign org charts faster than probably people can update their email signatures. And so there’s new business lines popping up. Old ones are shrinking or disappearing middle layers. Getting thinner. And this isn’t chaos, it’s just the cost of staying relevant or trying to stay relevant.
[00:08:27] And then the second one that I will share is technology. Technology is accelerating faster than culture can really keep up with it. And so you have AI or automation data tools that are evolving weekly, not yearly, like in years past. And so these are the two things that I’m seeing consistently right now within organizations.
[00:08:47] Lea Mitchell: That’s awesome. Shante would love to hear from you. Open up floor.
[00:08:52] Chantée Christian: Yeah, I would I would agree a lot with what she is saying, especially in this quarter. So I think that it feels to a lot of people who may be new into spaces of transition, but usually in the last quarter of the year. Companies start to look at what their bottom line looks like and they start shifting and moving their priorities.
[00:09:14] And so I’m seeing a lot of that right now, and I’m also seeing a lot of challenges on how to use AI in a way that’s effective across the board and making sure that we’re not doing. A blockbuster thing where we’re missing the moment and also making sure that we’re not jumping the gun on it. So I’m seeing a lot of that from my clients and from a lot of the organizations that I support.
[00:09:39] Lea Mitchell: Yeah. Love that point on the timing, Shante, this is the timing where a lot of changes is happening and shifts are being made ’cause of the timing around. Around the corner. Giselle,
[00:09:49] Giselle Timmerman: I echo what was shared. Reorgs tends to be what most of my clients are dealing with, and with that comes leader changes, role changes, collaboration challenges.
[00:10:01] Part of that is geographical expansion into different marketplaces, either to serve clients or for talent which is a difficult change for a lot of my clients. Had a session just earlier today on expansion into India and what that means for a team. But then you also have the micro changes, right?
[00:10:20] New tools, new leaders delegating more new skills. So I think we can go macro and micro here.
[00:10:28] Lea Mitchell: Yeah, absolutely. Curious to know how leaders are showing up with these challenges that you’re hearing. Are you feeling a lot of anxiety from these leaders or is there excitement, curious to know what the tone is?
[00:10:40] Shante, I would love to hear from you. I saw you go off mute
[00:10:43] Chantée Christian: Oh, I just, I was coming off of mute ’cause we were all off mute. Oh
[00:10:46] Lea Mitchell: yes.
[00:10:48] Chantée Christian: No. I think that, I think that change, I like to think of change in columns, right? So you have the people who are gonna be your early adapters, you have your people who are gonna be on the fence, they don’t really care one way or another.
[00:11:00] And then you have your people who are, in my terms, gonna be 10 toes down, not really ready to move. Those are gonna be your resistors. And I think that it’s okay for leaders to recognize that they can be in any of those buckets. But how do they show up? And what do they do for it be? I would say a lot of my leaders are typically.
[00:11:20] They need more information, right? Context is important. And so once they’re able to understand the big picture, then they’re able to get on board with the shift, right? And I think that a lot of times they don’t have the information and so it feels difficult and challenging to be able to go and share that with their teams and with the organization.
[00:11:40] And so what I find is that they are. Working through their own feelings of it in a way to be able to share and maximize the movement and the shift. Because a lot of times you don’t have a lot of literal time to be able to do that.
[00:11:58] Lea Mitchell: Is there a thing that you’re focusing on when they don’t have the information?
[00:12:01] How do you guide them through that? I’m curious to know.
[00:12:05] Chantée Christian: Well, I like to ask them a few questions. What do you know?
[00:12:10] Lea Mitchell: Yeah.
[00:12:10] Chantée Christian: And out of what you know, what can you control? What’s the timeframe on this? ’cause I’m also, what I didn’t mention as a comms major, and so I’m always, I wanna know the communication around it, right?
[00:12:23] But I also want them to identify what do they know? What can they control? What questions do they have before they even go talk to their teams, right? Because. If you have those questions, your team probably has those questions too, but you’re gonna filter them differently, right? You’re gonna provide them with the information in a way that is vulnerable and transparent.
[00:12:43] But we have to sift through what do you know? What can you get more information on? Who may be the person that may have the key talking points that may answer those questions for you. What other benchmarks or other companies that have done this that look like this that we can pull, that you can glean?
[00:12:59] And so it’s really a deep dive in the information for me with them when it comes to that, and less about their feelings, because usually the feeling of anxiety or nervousness is coming from a lack of knowing because they like to be in control. Of things and information, and when you’re in change, you, there is no control.
[00:13:19] It’s like managing a toddler. You’re working on a whim.
[00:13:22] Lea Mitchell: Totally.
[00:13:23] Chantée Christian: Yeah,
[00:13:23] Lea Mitchell: I know how that goes. Shiba, curious to know, how are your leaders showing up? Is there something different that you’re seeing or is it across the spectrum, as Shante was describing?
[00:13:33] Sheeba Varghese: I would totally agree with what Shante is saying.
[00:13:35] I would, I wanted to just add something earlier with what Shante was talking about and Giselle about the technology. ’cause there is this push for lots of leaders to embrace it. But they, but you’re seeing, depending on the personality styles that are. That are part of the leadership. Some can be very impulsive.
[00:13:57] Some can actually just wait and observe and look at these things. So it really also depends on the styles of leadership that are involved, because sometimes we’re adapting things without behaviors, norms, or skills to use it even well. And then we find ourselves backpedaling and saying, okay, let’s. Just stop here or pause.
[00:14:15] What I’m finding is that they’re also having to deal with change when it comes to still incorporating the in-person work, remote work and that cultural fragmentation that can happen because of what’s happening in there. Giselle, you just mentioned a team in India, it’s a total different culture.
[00:14:33] And so with that type of change, like what did we do? So there’s, there is this, having to come together. How are we going to communicate this without having all the information yet, but making sure that they can communicate what they do know. Because you want buy-in from those that are around you. And when you press forward without buy-in there, there happens, you start to get quite a bit of friction.
[00:14:58] So those are some of the things that they’re. That I’m seeing that leaders are like, okay, how do we get buy-in? How do we understand how people process change? Because people process change differently. Some love change. Let’s, so let’s also say that there are those that really love change and there are others who wanna know how are the people going to be affected by the change?
[00:15:21] There are others who wanna know. Well, what are the details and data and analysis points of this change? So when we can understand who we have around us, that’s also important and that’s some of the things that I see leaders doing. And then I see others just forging ahead without that buy-in and then they have stop.
[00:15:38] Giselle Timmerman: That’s
[00:15:39] Lea Mitchell: a really interesting insight. Shi Ben. You mentioned disc, that’s something that you specialize in is disc. And I think that’s a good point because stop taking a breath, stopping and understanding yourself and your others and how people are gonna react to that change. I think that’s a crucial step.
[00:15:54] Love that point. Giselle would love to hear
[00:15:56] Giselle Timmerman: So many things to add to challenging to go last. A few things I’ll just echo, I think for. Shante is starting to talk about zooming out to the big picture as leaders. Yes. And zooming in, and that’s that cognitive agility that we really need and that we can coach people for.
[00:16:12] And as part of that, underscoring Shiva, we’re not gonna know all the answers. So being do not wait to tell your team about the change or to engage them until you have all the answers, because you never will. And we never know how these things are gonna play out. So I think starting by what we know, what we don’t know, what we know for certain, what we don’t know what we know will change, what won’t change.
[00:16:34] Like what’s changeless. Is also really important for stability, but then also what’s still in movement and a commitment to follow up on some of those things is really important in the change communication. I think. At the same time though, logic is not enough. Most leaders, very senior leaders think the logic, the business case, it’s gonna be enough and people will just move on with it.
[00:16:55] I don’t think that’s. And I actually don’t think that big vision is all that inspiring to a lot of people. I think we need to meet people where they’re at, coach to change, identify some of those needs. The loss, the very real loss. People love status quo, right? There’s a lot of gravity there. But acknowledge those, loss those losses.
[00:17:15] Not to fix it, but to hear it. To respond with empathy, to respond with understanding, and to look for what’s useful there because people are resistant for a reason. And look for the treasure behind that, and then also to engage your team. And I think Sheba, as you were mentioning that I love Amy Edmondson’s book, fearless Dialogue, setting the stage, inviting participation, facilitating that next action.
[00:17:40] Because you can’t go from the big vision to let’s make it happen, it’s no what’s right in front of us and the next right step that’s just comments. I just have one other thing that I’m seeing for leaders. And in positive psychology, we talk it, we talk about it, the white water of work.
[00:17:57] We, we we hope that we’re gonna get to this like steady state, these calm waters, but it never comes in our VUCA environment. I heard the other week that change has never been this fast and it will never be this slow, which is terrifying to some, right? But that’s what we’re talking about.
[00:18:15] That’s changed leadership for resilience and leaders that can normalize this sort of uncertainty. And we know that when we can build that sort of collective self-efficacy that predicts performance and wellbeing. And the only other thing I will say about this before you move us forward, Leah, is I think the people that are a little bit more excited about this, particularly when it comes to ai, I think it’s a really interesting paradox of AI and resilience because there’s this volatility, there’s this uncertainty.
[00:18:47] We have to be adaptable. Yet the skills and mindsets that make us resilient, creativity, emotional agility, meaning making, using strengths in new ways are exactly the things that AI can’t replace, right? So when we’re adapting, it’s not like just coping with technology, but like doubling down on what that human advantage is to move from, ah, what is AI gonna replace to what’s it never gonna replace?
[00:19:13] And then oof. How could I use that to then double down on my strengths? On what makes us uniquely strong here, individually and as a team.
[00:19:22] Lea Mitchell: I love that shift. It’s about a mindset shift and I love that. And I think if you focus on that, the positive, if you focus on what you know, what you can change, I think that’s a great.
[00:19:33] Step to move forward. I think this moves us actually really nicely into the next question, which is what mindset and behaviors do you see that is actually helping people not just adapt, but really thrive in the change that is happening today? Shante would love to hear from you.
[00:19:54] Chantée Christian: Oof. So I think, one of the things that I would say is, I think someone said it earlier and I don’t remember who, but change is constant, right? And remembering that change is constant is really important. I think that, I think maybe Giselle said it earlier, also, meeting people where they are right is really important to.
[00:20:17] Working on what the adaption looks like. And working on a plan that works for the individual and the collective, because how. I like to tell my clients this, you’re one person in a full relationship and organization. If you shift and change how you’re showing up in your perspective, it’ll also change how the others are moving and shifting around you, specifically your team.
[00:20:43] And so I think that getting really clear on, on what that looks like is really important. Yeah, I’ll stop there.
[00:20:51] Lea Mitchell: Yeah, I love that. There is a question directly to you in the chat Shante, that I’d like to ask ’cause I think it goes well with the conversation we’re having here. Is there a different different like way to communicate with your direct reports?
[00:21:05] First leadership up above? What are you seeing in terms of that when it comes to, to change?
[00:21:10] Chantée Christian: Yes. And so I was working on my response to that inside.
[00:21:13] Lea Mitchell: Oh, love it.
[00:21:15] Chantée Christian: And I’ll actually say what I was putting in the chat and the first thing I would say is naming the truth that leaders forget often, right?
[00:21:22] Is that direct reports don’t appreciate change. Of or as a strategic plan, right? Most people don’t love what’s in a strategic plan and it doesn’t articulate the human side of it. And so we really need to make sure that we’re talking to people from how it’s gonna affect them from an experience perspective, what is being disrupted in their space, right?
[00:21:46] Because it’s, it could be stability, it could be their identity, it could be their workflow and or workload. If they don’t know, then any of those pieces at any given time could cause them to have for lack of a better word, anxiety around the change. And so I think that we have to honor that human humanistic side of it first before we can go to the operational layer.
[00:22:13] And then I would say we gotta start with orientation, not just announcements, right? We gotta figure out what’s going on and what’s important to our people, right? And we gotta make sure that, and Shepa was talking about the buy-in, right? We gotta make sure the communication is a two-way street and sometimes, unfortunately.
[00:22:31] We don’t get buy-in and neither does our team. However, there are always pieces that we can, and so when we’re able to identify what those are, we’re able to also then translate it into a language, if you will, that they understand and that they can receive. Because sometimes things are put in ways that quite frankly, are a little challenging for people to grasp the full understanding of what the change is.
[00:22:57] Yeah. And then anchoring everything in transparency, consistency and vulnerability. Normalizing the emotional state and then just closing the loop on tangible support because change just continues and continues. So yeah, that’s what I was typing in the chat.
[00:23:13] Lea Mitchell: I love that. And I’ll just wanted to quickly repeat.
[00:23:15] As a leader, you may have the change thrown on you, but you also have the ability to stop, take a breath, and. Really think about how you’re gonna implement that change and present that to your team so you don’t have to be the one again, throwing the change on them. You can, soften the blow, for lack of better words.
[00:23:34] Sheeba Varghese: And Leah, I’m wondering also, sometimes it’s just healthy for us to just ask the question, Hey, here we have quite a bit of change going on. What is the best way, or what are the things that are most important for me to share with you? What is important for you to know? ’cause then it gives us a clue of what.
[00:23:51] What kinds of things are important for that person, that’s on the receiving end of the change to, what kinds of communication that they really want to know about, because some people don’t care about some things, so it’s so asking that question and not assuming it. Is also a great way to get that conversation started.
[00:24:08] It’s almost like feedback, Hey, part of my role is to give feedback, but what’s the best way to do that with you? How would you like to receive it? So
[00:24:16] Lea Mitchell: I love
[00:24:16] Sheeba Varghese: that. It’s important.
[00:24:17] Lea Mitchell: Internally at Hone, we did something with called user manuals. We created user manuals and we shared those with our colleagues and I think that was really transformational for me because I am a very direct communicator.
[00:24:28] I have a way of being but didn’t realize how that could potentially impact others. And it gives you a time to reflect on how that, how you’d like to receive change, communication, whatnot. Such a good point. Shepa Giselle would love to hear from you. Are there mindsets, behaviors that you’re seeing, mindsets or behaviors that you’re seeing are really helpful for people in this time?
[00:24:49] Giselle Timmerman: Yeah. I’ll just double down on the. The ability of the leader to bring that sort of abundance thinking when there’s a lot of threat going on for their team. I was coaching a leader this week who is at a space organization, tremendous amount of change and pressure. And he said, a year from now I would not be behaving the way I am now.
[00:25:13] And he called it Curious Calmness. That he was bringing to really tough situations, including a reorg. So I think what leaders can do to center themselves for their teams just goes so, so far I’d say a lot of the teams I work with I. I oftentimes start with a strengths-based orientation, so I just can’t help it.
[00:25:34] There was a question earlier in the chat about when can we not be resilient? Do we have a choice? And I think about resilience. I like to move from resilience, like the idea of bouncing back to anti-fragility, which is growing stronger because of the stress, right? Like we often think oh, I’m so resilient because I went through hard times.
[00:25:56] I think you’re so resilient because you lean on your strengths and I think as individuals we can do that from, for Giselle it’s lean on curiosity and creativity and time in nature, and my love of learning to help me adapt and for teams, I think it’s. Drawing from the resources that we have, mapping the capabilities, emphasizing what we can do as a team, right?
[00:26:19] Even if something doesn’t go well, like instead of we failed this change product project. What did we learn? Where did we succeed? Who innovated? What skills did we bring that we’re gonna, apply to the next one? What strengths made that happen? How can we amplify that? And then leaders that are calling out the bright spots along the way.
[00:26:36] Shante, you talked about the diffusion of innovation curve and the early adopters change. Champions and managers should be spending a lot of time focusing on those early adopters because they’re gonna bring the energy and the momentum and the ideas. To the rest of the team, right? So we gotta like systematically seek out what’s working and then like how do we get more of that versus less of what we don’t want from our teams through change.
[00:27:01] So I’d say that a strengths-based approach is a superpower.
[00:27:05] Lea Mitchell: I love that. Giselle, I’m curious to know how are people finding those change champions? What do they look for when. When change arises so that you have the right team in place to help champion
[00:27:18] Giselle Timmerman: really simple things like, oh yeah, I’ve started adapting to that workflow.
[00:27:22] Instead of just saying in the private slack, good job. Bring that to the team Slack channel. And then in our meeting, can you demo how you’re making that tool work for you? And then you just give them resources. And in your one-on-ones like, Hey, what’s working for you? How could you bring more of this to the team?
[00:27:37] You gotta make sure you don’t overload them though, because they can also burn out pretty quickly. But you’re checking in with them, you’re using feedback loops, you’re sharing information with ’em because they’re gonna be ones that are driving it and they’re sharing how they’re doing it with their peers, which is actually so much more inspiring and motivating than maybe hearing it from the boss.
[00:27:56] Lea Mitchell: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I appreciate that insight
[00:27:59] Sheeba Varghese: And I would just say that there there’s a patience and grace through it all. You’re being patient with yourself, you’re being patient with your team. You’re also knowing that some of these things, it is a risk. I just saw that in the chat.
[00:28:10] There is a huge risk to this and we’re not gonna get it all right. But that’s where the greatest learning happens as well. And it, we, I also love Giselle. You were saying that, I was coaching somebody. This is also what leaders are doing. They are investing in their own development and growth and talking through some of these things with someone that is a coach, where, the questions that are asked in those types of sessions can really help them to go beyond their.
[00:28:36] Immediate sphere, but have them think beyond that and in the service and benefit of all those that they are leading. So it is great to invest in your own development as well, and that is what leaders are doing. I just wanted to add that
[00:28:48] Lea Mitchell: I love that, and that’s so important I think whether an organization is supporting you and giving you that coaching or whether you’re seeking that out yourself and finding a way to look inward, I think that’s really an important role as a leader.
[00:29:03] Curious to know, I’m gonna shift it slightly. How can HR and l and d, how can they specifically partner with leaders to spark meaningful change? A lot of the times that is that lands upon them. So curious to know if you have any thoughts on that. Giselle, I’ll start with you for this question.
[00:29:22] Giselle Timmerman: Sure. So I do think l and d and HR are gonna help with the change management side. So the change toolkits and the comms plans and the roadmaps, all of that is super, super important. But also. Not just new processes, but like the, those capabilities that make us a little bit more future ready. I think someone said earlier yeah, we learn a lot in the fire, but we can also prepare for the fires.
[00:29:50] And so we need to train for those skills and develop some of those adaptability muscles. Helping people learn to learn to unlearn plan for multiple futures. I think strategic foresight and thinking through scenarios and prospection is really important because there’s no like fixed destination.
[00:30:07] There’s always multiple pathways and possibilities ahead that we need to be able to navigate with our teams. So I think it’s building some of that resilience beforehand in terms of methods. I think group coaching, coaching, reflective practice, peer learning is huge. I think if you can invest in building relationships across the organization, particularly in global or distributed teams, it’s huge because we need networks where we’re sharing information and we’re building trust so we can adapt, right?
[00:30:35] Because when we’re uncertain, we reach out to other people, right? So I think we’re more likely to engage when we feel connected with others. And then I think if leaders and HR leaders and l and d can just help take small steps, use micro experiments to learn, to build people’s confidence and sense of agency, that turns a lot of anxiety into I think I can, I am, we’re doing it.
[00:30:58] We did. So just break it down for people and then recognize those small wins, I think goes a long way.
[00:31:05] Lea Mitchell: I love that. I love, especially the part of recognizing small wins. I think that’s a huge piece of it. Shante curious to hear from you about HR and l and d specifically. What can they do?
[00:31:17] Chantée Christian: I think that one of the biggest things that they can do and from an organization perspective in general is remember that.
[00:31:29] It’s a partnership, right? And so when you’re thinking about a thousand piece puzzle, right? Everyone has their part. And even though you might not be the edge or the corner, that doesn’t mean that you don’t complete the puzzle. And so I think that it ties into what we’ve been talking about, right? Making sure that people understand what their role and responsibilities are in general.
[00:31:55] And also understanding how they can move forward with change and what does change look like. Because what sustainability looks like and requires is gonna be different for each, whether if you’re in HR or if you’re l and d or if you’re a leader in the organization, or if you are an employee, an individual contributor.
[00:32:19] However, the change itself is still the same, but how it affects you and what sustainability looks like. And so I think that’s something that we forget often, is making sure that we define what success looks like for change, and not just for the overall change, but what does it look like for each organization and how when you’re working cross-functionally, what does that look like?
[00:32:42] Because that’s when those pieces start to come together. And I’m seeing a lot in the chat around trust and. Around, mobilizing the uncertainty. Absolutely. However, at each level, the messaging is gonna be different, right? And so making sure that people understand as you’re, as a collective for the change, that they’re able to articulate it in a way that when it rolls up, you’re like, you know what?
[00:33:08] This change was great. Or this change had, we can make some tweaks and some changes, but you know where it’s at versus it just being a cluster of just a mess. So that would be my
[00:33:22] Lea Mitchell: totally
[00:33:23] Chantée Christian: immediate thoughts.
[00:33:24] Lea Mitchell: Totally agree with you there. On that, I think this question feeds right in perfectly. Trust is a huge part of all of this.
[00:33:31] So how do we ensure trust is kept or built throughout change and throughout these things? Sheba, I’m wondering if you have anything or any thoughts on this.
[00:33:42] Sheeba Varghese: I love our trust building class at Hone and I love Charles Green’s equation ’cause I, I have a math major and so I geek out on that equation.
[00:33:51] But it’s that credibility plus reliability plus intimacy all over self orientation. Increases our trustworthiness within what? Within or amongst one another. Credibility. The words that we’re saying, what are we putting out there? How are we sharing information, reliability, our actions, and how consistent are we with those actions?
[00:34:12] And that intimacy, how safe people feel with us when they’re struggling, when they’re, even if they don’t agree with what’s going on, are they able to come and share? Because at the end of the day, when I think about human resources and learning and development, it’s a relationship centered work.
[00:34:27] Lea Mitchell: Totally.
[00:34:27] Sheeba Varghese: Although much of what we are feeling can feel transactional, we really have to con thrive. We really have to invest in the relationships around us. So building that trust through consistency, communicating clearly and respectfully treating that collaboration as that this is not just within this transaction, but this is a long-term thing.
[00:34:48] And I believe that’s even harder when it comes to remote teams. And so it takes a level of intentionality to do that. And so that’s what I would. I would share on that.
[00:34:57] Giselle Timmerman: Yeah. I love that. I completely agree. I think whatever leaders can do at their individual level, right? Use the trust equation in the chat as well.
[00:35:06] Open communication. Remember when we went through COVID not so long ago, and there were some leaders that were like, we don’t know what’s happening, but every Friday we’re gonna have a meeting and I’ll share what we know, what we don’t know. And so even if there was no update, we knew that we could get an update there.
[00:35:22] So there was that consistency, that reliability sharing as much as they know what they don’t know, caring for the human. A lot of times I think leaders get freaked out because they can’t change, they don’t have a lot of control over the change. But I think even just asking, like layoffs, I was talking about this earlier with someone, what do you say?
[00:35:43] When you can’t promise someone’s job security. And I think you can still be there in that moment for people with care, right? When you can say I hope that doesn’t happen and I wish I could control that, but I can’t. And then you just ask the person like, what else do you hope for?
[00:36:01] And you look for what you can do to support them. I think that goes a long way. And then at the team level. I just had an offsite this week for a data leadership team that was not working so well together, so it was a trust building intervention in disguise as a collaboration one, but they created Norm.
[00:36:21] We actually did a puzzle challenge, Shante, so it used your metaphor, but they came up with norms for how they want to better collaborate and learn from and with one another. And it’s really simple. It’s a different way in which they’re gonna use their management meetings. Another way is that when they review their OKRs, it’s not just gonna be where we missed, but what we learned and what’s working.
[00:36:44] Just 15 minutes of reflection that they’re building into their existing meetings. They’re not adding a new one.
[00:36:50] Lea Mitchell: I love that. Leaders are human. They do not always have the answers. They are not always going to have all the insight. So making a space for people to be heard is so powerful. I think that is, that’s such a great point to sell.
[00:37:05] Thank you for that. Would love to dig into some audience questions. I’m gonna take a look ’cause there’s one. Hello Alyssa. It’s so good to see you here. What about when the change doesn’t feel fair or actually is not fair? Or EG. Us, our teams being asked to take on more than we can reasonably manage.
[00:37:24] As a leader, we represent the company and also our team. And a lot of us are trying to remain in integrity with ourselves between sometimes competing objectives. So what can we do to find balance and a voice during change, especially when fear and uncertainty can make even asking questions must le much less act active advocacy for ourselves or others feel like a risk.
[00:37:46] I love that question. It’s a long question. But really curious to know what y’all think about that. Sheba, I’d love to open it up for you to respond.
[00:37:56] Sheeba Varghese: Oh boy. This is a hard one when I’m working with executives and this feels when something is, when they feel out of integrity, that’s a huge one.
[00:38:07] So I’m just gonna state right there, I always say, you are at choice to be where you are.
[00:38:14] Lea Mitchell: I love that.
[00:38:15] Sheeba Varghese: So that’s that part. I’m just gonna say right there, it may not feel good. And yet we are all at choice. So what would you like to do? There are things we can’t do, but if we’re really standing on that space and really embracing that, what is it that you want to do?
[00:38:35] So I’m gonna leave that part there.
[00:38:38] Lea Mitchell: Shante, you are nodding. I know you have something to say here. I would love to hear from you.
[00:38:43] Chantée Christian: No, I am in a complete alignment with Sheba from a perspective of is your integrity that feels. That is being attacked, right? When you feel as though something is unfair or something is wrong, right?
[00:38:58] I would argue, okay. Then one, what can you do? And then two, what can you do to be more in alignment with your values in the moment, right? And how do you go back and articulate that in a way that is still being in alignment with your integrity? And still holding true to whatever the decision is, right?
[00:39:24] Because at the end of the day, we do get choice, and we might not like the choices that we have. However, what, which way are you going to go? And so when you’re in that crossroad it’s one of those things I see Zelle coming off of mute.
[00:39:38] Giselle Timmerman: Oh, just brilliant. I’m so glad to be here. I’m learning so much. I think it’s I is exactly that.
[00:39:44] It’s. It’s what kind of, how do I want to operate, right? How do I want to be as a leader in this moment? That’s the integrity piece. And I think if it doesn’t feel fair that’s good to acknowledge. But then what doesn’t feel fair? What would make it feel fair? What’s possible to move towards fairness?
[00:40:02] And then you gotta whip out a good old control, influence, acceptance circles, right? To really identify as a leader, as a team, what’s within our control. What might we try to influence for? And then we move some of those things towards acceptance over time as Shante was getting at. But I think the, there’s another question in there about giving voice to our team, and this is where I think the fearless dialogue really comes in.
[00:40:28] You have to set the stage. You have to tell people why their voice, their input, their ideas. Really matter and create space for that in a really inclusive way, right? Recognizing that people from different cultures and personalities are gonna participate differently, but it’s up to you as a leader to really set the stage in a psychologically safe way so that people feel as though their input is valued and then you move towards the thing that’s right in front of us.
[00:40:51] Not the big huge change that we wanna grapple, but given what’s in our control and what’s right in front of us. Then you invite participation, not so that it’s a venting session, but so that people feel engaged and empowered, and we get some of those ideas on the table and we explore what’s possible, and then we move to that next best action.
[00:41:10] That. First step, and we set a checkpoint, right? We identify at some point what are we learning, how’s it doing, right? We gather, we share the learnings. I think sometimes we set that next step, but don’t always do the follow through, right? The checkpoint, the learning so that we can pivot, so that we can change course so that we choose the next step.
[00:41:30] But I think when firn and certainly make even asking questions. If possible, the leader has to build that psychological safety and really drive Hone the importance of why voices are needed.
[00:41:42] Lea Mitchell: I agree with that, and I’ve seen that a lot with the work, the, with the partners that I work with. They are having to stop and also take a look at their own values to be able to come forward and make the space and really feel grounded where they’re at.
[00:41:55] So I love that. Great thoughts.
[00:41:57] Sheeba Varghese: And Leah, if I may just add being fair fairness, and. In out of integrity or integrity are two different things. And so it’s really important to to not conflate those two because that those are two different things. And one requires a, well, both requires us to really reflect on what Giselle was bringing up.
[00:42:19] But definitely conflict arises when our values and we’re out of integrity, that’s where conflict really will arise. To the forefront and we’re not gonna really see the best out of that leader. So that’s just, I just wanted to clarify those two things as well.
[00:42:33] Lea Mitchell: Yeah, I love that. And as a coach, how would you guide someone through that?
[00:42:37] Curious to know if they feel like there’s a huge conflict there?
[00:42:41] Sheeba Varghese: I know Shante was gonna say something. Did you wanna say something prior to Yeah.
[00:42:45] Chantée Christian: Oh, well, I just, I wanted to add on to Giselle’s psychological safety statement. So people will hear me say often that I can’t create a safe space for you.
[00:42:55] However, I can create a brave space for you. And if you agree to co-create a brave space with your teams, then you are. Offering them an opportunity to be brave enough to share, because then they can feel safe, right? They can feel seen, they can feel heard, and they can feel valued in a space.
[00:43:14] Even if the conversation may not be one that feels. Comfortable. Or the change is one that feels like it’s fair, if you will, right? However, if we create those brave spaces and they know it’s not an empty container, then they also feel more compelled to come back to us and to talk more because we are holding space, right?
[00:43:37] So if we think about the Hone class that we have around being an empathetic leader, right? We know that holding space is great. And then what, right? And so it’s really making sure that as a leader, the focus isn’t on you, right? The focus is on the collective. And so how do you put your ego aside in order to be able to show up for the collective in the midst of change?
[00:44:03] ’cause sometimes change is challenging.
[00:44:07] Lea Mitchell: Absolutely. Many times. Many times. Change is challenging. I agree.
[00:44:12] Sheeba Varghese: In that brave space, when that leader wants to take time with a coach, it’s a great place to start asking those questions around. When you say fair, what does that actually mean to you? And in relationship to the topic that you’re bringing up. How does that. What is that all about? And when you’re saying this is out of integrity, what exactly is out of integrity and how does that connect to the situation? So you’re almost like separating the person from the issue and really digging in a little bit more about what are we taking personally or what is really, what do we have control over?
[00:44:47] And also how does this connect to the topic at hand. And it’s relationship to the people that you’re leading. So we can dig in a little bit more in those coaching sessions to really find out what is fair, what’s not fair, what is the, what’s my values, what is out of integrity, what is integrity?
[00:45:04] All of those type kinds of topics. That’s also a brave conversation within the coaching session. And then bring it forth and support them to bring that also with their teams, coach their teams up as well.
[00:45:17] Lea Mitchell: I love that. Love that. Would love to ask if any of you have any closing remarks or anything top of mind that you wanna share that we may not have dug into with the questions?
[00:45:29] Open it up to the panel.
[00:45:37] Awesome. Well, this has been such a fun session. I know I learned so much today. Giselle, are you.
[00:45:44] Giselle Timmerman: I am just looking at the comment in the chat from Elizabeth. I think Shante and I both are.
[00:45:49] Lea Mitchell: Yes. Thank you.
[00:45:49] Giselle Timmerman: So this is dealing with the whitewater whirlwind of work. So covering a lot of responsibilities sounds overwhelming.
[00:45:57] And needs to talk about prioritization.
[00:46:03] Lea Mitchell: Love that. Shante, any thoughts on that?
[00:46:08] Chantée Christian: The PM side of my brain started working in overload, right? I was like, what programming are you using? How are you communicating your status? But I’m gonna put that part aside. And add it in. So I would be curious, right? And. How are you all currently accepting projects and what’s the priority level when you look at if you’re doing KPIs or OKRs?
[00:46:31] And what’s the alignment to what the business need is to the projects that you’re actively working on? Because 20 active projects lends me to be so curious with so many more questions. And when you’re talking about having an effective conversation, then my ask is, well. One of my ask would be, well, what makes you think that the conversations you’ve been having haven’t been effective?
[00:46:56] And when you walk away from the conversation, what is it that you actually want? Because it sounds like you may already know what your priorities are. And it’s more so in a conversation of managing the reaction and the expectations that are maybe not agreements that you have agreed to. It’s a lot there.
[00:47:15] And I would have, I would be like, Elizabeth, call me. We got some work done.
[00:47:20] Giselle Timmerman: I think. I think she’s totally right. I had a leader, a head of legal counsel the other day. Her CFO had no clue what she was doing, and she actually did this spider map of all the things I’ve been doing over the past year.
[00:47:31] He had no idea. So I think first, don’t assume that they understand the scope of what you’re managing. She mapped it out and she said, this is what was necessary. This is how I’ve been allocating my time to all of this, but this is where I think I need to be spending my time. My highest contribution to really play in my sort of zone of excellence and what I think the business needs.
[00:47:52] And it was a conversation about that, getting to what Shante mentioned, it’s what the business needed from them, and that was the highest contribution because if you fragment yourself, you’re dead. And I also love that this relates to our topic, right? Because. We all have too much to do. We all have too much change to grapple, and we have to filter out what’s most important by doing some of the things we talked about today aligning to our values.
[00:48:16] Playing to our strengths, leaning on our resources. So I’ll just tie that question back to the theme as well.
[00:48:23] Lea Mitchell: Yeah, I love that. Oh, go Sheba, please.
[00:48:25] Sheeba Varghese: No, I, and I would say sometimes we have to learn to say no. And sometimes, depending on the leader that you’re working with, you may have to be very direct and clear in what you’re communicating.
[00:48:37] If you are someone who does your tasks and you’re great at that and great at execution, more may be placed on your. Plate without you even sharing. Alright, these are the current priorities I have right now. Which one would you like me to not look at right now? All of those things. Clarify everything.
[00:48:56] Assume nothing. Assume nothing. Clarify everything. So this is really important.
[00:49:01] Lea Mitchell: So important. And I feel like there was a theme throughout our discussion today where you all came back to this kind of. Topic of, or this idea of understanding what the outcome or the goal is. And so stop and really think through that.
[00:49:16] To determine the best way forward. So love it. This has been such a fun conversation three of our most wonderful coaches here today. Thank you Shante, Sheba, and Giselle for joining me today. Thank you in the audience for the wonderful questions and the participation. Again, we’re here at Hone and if you wanna talk to us, we are happy to listen to Please reach out if you’re curious to know what we do or what our coaches do specifically.
[00:49:39] And thanks for joining everyone. Have a wonderful day and rest of your week.
What Resilient Cultures Do Differently in Times of Change
Change is accelerating, and organizations are being challenged to adapt faster than ever. Through their work with leaders across industries, Hone’s Executive Coaches are seeing what truly drives adaptability and resilience, and how HR and L&D teams can translate those lessons into stronger, more future-ready cultures.
Through their work with leaders across industries, Hone’s Executive Coaches have seen firsthand how the best managers and teams are turning uncertainty into opportunity. This session will unpack real-world strategies HR and L&D leaders can use to build more future-ready, AI-savvy cultures.
Featuring:
- Lea Mitchell, Director of Account Management at Hone (Moderator)
- Chantée Christian, Sheeba Varghese, and Giselle Timmerman, Hone Executive Coaches
Together, they will explore what drives resilience and adaptability in today’s workplaces and share strategies HR and L&D leaders can use to support lasting cultural change.
What you will leave with:
Actionable and practical insights and examples to help you strengthen adaptability, build resilient teams, and guide your organizations through change with confidence.
