Jennifer Selby Long

And today, it's not really so much about the management of change, which I believe has come a very long way since I sat down with that technology leader and his three-step process that no one would adopt. It's come a long way, but the piece that is still a huge gap and a struggle for so many leaders is the leadership aspect of that change. How on earth do you get people to come along?

And today, it's not really so much about the management of change, which I believe has come a very long way since I sat down with that technology leader and his three-step process that no one would adopt. It's come a long way, but the piece that is still a huge gap and a struggle for so many leaders is the leadership aspect of that change. How on earth do you get people to come along?

How do you get your peers who you're not the boss of to come along? How do you influence the leaders above you to support and embrace and get on board with the change? And at the most deeply personal level, how do you bring yourself through change? Tough stuff.

How do you get your peers who you're not the boss of to come along? How do you influence the leaders above you to support and embrace and get on board with the change? And at the most deeply personal level, how do you bring yourself through change? Tough stuff.

Absolutely, yes. A leader is at the center of any project that we're working on, and we're working closely with that leader. We're often working with that leadership team that reports to them, and even sometimes all the way down to the individual contributor level to help all of them embrace and enable a critical change.

Absolutely, yes. A leader is at the center of any project that we're working on, and we're working closely with that leader. We're often working with that leadership team that reports to them, and even sometimes all the way down to the individual contributor level to help all of them embrace and enable a critical change.

I think it's a great question. Technology has changed a great deal across time. For example, one of the biggest problems that we had in the past was the technology didn't always work that well. And so a lot of resistance to change was founded and it's not working better than what's already there. And in some ways it's worse. But today technology actually works pretty darn well.

I think it's a great question. Technology has changed a great deal across time. For example, one of the biggest problems that we had in the past was the technology didn't always work that well. And so a lot of resistance to change was founded and it's not working better than what's already there. And in some ways it's worse. But today technology actually works pretty darn well.

And so that's no longer at the root of the challenge. Initially, we worked most closely with IT functions because that's what I'd come out of. And that's who was really driving some of the initial change that had to come across an organization that had to change who people worked with and who they trusted and had to involve people letting go of a certain amount of control.

And so that's no longer at the root of the challenge. Initially, we worked most closely with IT functions because that's what I'd come out of. And that's who was really driving some of the initial change that had to come across an organization that had to change who people worked with and who they trusted and had to involve people letting go of a certain amount of control.

And so that is really where we initially were working. But across time, because our practice has grown entirely by referrals and repeat business, we would have business leaders who would go, I need to lead a lot of change in my business. For example, perhaps we've acquired another firm and the two leadership teams have not formed into one.

And so that is really where we initially were working. But across time, because our practice has grown entirely by referrals and repeat business, we would have business leaders who would go, I need to lead a lot of change in my business. For example, perhaps we've acquired another firm and the two leadership teams have not formed into one.

And so they're struggling with that change of integration and being more part of one and moving as one. And so now I would be working with the business leaders. Across time, IT split off. And so today we have information security or cybersecurity as typically a separate practice from IT in many organizations. And we also have digital transformation, which again is

And so they're struggling with that change of integration and being more part of one and moving as one. And so now I would be working with the business leaders. Across time, IT split off. And so today we have information security or cybersecurity as typically a separate practice from IT in many organizations. And we also have digital transformation, which again is

It can be part of the IT leader's role, the CIO, or it can be a separate role depending on how the company is organized. One of the more recent areas that we've gotten more deeply into is that aspect of technology that drives the user experience across both consumer, business, both ends of the spectrum. That's been a real interesting space for us to work in because

It can be part of the IT leader's role, the CIO, or it can be a separate role depending on how the company is organized. One of the more recent areas that we've gotten more deeply into is that aspect of technology that drives the user experience across both consumer, business, both ends of the spectrum. That's been a real interesting space for us to work in because

Those chief experience officers have often end-to-end processes that include a great deal of technology driving the change, but it's all about getting the people to change how they work, how they think. In some cases, it radically alters and uplevels jobs.

Those chief experience officers have often end-to-end processes that include a great deal of technology driving the change, but it's all about getting the people to change how they work, how they think. In some cases, it radically alters and uplevels jobs.

such that a whole new set of soft and personal skills are required for people who used to spend all day making magic with the Excel spreadsheets. We really cut across the spectrum of leaders who are leading something that either is directly technical or technology has become a huge component of the business that they lead or the part of the business that they lead.

such that a whole new set of soft and personal skills are required for people who used to spend all day making magic with the Excel spreadsheets. We really cut across the spectrum of leaders who are leading something that either is directly technical or technology has become a huge component of the business that they lead or the part of the business that they lead.