{"id":147305,"date":"2026-04-09T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T13:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/?post_type=magazine&p=147305"},"modified":"2026-04-09T09:26:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T13:26:52","slug":"how-leaders-can-better-carry-the-weight-of-change","status":"publish","type":"magazine","link":"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/magazine\/spring-2026\/how-leaders-can-better-carry-the-weight-of-change\/","title":{"rendered":"How Leaders Can Better Carry the Weight of Change"},"author":52,"featured_media":142049,"template":"","tags":[162,2690,3270],"class_list":["post-147305","magazine","type-magazine","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-emotional-intelligence","tag-employee-experience","tag-team-leadership","global_topic_tax-leadership","magazine_issue_tax-spring-2026","magazine_article_type_tax-building-leaders","magazine_article_type_tax-thought-leader"],"acf":{"sponsored":false,"gated":false,"gated_content_type":"","file_attachment":null,"gated_content":"","form_instruction_header":"To access the full article, please fill out the form below:","pardot_html_embed":"","author_override":true,"author_name":"Marshall Goldsmith and Suzie Bishop","author_image":"","author_bio":"Marshall Goldsmith is the world authority in helping successful leaders get even better. Suzie Bishop is the vice president of product development at The Center for Leadership Studies<\/a>.","excerpt":"Effective leaders manage their own stress and emotions first, enabling them to guide teams through change with clarity, stability and confidence.","main_content":"Leading through change isn\u2019t a theoretical exercise. It\u2019s a lived, daily experience \u2014 and often an isolating one.\r\n\r\nMost leaders live in the gap between expectation and execution as they liase between the C-suite decision makers and the frontline workers they manage. This involves implementing decisions they didn\u2019t make, explaining changes they\u2019re still processing and maintaining operations while absorbing the added weight of change. Yet the effort often goes unseen and underappreciated.\r\n\r\nThe exhaustion leaders feel is not a sign of inadequacy. It reflects the true magnitude of the responsibility. But within that responsibility lies opportunity.\r\n\r\nTo lead change effectively, a leader must start with themselves. A grounded, focused leader can approach change from a big-picture perpsective, not only preparing themselves and their team for the change in front of them, but preparing them to better address future changes as well.\r\n

Leading Self<\/h2>\r\nChange can naturally trigger stress responses: panic, frustration, doubt. The urgency around change often pushes leaders to immediately communicate with their team and start problem solving. But, left unchecked, a leader\u2019s emotions around the change can spill into their communication and impact how their team experiences change.\r\n\r\nWhen a leader walks into a team meeting stressed and overwhelmed, their team members feel that. The message they receive is that this change is going to cause them that same stress. They start questioning the reasoning behind the change, side conversations begin, and anxiety and discontent brew.\r\n\r\nLeaders must take a moment to pause and reflect on their own needs before engaging their team around the change. Here are a few measures you can take as a leader to be intentional about processing change:\r\n