Change-Ready Leadership: A Session with Donald Thompson & Marie Boon-Falleur 

In an age defined by disruption, it’s easy to assume that leadership must constantly evolve. But what if the most effective path forward isn’t reinvention—but a recommitment to what’s always mattered most?  

This was the central theme explored during Day 3 of the Center for Organizational Effectiveness’ four-day virtual summit, Thriving in Uncertainty: Leadership and Wellbeing in Turbulent Times. In the session, “Leadership in Turbulent Times,” Donald Thompson, CDE®, Managing Director at the COE, sat down with Marie Boon-Falleur, Partner at Bain & Company, for a candid conversation about the realities of leading through complexity and uncertainty—and the timeless traits that still define exceptional leadership today. 

Together, they unpacked what effective leadership looks like in an era of constant change. While the pressures facing leaders may be evolving—economic disruption, rapid technological shifts, growing demands for transparency and trust—the expectations of leadership itself have remained remarkably consistent. In this wide-ranging session, Thompson and Boon-Falleur argue that in times of uncertainty, it’s not about reinventing leadership, but returning to its fundamentals: clarity, care, discipline, presence, and purpose. 

Read an excerpt from the session below:  

Don: When you think about our current economic environment—our current business environment and landscape—how can leaders balance short-term crisis management with long-term strategic planning and their vision for the future?  

Marie: Thank you so much, Don. I think the challenge for leaders to be able to combine short-term thinking and long-term planning is incredibly difficult. We are seeing a much higher level of uncertainty than ever before. I think what we have been through with the tariffs over the last two to three months is a great example. 

I hear more and more from CEOs and their management team that they think the decisions are sometimes at odds between what they need to do to meet their quarterly expectations of their investors and what they need to think through for their longer-term strategy and growth investments or the capabilities that they need to build for their business.  

In light of that, there are a couple of things I would advise leaders to do. The first thing is to be able to distinguish the signal from the noise. If we go back to the tariffs, I think it’s easy to say, “Oh my gosh, it feels like it’s changing every day. How can my company possibly make decisions in those circumstances?” And that’s where I would encourage leaders to take a step back and say, “What are the overall trends?” or “What are the things that are happening that will still be present five to 10 years from now?” 

So, in the case of the tariffs, you can think about it as being in a post-globalization era. So that means you should think about your supply being closer to your demand long-term and make your supply chain investments according to that. That’s just one example.  

But the ability to say, “What are my fundamental beliefs on where our world is going? And given that, how do I want to make decisions for my organization? Where are my customers? Where do I expect them to be? How do I best serve their evolving needs? I think getting back to some of the fundamental questions that drive one’s business helps to distinguish signal from noise. 

Don: Thanks, Marie. And I love the phrase ‘signal from noise’ because we’re all challenged with different points of information—all different types of change—and one of the things, when I think about the higher level themes that we’re all being stressed with, is “How does artificial intelligence fit into your business landscape?” Is it a fear—“It’s going to take all of our jobs,”—or is it an opportunity to improve and grow and be faster, better, and more effective in what we’re doing? And so how we communicate our ability to adopt new technology and new changes is as important as what the technology or the changes are. 

Another theme that I’m looking at quite a bit and talking to leaders on a global scale about is, “How do you develop and maintain trust within your organization and organizational stakeholders when trust is something being degraded right across the landscape?”  

And then the final thing, for me, is resilience. When there is so much change, how do you create and sustain a resilient organization? 

I loved what you said about going back to those fundamental questions that drive business, and think the same can be applied to how leaders choose to lead. 

What are the principles that people expect from you in delivering a trust-based leadership outcome? What do people need from you when they’re uncertain?  

What they need is your time, attention, and care.  

We all understand that the economic bottom line still exists, but we can still provide those things by having small group discussions with our team and answering their questions, by being more transparent, by sharing the information we do have—and being clear about the things we don’t.  

I think in these crazy times, we think there’s some kind of silver bullet when really some of the enduring leadership principles will always be there and continue to last and build that trust in a dynamic environment. 

Which brings me to a question.  

Marie, I would love to hear your thoughts on the concept of psychological safety. When we think about psychological safety and creating that space for openness and innovation and all those things, what are some of the things you have seen leaders do that do well to create the environment for psychological safety? 

Marie: One of the things I have observed when I work with companies that are going through big transitions is M&A—so, acquisitions and the merger of two companies where you have two cultures coming together. That raises a ton of questions for employees around what their role is going to be, whether there is going to be a role for them, and what the new culture of the combined organization is going to look like. It’s a tremendous time of stress and anxiety for people.  

And it’s interesting when we talk with leaders, they often think about the top-down communication, right? “How are we going to explain the rationale for the deal?” And then they go from that to how the individual is going to be impacted, but they are missing everything that we would consider to be in between—which is all the communication cascade that has to happen between the top-down CEO announcements and an individual having an HR conversation.  

So how do you equip your leaders at all levels of the organization to be able to explain the rationale for the merger—or any change—in their own words? And what they see as the role of their team in the success of the future organization, etc.  

We often talk about this concept of bear hugs: this idea that a leader has to go and find their employees and give them a one-on-one ‘hug’ and say, “I know this is stressful, but I’m taking the time to talk with you. What are your questions?” and then baking that in as a very thoughtful process—I think that’s one of the things that I’ve noticed makes the difference between some very successful transitions for organizations and some that really struggle with change management.  

Don: I think that’s wonderful. To extend your comment: leaders at all levels in the organization are also dealing with that uncertainty—not just employees, right? And so, I think it’s super important for leaders to share what they know to be true, and then to be a very strong advocate to go and find out those things that are unclear. 

A lot of times what we do is we take on information from our teams, right? We share the things that we understand. We have surveys, we have town hall meetings, we have all these different things—but we don’t do as good a job as we should on following up on those questions and that systematic check-in throughout the process.  

Anytime there’s a significant change, leaders have more information, so we have less stress. We have to think through the lens of those that only have parts and pieces of information. Because if we don’t fill in those blanks, they will be filled, but they’ll be filled with fear, uncertainty, and doubt.  

So Marie, I’d love an example or two of some ways that leaders can be more granular in that follow-up process over time in those communications. 

Marie: I think it really starts with caring, and a willingness to take the time and build a plan. I often tell my clients, “Intent is the first step.” You have to want to do it in a certain way. And then I think there is also something around holding each other accountable. You cannot just count on the communication cascade to happen. You need to ask your direct reports, “Hey, have you had a chance to connect with your team? How did they respond?” And that’s how you make sure that the chain keeps going.  

I find that there are some traits in leaders that I work with that enable them to perform better. Particularly at times of change, that’s a moment where you really see the truth in the strengths of a leadership team. And Bain has actually done some research around that, on the skills or traits that allow leadership teams to, we would say ‘overperform.’ And from our research, a few key traits emerged that are common among high-performing leadership teams. 

The first trait is a belief in collaboration. The strongest leadership teams fundamentally believe that multiple perspectives lead to better outcomes—that two or more brains are better than one, and that a better solution will emerge from collectively thinking about an issue. This belief—that the business is better managed when decision-making is shared—is a hallmark of high-performing teams. 

The second is a strong sense of direction. As we mentioned earlier, the ability to distinguish signal from noise often depends on having a clear “north star” as an organization. Can you articulate your mission and strategy in clear, simple words? Can employees understand and align their day-to-day behavior with that mission and strategy? That clarity is critical.   

The last piece is discipline. I think it’s one that we forget, but really strong management teams are highly disciplined. They establish clear expectations and responsibilities. I often use this analog when talking with clients: think of the difference between a children’s swimming pool where everyone’s swimming in every direction, and a pool with defined swim lanes. You want your organization to be a swimming pool with clear lanes—not the kiddie pool.  

Finally, strong follow-through on decisions is another critical component of management discipline. There’s a time for discussion and a time for action. When teams see that leadership makes decisions and sticks to them, it creates enormous clarity and reduces anxiety because they feel that, “Okay, the team has made a decision. Maybe I agree or I disagree, but at least I have clarity.” They feel reassured knowing where things stand and what to expect. 

Don: I really appreciate that thought and the four elements you described. In answering that question about psychological safety, you talked about basically creating the environment where the best idea wins. And in order to do that, that means leaders allow more and different ideas to come forward from all different levels of the organization, which is super powerful.  

The other thing I really enjoy is, what is that “north star?” We have to, as leaders, continue to—in a repetitive way—let people know where we’re going, how we’re going to get there, and why we’ve charted that path. And that reinforcement of that information allows all of that ambiguity to stay to the left and to the right, so that people can focus on that path forward.  

And then, of course, knowing your role creates psychological safety. Because I want to know what I’m going to be doing tomorrow at work—but more importantly, I want to know how what I’m doing is connected to that north star of the business.  

And I think a lot of times this is an element that leaders miss: that each person in the organization needs to understand how their business value drives the growth of the business. So I really love that answer.  

Marie: And Don, if I can just build on the behaviors that I’m seeing from some of the strongest leaders who actively create that psychological safety we were talking about, I think another one of them is being fully present.  

It’s so hard today to be fully present in a conversation and in a meeting because we’re constantly distracted with emails, we’re solicited by many different things, we may be physically separated, etc. I think sending a very strong signal as a leader that, “If we meet, it’s for a good reason. It’s because it’s a collaboration moment and we’re going to have a high-quality discussion and I’m going to be fully present for that and I’m going to listen,” that creates a totally different environment than in companies where I see that people are all over the place. And what comes with that is that people ask real questions, and they are really interested in the answer.  

It’s very easy for leaders to ask rhetorical questions where they already have the answers. Their teams see right through that. They instantly know you are not genuinely interested in the answer. So, ask your team real questions. Make it okay not to have the answer right away and give them the opportunity to come back to you with the answer. That’s where trust and deeper insight are built. 

Don: I really appreciate that—and I’ll be honest, this is something I’ve had to work on myself. 

One thing I try to do to lead with authenticity and integrity is to be transparent about where I am mentally and emotionally. If I’m not in the right headspace for a conversation—or if my mind is elsewhere or I’m moving in a different direction—I’ll say so. And I offer that same space to my team. 

If someone’s struggling with something or isn’t ready for a conversation, I’d rather they tell me. That gives me the chance to respond with compassion and flexibility—to say, “Okay, you go put out that fire, and let’s meet tomorrow to have a productive meeting.” And honestly, I think it’s those kinds of moments that build authentic leadership. 

Sometimes, when you ask someone how they’re doing and they say, “I’m okay,” it’s worth pausing. Maybe it’s time to unpack what “okay” really means. I might ask, “Is there anything I can do to support you? Is now the right time for this meeting?”  

When I ask people how they’re doing—and I really care—it gives me a read on the emotional tone of the meeting. So I love what you said, Marie. It’s not just about what psychological safety is, but how we demonstrate it—how we show up and make it real. 

Marie: Thank you, Don. That leads me to ask: What are some strategies leaders can put in place to ensure organizational buy-in and minimize resistance during times of change? 

Don: Thanks for that, Marie. One thing I always say is that we all learn and process information differently.  

Some people understand things after a quick 10–15 minute conversation. Others need time, follow-up documents, or real-life examples to really grasp what’s being communicated. 

Even in this highly digital world, we have to remember that learning styles, perspectives, and timing vary widely. So, to the extent possible, we need to personalize communication. 

Let me give you an example from Workplace Options. We’ve recently been acquired by TELUS Health, so we’re going through that M&A period right now, ourselves. One thing I’ve really appreciated is the communication approach from our CEO, Alan. He holds open Q&A sessions where any employee can submit questions, and then his responses are broadcast to the company. We’ve had company-wide town hall meetings, but then we also have individual check-ins. So we’re trying the best we can to layer that information flow. 

So, number one is multiple channels. Just like with external marketing, internal communication needs variety: video, live meetings, written updates—all of it helps information land. 

Number two is the consistency of that communication. Don’t think that mentioning something once to your team is going to stick. Repetition matters, especially in times of uncertainty. 

The third component is creating that manager availability at all levels in the organizations. Save a few minutes in your day-to-day transactional-type meetings for a few questions about anything that’s on people’s minds when you’re in a sea of change. 

We can’t eliminate fear or uncertainty completely, but we can be intentional. We can be present. And that goes along way. 

So Marie, let me turn it back to you: What is one practice that leaders could action on tomorrow? One actionable tip that can help us be better leaders through these points of disruption? 

Ready to turn disruption into direction with actionable leadership insights?  

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