The Charter Leadership Forum is a roundup of guidance from the greatest minds in talent. For each edition, Charter’s research team asks expert practitioners to share their insights around the biggest questions shaping the changing world of work.
Traditional change management models were built for discrete moments of disruption. But today, constant change is the norm. Leaders are rethinking how organizations build resilience, adaptability, and cultures that evolve in real time. We asked executives and researchers what it takes to shift long-standing mindsets, redesign outdated approaches, and create organizations that are truly adaptive.
Legacy organizations are increasingly finding ways to refresh long-standing mindsets and practices. What’s the most effective lever you’ve seen for shifting culture in a meaningful way?
Jacqui Canney, Chief People Officer, ServiceNow: You need to stick to your north star. In our case, it’s our People Pact: when you come to ServiceNow, we commit to help you live your best life, do your best work, and fulfill our purpose together. That pact is more than just words—it’s a covenant with our people, and everything we do leads back to it.
Kaleen Love, Chief People & Culture Officer, PMI U.S.: Inviting people into honest dialogue and empowering them to shape the narrative is the most powerful force in culture change. For example, our PMI U.S. DNA (values) – We Care. We are Better Together. We are Game Changers – came out of direct employee input. And because our employees see themselves reflected in the journey, real transformation is taking hold.
Carlee Wolfe, Associate Vice President, Talent and Organizational Effectiveness, Hyatt Hotels: Curiosity. Culture shifts when people feel safe to explore what’s possible, not just repeat what’s familiar. When leaders model openness – asking, listening, and learning alongside their teams – curiosity builds connection, and connection builds trust. That’s where transformation starts.
If you could redesign the way organizations approach change management, what’s one thing you would change?
Choudhury: Modify the top down mandates approach to the following – start with top down guidelines and allow teams to experiment and let the best practices percolate bottom up. Once the teams share learnings, modify the policies top down.
Love: I think change management has fundamentally changed in today’s workplace. Given the level of constant evolution we are experiencing, managing change is now a key skill in leading people and organizations. Companies should stop thinking about change management as a separate function but as a new “adaptability muscle” they are building in leaders — and frankly all employees.
Canney: We’re moving beyond traditional, linear models of change management because AI demands something more dynamic: continuous, adaptive, and decentralized change readiness. We focus on capability-building and product mindset as we prepare our people to thrive in an AI-native world. Successful change starts with enabling every person—not just leaders—with the skills, time, and confidence to grow, while building experiences as if they are products. Experiences should be continuously designed, tested, and improved based on real feedback to deliver lasting value.
Wolfe: Change isn’t something to manage; it’s something to lead through. It requires co-creation – inviting people in, experimenting, and learning together. The human elements of curiosity, communication, and empathy are what make change stick.
How should organizations balance cultivating resilience and adaptability today?
Canney: Resilience is about anchoring to values through challenges, while adaptability is about building the skills to move forward. Organizations need both: a strong cultural core and an agile workforce strategy that actively reskills and uplifts talent for what’s next. We need to create cultures where experimentation is safe, where people are recognized for trying new ways of working. It’s about allowing people to be bold, saying, “let’s try this” instead of “don’t break this.
Love: The last thing you want is resilience WITHOUT agility — that’s a recipe for fossilization. When employees learn to pair resiliency—the capacity to withstand shocks—with agility—the ability to pivot quickly, a company can create a culture of constant evolution – for employees and the company. Resilience and adaptability only thrive together when we create environments where it’s safe to experiment, learn, and grow – especially during uncertain times.
Wolfe: It starts with human capacity – the energy and wellbeing that fuel both resilience and adaptability. Resilience helps us recover; adaptability helps us reimagine. Designing space for reflection and learning sustains the energy that makes real progress possible.
Choudhury: Both resilience and adaptability relies on attracting and retaining the best of talent. Flexible work policies are central to attracting and retaining the best and most diverse talent.
How can HR make change less top-down and more employee-driven?
Wolfe: HR can move beyond managing programs to shaping adaptive ecosystems that empower people to lead change from within. That means simplifying what gets in the way, expanding access to tools and learning, and amplifying opportunity and voice. Real transformation starts when HR becomes both architect and participant in how change unfolds.
Love: HR’s greatest opportunity is to be a convener—bringing diverse voices to the table and empowering teams to pilot and scale what works. Change sticks when it’s created with, not just for, our people.
Canney: By adopting a product mindset at all levels. If we design systems with employees at the center, making their work easier and more impactful, we send a clear message: you belong in the future we’re building if you’re willing to adapt and learn
What role should managers play in helping teams adapt to constant change and how can we prepare them?
Choudhury: Managers should be facilitators of team based experimentation and pilots being run by teams. Managers should listen and learn prior to framing policies.
Love: Managers are the bridge between vision and action. Equipping them with empathy, communication skills, and ongoing support allows them to guide their teams with confidence and care.
Canney: Managers have the hardest jobs and carry the toughest load. They’re being asked to deliver results, care for their teams, and now lead through massive change. Too often they’re buried in task work instead of driving transformation. If we want change to stick, we need to free them up and equip them to lead: having tough conversations, redesigning work, and modeling a growth mindset.
Teuila Hanson, Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer: Without strong managers, even the best AI strategies fall apart. AI is great at tracking projects and streamlining workflows. But the human stuff – managing energy, coaching through uncertainty, creating space for collaboration – that only managers can do.
At LinkedIn, we design our leadership workshops to include durable skills like empathy, adaptability, creating psychological safety. The skills that make leaders exceptional in the era of AI as a digital teammate. We also made 1:1 coaching available to everyone, not just executives, because we know the hardest parts of work (giving hard feedback, navigating team dynamics, etc) can’t be solved with a playbook. It requires real practice and support.
What signals show an organization is truly adaptive, not just reactive?
Canney: A truly adaptive organization has a learning culture, acts on insights from its people, and views AI as an opportunity to unleash a human renaissance. You’ll see it in how fast the organization moves from idea to action, and how deeply its employees engage in that process.
Love: You know an organization is adaptive when learning is celebrated, experimentation is encouraged, and feedback actively shapes decisions. It’s about moving forward with purpose, not just responding to what’s next.
Wolfe: Adaptive organizations design the future with intention and humanity. They see change as opportunity, not disruption. Curiosity is celebrated, learning is visible, and care is built into the pace – that’s when adaptability becomes culture.