By Liz Beck, Leadership Advisor and Executive Coach, Omny HR
With Andy Burnham becoming the UK’s new Prime Minister, Britain once again finds itself at the start of a leadership transition. In his first address, Burnham spoke about restoring confidence, creating a new model of government and setting a fresh direction for the country.
While politics and business operate in different environments, the human response to new leadership is remarkably similar.
Whether it’s a new Prime Minister, a new England football manager or a new CEO joining the organisation, people immediately start asking the same questions:
- What will change?
- Will my role be different?
- What will success look like under the new leader?
- What does this mean for the future?
For senior leadership teams, these questions should never be viewed as resistance to change. More often, they are evidence that people care about the organisation and want to understand where they fit in with the potential changes.
Leadership transitions are really about organisational performance
The reality is that new leadership almost always brings change.
Sometimes that change is evolutionary, building on strong foundations and accelerating what is already working well. Other times, it requires more significant shifts in priorities, structures, culture or ways of working.
The critical point is that change should never happen for change’s sake. Whether in Westminster or within an organisation, at Omny HR, we believe leadership transitions should serve a bigger purpose: strengthening performance, creating clarity or building a better future for the business and its people.
HR’s role is to help employees understand why change is happening, what it is intended to achieve and how they can help make it successful.
The mistake many organisations make with leadership transitions
One of the biggest mistakes organisations make during leadership transitions is treating change as something that happens to employees as opposed to making employees active participants in shaping what comes next.
Uncertainty often grows when people feel change is being imposed upon them. Rumours fill information gaps, while engagement and productivity drops.
In contrast, organisations that involve employees early create something far more valuable than compliance: ownership.
This is where HR and people leaders play a vital role.
Rather than simply communicating the new leader’s vision, their responsibility is to help employees understand why change is happening, what it’s intended to achieve and how they can contribute to its success.
The importance of the first 100 days of leadership change
Whenever a new leader arrives, attention naturally turns to the first 100 days.
Much is written about what new leaders should do during that period. However, far less attention is given to what organisations should do to prepare for it.
One of the most valuable exercises HR teams can facilitate is asking employees three simple questions before a new leader arrives:
- What must the new leader understand before they change anything?
- What is getting in the way of us performing at our best?
- If they could make one change in their first 100 days, what would have the biggest impact?
The answers often provide richer insight than any leadership briefing pack ever could.
More importantly, they give employees a genuine voice from day one.
For senior teams, the key takeaway is not to wait for the new leader to diagnose every issue. Instead, use the transition period to engage your employees by identifying barriers, opportunities and priorities.
Shape the agenda before a new leader arrives
Leadership transitions shouldn’t begin on the new starter’s first day.
The most effective organisations use the period beforehand to create meaningful conversations around three areas:
- What should we preserve?
- What should we improve?
- What are we prepared to do differently ourselves?
These discussions create momentum before any formal changes take place.
By gathering these valuable insights, teams can begin to help shape a new leader’s agenda, instead of simply reacting to it.
As a result, that creates a very different dynamic. Employees move from being observers of change to active participants in it.
Confidence, not certainty
One lesson applies to organisations of every size: people do not expect leaders to have all the answers immediately.
In fact, attempting to create the illusion of certainty often damages credibility – most employees would rather take honesty and transparency over anything else.
As such, line managers should be equipped with practical talking points that allow them to have those valued, honest conversations with their teams:
“Here’s what we know. Here’s what we don’t know yet. Here’s what we’re expecting to change. And here’s when we’ll update you.”
This approach builds trust because it acknowledges reality.
During any leadership transition, there will always be unknowns. But rather than trying to eliminate uncertainty, the key focus for HR and people leaders should be creating confidence despite it.
A leadership opportunity, not a leadership challenge
As the UK enters a new political chapter under Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, organisations have an opportunity to reflect on their own approach to leadership change.
The most successful leadership transitions are not defined by how quickly a new leader imposes their vision. They are defined by how effectively an organisation brings its people into the conversation.
For senior leadership teams, that means viewing leadership transitions as opportunities to strengthen engagement, improve performance and create alignment around a shared future.
Ultimately, the role of HR, people leaders and managers isn’t to remove uncertainty, but to create confidence.
Because when people understand the purpose behind change, feel included in shaping it and trust the information they’re receiving, a leadership transition is no longer seen as a period of disruption, but rather a catalyst for organisational progress.
Our executive coaching and leadership team work with organisations to turn leadership change into a proactive opportunity to drive engagement, performance and growth.
Contact us to discuss how we can help your leaders create confidence, alignment and momentum before day one.
