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June 25, 2025 13 mins

Feeling like your team is exhausted by constant change? You're not alone. 

In this episode of the Strong Leader Serve podcast, we delve into strategies for leading through change with empathy and clarity. 

Learn five practical ways to help your team navigate change fatigue, from maintaining clarity to managing energy and fostering connections. This episode draws on insights from psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics, offering actionable tips for mid-level and senior leaders. 

Get ready to lead your team through transitions more effectively and renew their motivation as you prepare for another season of leadership challenges.



Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teri-m-schmidt/

Get 1-on-1 leadership support from Teri here: https://www.strongleadersserve.com/coaching

Set up an intro call with Teri: https://calendly.com/terischmidt/discoverycall

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Do you ever feel like your teamis just tired of change, like no
matter how important or wellplanned the initiative, it's met
with eye rolls, size or quietdisengagement.
You're not alone.
I know.
I've been the one that's beenquietly doing the eye rolls as
well.
In fact, one of the most commonchallenges I hear from leaders

(00:24):
in our coaching sessions is thequestion.
How do I lead my team throughyet another change when they're
already burned out from the lastone?
That's exactly what we'retalking about today.
Leading through change andhelping your team navigate
change fatigue, especially inthese uncertain times.

(00:45):
This is the third episode in ourend of season podcast series
where I'm introducing the keythemes we will explore more
deeply in our leadership buildgroup coaching series.
Starting in September, In thefirst episode, we explored how
to handle those difficultconversations and how to

(01:05):
effectively give feedback.
Last time we talked about thereal identity shifts needed for
effective delegation, and todaywe're diving into change
leadership specifically.
How mid-level and senior levelleaders can support their teams,
through the wear and tear ofconstant change.
I'm Terry Schmidt, executive andleadership coach at Strong

(01:27):
Leaders Serve, where I partnerwith compassionate driven
leaders to transform potentialinto performance.
And this is the Strong LeaderServe podcast.

(01:53):
Let's start with a quick truthfrom psychology.
Change.
Fatigue isn't the same asresistance.
It's often exhaustion,depletion, a very human response
to a relentless pace oftransition without recovery.
And while you might not be ableto control the pace of change in
your organization, you caninfluence how your team

(02:17):
experiences and moves throughit.
So that's my challenge to you.
So let's talk about five waysthat you can lead through change
with empathy and clarity withoutlosing momentum.
These strategies are grounded inpsychology, neuroscience and
behavioral economics research,and I'll translate them into

(02:37):
concrete actions you can takethis week.
So the first one, clarity overcertainty.
I've talked about before howneuroscience tells us that the
brain craves predictability.
When we don't have it, our brainhas to use more of our stored
energy and we feel threat evenwhen the change is positive.

(03:01):
So what can you do as a leader,especially when there is so much
uncertainty around, well, firstyou can share what's known.
What's unknown and how you willkeep your team updated.
Providing just that little bitof clarity can be a huge step in
helping people feel lessthreatened about the change.

(03:22):
Sticking along the same lines ofclarity over certainty.
You can use a visual map or achange timeline so that your
team can anchor themselves in abigger story.
And third, probably the easiest,but sometimes the one that is
the first one that we let go of.
Keep some routines consistent,familiar rituals.

(03:44):
Even a weekly check-in that youalways have at the same time can
offer psychological safety.
The second tip is to acknowledgelosses and reframe gains.
In my workshops about change,, Ioften use the theme that change
creates loss, but it alsocreates opportunity.
The thing is, behavioraleconomics reminds us that people

(04:07):
feel losses twice as strongly asgains.
So when something changes like aprocess, a team structure or a
decision making norm, it mayfeel like a loss of control,
familiarity, or even status.
And it is critically importantto call those changes out, to
acknowledge them, and in manycases, to even grieve them.

(04:33):
If we try to just gloss overthem and go straight to the
opportunity, we will never makeprogress.
So what you can do as a leaderto acknowledge losses and
reframe gains.
First, say the quiet part outloud.
When introducing something newto a team, you might start by
saying, this shift might feellike we're losing some autonomy

(04:55):
or clarity right now.
Then help reframe.
But here's what we stand to.
Gain more flexibility, fasterdecisions.
Stronger alignment.
And then finally connect thechange to something personal or
meaningful.
Now, this may be different forevery team member, and this is
where acting like a detective asa leader, something I talk about

(05:17):
lot, a lot when we're talkingabout motivation really comes
in.
What is meaningful for each ofyour team members?
How can this change connect tothat meaning?
Okay, maybe you have a teammember who you know is really
passionate about customerservice.
You might tie this into how thechange will help you to serve
the customers better.

(05:38):
You might have someone else whoreally cares about your team
having a voice at the table.
So maybe you tie the change intohow it will improve your team's
influence in the organization.
The important thing is to knowand honor what is important to
each team member, and ifpossible, find a way to show how

(05:59):
this change is actually anopportunity linked to that thing
that they are passionate about.
The third tip for you that youcan implement even today is
manage energy, not justengagement.
Fatigue is often more aboutenergy than attitude.
Why frequent transitions oftenlead to change, fatigue.

(06:22):
Is because we do not put anyemphasis on the need to recover,
even in small ways.
It's just change after change,after change and each new change
comes with a differentimplementation plan, action
plans, and motivational andcommunication plans.
It all feels like so much.

(06:43):
And then once we get locked intothat change, we get another
change coming at us.
So what can you do as a leaderto help manage your team's
energy?
First, give space for recoverymoments.
Even 10 minutes.
Even 10 minute blocks can help.
I know for me, because one of myinnate talents is to be a

(07:06):
learner.
Taking a recovery break of just10 minutes to listen to a
podcast or watch a YouTube videoabout something that I wanna
learn about can go, can dowonders to help me recover.
For someone else, it might betaking a 10 minute walk outside,
but making sure that you givethe space for those recovery

(07:28):
moments is critically important.
Second.
Let go of lower impact work orpause non-essential initiatives.
I know that our team had aregular habit of doing start,
stop, continue exercises, andwhat that did is as we looked at
our work for that month or thatquarter, and who we needed to be

(07:52):
as a team for the organization,figuring out what we needed to
and wanted to stop, helped us tofocus more on those things that
we wanted to either continuedoing well or start anew, and
that gave us a little bit ofmargin for recovery as well.

(08:14):
And then finally, celebratesmall wins.
Recognition boosts dopamine andhelps to rebuild motivation.
Now my fourth tip is to givechoice and voice.
Now, according toself-determination theory,
motivation thrives when peoplefeel autonomy, competence, and
connection.
Change.

(08:34):
Fatigue often hits hardest whenpeople feel that change is
happening to them, not withthem.
So what to do as a leader?
Well offer small choices.
Maybe you can offer the choiceto your team about if they
prefer to implement one part ofthe change next week or the

(08:55):
following, maybe your team canweigh in on how things roll out.
Even if the what isnon-negotiable and finally take
it to the team.
Ask them where do you feel likeyou could shape this process
more?
And then really listen and seewhat's possible.
All of those are a great way togive your team some ownership of

(09:17):
the change so you can lessen thelikelihood of them experiencing
change fatigue.
And then finally the fifth tip,rebuild, connection.
Change can be isolating,especially in the world that we
live in today.
We have a lot of ways to avoidbuilding connection with others.

(09:42):
Maybe we work remotely, and I'mnot saying that remote work.
Dictates that you can't beconnected to your coworkers, but
you do have to be much moreintentional about it.
And sometimes it's just easiernot to connect.
Many people are turning togenerative AI for advice and
even in some cases for coaching.

(10:03):
And whereas that might be reallyconvenient, it doesn't do much.
For us in terms of getting thebenefits of true human
connection, neuroscience showsus that social disconnection
triggers pain centers in thebrain, literally.
And so as our teams are goingthrough uncertainty and change,

(10:28):
what we can do as a leader tohelp them buffer some of the
negative feelings that they arefeeling is to help them connect.
Build in time.
May in your weekly meeting forhuman connection, not just for
project updates, start teammeetings with questions like,
what's one word to describe howyou're feeling about this

(10:49):
change, and then be ready tofollow up if needed.
If you sense that someone isfeeling very anxious or maybe
doesn't have the informationthat they need about the change,
you can follow up with thempersonally after the meeting.
And then finally, you may evenpair people up for a short term
buddy system to fostercollaboration and

(11:11):
accountability, especially inthe midst of change.
There are many more ways torebuild connection, and we'll
talk about more of those in theworkshop.
But whatever you do, I doencourage you to think about how
can each team member connectwith someone about something
that's not work related?

(11:31):
How can each team member seetheir team, see your team as a
source of connection?
So to recap, the best way toreduce change fatigue isn't to
power through.
It is to lead through it with inwith empathy, intention, and
clarity.
If you take one idea away fromtoday's episode, let it be this

(11:53):
change Leadership is not aboutbeing the expert who knows
everything.
It's about being the guide whocreates a safe space for your
team to learn, adapt, andrecover together.
And if this topic resonated withyou, I'd love to invite you to
join our upcoming leadershipBuild group coaching series,
kicking off this September.

(12:15):
In that group, we'll dig deeperinto this change fatigue
challenge, the realconversations coaching, and yes,
even hands-on methods like Lego,serious play to spark
creativity.
And unlike unlock new insights.
It is a space wherecompassionate driven leaders
from different industries willcome together to strengthen
their leadership skills whilesupporting each other.

(12:39):
You'll leave with fresh tools,renewed energy, and a community
that understands your day-to-dayday challenges.
So speaking today's topic, ifyou are dealing with change
fatigue yourself, this is agreat place both to build
connection and to reignite yourenergy.
So if that sounds like the kindof leadership development you've

(13:00):
been looking for, stay tuned formore details coming next week.
Until then, keep leading withheart and clarity and know that
you don't have to do it alone.
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