Webinar recap: Ctrl + Alt + Succeed – rebooting your team for change

What does it really take to lead change and bring people with you? 

In our latest smart/tasking webinar, hosted by Client Partner Sophie Pentony , we explored what it means to support teams through ongoing change. 

She was joined by Gary Gamp (CXO) and Niall Anderson (CEO), who brought not just frameworks and experience - but a real sense of honesty about what works, what fails, and what leaders often get wrong. 

The theme? Rebooting teams. Not just surviving change, but leading it with purpose, clarity and curiosity. 

“What does change mean to you?” 

That’s where we started. One word. And the responses from attendees said it all: Opportunity. Exciting. Adoption. Different. Growth. Communication. Mindset. 

It’s clear that change isn’t a neutral concept - it comes loaded with emotion and experience. Gary reminded us of the Chinese translation of “change”: both crisis and opportunity. The job of a leader, he argued, is to recognise both sides - and bring people along anyway. 

Where are you now?  

To understand what kind of change you’re dealing with, Gary offered a simple diagnostic: Are you… 

• Thriving (don’t fix what isn’t broken) 

• Surviving (time for a tune-up) 

• Reviving (requires deeper improvements) 

• Expiring (urgent intervention needed) 

Each of these states demands a different approach. And it’s not just about your organisation. Your team, your tech, your people could all be in different places and knowing where you’re starting from helps tailor how you lead. 

What does it mean to me? 

If there was one recurring message, it was this: 

People don’t resist change - they resist uncertainty. And the first question they ask is: “What does this mean for me?” 

Gary walked through a matrix of change behaviours: 

• Active & For: advocates and chameleons 

• Passive & For: passengers (an underused opportunity) 

• Active & Against: protestors or saboteurs 

• Passive & Against: victims - often silent, but influential 

Leaders often focus on the loudest voices and overlook the power of turning quiet supporters into champions who bring others with them. 

What makes change work?  

Some of the practical tips from the session included: 

• Create urgency - and mean it. If you don’t believe in the change, don’t do it. 

• Start small. Road-test the change with a pilot group. Let them challenge it before rolling it out. 

• Find your change buddies (as above). Not always senior people, but well-respected ones who can model behaviour and support others. 

• Avoid throwing strategy over the fence. People want to feel involved, not just informed. 

“If you want to bring people with you, look through their lens first.”   – Gary Gamp 

Curiosity is underrated 

When Gary asked the audience: You're going to do a reboot that will make the biggest difference? What’s the one mindset or habit you want to change? Dave called out: Curiosity. 

“Ask people to be curious. Invite other opportunities. Can it be done better? Why have we done it that way? Challenge it and be curious.” 

Niall echoed this: 

“Curiosity is a trait I see in the most successful people. They challenge the status quo, not to disrupt for the sake of it, but to find better outcomes.” 

Real stories, real challenges 

In one of the most engaging parts of the webinar, attendees shared change experiences that hadn’t gone to plan. Key themes included: 

• Empire building getting in the way of collective progress 

• Leaders forgetting the big picture in favour of ticking off task lists 

• A lack of outcome alignment - where activity gets confused with impact 

• Senior leadership resistance to failure - and the fear of showing vulnerability 

• Loss of documentation and structure in highly informal, fast-moving teams. 

Overall, though, there was a collective agreement that learning out loud builds trust faster than trying to pretend everything’s perfect. 

Gary wrapped up with a challenge: 

“What are your unreasonable expectations for 2025?” 

His point was that real transformation requires belief. Like Roger Bannister breaking the 4-minute mile, once someone sees it can be done, everything changes (two weeks later 45 people had done the same - because they believed it could be done!). 

So, what’s your bold change?   Where are you hesitating because it’s easier to stay still?   What could shift if you approached it with curiosity, urgency and clarity? 

A big thanks to everyone who joined us for the session. A recording has now been shared with registered participants, and if you have any ideas on our next webinar theme, we’d love to hear them! 

Until next time - keep curious.