What Makes Change Resilience Stick?

A few thoughts from a recent project with Bank of Sydney

We all know change is constant, but that doesn’t make it easy. And it certainly doesn’t mean that resilience magically appears when we need it.

Behind every transformation strategy or tech rollout sits a more complicated truth: people are navigating stress, identity shifts, and an ever-changing world of work. And often without a clear roadmap – let alone strategies to manage the emotional, psychological and relational impacts of org-shifts.

When we were invited to support the operations and tech teams at Bank of Sydney during a major digital transformation, the focus wasn’t just on “how do we manage this change?” It was: how do we help people get through it without burning out?​ ​

When change gets personal

Major organisational transformations – like Bank of Sydney’s digital shift – often come with an emotional toll that’s not visible and easy to overlook. We’re not just asking people to learn a new system; we’re asking them to let go of familiar routines, rethink their value, and show up in new ways. That’s no small ask.

As Geoff Wenborn, Chief Operating Officer at Bank of Sydney shared with us:​

“For me, it’s a leadership issue for all in creating the space and time while continuing our BAU work to embrace any change fully. When you are in control of your own time and an expert in your role no-one wants to be told they have to do it differently.  However, it’s inevitable, it’s a necessity, and we all have to adapt with new ways of working.

The personal challenge is not to become a victim of any change. Collectively we have to understand the change journey and how significant the change will be to the way we work. It’s tough but then we all need to lead that change to maximise value. Ideally, we will develop the tools to be resilient at both an individual and team level. 

Under the surface of any org-wide shift, you’ll usually find a bunch of quieter, very human questions. Some of the real concerns beyond any project milestones and timelines were:

• Will my role still exist and will it be the same?
• What if I’m no longer needed?
• Have the special skills I’ve always prided myself on become redundant?
• What happens to the way we used to work?
• Will I lose my autonomy, my influence, my team?
• What might this mean for my interpersonal work relationships?
• Do I still belong here?

These are the real impacts of change – the emotional and psychological undercurrents that don’t always get acknowledged, but absolutely shape how people show up at work and beyond.

Where we started

As always, we began by listening. 1:1 sensing sessions were conducted with team leaders to understand what was actually happening beneath the surface. Not just in the operational sense, but culturally, emotionally, relationally. Here we also worked on creating excitement for the journey ahead – a prerequisite to positive behaviour change.

With the Bank of Sydney, we co-created a bespoke Change Resilience program tailored to the change context: four in-person workshops, Leader Connect peer-learning sessions, 50+ staff across four teams. All grounded in the reality of what change feels like, not just what it looks like on paper. And all delivered with Lead-Well’s unique blend of storytelling, vulnerability, humour, and the most up-to-date research.

Inside the program

The goal was not to hand out “resilience tools” and call it a day. It was to create a space for honest reflection, human connection, and dynamic group learning where people could explore what change means for them and for their teams.

Here’s what we delivered:

• Leading Ourselves: sustaining high performance while managing stress and uncertainty.​
• ‍Change & Uncertainty: understanding the change process and its emotional and psychological impacts (including how trust, self-worth and belonging are affected).​
• ‍Creating Connection: building trust, psychological safety and a sense of belonging in teams through simple, intentional behaviours.​
• ‍Presence & Emotional Agility: practical tools for staying present, managing mood, and cultivating positive habits (including formal and informal mindfulness, gratitude practice, reframing and anticipation).​
• ‍Honest Conversations: enabling leaders and team members to talk about what matters, especially when it’s hard, to deepen connection and support behaviour change.​

Throughout, we focused on making the experience as practical, human and reflective as possible — with plenty of space for peer learning, storytelling, and connection.

The sessions weren’t perfect. But they were human. There was room for laughter, honesty, frustration, and small moments of “ah yep, I’ve felt that too.”

What stood out

Small shifts added up: leaders having conversations they hadn’t made space for before. Teams using shared language to talk about pressure. People feeling a lot more heard and less alone in it all. Program feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with 84%+ satisfaction across all measures, and a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 74.

Throughout the sessions, we were struck by how openly people reflected on their experiences of change. One participant noted how valuable it was simply to “say out loud your thoughts and see you’re not alone.” Others shared new insights around mindset and resilience, both within and beyond the workplace, recognising “how it is also (mostly) related to mindset even for changes outside work.” Another described gaining “awareness of one’s self, acceptance and understanding where we stand today.”

One piece of feedback really stayed with us:

“The beautiful presentation was a powerful reminder of what truly matters in life, and it thoughtfully paralleled those values with our work, inspiring a more purposeful and people-centred approach.”

That’s ultimately what we hope to create in this work: not just skills, but deeper reflection and connection that carries through after the slides are closed.

What stayed with us most were the moments after the workshops: teams using the language, checking in differently, asking questions driven more by curiosity and connection than by fear. The kind of stuff that actually sticks.

When you make space for people to be real about what they’re feeling, they’ll meet you there. They’ll reflect. They’ll connect. And slowly, if they feel supported and safe, your people won’t just go along with the change; they’ll engage with it. They’ll ask better questions, take more ownership, and start shaping what comes next.

Here’s what Geoff Wenborn, Chief Operating Officer, had to say:

“The feedback was all strongly positive… our teams felt supported, inspired, and better equipped for the journey ahead. A key request from the team was to extend this workshop for all in the company. A truly valuable investment in our people and culture.”

A few things we keep coming back to

Change resilience isn’t a motivational mug or a bullet point on a strategy slide. It’s built in the moments when someone says, “I’m honestly not sure where I fit right now,” and a leader actually listens.

If your team’s navigating change right now or heading towards it, here are a few questions that might help:

• What are people really carrying, and where can we make space for it?
• How are we helping people reconnect with purpose, not just productivity?
• Are we creating space for peer connection, or are people navigating this alone?
• Are we offering genuine clarity with our communications regarding the transition, or just more noise?
• What small signs of steadiness can we offer, especially when the bigger picture is still shifting?

Need a hand supporting your team through change? We’d love to help. Get in touch at hello@leadwellcc.com or head to leadwellcc.com to learn more.