I've spent the better part of 25 years embedded in organizations — not advising from the outside, but leading from the inside. My longest engagements span 10 and 15 years. When you're that deeply integrated, you learn something that fly-in-fly-out consultants never see: the team is the transformation.
Every technology investment, every process redesign, every strategic initiative ultimately succeeds or fails based on whether the team can execute and sustain it. Building that team is the most important work I do.
Hire for Adaptability, Not Just Skill
In a transformation environment, technical skills have a half-life. The ERP system you're implementing today will be upgraded or replaced. The programming language the team knows will evolve. What doesn't change is the ability to learn, adapt, and solve problems in ambiguous situations.
When I'm building a team, I look for people who are curious, who ask "why" before "how," and who are comfortable not having all the answers. Technical skills can be taught. Adaptability is much harder to develop in someone who doesn't naturally possess it.
Cross-Train Ruthlessly
Single points of failure aren't just a technology risk — they're a people risk. When only one person understands a critical system or process, you're one resignation away from a crisis. Cross-training isn't a nice-to-have. It's an operational imperative.
In my transformations, I make cross-training a structured program, not an afterthought. Every critical system has at least two people who can manage it. Every critical process has documented procedures that a trained team member can follow. This isn't about reducing anyone's value — it's about building organizational resilience.
Create Ownership, Not Compliance
There's a difference between a team that follows the new process because they were told to and a team that follows it because they understand why it matters and had a hand in designing it. The first team will revert the moment you stop watching. The second team will improve the process on their own.
The teams that sustain transformation aren't the ones that were told to change. They're the ones that helped design the change.
Building ownership means involving the team early. Not just informing them about the transformation — involving them in diagnosing the problems, designing the solutions, and defining what success looks like. When people see their fingerprints on the solution, they fight for it instead of against it.
Address the Fear Directly
Every transformation triggers fear. Will I still have a job? Will I be able to learn the new system? Am I being replaced by automation? These fears are legitimate, and ignoring them doesn't make them go away — it drives them underground where they become passive resistance.
I address these concerns head-on, early, and honestly. Here's what's changing. Here's why. Here's what it means for your role specifically. Here's the training and support you'll receive. And here's my commitment: this transformation is about making you more effective, not making you redundant.
Is that always true? In my experience, yes. The warehouse teams I've transformed didn't lose headcount — they stopped doing data entry and started doing quality control. The operations staff didn't get replaced by software — they got freed from spreadsheet management to focus on strategic work. Transformation creates different jobs, not fewer jobs.
Invest in Leaders at Every Level
Transformation can't be driven only from the top. You need change champions at every level — the warehouse supervisor who believes in the new system and helps their team through the learning curve. The accountant who finds a better way to use the new platform and teaches their peers. The IT technician who becomes the bridge between the technical team and the business users.
I actively identify and invest in these leaders. They get additional training, direct access to the transformation leadership, and recognition for their role in driving change. They become the transformation's immune system — protecting the new way of working from the gravitational pull of the old.
The Long Game
Building a team that drives transformation isn't a project with a deadline. It's a continuous investment in people — their skills, their confidence, their ownership of the mission. The technology will change. The processes will evolve. But a team that knows how to learn, adapt, and drive improvement? That's the only transformation that truly lasts.