Happeo Unmuted, Episode 14: Ready for Change: Communication, Culture, and Leading Transformation
Welcome to Happeo Unmuted, the podcast where we go beyond best practices to explore what really connects people at work. In this episode, Jesse Bourgeault-Trickey sits down with Andrea Greenhous to challenge how organizations think about change — and why most of them are setting themselves up to fail before they even start.
Top 5 takeaways from Andrea Greenhous on Happeo Unmuted:
1. "Change management" is the wrong term, and the wrong mindset. Frameworks like ADKAR and Kotter's 8 steps are clunky and time-consuming. The goal shouldn't be to manage change, it should be to build an organization that's ready for it. Change isn't an event. It's constant.
2. Change trauma is real, and most organizations don't know they've caused it. When employees have been through repeated, poorly supported transitions, silence and cynicism aren't resistance — they're a rational response. Rebuilding that trust takes years, not just a launch email.
3. Leaders think communication isn't their job. That's the problem. The most successful change starts at the top. Thinking you can delegate it, or that it has no impact, is one of the most common and costly mistakes leaders make.
4. If employees don't understand the why, change comes out of nowhere. Communication strategy needs to be anchored to the organization's purpose. Without that foundation, every new initiative feels random... because to employees, it is.
5. You can't do modern comms with tools built for filing documents. Expecting a communications team to deliver strategic, emotionally intelligent content through SharePoint is like asking a chef to cook a tasting menu in a gas station kitchen. The tools have to match the ambition.
If you’re an internal comms, digital workplace, or knowledge management expert and have something to share, we’d love to hear from you! Get in touch.
