At Brilliant Ink, we often talk about the importance of “practicing what we preach.” After all, how can we authentically counsel our clients on how to create a meaningful employee experience if we don’t have one ourselves? Recently, we’ve been taking the notion of practicing what we preach to a whole new level. This month, I became CEO of Brilliant Ink - a company that up to this point has been led by our founder, Liz Kelly. As I’m embarking on this exhilarating and intensely personal journey (after all, I’ve worked side by side with Liz since the moment she founded Brilliant Ink in September 2008), I’ve become acutely aware that the transition we’re going through is similar to organizational shifts we often help our clients navigate. As with any good change management effort, my top priority has been to keep the team informed, engaged and confident about their place in our company moving forward. As we head into the company’s first full month under my leadership, I’m so proud that the entire team has remained fully engaged, working even harder to deliver brilliant work to our clients, and winning a number of new clients and projects along the way! Kudos, Team BI! So, what’s the secret for keeping employees focused during a time of change? While there’s no silver bullet, the principles we’ve embraced can help organizations of any size during organizational changes.

• Employees are human. People must remain at the center of any change management effort. Changes at work can create fear, anxiety and distraction, and leaders must encourage employees to express their concerns in a “safe” environment. In addition to sharing my own plans and vision for the company, I’ve regularly invited the team to share their concerns, in both team and one-on-one discussions. All of these conversations culminated recently with a two-day team retreat at Lake Tahoe - the trip was a much-needed opportunity for our team to bond, relax and celebrate our future and the role we each play in securing our success.
• Power to your people. It’s an empowering phrase that calls to mind reggae music and fists raised high in the air, and it also speaks to my personal leadership philosophy: the best way to lead is to set up your team to be successful, and then get out of their way. Empowering people to do what they do best is a sure-fire way to safeguard ongoing engagement. While much of my time has been spent working out the details of this transition, I’ve encouraged my team to take bold steps to challenge and serve our clients. Changes like the one we’ve undergone often create new opportunities for individuals to stretch and advance their careers. I’m so proud of all the “stretching” I’ve seen our team doing in recent months.
• A strong culture matters. The bottom line when it comes to effective change management? You can’t wait until the change is happening to focus on your culture. Even though we’re a relatively small and geographically dispersed team, Brilliant Ink has always made our culture a top priority. From annual offsite meetings and group charity projects, to video chatting and “show-and-tell” time during team meetings, we’ve built a culture that I’m proud to say is stronger than any I’ve experienced in my career, and I’m confident that each member of the team agrees. It’s our culture, built on shared trust and deeply caring about one another as individuals, that has been the most important factor in our past (and future!) success.

Coming off the “high” of our team retreat, the Brilliant Ink team is closer than ever, passionate about the work we’re doing with our clients, energized about ending 2015 strong, and excited about what lies ahead in 2016 and beyond. I want to give a special shout out to everyone who’s supported us along this journey. Your words of encouragement and support have meant a lot, and we’re all looking forward to continuing this wild ride together. Here’s to new beginnings!