Leadership Horizons

The Courage to Change Course - When Should Good Leaders Change Course

• Lois Burton • Episode 17

Share episode

Every leader faces moments when the path forward becomes unclear. Should you stay committed to your current course or pivot to a new direction? This question lies at the heart of what I call "the consistency paradox" – a leadership challenge that has kept countless executives awake at night.

Drawing on my 25 years of executive coaching experience across diverse sectors, I share the story of Sarah, a director who perfectly illustrates this dilemma. After two years building consensus for a major digital transformation and six months into implementation, market shifts made her strategy increasingly problematic. Like many leaders, she feared changing course would betray the trust of her team and stakeholders. This fear reveals a critical misunderstanding about leadership consistency.

Through working with hundreds of senior leaders, I've identified five clear signals that indicate when changing direction represents wisdom rather than weakness: 

When fundamental assumptions have changed;

When you receive consistent feedback about missing something critical; 

When continuing costs more than changing; 

When your team signals distress, and; 

When new information reveals better alternatives. 

Each signal requires what I call "intelligent uncertainty" – being confident enough to lead while humble enough to pivot when evidence demands it. But knowing when to change course is only half the challenge. 

The real leadership test comes in how you execute that pivot without destroying trust and momentum. I offer a practical framework for this transition: 

Completely owning the decision;

Communicating the why before the what;

Honoring past investments, and;

Creating genuine enthusiasm for the new direction. 

These steps transform potentially devastating changes into opportunities for organizational growth and renewed commitment. The strongest leaders aren't those who never change course, but those who choose the right course repeatedly as circumstances evolve. If you're navigating uncertain terrain in your leadership journey, this episode provides both the permission and the practical tools to pivot with purpose and confidence. 

Subscribe to Leadership Horizons for more insights and join me next week when we'll explore another crucial aspect of building trust in leadership.

Leadership Horizons - Helping You Lead Beyond Boundaries

Speaker 1:

Welcome back to Leadership Horizons. I'm Lois Burton, and this is one of our focused exploration episodes where we dive deep into critical leadership themes that can transform how you lead. Over my 25 years as an executive coach, I've witnessed something fascinating. Some of the most capable leaders I know have struggled with one particular challenge knowing when to change course. So today we're exploring that question, the question that keeps senior executives awake at night when should a good leader abandon a path they've committed to and chart a new direction? Let me start with the story. I was working with a director let's call her Sarah who had spent two years building consensus around a major digital transformation. The board was behind it, the team was energized and they'd invested significantly in the infrastructure was energized and they'd invested significantly in the infrastructure. But six months into implementation, the market had shifted dramatically. What had seemed like the right strategy was now looking increasingly problematic. Sarah came to our coaching session and said Lois, I feel like I'm betraying everyone if I change direction now.

Speaker 1:

Good leaders stick to their commitments right. This is where many leaders get trapped in what I call the consistency paradox. Here's the thing about leadership that I've learned through working across sectors, from financial services to the creative industries and through higher education. Consistency is both a leadership strength and a potential trap. We're taught that good leaders are consistent, that they stick to their vision, that they don't waver, and that's true to a point. But there is a crucial distinction between being consistent in your values and principles and being rigid in your strategies and tactics. One of the leadership traits I've been talking about a lot is adaptability the ability to read the room, read the situation and adjust accordingly, while staying true to your core purpose. So when should good leaders change course?

Speaker 1:

Let me share five key indicators I have identified through my coaching practice. First of all, when the assumptions have fundamentally changed. Every strategy is built on assumptions about the market, about people, about resources. When those foundational assumptions prove false not just challenged, but fundamentally wrong that's your first signal. I remember working with a manufacturing director who had committed to a five-year expansion plan. Then Brexit happened, followed by supply chain disruptions, then the pandemic. The assumptions underpinning their strategy had evaporated. The courage to acknowledge this wasn't weakness, it was wisdom. Secondly, when you're getting consistent feedback that you're missing something critical.

Speaker 1:

As leaders, we can sometimes become so invested in our vision that we stop truly listening what consistently emerges from some of the emotional intelligence assessments I use is that the most successful leaders are those who maintain what I call intelligent uncertainty. They're confident enough to lead, but humble enough to pivot when the evidence demands it. Thirdly, when the cost of continuing exceeds the cost of changing. This isn't just about money, though that's, of course, is important. It's about opportunity, cost, team morale, market position and sometimes organisational survival. I worked with a senior leadership team who had committed to a major venue renovation. Halfway through, it became clear that post-pandemic audience behaviours had shifted permanently. Continuing with the original plan would have consumed resources they desperately needed for digital innovation. The hard decision to pause and redesign wasn't failure. It was leadership.

Speaker 1:

Fourthly, when your team is signalling distress. I've done a lot of team coaching work and I've learned that teams often see problems before the leaders do. They're closer to the implementation, closer to the customers, closer to the daily reality. When your most trusted people start expressing concerns, when engagement drops, when your high performers become restless, these aren't just personnel issues, they aren't just resistance to change. They're often early warning signals about the strategic direction and you really need to pause at that point and look into what is happening and whether you do need to change course.

Speaker 1:

Fifthly, when new information reveals better alternatives. Sometimes we change course not because we're failing, but because we discover we could succeed more dramatically elsewhere. This requires what I call success courage the courage to abandon something that's working adequately to pursue something that could work brilliantly. Now, knowing when to change course is only half the challenge. The other half is how to do it without destroying trust, momentum or morale. So here's a framework for this, which I've worked with many of my coaches on.

Speaker 1:

So, firstly, own the decision completely. Don't blame the market. So, firstly, own the decision completely. Don't blame the market. Don't blame your team. Don't blame circumstances. As the leader, you made the original decision with the information you had. You're making a new decision with new information. Own both.

Speaker 1:

Secondly, communicate the why before the what. People can handle change. They struggle with confusion. Explain the thinking. Share the data. Help people understand the logic. I've seen leaders lose credibility not because they changed course, but because they couldn't articulate why. Thirdly, honor the investment. Acknowledge what's been, what's being left behind. People have invested time, energy and emotion in the original direction. That investment wasn't wasted if it taught you something valuable. Fourthly, create new energy.

Speaker 1:

A pivot isn't just about stopping something. It's about starting something better. You need to generate at least as much enthusiasm for the new direction as people had for the old one. This can be tricky because sometimes people get change fatigue and they say oh well, we were doing this last week and now we're doing this. What will we be doing next week? So really taking the time to explain the reasons for the pivot will help you to create that new energy.

Speaker 1:

Here's what I've learned after working with many senior leaders. Sometimes the strongest thing a leader can do is admit they were wrong. Sometimes the most consistent thing you can do is change. I think about my coaches and mentors, who taught me that leadership isn't about being right. It's about being effective, and sometimes being effective means having the courage to be wrong about your strategy so you can be right about your purpose. So here's my challenge for you as we wrap up today's episode Look at your current major initiatives, your strategic priorities, your commitments.

Speaker 1:

Ask yourself honestly what assumptions are they built on? What would have to be true for them to succeed? What evidence would convince you to change course? The goal isn't to become indecisive or to constantly second guess yourself. The goal is to develop strategic flexibility and the adaptive intelligence that I've spoken about before, which is the ability to hold your plans lightly enough to adapt them, while holding your purpose firmly enough to guide them. Remember good leaders don't just stick to the course. Good leaders choose the right course again and again as circumstances evolve.

Speaker 1:

That's our deep dive for today. Next week we'll be back and I will be looking at another aspect of building trust. I've talked about trust a couple of times, but next week I want to hone in on a particular aspect of building trust, and we'll be thinking about a leader who completely transformed their industry by having the courage to regain trust when that had started to diminish. So if today's episode resonated with you, I'd love to hear about it. You can reach me through my website, and don't forget to subscribe to Leadership Horizons wherever you get your podcasts. In the meantime, keep pushing those leadership boundaries. The future of leadership knows no bounds. I'm Lois Burton and this has been Leadership Horizons.