Leading Change in the “New Ab-Normal” Create “stockholders” in your change initiatives!
Posted Jun 23, 2026 by Rick
This month I’d like to address how sharing power helps to build the type of workforce response to change that will be required of you – as leaders – in today’s “New Ab-Normal.”
Participatory Management, sometimes called Consultative Management, is one of our Six Traits of Agile Organizations™ and a critical part of a leader’s role in cultivating an adaptive workplace culture capable of managing today’s abnormal levels of uncertainty and stress.
In essence, participatory management means involving people in decision-making: asking for opinions and insights, listening effectively, and ensuring employees feel seen and heard during periods of disruptive change.
Working this way—by involving others in shaping policy and change initiatives—takes more time. It can be challenging to hear diverse ideas and opinions, especially from people whose views differ from your own. Still, an old African proverb captures the value well: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with a team.”
While involving more folks in decision-making can be slow and challenging at times, it offers you and your team many, long-lasting advantages:
Resistance to change decreases. When people help shape the vision for change and the plan for executing it, they become “stockholders” in the initiative—not just stakeholders. Stockholders have an equity interest in success. They are co-owners, and they are more likely to execute effectively because they own the results with you.
Your results become more sustainable. As the proverb suggests, if you want to go far, go with a team. Results built collectively are more sustainable because shared ownership helps reduce opposition, strengthen commitment, and make participatory change stick.
Your planning improves. When you involve others—from boardroom to mailroom—you gain broader expertise and more diverse perspectives. People closest to the customer often have insights you need to hear, and their input will make the plan stronger.
Too often, leaders assume their role is to make decisions, solve problems, and provide answers for their teams. They believe clarity, direction, and policy are solely their responsibility—and that people rely on them to keep everything moving from the top down. That model of leadership is outdated.
During times of change, employees need a clear direction—an aspirational vision of the future they can rally around. They also want to help shape that vision, add value, and feel seen, heard, and valued. In short, they want to be stockholders, not just stakeholders. That is why participatory management is such an essential element in our Six Traits of Agile Organizations™.
It also aligns closely with another of the Six Traits: Group Engagement. This trait focuses on engaging opinion leaders from boardroom to mailroom as stockholders in the change initiative.
During times of change, people often rely on what I-O psychologists call Social Comparison Theory: when they are uncertain, they look to people they trust and respect to gauge how they should respond. If those informal opinion leaders are positive about the change and have been included in shaping the future, others are more likely to engage as well.
Not all influential voices appear on the organization chart, so leaders should take time to identify opinion leaders at every level and invite them into the process. When you engage these leaders, you create a pathway to stronger engagement across the organization.
Agile cultures are built on trust, and trust grows when leaders share power and involve people as stockholders—owners—in change. Participatory Management and Group Engagement reduce fear and create the conditions for resilience, engagement, and innovation. They also build change tolerance into your organizational DNA so future initiatives meet less resistance and your culture can sustain innovation and staff engagement, even in the era of the “New Ab-Normal.”