Managing organisational change without alienating staff

I recently had a conversation with an NHS leader who shared the tension her team faces between ‘keeping our own house in order’ and ‘staying ahead of the curve’ when it comes to the pace of change. It resonated deeply. As a healthcare consultant, I’ve seen this pattern repeated across countless organisations. And I suspect it reflects the reality for many leaders right now.

The NHS is experiencing relentless transformation. Restructures, new ways of working, financial pressures, system reconfigurations. In the middle of all this are people who are brilliant at their jobs, who care deeply about their work, and who are also tired, uncertain, and sometimes wondering if they still have a place in the organisation they’ve committed years to.

So how do we manage organisational change without alienating the very people we need to deliver it?

Start with honesty, not spin

There is something deeply alienating about being told that change will be ‘exciting’ when you’re wondering if your job still exists in six months or if the care pathway you’ve poured yourself into will survive. I’m not suggesting we lead with doom and gloom. But I am suggesting we lead with grounded optimism.

Grounded optimism means genuinely believing in the potential of the future while staying firmly rooted in the reality of the present. We can say ‘this change has the potential to create something better’ while also acknowledging ‘right now, this is really hard and uncertain’. Both things can be true simultaneously.

Tell people what you know. Tell them what you don’t know. Share your optimism about where this could lead, but don’t gloss over the difficult path to get there. When we paint change as universally positive, we inadvertently silence people who are struggling. When we hold grounded optimism, we create space for both hope and hardship to coexist. This is psychological safety in practice.

Recognise that everyone experiences change differently

I’ve worked with teams where one person views a restructure as a chance to finally do work they’ve always wanted, while another sees it as the end of everything they value. Both experiences are valid. Both are real.

The mistake we make is assuming clear communication will get everyone on board. But change isn’t logical, it’s emotional. It touches our sense of identity, belonging, and security.

Create space for divergent experiences. Let people talk about how they’re feeling – whether hopeful, anxious, angry, or excited. Don’t smooth over difficult emotions or rush people towards acceptance. Just let them be seen and heard.

Give people agency, even in small ways

Loss of control is one of the most alienating aspects of organisational change. Where you can, give people agency. Even if big decisions are out of their hands, can they shape how those decisions are implemented? Can they decide how they’ll support each other through transition?

At Kaleidoscope in our healthcare consulting work, we often ask teams ‘what can we control, even when so much feels out of our control?’ The answers are often small but significant: how we communicate, how we show up for each other, what legacy we want to leave. These things give people skin in the game, even when the game itself has changed.

Keep the work meaningful

A sense of purpose is fundamental to wellbeing and motivation. But finding purpose when everything is in flux can feel impossible. Help people find meaning in the here and now. Set short-term, time-bound goals that matter. It might be finishing work well, supporting each other through difficulty, or leaving something better than you found it.

Purpose doesn’t have to be grand or long-term. It just has to be real.

Don’t forget development

There’s a tendency to put development on hold during change. Training budgets freeze, team days get cancelled, coaching gets deprioritised. But people don’t stop needing to develop just because the organisation is changing. In fact, times of change are when development matters most.

Development during change is essential. It says ‘I still believe in your future here, even when the future is uncertain’. That matters more than you might think.

Be visible and be human

When change is difficult, leaders often retreat into meetings and planning. But what your team needs most is you. Be visible. Show up. Have conversations. Ask how people are doing and actually listen. Share your own uncertainties where appropriate.

Leadership during change isn’t about having everything figured out. It’s about staying connected, staying present, and staying human.

Remember: change is a human endeavour

At Kaleidoscope we talk about change that works – change rooted in kindness, clarity and compassion. Change that recognises organisations don’t transform, people do. And people need to be supported, not just managed, through that transformation.

The NHS is facing significant change. But how we lead that change, how we bring people with us, how we ensure our brilliant workforce doesn’t feel alienated – that is within our control.

It starts with connection. It continues with honesty. And it requires remembering that the people navigating this change aren’t just staff, they’re people. People with hopes and fears and families and futures. People who deserve to be treated with kindness, even when things are hard.

Especially when things are hard.

Katie Goulding is a healthcare consultant at Kaleidoscope, specialising in organisational change and leadership development within the NHS and broader healthcare sector.