Harnessing Change: Growth in Transition

Growth emerges when organizations embrace transition with intention and clarity.

Editor’s Note: Updated from the original April 2025 publication to reflect evolving workplace dynamics.

Today’s workplace is defined by continuous change. Shifts in technology, leadership, culture, and customer expectations require organizations, and the people within them, to adapt in real time. While this pace of change can feel destabilizing, it also holds extraordinary potential.

When approached with clarity and intention, organizations can experience meaningful growth in transition. It is possible to use these periods of uncertainty to strengthen capabilities, culture, and leadership for the future of work.

In this third and final post in our Harnessing Change series, we move beyond team dynamics and leadership mindset to the organizational level. We explore what kind of organizational growth during change is possible when leaders embrace transition as opportunity rather than disruption.

🌱Reframe Change with a Growth Mindset

Workplace transitions often stir anxiety. They introduce uncertainty and signal the unknown. But when leaders intentionally reframe change as opportunity, the focus shifts from fear to potential.

A growth mindset during transition highlights what’s possible:

• learning new skills

• stepping into leadership

• improving systems and ways of working

  
  

When people see possibility instead of threat, they become more willing to engage and contribute. This is often the first step toward sustainable growth in transition.

“Resilient organizations don’t just bounce back from misfortune or change; they bounce forward. They absorb the shocks and turn them into opportunities to capture sustainable, inclusive growth.” — McKinsey & Company

⭐Organizational Growth by Owning Change: The Shopify Example

One compelling example of growth in transition is Shopify. Shopify faced significant shifts in the retail and e-commerce landscape, including post-pandemic normalization (pandemic-driven growth leveled off), intensified competition, and rapid advances in automation and AI. Rather than reacting defensively to disruption, Shopify anticipated change and used it to reshape its position in the market.

Originally an online storefront builder, Shopify evolved into a full-scale commerce ecosystem. The company expanded into offline retail tools to support omnichannel experiences, grew its B2B wholesale revenue by 140%, and launched Shopify Magic—AI-powered tools that give small businesses enterprise-level capabilities.

By the end of 2024, Shopify had achieved seven consecutive quarters of more than 25% revenue growth and processed nearly $95 billion in gross merchandise volume, according to Shopify Inc. Q4 and full-year 2024 financial results (TradingView).

Shopify’s success illustrates a critical leadership lesson: organizational growth during change requires ownership, not resistance. Shopify didn’t avoid disruption, it embraced transition and used it to build momentum in the future of work.

Strengthening Capabilities During Workplace Transition

Periods of transition offer a valuable opportunity to reassess organizational strengths. Leaders can identify the core capabilities that fueled past success and explore ways to deepen or expand them.

This may include:

✅targeted training and upskilling

✅mentorship and leadership development

✅collaborative, cross-functional projects

In the future of work, where technology and market demands evolve rapidly, fostering adaptability is essential. Organizations that invest in learning and experimentation are better positioned to sustain growth in transition.

Reflection as a Tool for Organizational Growth

Creating intentional moments for reflection allows teams to assess how they’ve navigated change, identify lessons learned, and recognize areas for improvement. When mistakes are framed as learning opportunities, organizations build a culture of continuous improvement.

One effective reflection tool is the After Action Report (AAR). Originally used in military settings, AARs provide a structured way to examine what happened, why it happened, and how future outcomes can improve.

These conversations promote accountability and ensure that every experience—successful or challenging—contributes to long-term growth and resilience.

🧭Leading Through Transition with Clear Values

To maintain momentum during workplace transition, organizations need clear direction. Leaders who set achievable goals aligned with both short-term realities and long-term vision give teams a sense of purpose amid uncertainty.

Breaking goals into smaller milestones helps sustain motivation and creates opportunities to celebrate progress.

“Establishing realistic goals and continuously reassessing them can help prevent feelings of overwhelm and burnout.” — Forbes

Leading through transition also requires values-based decision-making. When leaders prioritize long-term principles over short-term comfort, customers and employees notice—and often reward that integrity with lasting trust.

Clarity, Trust, and Growth: Apple’s Values-Based Leadership

Apple provides a powerful example of leading through workplace transition by anchoring strategy in values. As global concerns about digital privacy intensified, Apple took a clear stance by introducing App Tracking Transparency (ATT) in iOS 14.5.

This decision required apps to obtain explicit user permission before tracking activity across platforms, disrupting advertising-based business models and drawing criticism from competitors.

Despite the potential financial risk, Apple aligned its strategy with consumer sentiment favoring privacy protections, strengthening brand equity, customer loyalty, and differentiation in a crowded marketplace (CNBC).

Tim Cook has called privacy “one of the top issues of the century” and a basic human right. These statements, underscoring Apple’s long-term commitment to user trust (Time). Apple’s approach demonstrates how clarity and values can guide organizations through transition while supporting sustained growth.

➡️Turning Transitions into Stepping Stones for Growth

Transitions do not have to be defined by instability or fear. When organizations reframe change, strengthen capabilities, and refocus strategy around clear values, growth in transition becomes achievable and sustainable.

With the right leadership mindset, periods of uncertainty can become powerful catalysts for learning, resilience, and long-term success.

If you’re navigating workplace transition and want to turn uncertainty into opportunity, let’s begin the journey together. Reach out for a free 15-minute consultation and explore how intentional leadership can support growth during transition and beyond.

📍What’s Next

As we conclude the Harnessing Change series, we’re turning our attention back to a group carrying much of the weight of workplace transition: middle managers.

In the coming weeks, we’ll revisit and update our Reimagining Middle Managers series, exploring how these roles are evolving under sustained change and why middle managers are often the quiet stabilizers of teams navigating uncertainty. We’ll examine the pressures they face, the expectations placed upon them, and the capabilities organizations must strengthen if they want middle managers to remain effective, engaged, and resilient.

This next series builds directly on the themes of growth, transition, and leadership explored here—shifting the lens from the organization as a whole to the people holding change together day by day.