Leveraging Transitional Leadership Moments

How a strong communication plan builds confidence during change

At this point in my career, I’ve learned that the most valuable work rarely happens in public. It happens before decisions are visible, when leaders are thinking carefully about the people who trust them and how they want to be known. This is true across organizations of all sizes, but it carries particular weight in privately owned and multigenerational family businesses.

In those environments, reputation is personal. It’s built over time through relationships, shared experiences, and consistency. Clients don’t just know the company — they know the people behind it. Often, the organization itself is closely associated with a founder or long-standing leader whose presence has shaped how the business is understood. That kind of connection is a strength. It builds loyalty and trust. But it also raises the stakes.

Those stakes become most visible during times of transition, when leadership begins to shift and familiar faces change. Even when the future is solid and the plan is clear, the question people quietly ask is simple: What does this mean for us?

Being in the room with leadership teams during their most vulnerable moments has changed how I see transitions. I’ve watched leaders carry the weight of responsibility — wanting to honor what’s been built while knowing they need to move forward. In those moments, trust matters more than structure. When leaders feel steady, others do too.

This is where I’m brought in. I work alongside leadership as operational and financial transition plans are being shaped, designing the communication strategy that determines how the moment will be understood and experienced by employees, clients, partners, and the media. I serve as the architect of that strategy from the outset, ensuring the transition is handled with care and credibility. This work matters to me. There’s responsibility in being trusted with moments that define relationships and influence how an organization moves forward.

What I’ve learned through this work is that people aren’t afraid of change as much as they are afraid of uncertainty. Clients want reassurance. Teams want clarity. Partners want to know that the relationships and values they rely on will remain intact, even as leadership evolves. Those are the moments where careful communication makes all the difference.

A favorite case study for me, happened when a large commercial construction firm engaged me to lead their leadership transition plan. Timing is everything so we aligned it with a major milestone taking place the following year. The work wasn’t about making an announcement, it was about guiding the leadership team through the transition in a way that felt steady and intentional. We spent a lot of time talking about what needed to stay the same and what could evolve. The goal was to protect the relationships that had been built over years, while creating space for new leadership to be seen and trusted in their own right. The goal was to carry the past forward, not leave it behind.

• That approach included a series of client-centric touchpoints including a well curated greeting card signed by new and exiting leaders delivered via direct mail and the addition of an interactive digital timeline on the website.

  
  

• We created a video testimonial campaign, visited ten top clients to record a message to the honoring the founder’s legacy (via a "what's the funniest thing" moment, a nod to the energy of the founder). We offered a few lightly scripted talked points that allowed them to close each message with a "next chapter" message.

• We anchored that work around a milestone anniversary event — a large-scale gathering of more than 300 guests — designed not as a celebration for its own sake, but as a moment of connection and continuity. Servers were hard hats and vests. Clients were placed front and center. We honored long-standing relationships with thoughtfully presented awards and built the program around a visual “baton pass,” using an Olympic theme to reflect leadership transition and momentum rather than departure. The experience was intentionally immersive. Guests moved through a project exhibition space with multiple activation areas showcasing the firm’s work — images, materials, original paperwork, even an old typewriter tied to one of the earliest projects. It was a living story of their heritage.

• Throughout the evening, we wove in client voices and shared the video stories captured earlier, grounding the transition in real relationships rather than messaging alone. And because parts of the internal team were changing as well, the space was designed to create natural opportunities for conversation and connection, allowing new relationships to form while reinforcing the ones that already existed. The result was an experience that honored the past while quietly building confidence in what was ahead.

I have so many great stories like these. There is a quiet responsibility in helping leaders move forward without losing what matters to them. That responsibility is the foundation of Anything is Posh Able®. As Chief Excitement Officer, I’m the strategist and steady presence behind the brand, bringing creative energy and clarity to leadership moments that truly count. Helping leaders protect what they’ve built while stepping confidently into what’s next isn’t just what I do. It’s what drives me.