Advice for Success: Samantha Sloan, Founder & Director of 123 People Development and Co-Director of Resilient Pilot on How Leaders can Thrive Through Change
An Interview with Natalie Ruiz
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Great leaders must continue learning and be open to new ideas and perspectives. This can be incredibly challenging for leaders for many reasons, including an ever-changing business landscape and pressure from themselves and others to be infallible — not to mention it is tough to get honest feedback when you’re the boss!
As part of the series, Advice for Success, I enjoyed asking Samantha Sloan for her best tip for a leader who wants to keep growing and learning despite the challenges.
Samantha Sloan is the Founder & Director of 123 People Development and co-Director of Resilient Pilot. 123 People Development is a training company specialising in coaching, leadership, and digital skills, and Resilient Pilot is a not-for-profit offering coaching and mentoring to the aviation industry.
Thank you so much for weighing in with your expertise here! What is one tip you can share with leaders who need to navigate change and ensure they stay open to new perspectives and ideas?
In order for a leader to thrive through change, I recommend that they reflect on how well they really know their people, and take the time to get to know them — their values, their beliefs, motivations, challenges — and to continually perform reflective work about their own leadership skills and knowledge.
From there, I recommend that a leader takes a coaching approach to their leadership, rather than a directive style which we often see in leaders who haven’t had any formal training. By working with a coaching style of leadership, a team will develop accountability, learn to work autonomously, and take initiative, all of which are vital for successful change. This style of leadership enables their people to feel psychologically safe, able to share ideas and challenges without fear of judgement, and building a more open relationship.
When an organisation is facing change, having that already established culture of trust, open communication, and problem-solving already in place is what will enable a…
