When Change Feels Like It’s Happening to You

Change is no longer an occasional disruption, it’s the constant backdrop of leadership today. And when change accelerates, leaders are often left holding the weight of uncertainty, pressure and unspoken anxiety across their teams.In this episode of Let’s Talk, People, Emily Frieze-Kemeny sits down with Kiabi Carson, Head of Human Resources for North America at Turner & Townsend, a £1.4B global professional services company supporting large-scale construction and infrastructure programs across 60+ countries. Together, they explore why silence during uncertainty creates more fear, how to communicate honestly when you don’t have all the answers, and what it really means to hold space for your team without amplifying anxiety.Kiabi shares lessons from leading through large-scale mergers, organizational transformation, and unexpected role shifts, offering practical guidance on staying grounded, protecting business-as-usual, and helping teams focus on what they can control when everything feels unsettled. Whether you’re leading through a merger, restructuring, or rapid change with limited clarity, this episode offers grounded strategies to help you communicate with confidence, build trust through uncertainty, and lead with steadiness when your team needs it most.Timestamps: [00:15:13] Leading Up in Times of Pressure – Emily and Kiabi explore how leaders can navigate decisions that are already made by bringing empathy, positivity, and impact-focused feedback (rather than complaints) when senior leaders are under intense pressure.[00:21:01] Why Silence Creates Anxiety During Change – Emily and Kiabi unpack why going quiet when there’s no new information actually fuels fear and speculation, and how leaders can create a consistent communication rhythm that builds trust by sharing what’s known, what’s unknown and when you’ll share more.[00:28:14] Protecting Business-as-Usual While Navigating Transformation – Emily and Kiabi discuss the importance of keeping business-as-usual and transformation work in separate lanes, making space for change conversations while still grounding teams in what they can execute today.[00:30:53] Holding Space Without Carrying the Emotional Weight – The conversation dives into how leaders can acknowledge and normalize anxiety without amplifying it; by naming what’s unsettling, listening deeply, reflecting back what they’re hearing, and using personal support systems to process their own emotions so the team doesn’t have to.Access the episode transcript.Join the Conversation: This year we’re taking audience questions! Send in your toughest people management and leadership challenges, and we’ll anonymize them and tackle them in an upcoming episode. Email Abigail on our Let’s Talk, People team with your situation as a written note or voice memo to [email protected] with Emily Frieze-Kemeny on LinkedIn and Instagram or explore her work through AROSE Group’s website.If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Let’s Talk, People in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It helps others discover the show.Thanks for listening to Let’s Talk, People!