Season one episode six of Manage with Confidence saw Ann-Marie Barlow join as my guest. Ann-Marie is an organisational change expert and simply brilliant at what she does. I’ve seen her in action, so speak from experience!
Ann-Marie knows her stuff when it comes to helping organisations be better at implementing change, including supporting team managers develop the skills to lead change. She may have had a terrible head cold during the recording of this episode but it didn’t stop her sharing incredibly helpful and practical ideas.
I hope you find the episode helpful.
Here are my five favourite moments from the episode:
7m25s Learning to develop our own comfort with and in uncertainty is one of the most valuable things a manager can do as we head further into the 21st century and digital revolution. Interestingly, in edition three of my LinkedIn newsletter – which acts as a sister to the podcast – I wrote about becoming comfortable with uncertainty. One person commented that perhaps it’s more important to learn to sit with the discomfort. What do you think?
9m33s – during change, the fear (and resistance) people experience is often because they fear losing something. We tend to skip too quickly over that. What are they frightened of losing?
13m40s The most effective managers during change are facilitators and sense makers – creating spaces for people to make sense of what is happening and how they can work with the change/s that are happening. How effective are your facilitation skills?
19m00s We need to pay attention to how we behave and what we say when managing change. Teams will take their lead from their manager, and they’ll be watching how you respond. Think carefully about when, where, how, and with who you process your own emotional reactions to
29m35s Ann-Marie said she isn’t a big fan of frameworks and tools during change. However, if she had to pick one, it would be William Bridges Managing Transitions framework. It can help people understand where they are at, and it can help leaders support their teams more effectively through the “messy middle”.
© 2026 Sketchnote by Hayley Lewis
Have you listened to the episode? Tell me what your favourite moments were. What were the a-ha moments for you?
About the Manage with Confidence podcast
The Manage with Confidence podcast is full of practical and evidence-based tools, tips and skills to help you be the best people manager possible.
It was launched in 2026 by Dr Hayley Lewis and is listened to by people managers, HR professions and coaches in 22 countries around the world. It exists to support people managers, because better managers means better business and better worklife.
You can find the podcast online including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and YouTube.
Post author: Dr Hayley Lewis. First published on the HALO Psychology website 4 August 2026 (updated 19 October 2026).
For more insights on management, change, and professional growth, subscribe to my monthly email newsletter.