Most leaders are scrambling to reinvent their businesses in the AI age. Every day I talk with executives who are simultaneously revamping technology stacks, redefining culture and rolling out new hybrid‑work policies.
Yet when I ask clients whether their people need help planning and managing change or coping with it, nine times out of ten they choose the latter. This is not for lack of ambition; it’s because their organizations are already at “change saturation.”
The data tell a sobering story
Research shows that employees are drowning under the sheer volume and speed of change.
LinkedIn’s 2024 global survey found that nearly two‑thirds of professionals (64%) feel overwhelmed by how quickly work is changing. And 68% are asking for more support.
Meanwhile, Gartner’s data shows that the average employee experienced ten enterprise‑level changes in 2022, up from just two in 2016. That frequency has taken a serious toll: While 76% of employees said they were willing to support change in 2016, that number plunged to only 38% in 2022. And as AI changes come faster, I expect that number has continued to drop.
The human toll of change fatigue is seriously slowing down organizations. We’ve known for many years that the vast majority of change efforts either fall flat completely or under-deliver the promised results. But with the psychological reserves of your workforce depleted, the likelihood of success gets even smaller.
And with all eyes on CEOs to get AI transformation right, it’s a risky move to overlook the emotional factor.
Why coping skills need to come first
At SIY Global we offer two categories of change related training. One helps leaders plan change proactively, accounting for how initiatives will land emotionally and how to monitor reactions to avoid the dreaded “valley of despair.” The other builds personal resilience, teaching participants to reframe stressors, regulate emotions and recover quickly from setbacks, and support others during significant change. Both are important, but the order matters.
People in survival mode (change saturation) can’t plan for the future. Neuroscience shows that the brain perceives uncertainty as a significant threat, triggering a flight‑or‑fight response that narrows our focus and impairs complex decision‑making.
In practical terms, when employees are exhausted and anxious, they don’t have the cognitive bandwidth to engage in strategic scenario planning or adopt innovative technologies. For them, talk of AI and transformation can feel tone‑deaf.
Building resilience is therefore the first step. A cross‑sectional study of healthcare professionals found a strong positive correlation between emotional intelligence and both stress management (r = 0.624) and resilience (r = 0.626), suggesting that higher EQ levels translate into better coping and lower burnout.
Training that develops emotional awareness, empathy and emotion management gives individuals and leaders the tools to manage the emotional turbulence of constant change. When participants learn to name their emotions, reframe stressors and practice self-compassion, they regain a sense of agency.
As one of our clients recently put it, “Change happens so fast that we never get out of the valley of despair.” Our job is to give them a ladder.
Then plan the future
Once people can breathe again, leaders can pivot to strategic change planning. This involves mapping the emotional journey for each initiative, sequencing projects to avoid overwhelming the same audience, creating feedback loops so employees can voice concerns, and involving them in co-creating the solutions.
Gartner’s analysts add that organizations should build periods of rest, involve employees in change decisions and reimagine managers as resilience builders. In our planning workshops, we help executives align change roadmaps with human capacity, ensuring that innovations don’t outpace the people who must implement them.
A call to action for leaders
If you’re serious about harnessing AI and other disruptive technologies, start by acknowledging that your workforce is saturated. Do an honest assessment: how many enterprise‑level changes are your people navigating right now?
Invest in resilience training to give them the coping skills to stay afloat. Only then should you embark on large‑scale transformation and proactively manage the emotional currents of change. By putting people’s emotions at the center of your strategy, you’ll not only reduce burnout but also unleash the creativity and energy needed to make change stick.
Driving successful change is not only about overcoming the negative emotions that hold your teams back. It’s also about tapping into energizing emotions that help them go faster, finding excitement and innovation along the way.
Let’s stop asking our teams to sprint while they’re still catching their breath. Instead, give them the tools to breathe, and then invite them to run with you.
Explore our programs to address the emotions of change
Author:
Ryan Heinl, CEO of SIY Global
Ryan Heinl is the CEO of SIY Global and a trailblazer at the intersection of emotional intelligence, neuroscience, and AI-enhanced learning. With over 15 years of experience leading product innovation in the leadership development space, Ryan has scaled multi-million dollar platforms, built award-winning learning solutions, and transitioned entire companies from old-school models to digital-first disruptors. His current mission? To redefine what it means to lead in the age of AI—where human insight is the new power skill. Equal parts strategist and scientist, Ryan brings a research-backed, results-obsessed approach to everything from executive coaching programs to mindfulness-based learning tools. Also: recovering philosopher, relentless rucker, and low-key data nerd.