Admiral Beverage Corporation

A.J. Jenness

Sustainable Change Champion

Throughout my career in HR and operational leadership, one of the biggest lessons I have learned is that organizational change is rarely successful when decision-making remains concentrated at the top. Companies can invest in new systems, restructure departments, rewrite policies and launch culture initiatives, but if frontline leaders and managers are not empowered to lead the business day-to-day, meaningful change is difficult to sustain.

In large organizations, especially, there is often an unintended tendency for managers to escalate too many routine decisions to executive leadership. While executive alignment and oversight are important organizations become less agile when every issue requires top-down approval. Decisions slow down, accountability dilutes and managers may begin to operate with hesitation rather than confidence. Over time, this creates frustration not only for leaders but also for employees who depend on timely direction and consistency.

One of the areas I have focused on heavily is helping organizations shift from a culture of dependency to one of leadership ownership. That shift requires intentional organizational change management. It is not enough to simply tell managers they are empowered; organizations must create the structure, training and support systems that allow them to lead confidently and consistently.

In my experience, clarity is one of the most important components of empowering people leaders. Managers need to understand organizational expectations, operational priorities, decision-making authority and accountability standards. When expectations are unclear, leaders naturally become cautious and defer decisions upward. However, when organizations establish clear standards and reinforce trust in their leaders, managers become more confident in making decisions that support both the business and the workforce.

I have also seen firsthand that leadership development is one of the most underinvested areas in many organizations. Strong operational employees are often promoted into leadership roles because of technical ability or tenure, but many are never fully equipped to handle employee relations issues, operational decision-making, conflict resolution or change leadership. If organizations truly want managers to lead effectively, they must invest in practical leadership development that prepares them for the realities of leading people and running operations.

Another important factor is executive behavior. Employees and managers pay close attention to whether empowerment is genuinely supported or merely discussed in theory. If managers are constantly overruled, second-guessed or required to seek approval on every issue organizations unintentionally reinforce a culture in which leaders avoid ownership. Empowerment only works when accountability and trust exist together.

I believe some of the strongest organizations are those where leadership capability exists throughout the business, not just within the executive team. Frontline supervisors and managers are closest to employees, customers, operational challenges and safety risks. When those leaders are trusted and equipped to make sound decisions organizations become more responsive, more engaged and operationally stronger.

This approach also plays a major role in shaping culture. Employees are far more likely to trust leadership when issues are handled consistently and effectively at the local level rather than being continually escalated through layers of management. Strong managers create stability, reinforce accountability and directly contribute to employee engagement and retention.

Ultimately organizational change management is not simply about implementing new initiatives or systems. It is about building leadership capacity across the organization. In my experience, companies that intentionally empower managers and people leaders create stronger accountability, improve operational effectiveness and position themselves for more sustainable longterm success.

The organizations that thrive are not the ones where executives make every decision. They are the organizations where leaders at every level are prepared, trusted and empowered to lead.