Propeller Senior Director of People & Change Riley Smith joins the Aesthetically Speaking podcast, hosted by Robin Ntoh, Vice President of Aesthetics at Nextech, to unpack what really makes change succeed — or stall — inside growing organizations. Drawing on years of leading enterprise change programs, Riley explains why even small shifts can feel big to teams, and how clarity, communication, and empathy turn disruption into momentum instead of burnout.
From defining a simple from–to vision to spotting silent resistance, Riley offers a practical, human-centered playbook for helping people navigate change with confidence. He shares how aligned messaging, early engagement, and visible sponsorship create the environment where new tools, processes, or strategies can actually take hold.
# What Riley and Robin Cover in This Episode
- What change management really is and why it’s inseparable from effective project management
- How teams react to change (burnout, workarounds, chaos, and the harder-to-spot “silent resistors”)
- The “from–to” framework for defining what’s changing and why it matters
- The power of aligned messaging and why leaders must stick to a shared lexicon
- How to bring people along early through listening sessions, champions, and transparent communication
- Tactics for managing resistance with empathy, context, and one-on-one conversations
- Why the volume of organizational change is accelerating, and what that means for leaders today
