How to Succeed in Change Management Leadership: Expert Insights

This article features Emma, Head of Group Change at Ampol, who shares how aspiring women leaders can succeed in change management by backing empathy with commercial conviction, treating career breaks as strategic resets and securing active sponsors rather than passive mentors.

Drawing on 25 years of experience leading complex transformations at organisations like Ampol and ANZ, Emma explains that professional confidence rarely arrives before taking a risk. Ultimately, she shows that for women aiming for executive roles, lasting career progression comes from choosing to act before feeling completely ready.

Most executive profiles make career progression sound neat and tidy. You start in a junior role, tick every box and climb straight up the corporate ladder. But speak with Emma, Head of Group Change at Australian energy and infrastructure giant Ampol, and you get an honest look at what senior leadership really takes behind the scenes.

Over the past 25 years, Emma has run major business transformations across banking, energy, retail and manufacturing. At ANZ, she led teams supporting a change portfolio worth over $1.5 billion across Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Today at Ampol, she is responsible for the systems, tools and people that help the organisation adapt to big commercial shifts, making sure change readiness and risk are tracked straight into executive reporting.

Her perspective cuts straight through standard management speak. Instead of relying on corporate buzzwords, she shares practical lessons on how women can handle major career disruptions, build genuine influence and stop waiting to feel ready.

The Trap of Just Being "Nice"

Women in business are often praised for being caring, supportive and collaborative. While these qualities build healthy teams, Emma learned early on that being well-liked does not automatically give you a say in commercial decisions.

A senior executive gave her a piece of advice that changed her entire approach to work: being a caring leader matters, but you must have genuine conviction in the business value you bring to the table.

"Since then, no matter the situation, I have tried to ask myself: ‘What value can I add right now?’ It has helped me step forward with greater confidence, contribute more deliberately and stay focused on how I can positively influence the outcome for the business, the team and the people involved."

That single question helped her shift from simply keeping the peace to driving business results. This mirrors what other women senior executives have highlighted in our interviews. When you look at your job through a commercial lens, your presence in the room changes. Empathy is no longer just a soft trait, it becomes a practical way to bring people along on complex, numbers-driven business plans.

Career Breaks, Redundancy and Rebuilding from Scratch

Real careers rarely follow a straight line. Two of the biggest hurdles Emma faced were stepping away from the corporate world to raise three young children, and later, having her role made redundant.

Both situations present the same challenge: your momentum stops, and it is easy to lose confidence in your abilities.

Instead of treating these moments as personal flaws or waiting for an opportunity to drop into her lap, Emma took control. She stepped back, worked out what she wanted to do next, clarified the exact value she could offer an employer and put together a practical plan to get there.

"Overcoming these challenges required resilience, tenacity, strong networking skills and a willingness to put myself out there, even when it felt uncomfortable. Both experiences ultimately strengthened my confidence, sharpened my sense of purpose and reinforced the importance of being proactive in creating the next opportunity."

Career breaks and restructures do not take away your expertise. As explored in our career advice hub, re-entering the market or pivoting after a pause comes down to building your professional network before you need it, staying visible and articulating the exact business problem you can solve.

Why Advice Is Helpful, But Sponsorship Opens Doors

Standard career advice tells women to find a mentor. While having someone to grab a coffee with and bounce ideas off is useful, it is rarely what gets you promoted into senior management.

Emma makes a clear distinction between mentorship and sponsorship. Mentors give you advice in private; sponsors put their own reputation on the line to back you when promotions and major projects are handed out behind closed doors. This insight aligns closely with Natasha Foster’s reflections in our leadership spotlight series, where active champions who advocate for you when you are not in the room prove pivotal to breaking corporate boundaries.

Getting a sponsor does not happen by sitting quietly and doing good work. Leaders back people who put their hands up for hard, messy projects and show genuine curiosity. Throughout her career, Emma deliberately looked for leaders who would do more than just give praise—she wanted people who would challenge her thinking, point out her blind spots and push her forward.

Stop Waiting to Feel Ready

A common roadblock for women is the belief that you must feel completely confident before putting your hand up for a bigger role.

Emma’s advice is simple: you have the order backwards. Confidence does not show up before you take a risk; it shows up after you take action and see that you can handle it.

"Confidence does not always come before action; often it grows because you choose to act. Stay curious, keep learning and seek out mentors and sponsors who will challenge your thinking, open doors and advocate for you. Leadership journeys are rarely linear, so persistence, resilience and a growth mindset are essential."

Whether moving into an unfamiliar industry, redesigning a company-wide operating model or completing your Masters Degree at a university, feeling 100% prepared is never the starting point. Growth comes from taking on work that feels slightly uncomfortable and learning on the job.

About Emma

Emma is the Head of Group Change at Ampol, leading the team responsible for business change, operating model design and transformation governance across the country. With over 25 years of experience across senior roles at Ampol, ANZ, IAG, Rest and TOWER Financial Services, she specialises in organisational design, cultural change and executive development.

She holds a Bachelor of Management, is completing a Master of Coaching Psychology at the University of Sydney and has received leadership awards across three major organisations.

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