Change is Personal: What Oxford University Reminded Me About Leading Through Uncertainty

"Organisations don't experience change. People do."

Last week I had the privilege of speaking at the Oxford University People Conference.

As I travelled home, I found myself smiling. I'd spent the day talking about how change is personal. What I hadn't expected was that the conference itself would become another story about change. It wasn't simply the privilege of speaking at such an extraordinary institution. It was the experience of being welcomed into a community that, despite its scale, complexity and history, is intentionally asking one of the most important leadership questions of our time:

How do we navigate change together without losing what makes us unique?

That question stayed with me all the way home.

The experience before the keynote

As an external speaker, you never quite know how you'll be received. You're stepping into someone else's world. Will people have time for you? Will you feel like an outsider?

From the moment I arrived, those questions disappeared. Every member of the organising team made me feel as though I belonged, every interaction was thoughtful and every detail had been carefully considered. The conference itself ran with extraordinary precision, just like a Swiss watch, but never at the expense of warmth or humanity. I wasn't simply attending an event, I felt part of a team and it struck me that belonging is one of the greatest gifts any organisation can offer. Perhaps that's where change begins.

My keynote: Change is Personal

My keynote explored three very different stories.

One was deeply personal.

A story of surviving a brain bleed, a double skull fracture and later a broken neck, discovering that when change arrives without our permission, we still have agency in how we respond.

The second explored a merger between two organisations and the profound impact leadership has on how people experience uncertainty.

The third looked at culture change inside a steel fabrication company, where transformation happened not through grand initiatives, but through hundreds of small conversations that slowly changed how people thought about one another.

Although each story was different, they all arrived at the same conclusion. There are always things we can control, things we can influence, and things we need to let go of.

A community navigating change together

As I listened to the conversations throughout the day, I realised that Oxford University is navigating its own period of evolution. Like many large organisations, it has naturally developed different identities across its colleges, departments and professional services. Yet what impressed me wasn't a desire to make everything the same, it was a genuine commitment to finding greater connection whilst respecting difference. The newly formed People Shared Leadership Group felt like an important expression of that ambition. Not centralisation for the sake of consistency, but collaboration built around shared principles.

It made me wonder whether one of the greatest leadership challenges today is not creating uniformity, but creating enough connection that people can move confidently in the same direction while remaining true to who they are.

Listening before leading

One of the strongest themes I noticed throughout the conference was listening, not listening as a leadership technique, listening as an act of respect. There was a genuine curiosity about understanding the experiences of people across the University, whilst also creating space for the HR and People professionals who support them and each other every day. That balance felt significant as leadership isn't simply about making decisions, it's about understanding the lived experience of the people who will live with those decisions.

Leading through uncertainty

I particularly enjoyed joining Sophie Brotherston and Julie Varndell’s workshop on engaging and managing people through change. They brought to life something every leader recognises, Change isn't difficult simply because processes change, it's difficult because people experience uncertainty differently, sometimes confidence disappears, sometimes familiar tasks suddenly feel harder than they should, sometimes we become overwhelmed by competing demands. Their discussion of William Bridges' work was a timely reminder that whilst change may happen around us, transition happens within us.

It reinforced something I've been thinking about for a long time. Perhaps our role as leaders isn't to remove uncertainty, perhaps it's to help people navigate it with greater confidence.

AI, leadership and the future of work

Like many organisations, Oxford University is also exploring the opportunities and implications of AI. The conversations weren't dominated by technology, they were dominated by people.

How do we embrace innovation whilst protecting what makes us human?

How do we create consistency without losing flexibility?

How do we develop shared principles rather than one-size-fits-all solutions?

These are questions every organisation is now grappling with and the answers won't be found in technology alone, they will be found in leadership.

My biggest reflection

As I travelled home, I realised that the conference itself had demonstrated the very message I had tried to share in my keynote. Organisations rarely transform because someone writes a better strategy. They transform because people begin to think differently. They become more curious; they listen more deeply, they ask better questions, they create environments where others feel safe enough to contribute.

Culture evolves, one conversation at a time.

That is how trust grows. That is how change becomes something people shape together rather than something that simply happens to them.

A question I'm taking away

The conference left me with one question that I'm still reflecting on. As leaders, when people experience uncertainty in our organisations, what will they remember most?

The strategy? Or how we made them feel?

My suspicion is that long after the presentations have been forgotten and the organisational charts have been redrawn, people will remember something much simpler.

Whether they felt seen.

Whether they felt heard.

Whether they felt that they belonged.

Because organisations don't experience change.

People do.

One person.

One conversation.

One courageous step at a time.

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Written by Bonnie Clarke

Bonnie is the CEO of Taylor Clarke. She is driven by making a positive impact on places of work, for the people who work there. She is values led and is committed to working with purpose and compassion to unlock potential in individuals and teams. She is passionate about the psychology of human communication.