When people ask me what I do these days, I usually tell them that I help organizations communicate through change.
That’s true, but lately I’ve realized I’m learning just as much as I’m advising.
Every week, I have conversations with leaders from different industries, different functions, and different corners of the business. Finance. HR. Operations. Marketing. Communications. Technology. The specifics are different, but one theme keeps surfacing: we’re all trying to lead through change that’s unfolding faster than any of us can fully absorb.
One conversation in particular has stayed with me.
An executive confided that she felt an enormous amount of pressure to sound knowledgeable about AI. Her team expected answers. Her peers expected a point of view. Her leadership expected direction. The truth, she admitted to me, was that she was learning in real time, just like everyone else.
I remember thinking, Of course you are!
Who isn’t?
That conversation stayed with me because it wasn’t really about AI or the stunning pace of change. It was about credibility.
Many of us spent our careers earning credibility by becoming experts. We knew our business. We knew our function. We solved problems. We built experience that others relied on. That wasn’t just encouraged, it was rewarded. Promotions, opportunities, and leadership roles often came because we had developed deep expertise and people trusted us to have the answers.
That’s why this moment feels so different.
We still need deep expertise. We also need the willingness to keep building it. The landscape is evolving so quickly that learning has become a permanent part of the job. By the time we become comfortable with one new capability, another one is already taking shape. AI has simply brought that reality into sharper focus.
I think that’s why so many accomplished leaders feel an unexpected tension. We were taught to project confidence. Many of us grew up professionally hearing some version of “fake it until you make it.” There was value in that advice. Stretch assignments often require us to step into responsibility before we feel completely ready.
But leading through constant change asks something different of us.
- It asks us to stay curious.
- It asks us to keep learning after we’ve become successful.
- It asks us to acknowledge that experience still matters enormously, while recognizing that no one has years of experience navigating technologies and business models that seem to evolve every week.
I’ve become much more comfortable saying, “I don’t know yet. Let’s figure it out.”
Far from diminishing credibility, those conversations often become the most productive ones I have. They create room for questions, ideas, and perspectives that might never surface if everyone felt obligated to appear certain.
I’ve also noticed something else.
People rarely expect perfection from their leaders. They want context. They want direction. They want to know someone is paying attention, thinking carefully, and committed to moving forward. They understand that the path may change. What builds confidence is knowing they’ll be informed, included, and supported as it does.
I think we’re seeing a broader shift in what leadership credibility looks like. Expertise still matters enormously. But when the environment is changing faster than anyone can master it, credibility also comes from being willing to learn in public, ask good questions, and help people navigate uncertainty together.
As part of the Signature Leaders faculty, that’s become one of the biggest shifts in my own work. I still bring experience and perspective to every client conversation. I also bring curiosity. The landscape is changing too quickly for any of us to rely solely on what we knew six months ago.
Maybe that’s what leadership asks of us today: the confidence to keep moving, the humility to keep learning, and the curiosity to believe that tomorrow’s best idea may not be one we have today.
About the Author
Elena French is a strategic marketing, brand and communications leader who helps organizations turn complex business challenges into compelling stories that inspire audiences and deliver measurable results.
As an independent consultant, she works with Fortune 500 and other complex companies in the financial services, insurance, fintech, and energy sectors to sharpen positioning, strengthen brand equity, and elevate the role of marketing and communications in driving growth.
Previously, Elena served as Head of Corporate Marketing, Communications, and Brand at Lincoln Financial Group, where she led award-winning advertising, oversaw enterprise communications, and advanced the company’s high-profile sponsorship of Lincoln Financial Field. Earlier, she spent 12 years at TIAA, leading brand strategy, creative services, and institutional retirement marketing.
Her career began in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Public Affairs Specialist/Journalist, followed by a chapter as a Washington, D.C. reporter — experiences that cemented her belief in the power of clarity, credibility, and audience connection.
Based in Estero, Florida, Elena balances consulting with time on the road in her camper van alongside her partner Mike and their cat Charlie collecting stories to share with her grown sons, Conrad and Logan.
