Frontline Innovators
Frontline Innovators
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Confidence Is Contagious, and So Is the Lack of It - #143 - Carly Greenwald
56 minutes Posted Jul 15, 2026 at 10:30 am.
Introduction to Change Management in Technology01:12 Consequences of Poor Technology Adoption04:28 Engaging Frontline Workers in Change07:34 Overcoming Resistance to Change10:09 The Impact of Change on Customer Experience11:38 The Role of Change Managers14:22 Building Trust and Relationships17:20 The Isolation of Frontline Workers20:14 The Importance of Confidence in Frontline Teams23:05 The Ripple Effect of Technology Changes26:06 Connecting Confidence and Customer Trust37:51 Understanding Change from the Frontline Perspective44:01 Building Confidence in Change Management51:43 The Importance of User Feedback in Implementations01:01:19 Realistic Expectations for Digital Transformation
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Episode Summary
Carly Greenwald has spent more than 20 years in IT leadership and change management, leading global transformation work that connects new technology with the people who actually use it. In this episode she and host Justin Lake dig into why frontline adoption succeeds or fails, and they keep landing on one word: confidence. The conversation moves from the frontline worker handed a change they never asked for, to the customer across the counter, to the project team that has lived inside the implementation for months. Carly argues for honesty over polish. Do not sugarcoat the change, do not oversell benefits that are not there, and do not save feedback for a big reveal that rarely goes as planned. Her sharpest point reframes who needs confidence: it is not only the frontline. Project teams often delay user feedback because they are not yet confident in what they are building, and bringing users in early, in small increments, raises everyone's confidence at once.
Key Topics
The underrepresented frontline voice
Unwinding old habits, not just teaching the new way
Honesty over sugarcoating the change
How frontline confidence transfers to customers
The project team's own confidence
Early, incremental feedback instead of the big reveal
Being realistic about what change asks of people
Episode Chapters
About Carly Greenwald
Carly Greenwald is an IT change management and user engagement leader with more than 20 years of experience in IT leadership and change management. She specializes in global transformation initiatives that bridge technology and people, helping organizations move past implementation into genuine adoption with a practical, people-centered approach.
Resources
Carly Greenwald on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carly-greenwald-7b74b813/
Skyllful: https://skyllful.com
Frontline Innovators Podcast: https://skyllful.com/podcast