Growth in our careers often comes through changes. It may mean stepping into a new role, making decisions as we learn, or helping a team move forward through uncertainty. Whatever form it takes, navigating change is rarely something we do alone.
During aGROWda, our annual global learning week, 7,500 colleagues across Agoda made time to learn, reflect and grow. Among the core themes was navigating change and what it takes to move forward when the path ahead isn’t always clear.
Leaders from across Agoda, including Ittai Chorev, Chief Operating Officer; Idan Zalzberg, Chief Technology Officer; Anna Suchopar, General Counsel; and Matteo Frigerio, Chief Product Officer, joined a candid panel discussion to share their experiences, perspectives and practical advice.
Here are some of the takeaways on managing career transitions, building resilience, and leading through change.
Change starts with people
Change can be designed on paper, but it only becomes real when people understand it, contribute to it, and feel supported through it. Reflecting on a transformation he led earlier in his career, Idan said, “when you bring change, you can’t bring it alone; you have to bring the people with you, you have to converse with them, you have to explain, you have to hear their feedback. You have to pace it. You have to reiterate why we are doing something.”
For Anna, that also means recognizing that people experience changes differently. “People process changes at different rates. Some people adapt to it very quickly and some people it takes a bit longer. And either is fine, but you do need to make sure your communications are aimed at everybody.”
Her advice was simple: “you just don’t want to leave anybody behind in the change journey.”
Transparency creates trust
During times of uncertainty, leaders and managers may not always have every answer. But the panelists agreed that being open about the process matters just as much as having certainty about the outcome.
Ittai, spoke about sharing the thinking behind a possible change, even before every decision has been made: “Even if, especially if I don’t know the final answer yet, I already give people transparency on the process. Like, this is what I’m thinking about. What are the pros and cons? I try to hear their feedback as well. And people have comfort when they feel like they’re influencing the process.”
Anna, added that regular communication can help prevent uncertainty from taking over: “when the communication isn’t proactive and regular, there becomes a void and then that void can be filled by anxiety and fear.”
Progress does not require perfect information
Many important decisions need to be made before every detail is known. Matteo Frigerio, Chief Product Officer, shared that certainty is rarely complete, and that the ability to adapt can matter more than waiting for perfect data. “Direction very often is a lot more important than certainty because you can shift and adapt.”
That same mindset shaped Matteo’s experience of moving into a new role in Product after serving as Chief Marketing Officer. “It was actually very exciting to learn new stuff from scratch. And interestingly, my lack of knowledge that I felt was potentially an emotional drain or a downside, ended up being what makes the change fun.”
His advice for building adaptability was equally simple: “Make yourself a beginner again and again.”
Stay connected through the storm
The panel also made space for the emotional side of change. Idan described how connection and openness can help people find resilience, even when the path ahead is uncertain.
“Knowing that I have others with me on the boat, really matters much more than which sea we are currently in navigating. I can be in a stormy sea, but if I’m alone, even a quiet sea, I will be stressed.”
Change can be challenging, but it is also an opportunity to listen, learn, try something new, and support one another. As we continue to grow together at Agoda, these insights are a reminder that how we navigate change matters just as much as the change itself.
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