Thriving in change

As Robin Macgillivray thinks about the different chapters of her career, she offers a concise thread that ties them all together:

“I like change.”

Robin spent the entirety of her 35-year corporate career in telecommunications at the company now known as AT&T. As a part of the AT&T system, she worked countless jobs across the many complex iterations of the company. She served in leadership roles in sales and customer service, as well as shorter stints in engineering, operations, construction, finance, IT, and human resources. In her last role with AT&T, Robin led their global post-merger integration practice—the arm of the organization that managed the practical aspects of integration after M&A contracts are signed. 

Change management is Robin’s superpower, but the journey to discover it was anything but a straight line. In her recent conversation with ICEO, she shared some of her experiences and how these moments of transition helped shape her career.

Building a reputation for change

As a peer advisor in ICEO and member of the board of directors for Simpson Manufacturing (a leading manufacturer of structured connectors), Robin still helps leaders and organizations navigate change.

However, her journey with change management started years ago. The first major change that Robin experienced was a big one—big enough to disrupt the entire US telecoms industry. 

Shortly after she joined AT&T, the Department of Justice issued the ruling that the Bell System was a monopoly and would need to break up. The DOJ’s decision required AT&T to divest into a series of subsidiaries and spinoffs, the result of which continue to shape the telecommunications industry to this day.

“Everybody was put on notice that there was going to be a lot of change in our company. Those of us with the right mindset were invited to lean into that.”

Robin was assigned to a divestiture team to separate the companies. She was a finance supervisor at the time of the breakup of the Bell System, and this allowed her to experience the change process firsthand. The next time her bosses had a similar opportunity in M&A, they thought: We need Robin on this. She has done this type of work before.

“Other people knew I was suited for change management work before I did. For me, these were just new and interesting experiences. I enjoyed the challenge and I never said ‘no’ to anything.”

One transformation led to another until Robin built a reputation as a trusted change leader in the business. Change became her career—whether it was IT, HR, or another function, she was the executive you called with a tough transformation.

The source of her superpower

As the head of AT&T’s post-merger integration practice, Robin assembled and led integration teams in making major decisions about products, people, processes, and resources. In addition to retaining critical talent, her integration team also assessed the “fit” of leaders in the combined organizations—essentially, who has the right mindset to be a part of the company’s new future.

“Change management is about understanding people. You need to listen to the individuals in the organization to understand their hopes, fears, and dreams—that’s how you help them to thrive.”

It is this innate curiosity about people that makes Robin an effective change leader. Regardless of which part of an organization she works with, she understands the human element and the uniqueness of the people involved.

“I was a journalism major, so I can’t help but ask questions. That's a critical part of navigating change in organizations—building a deep understanding of a problem and getting to those ‘eureka’ solutions.”

Robin works to form a mental diagram of the dynamics at play in any transformation. To help leaders through their change curve, she uncovers where they are starting from and gets them where they need to be.

Big changes on the individual level

Robin sees similarities between the large-scale transformations she led at AT&T and her work as a Peer Advisor in ICEO. A transformation in the career of an individual executive can also be profound and challenging. And just like organizations, executives often start to transition without a clear view of the end in mind.

“Making a change is hard, particularly for established executives. A lot of them know they want a change but don't know what they should be moving toward. As I get to know them, I help them explore the possible avenues.”

This type of work inevitably means executives are asked to explore possibilities outside their area of expertise. For some, this leads to a sense of discomfort as they are used to acting from a place of confidence.

As she did with large-scale transformations, Robin creates the right headspace for change by paying special attention to the emotions involved. She encourages executives undergoing a transition to take pride in early wins and celebrate important milestones along the way.

“Changing roles is an immensely personal event and there are a lot of emotions to manage. Taking the time to enjoy the progress you make is important to sustaining your momentum.”

That is Robin’s biggest piece of advice—whether the change you are making is large or small, mindset is a critical factor in getting it right. While moments of transition can seem daunting, they serve as opportunities for growth and development, particularly if you learn to love them the way Robin does.

Reuben Cohen is the North American Managing Director for LHH's International Center for Executive Options (ICEO). He and his team work as trusted advisors to CEOs and other top-of-the-house leaders, guiding them through career inflection points to a variety of new paths.

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