J. Murray McSkimming
After more than three decades working inside large and complex organisations—and serving in roles including Chief Information Officer, Deputy Chief Executive of Corporate Operations, and Head of Operations—I have had a front-row seat to leadership in motion. I have watched organisations expand, contract, pivot, transform, and occasionally unravel. I have lived through restructures, technology upheavals, regulatory pressure, economic shocks, and the quieter but equally powerful undercurrents of cultural change that shape how people think, feel, and behave at work.
Across those years, titles changed, strategies evolved, and structures were redrawn. What remained constant was this: change was never just technical. It was always human. It lived in conversations, silences, hesitations, commitments, and moments of courage—or avoidance.
Earlier in my career, I believed that clarity, logic, and authority were usually enough. If the strategy was sound and the rationale compelling, alignment would follow. If resistance appeared, it was often interpreted as misunderstanding or reluctance to move on.
Experience dismantled that assumption.
What time and consequence revealed is that leadership is not primarily about being right. It is about understanding where people are thinking from, not where we wish they were. Change does not fail because leaders lack intelligence or intent; it fails because human behaviour is shaped by history, identity, emotion, and perceived risk long before logic enters the room.
If there is one conclusion that has crystallised over time, it is this:
Change is no longer an event. It is the operating environment.
It is not something organisations prepare for and then “get through.” It is the rhythm they now live by—sometimes steady, often disruptive, occasionally overwhelming, but always present. In this environment, leadership is no longer about managing transitions between stable states. It is about helping people function
After more than three decades working inside large and complex organisations—and serving in roles including Chief Information Officer, Deputy Chief Executive of Corporate Operations, and Head of Operations—I have had a front-row seat to leadership in motion. I have watched organisations expand, contract, pivot, transform, and occasionally unravel. I have lived through restructures, technology upheavals, regulatory pressure, economic shocks, and the quieter but equally powerful undercurrents of cultural change that shape how people think, feel, and behave at work.
Across those years, titles changed, strategies evolved, and structures were redrawn. What remained constant was this: change was never just technical. It was always human. It lived in conversations, silences, hesitations, commitments, and moments of courage—or avoidance.
Earlier in my career, I believed that clarity, logic, and authority were usually enough. If the strategy was sound and the rationale compelling, alignment would follow. If resistance appeared, it was often interpreted as misunderstanding or reluctance to move on.
Experience dismantled that assumption.
What time and consequence revealed is that leadership is not primarily about being right. It is about understanding where people are thinking from, not where we wish they were. Change does not fail because leaders lack intelligence or intent; it fails because human behaviour is shaped by history, identity, emotion, and perceived risk long before logic enters the room.
If there is one conclusion that has crystallised over time, it is this:
Change is no longer an event. It is the operating environment.
It is not something organisations prepare for and then “get through.” It is the rhythm they now live by—sometimes steady, often disruptive, occasionally overwhelming, but always present. In this environment, leadership is no longer about managing transitions between stable states. It is about helping people function
To read the rest of the Introduction, click the link below
| introduction.docx |
To watch the promotional video - introduction to Chapter 1 click video below
To read Chapter 1, click the link below
| chapter_1_-_crossing_the_road_.docx |
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