“Morning, team—can we pull up the usage stats for our digital platforms?” Julia, Director of the eCMO, asked as she strode into the meeting room, coffee in hand and a purposeful glint in her eye.

Navdeep flicked through a dizzying array of dashboards on the meeting room AV screen. “Which one, Jules? Are we talking Teams, ServiceNow, Slack, Monday, Miro, or… ummm, that new dashboard?”

Julia gave a wry smile.

“That’s just it. We’ve got twelve platforms and a ton of ways to ‘collaborate’, but so far, adoption is patchy and the complaints are piling up. People are confused about which tool to use, when, and why. We need a way to help everyone focus on what matters most, without overwhelming them.”

Sophie chimed in, “Honestly, if I have to update my status in one more app, I’ll need a sticky note just to track my sticky notes.”

Julia nodded. “Yeah. Alright, let’s get practical. What if we ran a campaign to spotlight just the top platforms everyone actually needs to know about and use?”

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“Alright, team, we’ve all got another online module to complete this week,” announced Imran, glancing around at everyone in the team meeting and on the screen.

Harriet groaned, pulling her scarf tighter. “Is this the one about the new HR system, or the cybersecurity refresher?”

Imran checked his notes. “Both, actually. And there’s a feedback quiz at the end of both as well.”

Harriet exchanged a look with Minh, who whispered, “If I have to watch one more animated explainer video, I’m gonna start talking like a chatbot.”

The group chuckled, but the energy was flat.

Everyone’s eyes glazed over at the thought of more online training, and someone quietly closed yet another Zoom tab.

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“Alright, team, just a quick update about the new reporting process,” said Mel, trying to sound upbeat as she wheeled her chair closer to the meeting table.

Ash raised an eyebrow and leaned back, arms crossed. “Which new process is this? Number four or five for this year so far?”

A ripple of laughter rolled around the room.

Someone on Teams muttered, “Wake me up when it’s over,” and another in the room added, “Can’t wait for the next ‘game-changing’ announcement lol.”

Mel paused, feeling the weight of every eye-roll.

She glanced at the window, where the drizzle outside matched the mood inside. “I get it,” she said, half-smiling. “Feels like we’ve all earned a PhD in ‘change’ this year.”

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“Alright, let’s get started!” grinned Sienna, clicking to share her screen as the Tuesday morning chill settled over the conference room.

Everyone sat at round tables, clutching coffees and rubbing their hands together, hoping the new platform would finally make life easier.

She clicked “launch.”

Nothing happened.

A spinning wheel.

A few hopeful clicks. Still nothing.

From the back, Max whispered, “Try turning it off and on again?”

Sienna forced a laugh, feeling her cheeks flush. “Don’t worry, this always works in the test environment…”

The silence stretched. Someone coughed. The aircon clunked. JFC.

They’d travelled to Adelaide and gathered 50 people in the room for this!

“Classic,” muttered Max. “Tech’s got stage fright.”

Sienna took a breath. “Well, everyone, looks like we’re in for a bit of a show. Bear with me, we’ll improvise.”

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“Morning, team. Got a minute?” Addie hovered in the doorway, her laptop hugged to her chest, and rain still glistening on her jacket.

The heating was struggling against the chill, and everyone in the open-plan office had their hands clasped around mugs, trying to coax a bit of warmth into their fingers.

Noah looked up from his notes, sensing the change in mood. “Uh oh. That’s your ‘brace yourself’ face,” he said, half-joking, but with a hint of worry.

Addie tried for a smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I wish it wasn’t. I’ve just come out of a call with exec. There’s been a complete change in direction. They want to go with a different model. The rollout’s on hold for now, and I know this is the last thing anyone wants to hear.”

A heavy silence settled over the table, broken only by the distant sound of rain against the windows.

Someone shifted in their chair. Noah put down his pen and met Addie’s eyes. “Fu….. Right. What do we tell the team?”

Addie nodded, grateful for the solidarity. “Let’s work out how to break it honestly, but without breaking their spirit. They deserve the truth - and a bit of hope, too.”

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Asha poked her head into the meeting room, her arms full of printed handouts. “Hey, can someone help set up for the training session?”

Martin barely glanced up from his laptop. “Sorry, Asha. My calendar’s back-to-back. Besides, isn’t that more of the change team’s thing?”

Asha stifled a sigh. “It’s actually everyone’s thing, Martin. The new system’s going live next week.”

Martin shrugged, flicking to his next meeting. “Yeah, but I’m just here to keep the lights on. You lot are the change experts.”

Asha rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, “Classic. If it’s not in the job description, it’s invisible.”

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“Anyone heard back from the finance team?” asked Layla, peering hopefully over her monitor.

Josh shook his head, scrolling through his inbox. “Nope. Sent them a follow-up last week. Still radio silence.”

Layla sighed, rolling her eyes. “I’ve sent two emails to Nala and Joe, I’ve been messaging them, called, and even tried the old ‘reply-all’ trick. FML. At this point, I’d have more luck getting a response from my teenager.”

Josh grinned. “Maybe they’re all on a secret retreat somewhere. Or they’ve just seen the subject line and thought, ‘Not today, thanks.’”

Layla laughed, but the frustration was real. “If I get left on read one more time, I’m going to start sending carrier pigeons. Or maybe a singing telegram.”

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"Just got off a call. The COO wants to tweak the rollout. Again," said Kavita, rubbing her forehead.

Luca glanced up from his laptop, half-smiling. "Classic EOFY drama. If it’s not a last-minute change, is it even June?"

Kavita sighed. "I know we need to deliver, but rushing now could mean mistakes. There’s got to be a smarter way."

End of financial year brings a special kind of chaos, doesn’t it: tight deadlines, shifting priorities, and a sudden flurry of “urgent” changes.

The pressure to say yes and push things through is real.

But we’ve discovered that the best change managers know: how you handle the rush matters more than how fast you move.

Rushing through late-breaking features and/or changes to your approach can create confusion, introduce risk, and put both you and your stakeholders under unnecessary stress.

But with the right tactics, you can respond with confidence and keep quality high—even when it feels like you have no time to think.

If this is something you’re dealing with now, here are a couple of useful ideas:

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"How are you holding up?" asked Zoe as she set down a tray of coffees in the meeting room.

"Yesterday was back-to-back meetings, 200 emails, and a crisis at 4:45 pm. I’m cooked,” replied Musa, managing a tired smile. "Honestly, I think we’re all running on fumes. It’s just… so much at once."

Zoe nodded. "I get it. June is always a slog. But we can’t let the wheels fall off now."

Musa stretched. "Any ideas for keeping the team going without burning everyone out?"

Let’s be real, sometimes the pressure at this time of year is insane, and it’s easy to put your own well-being last when you’re focused on supporting others.

But your energy, mindset, and example set the tone for those around you.

Here are a couple of suggestions to help you recharge and help your team do the same - even when it feels like there’s no time.

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"How’s your week looking?" asked Tahlia, glancing at her overflowing inbox.

Eddie let out a breath. "Let’s see… I’ve got three presentations, two reports, a workshop on Thursday, and of course, that new feature launch. Oh, and I promised Joe we’d finish the training before Friday."

Tahlia grinned. "Classic end of financial year - everything, everywhere, all at once."

Eddie nodded. "Honestly, I’m just hoping nothing serious slips through the cracks."

End of financial year in Australia is notorious for last-minute deadlines, budget wrangling, and a relentless parade of urgent deliverables.

For us change folks, it’s a perfect storm: business-as-usual ramps up, but transformation work can’t afford to stall.

When everyone’s stretched thin, change activities often risk being deprioritised, rushed, or quietly dropped. But with the right strategies, you can keep momentum (and your sanity!) intact.

Here’s some of our favourite tactics in moments like these:

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"Look at this - every milestone’s ticked off!" said Minh, waving the latest project dashboard at Aisha.

Aisha raised an eyebrow. "Impressive, but… have you noticed people are still using the old process? I sat in on a team meeting yesterday - no one mentioned the new system once."

Minh frowned. "But this is showing all green?"

Aisha leant over, looked at Minh’s iPad and shook her head. "Nah, that dashboard is all about tracking deliverables and making the project look good to the exec. It’s not showing whether or not the change has actually landed with folks..."

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"Do you think this will land well with everyone?" asked Mia, glancing at the draft communication plan.

Her colleague Jamal paused. "It’s a start, but have we thought about how this change impacts our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders? Or whether it reflects their experiences?"

Mia frowned. "Good point. We’ve consulted the leadership team, but… not those communities."

Jamal nodded. "If we want this change to work for everyone, we need to make sure it’s culturally safe. Otherwise, we risk causing harm - and excluding the very people we should be centring."

Mia grabbed her notebook. "Yeah, you're right! Ok, let’s rethink this approach..."

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"Can we push the workshop to next month?" asked Riya, barely looking up from her laptop. "We’ve got a major report due, and I just can’t spare the team right now."

Alan leaned back in his chair, trying not to let his frustration show.

It wasn’t the first time he’d heard this excuse, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

Every time he tried to prioritise the change initiative, something more ‘urgent’ seemed to pop up.

He couldn’t blame them—everyone was juggling competing priorities.

But if the change kept getting bumped, it would never get the momentum it needed.

"Alright," he thought, flipping open his notebook. "Time to cut through the noise and make this change stick."

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"How’s the rollout going?" asked Amir, leaning against the break room counter.

"Depends who you ask," said Priya, pouring her coffee. "Some teams are flying ahead, and others... well, let’s just say adoption isn’t exactly their priority."

Amir nodded knowingly. "Let me guess—the teams with engaged managers are the ones driving adoption, right?"

Priya sighed. "Exactly. But a lot of managers are already stretched thin. If we want them to support the change, we need to make it as easy as possible for them."

Amir smiled. "Alright, let’s figure out how to make that happen."

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"Another workshop rescheduled," said Arjun, glancing at his calendar. "That’s the third one this month."

Leila sighed. "I sent out a survey last week—only two people responded. And one of them just wrote, ‘Too busy.’"

Arjun leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. "Feels like everyone’s just over it. But we’re not even halfway through the rollout."

Leila nodded. "They don’t hate us - it’s change fatigue. They’re exhausted. And honestly? I don’t blame them. When the effort feels bigger than the benefits, it’s hard to stay motivated."

Arjun frowned, staring at his empty workshop calendar. "Alright," he said, sitting up. "Let’s figure out how to make this easier—and maybe even fun—before we lose them completely."

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"Wait, what do you mean onboarding and leave requests won’t be included?" Ruby asked, staring at the project update email in disbelief. "That’s what the rollout plan promised."

Her colleague shrugged. "It was in the original plan, but IT hasn’t even started on that part yet. There’s no way it’ll be done this financial year—maybe not even this calendar year."

Ruby sighed, glancing at the project’s original pitch deck. The glossy slides had sold a vision of seamless HR workflows integrated into the ServiceNow rollout.

Now, as the project progressed, it was clear that Corporate’s expectations weren’t going to match reality anytime soon—and now Rubes was left to manage the fallout.

"Great," she muttered, closing the email. "Now I have to explain why we’re not delivering what we promised."

When the business case oversells the benefits and reality doesn’t match the promise, here’s how to manage expectations without losing trust:

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"Out of office until May. Try Sibylla for urgent matters."

Jordan sighed as another auto-reply popped up in his inbox. It was the third one so far today, and he was running out of people to escalate to.

The project timeline was already tight, and now half the decision-makers seemed to be camping somewhere or soaking up the vibes at Bluesfest.

April was always like this. What with Easter, school holidays and ANZAC Day, it felt like the whole country pressed pause.

And with most people not back until the 28th, Jordan knew he had to keep things moving without the usual decision-makers in the room.

"Alright," he muttered, opening his stakeholder tracker. "Time to work some magic before this whole thing grinds to a halt."

When holiday season leaves your stakeholders out of reach, here are a couple of ideas to help keep momentum without losing your mind:

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"Hey Alex!" Tom stuck his head around the office door, grinning. "Just wanted to let you know there’s no need for change management for this rollout.

The product owner will send a heads-up email next week, and we've pencilled in a training session for June.

That should do it, yeah?"

Alex looked up from her screen and laughed.

She genuinely liked Tom - his enthusiasm for the project was infectious, even if his idea of change management was... endearing.

"Come here for a sec," she said, gesturing to the chair near her desk.

"I've been mapping out what our teams will need to make this work, and I reckon you'll find this interesting.

You know how Finance always gets slammed at end of quarter...?"

When the project team has a ‘different’ view of what change management involves, here's how to keep adding value while maintaining great relationships:

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"Everyone seems on board with the change," Zara reported to her project team. "Lots of head-nodding in the briefings."

But something felt off.

The same stakeholders who'd enthusiastically agreed to be change champions hadn't shown up to a single meeting.

Her inbox was full of "Sorry, crazy busy!" responses, and whenever she dropped by their desks for a chat, they were mysteriously "just heading to a meeting."

"Time to face facts," she said to her empty office, opening her stakeholder engagement tracker. "All these polite 'yes' responses are actually silent nos."

When your stakeholders are masters of the polite dodge and every 'yes' sounds suspiciously like 'not a chance,' here's how to cut through the courtesy:

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Remember how the Executive said they were happy with a phased rollout?" Priya's colleague messaged her on Teams. "Yeah, now they want to go big bang. By end of June."

Priya stared at her change timeline, covered in carefully planned engagement activities stretching over nine months. Nine months that had just turned into three.

Her laptop pinged again. "Oh, and they want everyone trained before go-live now, not just the pilot groups."

"Fantastic," Priya rolled her eyes in her empty office, pulling up her stakeholder matrix on her screen. "Three months of planning down the drain, and about 2,000 more people to train than we'd planned for."

When your executive's vision changes faster than Melbourne weather and your carefully crafted change approach is falling apart, here's how to stay sane:

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