Navigating Change Management, Career Growth, and Field Enablement with Brittany Honor from Boston Scientific

Andy Storch sat down with Brittany Honor—a seasoned talent leader, certified coach, and host of the Chess Not Checkers podcast—to dive into the modern realities of change management, field enablement, and the mindset of meaningful career growth. With her background in medical device and consumer packaged goods industries, Brittany brings a pragmatic, purpose-driven approach to the challenges so many learning and development and sales enablement professionals face today.

Redefining Career Growth Through Values

Brittany’s journey into learning and development wasn’t linear; like many, she found her way through a series of organic opportunities, each shaping her philosophy that real career satisfaction starts with clarifying one’s values. She urges professionals to identify their own North Star before pursuing promotions or new roles. According to Brittany, getting clear on values isn’t just a personal exercise—it’s the foundation for professional alignment and fulfillment. She recommends taking time for introspection, using tools like the Wheel of Life or regular reflective journaling, to unearth what truly drives you. This clarity became especially pivotal for her after a family health crisis shifted her entire perspective on what mattered most, reminding us that sometimes life forces us to reassess our priorities.

The Super Salesperson Trap: Leadership Missteps and Mindset Shifts

For those in sales organizations, Brittany highlights a well-known but persistent challenge: the “super salesperson trap.” Too often, high-performing individual contributors are promoted to sales management roles, only to struggle with the very different responsibilities leadership demands. Brittany calls out the critical error of assuming sales excellence naturally transfers to people leadership. In reality, top salespeople often focus on their own numbers, not on lifting others up, and this misalignment can cause performance and morale to drop not just for the new leader, but their entire team.

To address this, Brittany champions the idea of looking past the trophy case when developing or hiring leaders. She encourages leaders to focus on transferable skills and “sponge-like” adaptability, rather than simply seeking those with the most awards or sales accolades. Doing a targeted needs assessment and evaluating candidates on their ability to grow, influence, and empower their teams helps bridge the gap between individual success and organizational leadership.

Change Management: Communication, Listening, and Overcoming Fatigue

Perhaps the loudest theme in today’s organizations is change—and change fatigue. Brittany notes that despite L&D professionals’ optimism about rolling out new initiatives, the real work lies in communicating effectively with impacted teams and leaders. Too often, change is announced via an impersonal email and quickly forgotten. Brittany stresses the importance of clear, intentional communication: always put the most impacted stakeholders first, ensure all aspects are buttoned up before launching, and equip managers to act as effective translators—not dampeners—of change.

Listening is as crucial as communicating. Whether rolling out a new CRM or a process overhaul, Brittany believes the secret is needs-based listening: understanding the pain points, hesitations, and practical barriers people face. By genuinely considering user feedback and adjusting rollouts accordingly, organizations can drive higher adoption and foster a spirit of collaboration. Still, Brittany acknowledges the reality of change fatigue—so much is shifting so quickly that people can feel overwhelmed. Her advice is to give space for employees to process discomfort, but emphasize resilience, flexibility, and growth-minded responses to keep the organization moving forward.

Field Enablement: Aligning Programs with Real-World Needs

For those enabling field teams, particularly in sales, Brittany understands the skepticism many reps feel about training. Sales professionals want to know, “How will this help me perform better?”—otherwise, time spent in a workshop is time lost in the field. Her solution: immerse yourself in the daily realities of your frontline teams. Attend their calls, absorb their challenges, and ensure any program or tool you deliver is aligned to making their work faster, easier, or more effective. Needs assessments aren’t just for compliance—they should be the default for any worthwhile development initiative.

When leaders request training for their teams, Brittany encourages digging beneath the surface with thoughtful questions. Are you trying to solve a communication problem, or is there a deeper trust issue? Is the team in need of a new skill, or is the real pain point around relationships or accountability? By pulsing team members directly and exploring root causes, L&D can deliver solutions that actually move the needle.

Leaders: Embracing Accountability and Authenticity

Leadership, for Brittany, is not about being perfect or having all the answers; it’s about accountability, authenticity, and humility. She shares stories—both from her own career and her coaching experience—about leaders learning to own their missteps, communicate transparently, and model the kind of vulnerability that inspires trust. Admitting mistakes or saying “I don’t know, but I’ll find out” doesn’t diminish a leader’s credibility—it multiplies it.

She also acknowledges the pressure leaders feel to be infallible, but the most effective managers are those that act human, communicate openly, and model growth for their teams. Supporting others through personal challenges, celebrating authenticity in communication, and showing genuine care for people’s lives outside work builds resilience and long-term engagement.

Changing the Game—On and Off the Job

Brittany lives her own philosophy of “changing the game,” not just playing it. Beyond her corporate role, she’s built a platform as a coach and content creator, leveraging social media and podcasting to create impactful networks and share lessons far beyond her organization’s walls. Rather than hiding her side pursuits, she’s found that her employer welcomes the expanded perspective, knowing it makes her a more well-rounded—and ultimately more effective—leader.

Her story is proof that building a meaningful career and being an inspiring development leader isn’t about working harder or ticking every box; it’s about intention, ongoing growth, and helping others find their own path. As Brittany says, life and work aren’t games of chance, but strategy. The challenge for all of us is to clarify what we want, adapt with resilience, and design experiences that help ourselves and others flourish—even, and especially, in times of change.

To hear more from Brittany Honor about transformative leadership, intentional change, and building resilient teams, listen to her full episode on the Talent Development Think Tank podcast.

Be sure to listen to the full episode on the Talent Development Hot Seat Podcast!

Thanks to our sponsors!

Learnit, you can get a free 45-day trial to help your people build more skills that drive success Learn more.

iSpring Suite makes it easy to create engaging eLearning courses right in PowerPoint. Try it free and get 30% off if you're a freelancer. Start here.