What happens when you buy a 180-year-old family business that desperately needs transformation but has no clear path forward? Astrid shares the remarkable journey of how she revitalized the Berenson Group by building trust rather than demanding change.When Astrid acquired this promotional products company with approximately 1,000 employees, she faced an organization paralyzed by uncertainty. Rather than imposing solutions, she spent her first hundred days conducting one-on-one interviews, asking everyone the same powerful questions: "What could be our growth path?" and "What would you personally change?" This approach immediately signaled that transformation would be collaborative, not dictatorial.The transformation stories Astrid shares demonstrate profound leadership wisdom applicable to any organization facing change. She explains how she broke tradition by personally leading the sales department to understand the challenges of transitioning from physical promotional products to digital visibility solutions. Instead of forcing change through mandatory training, she identified naturally talented "local heroes" within the sales team who inspired their peers – creating a pull strategy rather than a push strategy that achieved an astonishing 80% adoption rate of new digital services.Throughout our conversation, Astrid reveals how constant reinforcement of vision, creating psychological safety, and establishing trust as the foundation of all interactions transformed an anxious workforce into an enthusiastic team ready for growth. Her approach to leading through transformation offers a masterclass in human-centered change management that balances business needs with genuine care for people.Whether you're leading a startup or transforming a legacy business, this episode provides actionable insights on creating meaningful change that brings people along rather than leaving them behind. Subscribe to gain leadership wisdom directly from executives who've successfully navigated major organizational transformations.Listen to the Leadership Espresso Podcast:https://open.spotify.com/show/4OT3BYzDHMafETOMgFEor3 View the Leadership Espresso Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@Stefangoetz_Global_Leadership/videos Connect with Stefan Götz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefangoetz/ Check out Stefan's Executive and Team Coachinghttps://www.stefan-goetz.com/

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