28.08.2025
Change is rarely easy. It demands adaptability, resilience, and a willingness to step into the unknown, qualities that resonate deeply with both individuals and industries alike. In aviation, an industry historically shaped by innovation, the current shift toward sustainability and green technologies represents one of the most significant transformations to date.
We recognise that this journey isn’t just about new aircraft or technologies; it’s about changing mindsets, overcoming resistance, and fostering a culture that embraces the future of transport. As we develop Airlander, our revolutionary hybrid aircraft, we understand that the biggest challenge lies not only in engineering innovation but also in leading through change.
To explore these themes, HAV’s people advisor, Kate Tojeiro, provides insight from a career of working with executives and businesses embarking on journeys of change.
Kate Tojeiro
1. What psychological or emotional barriers most often hold people back from embracing change?
One of the biggest reasons for resistance is fear. When people don’t know what the change will entail or how it will affect them, they stick to what is familiar. Fear of the unknown often makes us hesitant to embrace change.
Change and fear often trigger emotional responses such as anxiety, anger, or stress because the status quo is being disrupted and we don’t yet know what ‘next’ looks, sounds, or feels like. Significant change naturally creates uncertainty, and we, as humans, are generally not terribly good at uncertainty.
Change also always requires some form of loss, in spite of going towards something better, it is a loss which we have to adjust to. Adjusting to that loss requires effort and energy, and there’s usually a messy part at some point. As we adapt to new habits, it can create strong or heated emotional responses.
Research shows it can take 21 repetitions to form a new habit and 90 to embed a new behaviour whether something simple, like a new desk in the office, or something larger like a whole organisation restructure and high growth phase. That requires real consistency and commitment. We see this clearly in January when there is a peak of new goals and activity, and day by day, the commitment and activity wanes unless there is a motivator or someone to hold us to account.
2. What role does leadership play in managing change, and how can leaders inspire confidence and reduce resistance?
The most important role of leaders is to constantly communicate and then communicate again. When change and transformation fails, it is usually because people feel as though they’ve been forced into something without any involvement or clarity.
The best leaders role model the desired behaviours, hold themselves and others accountable, and provide support, guidance, and inspiration. They create a clear vision, communicate it across different channels and formats, and ensure people feel heard and seen. Building trust through openness and transparency is essential and empowers people to take ownership. Leadership styles also need to adapt as the change evolves. And importantly, celebrate the little wins – however big or small – while learning from the setbacks.
3. How can organisations like Hybrid Air Vehicles balance cutting-edge innovation with the human side of change?
Airlander is an incredible aircraft: different, eco-friendly, and capable of transforming how we travel and move goods around the world. Its cutting-edge engineering is a blend of previously proven technology and pioneering, bold new innovation.
That magical blend of cutting-edge engineering and the human side of change is, I believe, about identifying the opportunities and educating about another way to fly. HAV already has significant networks across the globe with governments and industry partners, and this collaboration will ensure that the human component is just as crucial as the new technology. That’s when change happens.
4. What unique challenges do you see when a long-established industry like aviation attempts to shift toward sustainability and new, green technologies?
Sustainable air travel is here, and HAV is changing minds and opinions about what “different” looks like. Airlander will disrupt and transform logistics, travel, and how we support humanitarian efforts worldwide. Simply thinking about how it integrates into our existing transport networks is a big mind shift in itself and a hugely exciting one.
In aviation, safety will always be the number one priority. But other pressures, such as fuel costs, supply chain disruption, and staff shortages, are also driving transformation. Airlander already mitigates many of these: it uses relatively little fuel, can operate almost anywhere in the world without fixed infrastructure, (i.e., it can land on tarmac, sand, water, snow or just in a field), and maintenance doesn’t need to be carried out in a hangar.
5. How do you help leaders personally overcome fear and resistance so they can lead change authentically and effectively?
The best leaders look after themselves first, much like putting on your own oxygen mask before helping others. Accessing a calm and focused mind, in whatever way works for you, is essential; however, that transpires. I have a client who tends a spectacular rose garden, and another who is in a rock band! Do your thing! Always! Even when you haven’t got time, especially when you haven’t got time – that is when clarity and calmness of thought are essential.
Leadership through successful change requires deep self-awareness and mastery over one’s own emotions in order to lead and support. Keeping an open mind, listening and valuing all ideas while navigating transformation, whether in manufacturing or across a global network of people and aircraft, is what will make the difference between a smooth transition or a rocky one.
The ability to inspire, lead with calmness and consistency, especially during a crisis, is essential.
6. What advice would you give to organisations and leaders embarking on ambitious journeys that will change the face of their industry?
Never ever doubt what a group of ambitious, innovative individuals can achieve. Leaders and people who truly want to make a difference will.
Find and harness the champions, partners, and the believers, in whichever guise they come: scientists, financiers, members of the public, business leaders, students, advocates, or politicians. Collaborate with those who care and genuinely want to facilitate change.
Our world is beautiful and precious. Ambitious and long-term change, like the development of Airlander, is what will preserve and protect it for future generations.
Nothing changes, if nothing changes.
It really is as simple as that.