Leading Change: The 5 Tensions to Manage for Successful Transformation
Let's face it, most change initiatives divide and disappoint. Opposition and confusion are common, making the process feel like anΒ ...
Executive Vice President of Voluntary Benefits & President of Colonial Life, Unum
Search every verified Timothy Arnold interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote β each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Timothy Arnold, Executive Vice President of Voluntary Benefits and President of Colonial Life at Unum, published a book titled "Leading Change" in late 2024. In promotional material for the book, Arnold stated that "well over half of organizational change efforts disappoint and underdeliver" and described change as "a powerful force that often stirs up feelings of resistance and fear." He argued that organizations should take a "both/and approach" to change, managing what he called "healthy tension" in five areas: innovation and consistency, facts and feelings, short-term and long-term focus, planning and action, and complexity and simplicity. Arnold said the book provides "a straightforward plan" to help leaders "turn resistance into resilience." In earlier appearances on Carolina Business Review, Arnold discussed the insurance industry and the Affordable Care Act. He stated in 2015 that the ACA "has actually helped raise the awareness around the need for medical benefits" and noted that high-deductible health plans create demand for supplemental products. In 2018, he said the "climate in DC is not really being helpful" regarding healthcare costs and that "people haven't figured out how to bend the cost curve for medical costs." In 2021, Arnold said the pandemic highlighted that "most of America's workers are underinsured for life and disability" and that Colonial Life saw an improvement in employee engagement scores during remote work. He also served as chairman of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce's board of directors in 2021.
“Change is a powerful force that often stirs up feelings of resistance and fear.”
“Studies show that well over half of organizational change efforts disappoint and underdeliver.”
“When mismanaged or overdone, change has a potential to destroy what we're great at, to send our teams into chaos and confusion and confuse our customers.”
“Yet when we shy away from change and cling to what's familiar and safe, we slowly become stagnant and irrelevant and ultimately outdated in a rapidly evolving world.”
“There's another option β one where change becomes your greatest asset: imagine navigating the complexities of change so that you secure yourself as an industry leader; picture adaptability becoming your leading edge.”
“For over two decades I've guided organizations from Fortune 500 giants and international nonprofits to local startups and grassroots charities to successfully leverage change.”
“They've learned to tap into the power of healthy tension in five key areas: embrace innovation and consistency; validate facts and feelings; focus on the short-term and the long-term; promote planning and action; and finally, value complexity and simplicity.”
“Leading change provides you with one thing: a straightforward plan, and by putting the ideas and the strategies into action you'll be equipped to successfully lead change β turning resistance into resilience.”
“It's time to reframe change not as a problem to overcome but as the key to unlocking your organization's real potential β let's make change the catalyst for progress and unparalleled success.”
“As you think about the places where Medicaid expansion has occurred in the past it really hasn't had a significant impact on the private payer market in my view; we see a robust insurance marketplace in all of the states where we've seen this happen in the past and that's largely because there's so much unmet need in v...”
“The insurance industry is extremely well capitalized and unlike banks the insurance company does not have a risk of having policyholders create a run on the bank; my sense is that there could potentially be more regulation as a result of this, and we should find the sweet spot with regulation so that banks are not burd...”
“Presented by Haynesworth Sinclair Boyd β we'd like to give them an extra shout out and they've been our sponsor since the inception of our CIA awards seven years ago; we really appreciate your support.”
“I'm Tim Arnold, chairman of the Columbia Chamber's board of directors.”
“The board and chamber staff join me in celebrating this wonderful and deserving group of winners; we proudly recognize their efforts and we are honored to support our partners in the process.”
“We invite you to relax, sit back and enjoy today's show.”
Let's face it, most change initiatives divide and disappoint. Opposition and confusion are common, making the process feel like anΒ ...
Panelists: Brooks Raiford, President and CEO, NC Technology Association Antjuan Seawright, Blueprint Strategy.
The virtual Columbia Impact Awards was hosted on February 18, 2021. Thank you Tim Arnold, Colonial Life, for giving theΒ ...
Panelists: Jeff Williams CEO, MindPath Care Centers Carlos Phillips President and CEO, Greenville Chamber.
Panelists Linda Brown, President, Asheboro/Randolph Chamber and Brent Nelsen, Professor of Politics and International Affairs,Β ...
Terry Keating, Accord Financial and Bryan Toney, Associate Vice Chancellor for Economic Development and CorporateΒ ...
Tim Arnold, President of Colonial Life Insurance here in the Midlands, toasts to a happy and healthy New Year! He invites friendsΒ ...
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