Entering an AI transformation, a 17-person Zendesk leadership team used the AQ® assessment to build a shared language for adaptability, and a standing rhythm of innovation.
Every member of the 17-person leadership team completed the AQme® assessment ahead of a global leadership offsite.
A team receptive to change, with almost half scoring high in Mindset.
Receptive to change, but not yet resourced to execute it.
Tim Major, VP at Zendesk, rated the engagement 9 out of 10.
As Zendesk accelerated AI integration and restructured roles around it, a 17-person leadership team faced relentless change. AQ® Certified coach Sheila Drum ran the AQme® assessment across the whole team, built a team-level analysis around four Advanced Metrics, and delivered the debrief at the start of a global leadership offsite. The team gained a shared language that normalised change fatigue, shifted from passive concern to actively proposing solutions, and introduced monthly innovation-sharing sessions to sustain momentum.
Zendesk builds cloud platforms for customer service, support, sales and employee communication, a market being redrawn by AI and Agentic AI. As a global enterprise, the company is accelerating AI integration and restructuring roles around it.
Zendesk builds cloud platforms for customer service, support, sales and employee communication, a market being redrawn by AI and Agentic AI. As the company accelerated AI integration and restructured roles around it, a 17-person leadership team faced relentless change: continuous upskilling, flattening structures and uncertainty about future roles. The real pressure was not adopting AI tools, but sustaining the people expected to absorb that change.
The gap between a bold AI strategy and the team's readiness to execute it risked stalling transformation: enthusiasm for innovation colliding with change fatigue, and technological readiness outpacing the human readiness needed to turn it into customer value.
AQ® Certified coach Sheila Drum ran the AQme® assessment across all 17 team members, then built a team-level analysis around the four Advanced Metrics: Explore and Transform, Utilise and Improve, Reskill Index, and Change Readiness. Drum delivered the team debrief at the start of a global leadership offsite, giving the group a shared language to name both their adaptability strengths and their change fatigue, and to apply the findings directly as they set strategy for the week ahead.
What the data showed: a team receptive to change, with 47% scoring high in Mindset, but not yet resourced to execute it, with 47% low in Change Readiness and 59% low in both Grit and Unlearning.
AQ® measures adaptability, the capacity to navigate change, complexity and uncertainty, across three dimensions: Ability, Character and Environment. Unlike engagement surveys or personality tests, AQ® measures what people can do when the ground shifts, not how they feel or who they are. For Zendesk's leadership team, the data separated willingness from capacity: 47% scored high in Mindset, yet 47% scored low in Change Readiness and 59% low in both Grit and Unlearning. That distinction gave the team a way to name change fatigue openly and plan for it, rather than mistake enthusiasm for readiness.
Leaders gained a shared language for adaptability that normalised change fatigue, letting the team openly discuss where they were struggling and support one another.
Across the offsite's AI workshops and innovation labs, members shifted from passive concern about change to actively proposing and presenting solutions.
To sustain momentum, the team introduced monthly innovation-sharing sessions, and leadership recognised that transformation depends on supporting people through change, not just implementing it.
Sheila provided great insights and engaging coaching sessions … guiding us through actions to help drive adaptability and grit for the road ahead.
As an AQai Professional Certified Practitioner, I am passionate about helping individuals, teams, and organisations develop the adaptability needed to thrive in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world. I share AQai's mission to inspire and empower people with the skills to adapt and succeed, ensuring no one is left behind during this unprecedented period of change. I am an accredited Executive, Leadership, Personal, and Team Coach with extensive leadership experience in education, having served as a Principal, Deputy Principal, and Teacher. This unique combination of senior leadership and professional coaching enables me to blend practical experience with evidence-based coaching to support meaningful and sustainable change. Throughout my career, I have coached senior leaders, principals, deputy principals, senior leadership teams, middle leaders, teachers, and organisational teams, helping them strengthen leadership capability, improve communication, enhance collaboration, and successfully navigate change. My coaching is reflective, solution-focused, and tailored to the unique needs of each individual and team, creating the conditions for greater self-awareness, adaptability, confidence, and performance. Using AQai's scientifically grounded adaptability framework, I help organisations understand how their people respond to change and identify the capabilities that enable individuals and teams to embrace uncertainty, build resilience, and perform at their best. By combining adaptability insights with executive and team coaching, I support leaders in developing cultures where people feel empowered, engaged, and equipped to succeed in times of continuous transformation. My goal is to help organisations build adaptable leaders, high-performing teams, and resilient workplace cultures where both people and performance can flourish..
View partner profile →Zendesk is a global enterprise SaaS company that builds cloud platforms for customer service, support, sales and employee communication. In February 2026, AQ® Certified coach Sheila Drum ran the AQme® assessment across a 17-person Zendesk leadership team and delivered the team debrief at the start of a global leadership offsite.
Because the company was accelerating AI integration and restructuring roles around it, and the real pressure was not adopting AI tools but sustaining the people expected to absorb that change. The team faced continuous upskilling, flattening structures and uncertainty about future roles, and needed a shared way to name both its adaptability strengths and its change fatigue.
The data showed a team receptive to change but not yet resourced to execute it. 47% of the team scored high in Mindset, while 47% scored low in Change Readiness and 59% scored low in both Grit and Unlearning. The analysis was built around four Advanced Metrics: Explore and Transform, Utilise and Improve, Reskill Index, and Change Readiness.
Leaders gained a shared language for adaptability that normalised change fatigue, so the team could openly discuss where they were struggling and support one another. Across the offsite's AI workshops and innovation labs, members shifted from passive concern about change to actively proposing and presenting solutions, and the team introduced monthly innovation-sharing sessions to sustain momentum.
AQ® measures adaptability, the capacity to navigate change, complexity and uncertainty, across three dimensions: Ability, Character and Environment. Unlike engagement surveys or personality tests, AQ® measures what people can do when the ground shifts, not how they feel or who they are. Delivered by an AQai® Certified Partner, it gives leadership teams a shared, evidence-based language for adaptability.
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