The most successful transformations are rarely driven by structures, systems, or strategy alone. They are driven by people, their experiences, their perspectives, and their ability to navigate change together. Yet, in many organisations, the human side of transformation remains the most overlooked element of all.
For Lana Johnston, understanding people has never been a professional skill acquired over time; it has been a lifelong perspective shaped by community, connection, and a deep appreciation for the impact leaders can have on those around them. Throughout her career, she has consistently challenged the notion that organisational change is primarily about processes and frameworks, instead championing a people-first approach that helps organisations create meaningful and sustainable outcomes.
Today, as the Founder of Taking It Forward and the driving force behind Connection with Lana, she works at the intersection of organisational design, leadership, workforce transformation, and human connection. Her work focuses on helping organisations navigate complexity while ensuring that the people affected by change remain at the centre of every decision.
In this insightful conversation, Lana reflects on the experiences that shaped her leadership philosophy, the achievements that matter most to her, the future of organisational design in an AI-driven world, and the lessons she believes every aspiring leader should embrace. Her journey offers valuable perspectives for anyone seeking to build stronger organisations, lead with greater intention, and create lasting impact through meaningful connection.
Where Community Shaped Leadership
Lana Johnston grew up in an environment where community wasn't a concept, it was simply how people lived.
Her father was the kind of person who showed up everywhere: coach, mentor, committee member, the one who stayed after everyone else had gone home. He wore many hats, and he wore them willingly. He also made sure his family was alongside him every step of the way.
That experience shaped how Lana sees people and organisations more than any formal education ever could.
From an early age, she naturally gravitated toward leadership roles, serving as a school captain, taking on leadership positions in her hobbies, and consistently stepping forward before consciously deciding to do so. Looking back, she views those experiences not as coincidences but as the natural result of growing up with a role model who demonstrated what genuine investment in people looks like.
Her career has been a continuation of those early lessons rather than a departure from them. Over the years, she has worked within complex organisations, particularly in and around HR and people functions, often witnessing decisions being made about people's futures without those individuals having meaningful input in the process.
It was within that gap, between leadership decisions and employee experiences, that her work began to take shape. What she observed repeatedly was that the most difficult aspect of change was never the structure itself; it was always the people navigating it.
Building Change Through People
Today, Lana is the Founder of Taking It Forward, a people-led transformation advisory based in Brisbane. The organisation works with mid-to-large organisations navigating significant transformations, restructures, mergers, demergers, and acquisitions.
The firm's work focuses on two key areas: Organisational Design, including structure, target operating models, consultation, and change, and People Practices, encompassing workforce planning, employee experience, frameworks, and practices.
What distinguishes Taking It Forward is its ability to operate alongside existing HR teams at a strategic level. Rather than replacing internal HR functions, the firm provides the strategic depth, perspective, and capability that many teams struggle to dedicate while managing day-to-day business operations.
Central to its approach is a simple philosophy: listen first, solve second. For Lana, this is not a slogan but a practical methodology. She firmly believes that listened-to change creates possibility.
Alongside Taking It Forward, she also leads Connection with Lana, a passion-driven initiative focused on helping people build deeper and more meaningful connections with their ageing loved ones. While different in context, both ventures are grounded in the same belief, that meaningful human connection sits at the centre of lasting impact.
The Achievements That Matter Most
When reflecting on achievement, Lana is most proud of the work that never makes headlines.
She values the moments when leaders enter a restructure believing it is simply a structural exercise and emerge with a deeper understanding of the unseen challenges their people have been carrying. She values the organisations that begin transformation programs convinced they know the problem, only to discover through listening what is truly happening beneath the surface.
Most importantly, she values the moments when leaders stop defending plans and start genuinely asking what their people need to succeed. In her experience, those are the moments that create meaningful and lasting change.
She also acknowledges the importance of her early career experiences in shaping her leadership philosophy. During her time at NAB, she became one of the youngest female Business Bankers and achieved the top results in her district. Beyond being a professional milestone, the experience taught her that commercial excellence and genuine care for people can coexist.
Those formative years also provided her first significant leadership opportunities, including building start-up teams, managing large geographically dispersed teams, and leading as many as 29 direct reports across multiple locations. The complexity and responsibility of those roles became the foundation for how she approaches structure, accountability, and leadership today.
Preparing Organisations for What's Next
Looking ahead, Lana's focus is increasingly centred on the intersection of autonomous AI and organisational design.
Rather than observing these changes from the sidelines, she is actively working within this space, helping organisations prepare for workforce disruption that many have yet to fully anticipate.
For her, the critical question is no longer whether AI will transform the way work gets done, it already is. The challenge lies in whether organisations build their structures and people strategies around this reality from the outset or attempt to retrofit solutions later. As she notes, retrofitting is almost always more difficult and more costly.
To address this challenge, she is helping develop the thinking, tools, and frameworks organisations need to proactively navigate the future rather than react to it.
At the same time, Taking It Forward has developed a dedicated support program for people leaders managing significant organisational change. Lana believes leadership during periods of transformation has become one of the most demanding roles within any organisation and that businesses must provide stronger support systems rather than expecting leaders to navigate these complexities alone.
Staying Close to the Complexity
One of the ways Lana maintains a competitive edge is by staying deeply connected to the work itself.
Rather than operating from a distance and delivering generic recommendations, she immerses herself in organisational environments, engages directly with people, and develops an understanding of what is truly happening before forming conclusions.
She believes much of today's advisory work relies heavily on templates and recycled frameworks. In contrast, her approach is grounded in learning before advising, ensuring that each engagement is built on insight rather than assumption.
Beyond client work, she continually invests in understanding emerging trends and future workforce realities. Her ongoing work at the intersection of AI, robotics, and organisational design reflects her commitment to helping organisations prepare for what lies ahead.
She also credits her professional network as a key source of growth and perspective. By surrounding herself with respected peers who challenge her thinking and push her to evolve, she ensures her work remains relevant, informed, and forward-looking.
Lessons for the Next Generation of Leaders
For aspiring professionals and entrepreneurs, Lana's advice is straightforward: stop waiting until you feel ready.
She believes clarity is gained through action rather than preparation, and that progress comes from doing the work rather than endlessly preparing to begin.
She also encourages professionals to distinguish between being busy and being strategic. While activity may keep a business running, meaningful growth comes from focusing on the work that truly builds something sustainable.
Above all, she emphasises that people are not a secondary consideration in business, they are the business itself. Organisations that prioritise their people consistently perform better, adapt more effectively, retain talent more successfully, and create stronger long-term outcomes.
For Lana, building a career, business, or leadership philosophy around that principle is not only good practice, it is the foundation of meaningful and lasting success.
Conclusion
Lana Johnston's journey serves as a powerful reminder that meaningful transformation begins long before strategies are implemented or structures are redesigned. At its core, lasting change is about understanding people, listening to their experiences, and creating environments where they can thrive. Throughout her career, she has consistently demonstrated that the most effective solutions emerge not from assumptions, but from genuine connection and thoughtful engagement.
Whether supporting organisations through complex transformations, helping leaders navigate uncertainty, or encouraging deeper connections within families and communities, her work is united by a simple yet profound belief: people are not separate from the success of an organisation, they are its foundation. This perspective has shaped her approach to leadership, organisational design, and business, enabling her to create impact that extends far beyond traditional measures of success.
As workplaces continue to evolve and new technologies reshape the future of work, Lana remains focused on helping organisations prepare with intention, clarity, and a people-centred mindset. Her insights highlight the importance of balancing innovation with humanity, ensuring that progress is not only efficient but also meaningful.
Her story is one of leadership grounded in connection, curiosity, and purpose, a journey that continues to inspire organisations and individuals alike to rethink how they lead, adapt, and move forward together.
- LinkedIn - Lana Johnston
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