Meet Esther De La Cruz, Change Specialist, and Executive Leadership Change Advisor

Esther De La Cruz is an experienced Change Specialist, with a passion for humanising change in organisations, making the complex simple and empowering leaders at all levels of the organisation to be actively involved in supporting their staff through disruptive change.

She’s the author of the book “Leading Technology-Driven Transformation”, which is available in Dymocks stores around Australia and on Amazon and Booktopia.

She’s a results-driven professional with over twenty years of experience supporting executives and middle management to support their staff through complex mergers, as well as high profile business transformation projects including Salesforce, Master Data Management system and Data Governance implementation, a company-wide SAP implementation, several Management System implementations, and Supply Chain Integration projects.

She worked across a range of different industries in four different countries such as; Aged Care, Financial Services, Airline, Government, Medical Device Sterilisation, Chemical Manufacturing, and Tourism.

She gained extensive experience in what it takes to lead the change as it’s happening, but also ensure the change is embedded and realises the benefits for the organisation. Through experience and continuous learning, she has a track record of supporting executives to create transparency, trust, and highly collaborative work environments in which everyone involved can thrive and achieve change success.

For more details, visit their website here.

Here we sit down with Esther, to know a bit more about her journey as an entrepreneur.

Q. What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?

Esther: I wanted to have the freedom to work on my own terms towards both helping organisations cope with change as well as being able to give back to less fortunate societies and I knew this wasn’t possible in a salaried role.

Q. How did you get started?

Esther: I started as an independent contractor and was recruited by organisations through agencies on a daily rate and set period of time.

I now get approached by organisations directly with a ‘change challenge’ and define an outcomes-based State of Work to be agreed with the organization/ company.

Q. What was your biggest startup challenge? What steps did you take to overcome it? What did you learn?

Esther: My biggest startup challenge is that I couldn’t get away with ‘just’ being an experienced Change Specialist, I had to learn how to generate interest in what services I offer (or problems I solve) and be able to turn leads into paying clients.

I’ve got a mentor who coaches and guides me on the above as well as helps me to define my service offerings. I also have followed multiple entrepreneurial programs and do daily learning through podcasts, LinkedIn learning, and books. I also have started a side hustle in skincare to learn more about business, the marketing, and the sales process at lower risk to my core business.

Q. What is the Most Memorable Thing You’ve Done Since you Started your Business?

Esther: I’ve authored and released my very own book and had a reasonably successful book launch at Dymocks in Sydney CBD.

Support the acquisition of a division of a large corporate by a very small start-up company. I worked (and still do) directly with the executives to manage the communications and engagement of staff and stakeholders on both sides as well as the integration of the two businesses into one company.

Q. What is one book you recommend, and why?

Esther: There’s a list that pops up in my mind but if I have to pick one, I’d say Leaders Eat Last.

I think Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek is a great way to educate today’s leaders on what their role is as a leader, and it will open up the conversation about how Leaders are there to serve the people in their care and not be too focused on their own agenda.

Q. What are your top 3 favourite online apps, tools, or resources and what do you love about them?

Esther: Ms. Teams — love that you can have meetings, record them, chat, save and share and collaborate on documents all in one place.

LinkedIn Learning — I like how you can find all kinds of short sharp learning modules on here and even engage with the content through quiz’s testing what you’ve learnt.

Journal — Daily gratitude journal app — with positive quotes to evolve a positive outlook and mindset

Q. In terms of legacy, what is the mark you’d like to leave on the world?

Esther: I’d like to be known for humanising change in companies across the world and with that help people endure less stress at work due to change, become more change resilient, and even thrive during times of change.

Q. In one sentence, what’s the best advice you’d give to someone just starting out on their entrepreneurial journey?

Esther: Ensure that the drivers for your entrepreneurial journey are deeper than wealth and success and something you feel deeply passionate about, you love to do even if you did it for free.

To keep up to date with Esther and her journey, connect with her on LinkedIn.