all Financial institution He talks about transformation. Technical work may attract headlines, but organizational work often determines whether new initiatives succeed or fail.
Jay MicheliniVice President of Product at Capital One BusinessHe said successful change management begins before the new software reaches production. The first responsibility of leaders is to make some employees understand why change is happening.
“You have to come up with the ‘why,’” Michelini told PYMNTS in an interview.
inside Financial technology Space, new entrants, changing customer expectations and emerging technologies regularly reshape priorities. Leaders should acknowledge that constant adjustment has become part of the work environment rather than treating each shift as an isolated event, Michelini said.
He also argued against relying solely on executive messages. Organizations benefit when they identify employees who are truly interested in a particular initiative and can help explain its practical value throughout the business. Whether the topic is a product update or new ability to pay, internal champions often have more credibility than formal announcements alone.
Ownership also depends on showing employees how their work impacts people outside their immediate teams.
Michelini described three perspectives that help create this connection: understanding customer needs first-hand, appreciating how executive colleagues experience day-to-day work, and recognizing how competitive developments across the fintech sector are reshaping expectations. Each offers a different reason for embracing change, making the discussion less abstract and more relevant to day-to-day responsibilities.
Michelini encouraged product leaders to spend time with customers and internal stakeholders rather than relying exclusively on reports or dashboards.
“I spent some time visiting with our sales team…it was absolutely amazing sitting down with them directly,” Michelini said. “You see different angles to a problem…You have to have conviction about the direction you’re headed but be open to different perspectives and feedback that might change your mind or adjust your course of travel.”
Michelini says that organizational change often falters when departments work independently rather than together. Instead of treating product, technology, operations, compliance, and other functions as hierarchical checkpoints, leaders should use them to shape decisions from the beginning.
Leaders can often tell if collaboration is real by asking simple questions during a project review. Were operational teams consulted ahead of time? Have legal and risk partners already been evaluated? Is this the first time an executive stakeholder has heard about an important initiative? These signals reveal whether teams are solving problems collectively or just handing them off to someone else.
Listening uncovers issues before dashboards do
Managers must also reconsider how they measure progress during periods of change, Michelini said. Delivery schedules and performance metrics remain important, but they rarely determine whether a team is under unnecessary pressure or whether obstacles are beginning to undermine morale.
“Instead of asking where it is… (ask): ‘How do you feel about how progress is going?’” Michelini said. “That shift in framing gives you a better sense … that this might be moving forward, but it might not be a great thing for this team.”
This approach can uncover issues that traditional reporting ignores. Teams may technically meet deadlines while relying on excessive overtime or waiting for decisions from other parts of the organization. These conversations also help leaders identify where they can remove obstacles rather than just observing them.
Cross-functional partners often provide another useful perspective because they work across multiple initiatives at once, Michelini said. Functions such as legal, compliance, risk, and product professionals can quickly identify where collaboration is working well and where projects are creating avoidable friction.
“I am thinking of creating missionaries, not mercenaries,” Michelini said. “It’s very important to enable teams to outperform you.”
On an individual level, he added, “I don’t have all the answers.”
a witness Full interview With Capital One’s Jay Michelini to learn more about:
- Why front-line employees often provide the first warning signs that a transformation is going off track, Michelini said.
- How product leaders can use trusted delegates within other business units to build stronger executive alignment.
- Why recognize cross-functional partners before your team can foster future collaboration?
- The practical difference between leadership with certainty and leadership with conviction.
