The Challenges & Triumphs of Change with Elise Misse

This month, I spoke to Elise Misse. Elise has worked in a range of businesses. From the renowned Ehrenberg-Bass Institute in Australia to client-side roles with Nestle, Philip Morris International and Ricola, for example. She is currently studying for a doctorate in business administration at the Grenoble Ecole de Management.   

Hi Elise, what do you think is the key ingredient to creating change with insight?
I think it starts with realising that an Insights role isn’t just about generating robust insights. But it’s about influencing decisions, often without formal authority. Many of the hardest changes happen through credibility, trust, and relationships rather than titles.

When you say influence, how do you think insight should influence decisions?

I think it’s important to understand that Insights should inform decisions, not dictate them. The goal is not for Insights to “win.” The goal is to use insight to ensure that decisions are better informed. When Insights are used as a blunt instrument, they create resistance. When they enable shared understanding, they create momentum. 

Does positioning Insights in this way increase the chances of Insights Teams being “at the table”?

Yes, but even once you’re “at the table”, it’s important to make sure that you can contribute to the discussions that are taking place.   

In many senior settings, I’ve often been one of the few women at the table, which can make being heard sometimes more challenging. Having strong male allies who actively create space, sometimes as simply by saying “Elise was trying to make a point” has made a tangible difference.

Insights cannot drive change if the people holding them don’t have voice. The effectiveness of Insight functions depends as much on inclusive meeting dynamics as it does on the quality of the evidence itself.  

Is there anything else Insight professionals can do to make sure they contribute to the discussions that inform change?

Yes, we can play a role in driving and accelerating change when we understand other people’s jobs. And this applies to everyone. Not just Insight Teams.

A large part of an Insight’s role is building context across functions. For example, helping marketers understand sales realities. Helping local teams understand global strategy, and vice versa. The more shared understanding there is, the less friction there is. And friction is often the barrier to change.

That’s why I often see myself as a connector, almost a ‘media channel’ between teams.

• “Hey marketing, go talk to sales in X market.”

• “Hey global, here’s what local teams are actually seeing.”

The last point is especially important. Insights sit at a unique intersection where local and global knowledge can be connected to drive growth. But that connect isn’t possible without knowing other people’s jobs and connecting with different business functions.

You’ve worked in some great organisations. What has this taught you about being able to drive change?

I started my career at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute. One of the Institute’s main beliefs is that sustainable growth comes from mental availability and consistency. But many organisations still operate under quarterly targets. One of the key challenges is helping leaders hold both horizons at once so they can balance long-term brand building with short-term pressures.

My recent studies have also reinforced two things to me.

Firstly, that empathy and collaboration aren’t ‘soft skills’. They can be core drivers of change. Much of the real work happens in strengthening collaboration between people and teams, creating psychological safety around evidence, and making it acceptable to challenge assumptions constructively. 

And secondly, that the emotional side of change is often underestimated. Insights can challenge identities, past decisions, and power structures. Understanding the human dynamics such as defensiveness, fatigue, pride, fear is as important as the data itself.

Have you had any formal training in change management? Or the areas you associate with being able to drive change?

I have completed a few short courses and applied it in practice throughout my career. That said, I have found that while the technical side of change is often well covered, the “human” side is less so, particularly around how to be a leader in culturally relevant ways depending on who you’re leading. In global environments, people are often left to develop these skills informally through experience, rather than through structured training. This is one of the reasons I pursued my doctorate, which focuses on managerial behaviours at work. I hope the insights can make a small but meaningful contribution toward helping organisations build stronger, more sustainable leadership practices.

This interview was edited for brevity and clarity.