Amy Hegarty: You Can't Transform a Business Without Change

When I became CEO of Synchtank, I knew there was a huge opportunity in front of us. I believed in the people, the technology and what this business could become. What I hadn't fully appreciated was how quickly I'd have to make some pretty difficult decisions.

It didn't take long to realize that knowing what needs to change and actually changing it are two very different things. We had years of experience and a lot to be proud of. But we also had to get really clear on who we were, what problems we solved and what kind of company we wanted to become.

Knowing What Needs To Change

One of the hardest things about changing an established business is recognizing that something can have been absolutely the right decision five years ago and no longer be right today. That doesn't mean anyone got it wrong. It means the business has changed, and we have to be willing to change with it.

I wanted to understand where Synchtank had come from before deciding where we needed to go. That meant listening, asking a lot of questions and, yes, challenging some things people were very used to. Some decisions were pretty easy. Others? Not so much.

And sometimes the decision that's been waiting for years suddenly needs to be made by Friday.

You can spend an enormous amount of time worrying about whether you're making the right decision. Believe me, I've done plenty of that. But eventually you have to decide, explain why, and own what happens next. I haven't always got it right, and I'm sure I won't always get it right in the future.

Being Honest About the Journey

One of the biggest things I’ve focused on at Synchtank is communication. With our employees, our customers, and with each other. I’m a pretty direct person (which will surprise absolutely no one who’s worked with me 😂), but I’ve always believed you can be direct without being unkind.

When a company is going through change, people have questions. They want to know what’s happening, why it’s happening, and what it means for them. And I think they deserve honest answers, even when those answers aren’t necessarily what they want to hear.

That doesn’t mean you have all the answers. Sometimes you don’t. But you can be honest about what you know, what you don’t know, and what you’re trying to accomplish. Trust isn’t something you earn once and then get to keep forever. You have to keep earning it.

Nobody really tells you how much of being CEO involves repeating yourself. The strategy. The priorities. The direction. Sometimes I think I should just record myself and hit play. But I've learned that just because I've said something doesn't mean everyone has heard it, understood it or connected it to their own work. So yes, I keep saying it.

The People You Surround Yourself With

I love working with people who make me stop and think, 'Damn, you're good at what you do.' They aren't necessarily the loudest people in the room or the ones with the biggest titles. They're curious, they ask good questions, they challenge assumptions and they care enough to make things better. And I learn from them all the time. I’m lucky enough to work with people like this every single day.

I want people around me who aren’t afraid to challenge ideas, including mine. We don’t have to agree on everything, but we do need to remember we’re all working toward the same goal. I’ve never been particularly impressed by titles or hierarchy. What matters to me is whether people are willing to roll up their sleeves, work together, and solve problems. The last thing I want is an environment where everyone is so focused on whose responsibility something is that nothing actually gets done.

Someone recently asked me what makes a person invaluable to a company. My answer was pretty simple: someone who can figure things out and make things happen. We hire smart people for a reason. I don’t want to tell them how to do their jobs. I want to give them the freedom to do what they’re good at, challenge things that don’t make sense, and come up with better ways of doing things. But that freedom also comes with accountability. We all have to own our decisions, including me, and be willing to acknowledge when something didn’t work.

Finding the Balance Between Kindness and Accountability

I care a lot about the people I work with. I want them to feel valued, supported, and comfortable being themselves. But caring about people doesn’t mean avoiding difficult conversations. In fact, sometimes it means having the conversations you’d really rather not have.

Some of the hardest conversations are with people you genuinely like and respect. You can understand why someone feels strongly about the way things have always been done and still know that the business needs something different. Those aren't fun conversations. But avoiding them doesn't make you kinder. It just delays the problem.

I’ve never understood why people think empathy and accountability can’t coexist. You can genuinely care about someone and still hold them accountable. You can listen to a different perspective, respect it, and still make a decision that someone isn’t going to like. Being kind doesn’t mean making everyone happy. And being accountable doesn’t mean you stop caring about people. Finding that balance isn’t always easy. I’m still learning, and I suspect I always will be.

Looking Ahead

More than two years into this role, we’re still evolving. We’ve made some big changes, strengthened our leadership team, gotten much clearer about who we are and what we want to accomplish, and put a lot more focus on how we deliver value to our customers. I’m proud of how far we’ve come, but believe me, we still have plenty of work ahead of us.

The opportunity I saw when I first joined Synchtank hasn’t changed. If anything, I believe in it even more today. What has changed is my understanding of just how much work it takes to move an established company forward. It takes patience, persistence, uncomfortable decisions and a whole lot of people who believe in what you’re building together. There’s something incredibly rewarding about watching people embrace change, start thinking differently and accomplish things that maybe didn’t seem possible a year ago. Those are the moments that remind me why we’re doing all of this in the first place.

Transformation isn't something you announce in a company meeting and then check off a list. I wish it were that simple! It's a hundred decisions, conversations and course corrections, often happening while you're juggling ten other things. Some days it feels like real progress. Other days you wonder whether you’ve accomplished a damn thing. But then something finally comes together, someone on your team surprises you, and suddenly all those difficult decisions start to feel worthwhile.

I don't have all the answers. What I do have is a team of people who care deeply about this business, challenge each other and keep showing up to make it better. I don't take that for granted, and I'm more confident than ever about what we're building together. When I first joined Synchtank, I saw its potential. Today, I understand a lot more about what it will take to realize it, and I believe in it even more. So where do we go from here? That’s what I’ll get into in Part 3.