Welcome to Changemaker Stories from LOCAL – an ongoing series of personal interviews with leaders driving change across every industry and discipline. Because change shouldn’t mean going it alone.
This week, we sat down with William Riddick Jr., a seasoned HR leader currently at Paramount, where he supports CBS News through rapid disruption and reinvention. From early roles at Biolab and CNN to leading change across media, William has always gravitated toward environments in flux. That’s where he thrives—helping teams navigate uncertainty, build trust, and keep doing their best work no matter what’s happening around them. In our conversation, William shares what it means to be the calm in the storm, why storytelling beats strategy decks, and how design thinking can build cultures that aren’t just ready for change—but capable of owning it.
Unless it says ‘William Riddick Industries’ on the side of the building, I can’t control it. That’s my philosophy. There will always be things beyond your control—lawsuits, market swings, mergers. But there’s always something you can control. That’s where I keep my focus: the work, the team, the day-to-day rhythm of great journalism. If we stay grounded in that, we can weather anything.
I’ve always been drawn to companies in disruption. It’s not the chaos that excites me—it’s the opportunity. The chance to bring calm, clarity, and creativity to complex problems. At CNN, at Cox, and now at CBS News, I’ve learned that transformation isn’t just a business challenge. It’s a human one. And I want to be in the room helping people face it.
Growing up as a Navy brat taught me how to adapt. New cities, new schools, new routines — I got used to being the new kid fast. That shaped how I show up as a leader today. Change doesn’t rattle me. In fact, I get uncomfortable when things aren’t changing. I’d rather be in a place where the playbook might get blown up—because that’s when I get to help build something better.
“Lean into the discomfort. That’s how you grow.”
One of my mentors told me that early in my career, and she was right. Change is uncomfortable, even messy. But it’s also where growth lives—for individuals, teams, and entire organizations. The trick is to accept that discomfort, not fight it. When you do that, transformation becomes a lot less scary.
You can’t lead change if you’re not modeling it. People don’t just listen to what leaders say—they watch how they show up. If I’m panicked, my team will be too. If I’m calm and clear, they take that cue. The same goes for executives. Your words matter, but your behavior is what people believe.
Good communication is more than good messaging. I’ve seen leaders try to roll out boardroom strategies to frontline teams without translating them—and it falls flat every time. The best communicators ask: “What’s the emotional center of this change? Why should anyone care?” Storytelling helps bridge that gap. It turns abstract strategy into something people can see themselves in.
Design thinking changed how I approach transformation. When I was at Cox, I learned to treat change like a co-design process. Bring in different perspectives. Let teams prototype and poke holes. Make them part of the build. When people see their fingerprints on a new org model or workflow, they’re way more likely to champion it.
Change fails when people feel left behind. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen is leaders expecting people to get on board instantly, forgetting they’ve had months to rationalize the change themselves. You have to meet people where they are, give them time, give them context, and help them see the “why” and the “what’s in it for me.”
AI isn’t something to fear—it’s something to understand. At Paramount, we’re looking at AI from all angles: editorial integrity, union impact, and HR use cases. My take? AI is only as good as the data behind it. It can be powerful, but only if we’re thoughtful, ethical, and clear about how we use it.
Culture is the infrastructure of change. Without trust, without psychological safety, without connection — change will always feel like something happening to people instead of something they own. That’s why I invest in dialogue, design thinking, and storytelling. Because culture isn’t a side effect of change — It’s the foundation.
