Abstract
Healthcare organizations operate in increasingly complex environments shaped by technological disruption, workforce strain, regulatory pressure, financial uncertainty, and evolving patient expectations. This study examines healthcare professionals’ change-style preferences using the Change Style Indicator (CSI) and explores their implications for healthcare leadership, organizational transformation, and neuro-inclusive change management. A longitudinal descriptive and qualitative study analyzed CSI assessment data from 140 graduate healthcare professionals enrolled in a Complex Health Systems graduate business administration program between 2020 and 2026. Written reflections were analyzed using qualitative content analysis to identify themes across Conserver, Pragmatist, and Originator orientations. Pragmatists represented the dominant change orientation, followed by Originators and Conservers. Findings highlighted the complementary value of all three styles: Conservers emphasized structure, safety, reliability, and compliance; Pragmatists emphasized collaboration, stakeholder engagement, balance, and implementation; and Originators emphasized innovation, systems thinking, transformation, and challenging the status quo. Findings support leadership approaches that recognize diverse responses to change and intentionally integrate these perspectives, advancing neuro-inclusive change management by framing differences as sources of organizational learning rather than resistance.