Linked with the first characteristic, effective change agents were seen to have a strong track record of making good decisions on behalf of the business.

"If you've got it [credibility] people respect you and if you can develop credibility within the business, that makes a massive, massive difference." (CEO)

"Over and above the basic things, track record is very important for us. What has this person actually done? That doesn't mean that they can't have failures in their life, failures are fine, but we like to back people who have a track record, who are great at building teams." (CEO)

"I think as a change agent, you need to be credible in what you do regardless of what it is. That way the CEO builds respect for your work. If you want to actually have conversations with them about this, they need to respect you for what you do." (Change Agent)