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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate how organizations navigate change to survive and thrive amid complexity and uncertainty. Through a single qualitative case study of Aura-Serenity Bedding (ASB), a company that successfully emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the research examines how executive leaders make meaning of change, implement adaptive strategies, and create environments that build organizational resilience. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight executive leaders involved in ASB’s transformation. The findings reveal that successful change navigation requires: (1) embracing paradoxical tensions rather than seeking resolution; (2) building multi-level learning systems that support individual, team, and organizational adaptation; (3) demonstrating leadership fluidity across operational, enabling, and administrative roles; (4) recognizing and addressing the human costs of transformation; and (5) understanding organizational change as a nonlinear, multi-level process. This study contributes to complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory and complexity leadership theory (CLT) by providing empirical evidence of their practical applications. The findings offer significant implications for change management, leadership development, and organizational development in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments.