The Message That Moves People: How to Communicate Change So It Lands There’s a moment most leaders recognize. You’ve done the hard work. You understand the forces shaping your situation. You know who’s with you and who isn’t. You’ve mapped a direction and are ready to start moving forward. And then you have to […]
Leadership in Action: Communicating Change Read More »
Change Is the Constant. What Comes Next Is What We’re Figuring Out Together. Dear Change Leader, When Marcus took over as Director of Operations, he thought the hardest part would be learning the role. He was wrong. The hardest part was learning that the role kept changing — sometimes weekly. A restructuring here. A
A new name — and the idea behind it Read More »
Small Actions, Big Shifts: How Psychological Safety Spreads Culture change has a reputation for being enormous, expensive, and slow. We picture multi-year transformation initiatives, organization-wide training programs, and consultants with PowerPoint decks the size of small novels. But here’s what decades of working with leaders across more than twenty-five countries has taught me about psychological
Small Actions, Big Shifts: How Psychological Safety Spreads Read More »
Unstuck: How to Start Moving When the Destination Isn’t Clear There’s a particular kind of organizational paralysis I’m observing these days. Facing a context that keeps shifting, wondering whether the resources required to reach your goals will be available, and growing doubts about whether the established vision is still within reach. The need to respond
Leadership in Action: Planning the Direction of Change Read More »
Dear Change Leader, I want to share something I’ve been sitting with. I’ve been talking with colleagues lately — consultants and coaches with deep experience helping leaders navigate exactly the kind of turbulence that’s defining this moment. And almost to a person, they’re describing the same thing: the leaders who most need support aren’t reaching
The silence speaks volumes Read More »
Dear Change Leader, Jennifer kept telling herself that she had been through bigger challenges than this. She’d navigated a merger. She’d led a team through a funding crisis. She’d earned her seat at the table through a decade of hard-won experience. So when her organization restructured, and her role shifted — same level, but a
Who Are You When Everything Around You Changes? Read More »
Three months ago, it was the start of a new year. Your team returned from the holiday break, refreshed and ready to commit to a set of priorities for 2026. You had clarity, you had intent, and, perhaps, even genuine momentum. January, like it often does, felt like a fresh start. And now it’s April
Leadership In Action: Is Your Team Still Running on January’s Map? Read More »
Dear Change Leader, Sandra had been in her new role as Vice President for six months when she noticed something she hadn’t expected. She had the title. She had the team. She had the authority to make decisions she’d once had to wait for others to make. And yet, sitting in her office after another
You’re Not Meant to Lead Alone Read More »
Dear Change Leader, “We just need to give it more time,” David told me. He was six months into a major restructuring at his regional healthcare network — new reporting lines, redesigned workflows, a leadership team that had been reshuffled twice. On paper, the plan was solid. But the signals were troubling: key staff were
Are You Being Persistent — or Simply Stubborn? Read More »
Preparing for Change: Knowing Who’s With You and Who’s Not When you’re leading change, it’s natural to focus on the work itself—the strategy, the plan, the timeline. But there’s another layer that often determines whether change succeeds or stalls: the people. Every change effort has stakeholders—people who will be affected, people who hold influence,
Leadership In Action: Stakeholders in Change Read More »
Peak performance can be a warning sign. Here’s how to read it before the slide begins. Dear Change Leader, Let me ask you a question that might be uncomfortable: Is your current success setting you up for future decline? Sit with that for a moment. It sounds counterintuitive. Things are working. People are delivering. The
Is Your Success Setting You Up for Decline? Read More »
Dear Change Leader, “I need to protect my team from all this chaos,” Priya told me during a recent coaching session. As CEO of a growing company, she’d been absorbing every shock from the organization’s turbulent environment — shielding her directors and managers from the worst of the uncertainty. She meant well. But when I
Disruption Is Your Teacher: Developing Leaders in Today’s Environment Read More »