Dear Change Leader, “I realized I hadn’t looked up in about six months,” Naomi told me. Naomi is the VP of Operations at a regional logistics company. After a merger, she was handed the job of integrating two teams, two systems, and two ways of doing almost everything. She did what had always worked for […]
Are You Too Close to the Action, or Too Far From It Read More »
Dear Change Leader, Victor stood at the front of the all-hands and said the words he’d rehearsed: “We’re steady. We’ve weathered worse than this.” As VP of Client Services at a mid-sized consulting firm, he mostly believed it. Revenue was down, two competitors had made cuts, and the news outside the building was loud enough
You’re Not Leading the Organization You Think You Are Read More »
Dear Change Leader, Renata had made it through. As Executive Director of a regional literacy nonprofit, she’d spent the past year absorbing one hit after another: a major funder pulled back mid-grant cycle, two staff positions went unfilled after departures, and the remaining team quietly picked up the slack because the programs still needed to
Surviving Isn’t the Same as Being Resilient Read More »
Dear Change Leader, Priya came back from a week at the lake and, during her first Monday meeting, experienced an all-too-familiar feeling. Not from anything anyone said. She just looked at her calendar, noticed a tightness returning to her chest, and realized: she felt exactly as depleted as she had the Friday before she left.
The Vacation That Didn’t Work Read More »
Dear Change Leader, Marcus could be counted on to see the solution before anyone else in the room. As SVP of Operations in a national retailer, he’d built his entire career on his ability to cut straight to what mattered in a messy situation. It’s why he’d been promoted three times in six years. His
The Skill That Got You Promoted May Cause Your Failure Read More »
Dear Change Leader, Charles had done everything right. He’d led his team through a disruptive reorganization with clarity and discipline. He communicated at every stage. The plan was visible, documented, and shared. When his leadership team asked how things were going, he pointed to it with quiet satisfaction. But something was shifting. Staff had
When the Plan Becomes the Problem Read More »
Dear Change Leader, The meeting had been going well — until it wasn’t. Elena, the VP of Client Success, had just finished presenting her team’s quarterly numbers when David, the COO, cut in: “I don’t understand why we keep resources allocated to that program. The data doesn’t support it.” The temperature in the room shifted
Stop Defending Your Position. Start Sharing Your Thinking. Read More »
Dear Change Leader, Elena had been in her department head role for two years when the new organizational restructuring was announced. As her team’s questions mounted and anxiety spread through the hallways, she noticed something she hadn’t expected. It wasn’t the most senior people who were steadying the room. It was Darius — a mid-level
The Changemaker in the Room 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 »
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 »
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 »