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, “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, people
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 »
One Map, Many Eyes: Learning To See What Surrounds You When the environment around you keeps shifting, it’s tempting to stay heads-down and react to whatever comes next. But that approach has a cost. You end up making decisions based on partial information and assumptions you haven’t examined. Your team may be operating from
Leadership In Action: Context of Change Maps Read More »
Setting Your Change Initiative Up for Success Dear Change Leader, “We don’t have time to plan—we need to act now!” If you’ve felt this pressure, you’re in good company. The urgency to launch, to show progress, to respond to mounting demands—it’s real. Unfortunately, it’s often exactly what derails change before it has a chance
Measure Twice, Change Once Read More »
Dear Change Leader, Janus, the Roman god of doorways and transitions, possessed something most gods lacked: two faces, looking in opposite directions. One gazed backward, at the path traveled. The other looked forward, toward the road ahead. The Romans weren’t being whimsical. They understood something essential about transitions: you can’t move forward well without
“Looking Both Ways: The Janus principle for leaders navigating year-end transitions” Read More »
Most teams start January with renewed energy and all the best intentions to make positive changes for the year ahead. By February, the momentum inevitably stalls. By March, people have reverted to their usual ways of working. Successful teams invest time upfront to align on what work matters most for them to achieve their shared
Building Team Alignment for the New Year Read More »
Leading with presence when you don’t have all the solutions Dear Change Leader, “I need to have the answer before I can talk to my team,” Jennifer said during a recent call. As a senior leader, she’d been dealing with shifting customer demands and three rounds of budget revisions in the past six months.
Why Your Team Watches Your Calm, Not Your Answers Read More »
Finding Clarity in the Year-End Clearing December brings a peculiar challenge. As a leader, you’re expected to plan for the coming year—to set goals, establish priorities, and project confidence about a future you can’t fully see. But reacting and adapting to the current year’s constant disruptions has left you feeling exhausted, and the
Leadership In Action: Perspective Building Read More »
The Transparency Paradox Every Leader Faces Dear Change Leader, “I can’t tell them the whole truth,” Marcus said quietly. As Executive Director of a regional nonprofit, he’d been carrying difficult news for three months—uncertain funding, potential program and staff cuts, strategic questions about the organization’s future. “If my team knows how serious this is, they’ll
What Leaders Fear to Say (But Teams Need to Hear) Read More »