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 »
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 »
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 »
Michael joins Carol Hamilton to explore how psychological safety—often dismissed as a “soft” concept—plays a critical role in team performance, learning, and innovation. Listen Learn more about Team Development
Building Psychological Safety in Nonprofit Organizations Read More »
Michael speaks with Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeijken about how organizations can prepare themselves to receive and use large investments to spur growth. Listen
What Nonprofits Must Know About Transformational Gifts and Sudden Growth Read More »
Dear Change Leader, When a storm strikes, it’s not the strongest tree that necessarily survives—it’s the grove with intertwined root systems supporting each other through the gale. As we continue exploring resilience, let’s focus on what might be the most powerful dimension: relational resilience—the unique strength that emerges when teams bond through disruption. The
The Bonds That Rebuild: Cultivating Team Resilience Read More »
Dear Change Leader, Imagine this scene with me… It’s a windy day in the forest. Trees sway dramatically as gusts intensify, their rustling growing louder in your ears. Suddenly, one tree—its roots perhaps not as deeply anchored as others—topples onto a power line. An electrical arc sends sparks flying in all directions. In these
Finding Renewal in Disruption: The Forest Fire Principle of Resilience Read More »
Dear Change Leader, Ready. Fire. Aim. Sound familiar? If you’re wincing right now, you’re not alone. This all-too-common approach to change initiatives might be the most expensive three-word sequence in business. As one veteran change leader noted in Bent Flyvbjerg’s “How Big Things Get Done”: “Change Projects, not only do they often
How hard can it be to develop a plan? You’d be surprised at just how challenging it can be! There are so many things that can go wrong – both in the process of developing the plan, and in the process of implementing the plan. But I think there is one common issue that shows up
Planning the Work – a practical tool for teams Read More »
When was the last time you had space to truly think through a major organizational change before you were in the midst of it? It’s probably been a while, right? What’s Going On? To be fair, there are occasions when there truly is limited time to plan and prepare—like a crisis or emergency that
In a world where company growth and success should fuel employee satisfaction, 67% of staff are not positively engaged. Here’s why, and what you can do about it. The Engagement Paradox I recently heard from an executive-level leader at a growing company. This company was good at what it did, it had a sterling reputation,
I’d never witnessed this before. A national election was threatening to tear a country apart. A high risk of violence by supporters of the losing party. Uncertainty about how the work of our organization would be impacted by the new government. I was unsure who I could trust in the workplace to speak about my