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 »
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 »
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 »
How seeing systems reduces your overwhelm and increases your influence Dear Change Leader, “I kept thinking there had to be one key thing causing our retention problem,” explained David, a department head at a consulting firm. “I’d tackle communication, then discover it was workload. I’d address workload, then find out it was career development.
Seeing the Systems that Enable Everything Read More »
Dear Change Leader, “I thought I understood what was happening until I talked to someone in HR,” Marcus shared during a recent conversation. As Director of Operations for a growing tech company, Marcus had been wrestling with persistent delays in product launches. For weeks, he’d been focusing on what seemed obvious: the development team needed
The Perspectives that Shift Everything Read More »
Michael joins Carol Hamilton to unpack why psychological safety is far more than a ‘soft’ concept — it is the foundation that allows teams to innovate, raise hard questions, and navigate change without fear. Drawing on real client experience, Michael outlines the practical steps nonprofit leaders can take to build genuine safety into their culture,
Building Psychological Safety in Nonprofit Organizations Read More »
Dear Change Leader, “I think I’ve been asking the wrong questions,” Sarah confided during our coaching session last week. As VP of Operations for a mid-sized company, Sarah had been struggling with an impossible challenge: her team consistently missed deadlines despite working long hours. For months, she’d focused on one question: “How can we get
The Questions That Change Everything Read More »
Dear Change Leader, I’m writing this newsletter shortly after the summer solstice, almost at the midpoint of the year, as people traditionally prepare for their summer holidays. Given this transition point, I’d like to explore the benefit of pausing in the midst of what continues to be a hectic year. Imagine that you are
Appreciating The Clearing: Finding Perspective in the Midst of the Journey Read More »
Dear Change Leader, Picture this: A small dinosaur stands at the edge of a cliff, its body covered in what we now know were primitive feathers—originally evolved for warmth and display, not flight. Below stretches an unfamiliar landscape, changed by shifting climates and new predators. The old hunting grounds have dried up. The familiar food
Sudden, large-scale growth — even when it is welcome — can destabilise an organisation that is not prepared for it. In this conversation with Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeijken, Michael explores how nonprofits can build the organisational readiness to absorb transformational gifts and rapid scaling without losing the culture, mission focus, and operational discipline that made them
What Nonprofits Must Know About Transformational Gifts and Sudden Growth 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 »