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, and explains why leaders who skip this step consistently undermine their own change initiatives.
Michael Randel
Featured interviews on change management
Over a decade of appearances on stages, panels, and podcasts engaging leaders and executives from nonprofit, association, and corporations across the United States and around the world — exploring the ideas that drive lasting organizational change.
From psychological safety to the power of pushback, from navigating transformational gifts to helping leaders stop making the same five critical mistakes — Michael brings his 25+ years of change management experience to conversations that matter. Browse the full library below and discover the frameworks, stories, and strategies that RCA clients rely on every day.
Building Psychological Safety in Nonprofit Organizations
What Nonprofits Must Know About Transformational Gifts and Sudden Growth
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 successful in the first place.
The Prepared Organization with Michael Randel
What does it mean for a nonprofit to be truly prepared for change — not just reactive, but proactively resilient? Michael’s conversation with Mickey Desai centres on the critical role of identity and purpose clarity in enabling nimble, adaptive organisations. When a crisis hits, the organisations that navigate it fastest are those that already know who they are. Michael shares what that preparation looks like and how leaders can build it intentionally.
Five Critical Mistakes with Michael Randel
In this wide-ranging conversation, Michael and Mickey Desai dig into the five most common — and costly — mistakes that leaders make when trying to navigate organisational change. From underestimating resistance to skipping the stakeholder engagement phase, these are the patterns Michael has observed across 250+ client engagements over 25 years. If you lead a nonprofit or association and are approaching any kind of significant change, this episode is essential listening.
The Power of Pushback
Resistance is not the enemy of change — it is information. In this lively conversation with Cecilia Sepp, Michael reframes pushback as one of the most valuable signals a leader can receive during a change initiative. He shares why leaders who dismiss or suppress resistance consistently fail, and what it looks like to engage resisters productively so that their energy becomes a driver of — rather than a barrier to — successful change.
The Benefits of Coaching for Leaders
What happens when a leader invests in coaching — not for their team, but for themselves? Michael joins Sarah Olivieri to explore the underappreciated value of executive coaching for nonprofit leaders, including how coaching accelerates leadership development, reduces decision fatigue, and creates the reflective capacity that drives sustainable high performance. Michael draws on his work with executive directors and senior leaders across sectors to bring this conversation to life.
Navigating Culture Change
Culture change is one of the hardest things a nonprofit can attempt — and one of the most expensive to get wrong. Michael speaks with Haley Cooper about what culture change actually involves (beyond the posters and values statements), the real costs of staff turnover during change transitions, and how leaders can hold teams together while simultaneously moving them forward. A practical, candid conversation for any leader who suspects their culture may be holding them back.
Embracing the Gift of Resistance
Associations face a unique set of change challenges — balancing member expectations with the need to evolve, often with volunteer boards and distributed governance structures. Michael joins Elisa Pratt and Andrew Chamberlain on the Association Transformation podcast to explore how association leaders can stop fighting resistance and start listening to it. A must-listen for association executives navigating strategic transformation.
Mastering organizational change management: unveiling leadership mistakes
Why do smart, well-intentioned leaders keep making the same change management mistakes? Michael returns for a second conversation with Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeijken to go deeper on the psychology of resistance, the structural reasons change initiatives fail, and what leaders can do differently from the very first day of a change effort. Practical, evidence-based, and grounded in real-world client work.
6 Key Areas of Organizational Preparedness
What can nonprofits learn from MacKenzie Scott’s philanthropy about being ready to receive — and act on — opportunity? Michael joins Carol Hamilton to discuss the six key areas of organisational preparedness that determine whether a nonprofit can seize a major opportunity or is simply overwhelmed by it. Grounded in Michael’s research and client experience, this conversation offers a practical framework for building capacity before it is needed.
Creating a Foundation for Growth
What proactive steps can nonprofit leaders take today to create the organisational foundation that will support growth tomorrow? Michael speaks with Cynthia Sepp about the structures, habits, and leadership practices that separate organisations that grow sustainably from those that grow chaotically. An accessible, forward-looking conversation for executive directors who want to lead growth intentionally rather than reactively.
Five Critical Mistakes to Avoid In Navigating Nonprofit Change
Michael joins Patton McDowell for a frank conversation about the five mistakes that most frequently derail nonprofit change efforts — and what leaders can do instead. From failure to build a coalition of support to moving too fast without adequate communication, Michael draws on 25+ years of change management work to give listeners a clear-eyed checklist for avoiding the pitfalls that doom even well-resourced initiatives.
Seasons of Growth: A Gardener’s Approach to Change
Michael introduces the Seasons of Growth framework — his signature model for understanding and leading organisational change through three distinct phases: Prepare, Cultivate, and Harvest. Speaking with George Weiner, Michael explains how the gardening metaphor unlocks a more intuitive and humane way of thinking about change timelines, stakeholder engagement, and the patience required to grow something truly lasting. If you want to understand Michael’s core IP in one listen, start here.
Humans of Gestalt: Michael’s story
A more personal conversation — Michael speaks with Heather Anne Keyes about his life journey, the experiences that shaped him as a consultant and facilitator, and the values that underpin his work with leaders and organisations. If you want to understand not just what Michael does but why he does it, this reflective and warm interview offers a rare window into the person behind the practice.
Ready to bring these ideas into your organisation?
The ideas in these conversations aren’t just interesting — they are actionable. Whether you are navigating a merger, leading a culture shift, or preparing your organisation for its next phase of growth, RCA Change Advisors can help you put them into practice.