Change Signal: Modern Change Management that Works

Here are three big questions that Misha Glouberman asks in the quest for better change gatherings:

What if the way you’re structuring your events is stopping the very change you want to create?

How might things shift if you assumed everyone involved was a competent adult?

And are your “best practices” actually working against your goals?

Misha Glouberman is a master of human dynamics and group design — a facilitator who’s spent decades helping people run better meetings, conferences, and community events. In this short, lively conversation, he shares four simple rules for creating gatherings that actually work — and how those same rules apply to change projects of every kind.

You’ll hear why most organizations forget to ask the most basic question (“What’s this for?”), how to design experiences that align with your real goals, and why giving people more control creates more engagement, not chaos.

If your change initiatives involve bringing people together — in rooms, on screens, or across departments — this episode will make you rethink how you host, design, and lead.

Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change. If you’re a transformational leader seeking modern change mastery, you’re in exactly the right place.

***

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Here are three big questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez:

Are your projects actually shaping your future?

Is your team a true team — or just a group of people in meetings?

And what if success isn’t about deadlines at all?

Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, author of Powered by Projects and one of the world’s leading voices in project management, argues that most organizations are running too many projects — and mistaking motion for progress. Every project you approve is a bet on your organization’s future. Fewer, simpler, more purposeful projects deliver more meaningful change.

He challenges how we measure success, suggesting that being “on time and on budget” means very little if no one benefits from the outcome. Real success lies in delivering tangible value to stakeholders — even if that takes longer than planned.

And he’s refreshingly blunt about accountability: if your project doesn’t have a visible sponsor, stop it immediately. Because groups don’t deliver projects — teams do.

If you’re leading transformation or portfolio change, this conversation reframes project management from bureaucracy to boldness — and shows you how to make every project count.

Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change. If you’re a transformational leader seeking modern change mastery, you’re in exactly the right place.

***

WHEN YOU’RE READY

🎧 A new episode every week (and sometimes two!)

The Change Signal newsletter. Short, practical, weekly

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Here are three big questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Vanessa Bohns:

Are you overlooking the influence you already have?

What if social proof beats every logical argument?

Could your smallest comments be shaping culture the most?

Vanessa Bohns, professor of organizational behavior at Cornell and author of You Have More Influence Than You Think, has spent two decades studying how influence actually works — not in theory, but in the everyday reality of teams, leaders, and organizations.

We talk about why influence isn’t instant or obvious — it’s delayed, cumulative, and often invisible — and why showing people what their peers are doing changes behaviour faster than any motivational speech.

She also reveals how the tiniest inconsistencies, like a side comment or an eye roll, can quietly undo even the most polished change message.

And the practical takeaway? Be present, ask directly (and in person), and make it easy for people to say no, so their yes really means yes.

If you’re leading transformation or culture change, this conversation will help you see your influence — and your everyday leadership moments — in a whole new way.

Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change. If you’re a transformational leader seeking modern change mastery, you’re in exactly the right place.

***

WHEN YOU’RE READY

🎧 A new episode every week (and sometimes two!)

The Change Signal newsletter. Short, practical, weekly

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Here are three big insights that emerge from this Change Signal conversation with Hahrie Han:

Are you creating value or just convenience?;

Does belonging come before belief in your organization?; and

Are you building agency or just compliance?

Hahrie Han, political scientist at Johns Hopkins University and author of How Organizations Develop Activists and Undivided, has spent her career studying how people build power that lasts. She brings a sharp, human perspective on what drives genuine participation and why small, intentional acts often change systems more than sweeping plans.

The conversation explores why engagement depends less on ease and more on meaning, how “radical belonging” can transform even divided communities, and how leaders can use small, safe failures to build confidence and agency across teams.

You’ll also hear practical tools for turning involvement into influence — designing scaffolding that helps people learn from risk and own their results.

If you’re leading transformation, culture, or change projects in a big organization, this conversation offers fresh, grounded insight into how participation turns into durable power.

Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change. This is the podcast for transformational leaders seeking modern change mastery.

***

WHEN YOU’RE READY

🎧 A new episode every week (and sometimes two!)

The Change Signal newsletter. Short, practical, weekly

***

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SAY THANKS

💜Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

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Here are three big insights that emerge from this Change Signal conversation with Charles Vogl: 

Leadership maturity means rejecting the “Superman” myth of doing it all alone;

Real change requires creating spaces where the rules are rewritten; and

Belonging — and transformation — scale through small, steady “campfire” gatherings, not grand events.

Charles Vogl, author of The Art of Community, has spent his career helping leaders move from heroic independence to interdependent impact. Drawing from his work with the Peace Corps, the military, and mission-driven organizations, Charles shows how leaders can build communities that hold trust, courage, and connection — without losing focus on performance.

The conversation explores how to create “sacred spaces” where vulnerability is safe, why deep community often looks boring on the surface, and how scaling change means working in small units with intention.

If you’re leading transformation, culture, or organizational change, this episode offers grounded, practical insight into how belonging becomes your most powerful change strategy — and why it’s time to put the Superman cape away.

Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change. This is the podcast for transformational leaders seeking modern change mastery.

***

WHEN YOU’RE READY

🎧 A new episode every week (and sometimes two!)

The Change Signal newsletter. Short, practical, weekly

***

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Here are three provocative questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Dr. Linda Ackerman Anderson:

What if change were treated like finance?

Are your leaders modelling the change — or just managing it?

And what hidden costs are you paying for “too much change, too fast”?

For forty-plus years, Linda has studied what actually derails transformational change. Her insights aren’t about tools or templates — they’re about discipline, mindset, and meaning. She shows why relevance and personal connection drive real engagement, and why most organizations still treat change as an event instead of a strategic function.

We dig into the trap of leaders who delegate transformation without transforming themselves, and the illusion that people can “add” change on top of already full plates. It’s an unflinching look at how organizations overload, under-resource, and unintentionally resist the very change they want.

If you lead change projects in a large organization, this episode will help you see the patterns behind slow traction and surface-level buy-in — and how to lead change that actually sticks.

Change Signal. Where transformational change leaders seek and find modern change wisdom. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works.

***

WHEN YOU’RE READY

🎧 A new episode every week (and sometimes two!)

The Change Signal newsletter. Short, practical, weekly

***

CONNECT

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***

SAY THANKS

💜Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

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Here are three big questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Paulo Pisano:

Is complexity masking your real priorities?;

What sacrifices are you pretending aren’t happening?; and

How are you building protagonist mindsets?

Paulo Pisano, CHRO at Booking.com, has spent his career leading transformation in large, global organizations where change is never simple. He brings a grounded perspective on how to simplify without dumbing down, and why leaders need the discipline to stop saying “yes” to everything.

The conversation explores why honest change leadership means naming losses and trade-offs instead of painting everything as a win. Paulo shows how acknowledging sacrifice reduces victim mindsets and keeps people engaged in the process.

You’ll also hear about the mindset shifts he’s championing — helping people move from victim to protagonist, from knower to learner, and from silos to true one-team collaboration. These are practical, human tools for embedding change in ways that actually last.

If you’re navigating transformation or change leadership in a big organization, this conversation offers fresh, pragmatic insights into what really makes change stick.

Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change. This is the podcast for transformational leaders seeking modern change mastery.

***

WHEN YOU’RE READY

🎧 A new episode every week (and sometimes two!)

The Change Signal newsletter. Short, practical, weekly

***

CONNECT

💼Connect on LinkedIn

***

SAY THANKS

💜Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

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Here are three provocative questions that emerge from this Change Signal conversation with Dave Ulrich:

Why do so many leaders know what to do in change but fail to actually do it?

If change is always messy and iterative, how can leaders set expectations without killing momentum?

What does it really take to lead through paradox instead of choosing sides?

Most change leaders treat transformation like a neat plan: set the strategy, communicate the vision, and drive execution. Dave Ulrich, one of the most influential HR and leadership thinkers of the past 30 years, argues that this mindset misses the real challenge.

In this conversation, he explains why the knowing–doing gap is the biggest barrier to transformation, how to embrace experimentation and failure as part of the process, and why courage in leadership often means knowing when not to act.

The most provocative idea? Great leaders don’t eliminate tension — they learn to navigate the paradoxes between instinct and data, boldness and patience, top-down direction and bottom-up energy.

If you’re leading change management or organizational transformation, this conversation offers a practical, human, and honest look at what leadership really requires.

Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change. If you’re a transformational leader seeking modern change mastery, you’re in the right place.

***

WHEN YOU’RE READY

🎧 A new episode every week (and sometimes two!)

The Change Signal newsletter. Short, practical, weekly

***

CONNECT

💼Connect on LinkedIn

***

SAY THANKS

💜Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

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Here are three provocative questions that emerge from this Change Signal conversation with Kirstin Ferguson:

Why does character matter more than competence when it comes to inspiring transformation?

Do everyday leadership moments shape culture more than big, staged gestures?

What happens when leaders ask better questions instead of always giving answers?

Kirstin Ferguson, leadership thinker, board director, and author of Blindspotting: How to See What Others Miss, knows the difference between leaders who drive lasting change and those who unintentionally stall it by leaning too heavily on expertise.

In this episode, she explains why character-driven leadership sparks trust, how small daily interactions quietly accumulate into culture, and how curiosity creates the conditions for real transformation.

Most provocatively, Kirstin shows why competence on its own isn’t enough — and how the most effective leaders unlock momentum by asking better questions.

If you’re leading change management or organizational transformation, this conversation offers a practical, human, and transformative approach to leadership.

Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change. If you’re a transformational leader seeking modern change mastery, you’re in the right place.

***

WHEN YOU’RE READY

🎧 A new episode every week (and sometimes two!)

The Change Signal newsletter. Short, practical, weekly

***

CONNECT

💼Connect on LinkedIn

***

SAY THANKS

💜Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

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Dan Pontefract’s three big insights on modern change mastery and leading meaningful organizational transformation:

Managing up is a critical part of change leadership, and there are smarter ways to do it;

Culture isn’t “soft” — it’s the real work of change and can’t be delegated away; and

Purpose, balance, and generational shifts are forces shaping how transformation actually succeeds.

Dan, formerly CLO at Telus and SAP, didn’t just improve engagement — he shifted it dramatically and built transformation capability that lasted. Today, as an author and advisor, he’s helping senior leaders connect strategy, culture, and humanity in ways that stick.

If you’re steering change management or organizational transformation, this conversation speaks directly to your challenges. You’ll hear practical strategies for navigating executives who quietly resist, cultures that talk engagement but don’t live it, and projects that risk burning people out.

This is about change leadership that’s grounded, human, and effective.

👉RESOURCES:Dan’s website: https://www.danpontefract.comLearn more about his books: https://geni.us/danpontefract

Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change. If you’re a transformational leader seeking modern change mastery, you’re in the right place.

***

WHEN YOU’RE READY

🎧 A new episode every week (and sometimes two!)

The Change Signal newsletter. Short, practical, weekly

***

CONNECT

💼Connect on LinkedIn

***

SAY THANKS

💜Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

💚Leave a review on Spotify