Here's how to rebuild agency in change-resistant organizations, why euphemistic language kills transformation, and what we can learn from artists about embracing the unknown.

When you're trying to lead organizational change, it's easy to fall into the trap of infantilizing your people - treating them like children who can't handle the truth. Margaret Heffernan, author of "Uncharted" and mentor to global CEOs, challenges us to think differently.

Drawing from her experience running tech companies and advising executives, Margaret shows why most transformation programs fail: we've created management systems that turn people into robots, then wonder why they lack initiative. She shares a fantastic case study from Pixar that demonstrates how to engage your entire organization in solving complex challenges.

What I love most about this conversation is Margaret's no-BS approach to change. She argues that constant change isn't just inevitable - it's literally a sign of life. If you're wrestling with resistance to change or trying to figure out how to give your people more agency in transformation, this episode will give you practical insights you can use right away.

Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change management.

🎧 New episodes every two weeks. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter at thechangesignal.com.

Fresh starts supercharge change initiatives, pre-mortems predict failure points before they happen, and the “movable middle” holds the key to transformation success.

Ever notice how change initiatives start with a bang but fizzle by February? As someone leading organizational change, you’ve probably seen this pattern too many times.

In this episode, I explore these challenges with Katy Milkman, professor at Wharton and author of “How to Change.” She shares a mind-blowing insight: 40% of premature deaths come from changeable daily decisions – which got me thinking about how this applies to organizational transformation.

We dig into practical tools for change leaders, including how to diagnose resistance (spoiler: your assumptions are probably wrong), why traditional change management wisdom fails, and what actually moves people to embrace new ways of working.

Plus, Katy busts one of the most persistent myths in change management. Turns out all that “visualize success” stuff? Not backed by science at all.

Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change management.

🎧 New episodes every two weeks. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter at thechangesignal.com.

What if transformation started with a company-wide vote, moved at the speed of experimentation, and put connection before process?

Meet Pim de Morree, co-founder of Corporate Rebels and a leader who’s transformed over 100 organizations into self-managing powerhouses. His radical approach? No acquisition happens unless 80% of employees vote yes after a two-day deep dive into what’s coming.

Here’s what’s fascinating: the structural changes - ditching hierarchy, rewriting policies - that’s actually the easy part. The real work happens in what Pim calls “group therapy,” where teams tackle the human side of transformation.

But don’t let that scare you. These aren’t fluffy feel-good sessions. When people genuinely co-create change rather than having it done to them, the results are striking: increased revenue, higher productivity, and deeper engagement.

The big insight? Most change models are 40-50 years old. Maybe it’s time to throw out 99% of them and focus on one thing: building change around people, not process.

Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change management.

🎧 New episodes every two weeks. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter at thechangesignal.com.

If you lead organizational transformation, this will be your favourite podcast.

Leading change in organizations is harder than ever. It’s complex, it’s unpredictable and it’s overwhelming. Change Signal cuts through the noise to find the good stuff that works.

New episodes drop every two weeks. 

Sign up for our weekly newsletter at https://thechangesignal.com/

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A welcome from Michael

I’m so delighted you’re here. Thank you.

If you know me at all, you might know me as the author of The Coaching Habit.

It’s become the best-selling book on coaching this century, Brené Brown called it “essential,” and Seth Godin said it is “the best book on coaching.”

So what am I doing digging into organizational transformation? 

The truth is, I've spent three decades hunting for the best insights, strategies, and tools in change management. 

My journey started in innovation, working in an agency helping clients launch new products and services. It was a fun first job … but we didn’t make much of a difference.

It’s true, I can boast playing a small role in stuff-crust pizza and in a whisky that’s been rated “the worst single malt whisky ever invented” … but mostly, we found it hard to get things done.

Frustration with our low success rates led me to become a change management consultant. I did end up writing the vision for GSK when it merged, but mostly I learned that consultants don't always have the answers. Or at least, not the useful ones.

I led an internal culture change initiative (with middling success), and then founded Box Of Crayons, where for more than twenty years we’ve helped major organizations harness curiosity as a catalyst for change.

Along the way, I've seen some transformation projects succeed brilliantly, a few fail spectacularly, and many be … underwhelming.

From digital transformations to mergers, from product launches to technology upgrades – I've collected a few trophies and a ton of scars.

I’ve learned enough that I’ve had the privilege of writing the introductions to books by two of my big change influences, William Bridges and Edgar Schein.

But I'm still learning. This field feels like it needs a shake up.

There’s too much that’s bland, predictable, tired, colonized by the big consultancies, and outdated.

I want to change that

I’m on a quest to bring you the good stuff that works. I want you to feel more confident and less overwhelmed, more influential and less stretched.

Change Signal feels like the culmination of a thirty-year journey.

I’m glad you’re here with me.

~ Michael Bungay Stanier

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