Amber French-Griette leads the Organization for Nonviolent Movements in France and has spent more than a decade studying how ordinary people defend freedom without weapons. In this episode she breaks down the discipline behind that work, what over 420 documented nonviolent tactics look like in practice, and why Ukraine's civilian resistance is not a footnote to its military campaign but a second channel of power operating alongside it. She talks through the inaugural issue of the journal Across Fault Lines, published in partnership with Columbia University Press, which makes the case that Europe is leaving real power on the table by not understanding what Ukraine's civic shield is actually doing. The conversation also goes into what leadership feels like eight months into building an organization at the edge of a conflict, working across defense circles where these ideas are still far from mainstream. Hit play if you want a different frame for understanding what is happening in Ukraine.

00:00 Introduction

00:55 How the war in Ukraine reshaped ONM's work

02:34 Defining strategic nonviolent conflict and unarmed civilian defense

05:21 Ukraine's civilian resistance beyond the battlefield

10:16 The 420 documented tactics and how they function

17:25 Preserving Ukrainian cultural heritage as frontline defense

21:14 Across Fault Lines: the inaugural journal and its arguments

28:23 Oleksandra Matviichuk and the human dimension of the war

33:23 Partnering with the countering violent extremism world

47:01 Leading an early-stage organization with a large mission

54:52 How ONM measures impact and what success looks like

Amber French-Griette LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amber-french-griette

Amber French-Griette at ICNC: https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/contributor/amber-french/

Organization for Nonviolent Movements: https://nonviolent-movements.org/

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The Emile Foundation works two cases: 48 infants from the Kherson orphanage and children with disabilities from the Oleshky boarding school, all with living relatives waiting, in many cases without a word, for years. Finding one child can take two months or several years. The Russians are the only ones who can authorise a release. Every country, every institution failed these children. One recent peace proposal offered armistice with no accountability for war crimes. Treating oil access as a higher priority than stolen children is not diplomacy. Childhood has an expiry date. That lands differently once you have heard a mother describe finding a single memory, a ballet lesson her daughter half-remembered, to convince a child she was her mother.

00:00 Introduction

05:10 From volunteer to full-time: the moment Mariam chose this life

10:00 What it costs to walk away from security for a cause

15:30 The scale of Russia's child deportation operation

20:45 How the crime extended to teachers, nurses, and businesses

25:00 The Emile Foundation's two pilot cases and the return process

30:00 What families go through while they wait

36:00 The international community: an honest assessment

42:30 Peace deals, accountability, and why armistice without justice fails victims

48:30 The Seven Women Seven Lives campaign and the mothers still waiting

54:30 Why return and justice must run in parallel

57:00 How Mariam stays in it

Mariam Lambert LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariam-lambert-43527a3a/ Emile Foundation Website: https://emilefoundation.org/

Our Stuff

Our website: https://www.thechangeagent.studio

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Wani Iris Manly is an attorney, keynote speaker, and strategic advisor who left a successful law career in Miami to start over in Paris with no contacts, no plan, and no certainty about what came next. In this episode, she explains why most organizations misread resistance as a process problem when it is actually a fear of identity loss, and what leaders should do about it. She walks through her six-part Change Blueprint framework, shares the self-destructive pattern she sees most often in high achievers, and argues that change is a skillset to be built rather than an event to manage. Her closing message is one she developed on the streets of Paris when she had nothing but the decision she had made: success is inevitable, but only if you stop making failure an option. If you are leading people through uncertainty right now, this one is worth your time.

Wani Iris Manly Strategic Advisory: https://wanimanly.com/strategic-advisory/ Wani Iris Manly LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wani-iris-manly-esq-44510a5a/

Our Stuff

Our website: https://www.thechangeagent.studio Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheChangeAgentPodcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-change-agent-podcast/id1794550342 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4LoAakYrrg60ld766wKqto?si=OjaQfNF9RbiRH1GCzxOtsw Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechangeagentpodcast?igsh=OXRoZmp5Z2FhdjJm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1WtowvBVkr/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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Dr. Kevin Mays returns to The Change Agent Podcast for a third conversation, and this one gets uncomfortably honest. The episode explores why capable leaders crack under pressure, why authority becomes a trap, and what the inner work of real leadership actually demands. Dr. Mays draws on his new book, Upgrade Your Leadership, to explain the neuroscience behind reactive behavior and the practices that can change it.

If this conversation makes you think differently about how you show up as a leader, subscribing and leaving a review helps the show reach more people who need it.

The conversation opens with a question Dr. Mays keeps encountering: why do high performers fail the moment they have to lead people? Their identity is built around being right. That attachment blocks curiosity, breeds reactivity, and creates a blind spot no framework fixes. He introduces the robot brain and the caveman brain to explain how neural programming formed in early childhood gets reactivated under pressure decades later, producing the anger and defensiveness that leaders mistake for strength.

Disengagement in an organization is a mirror. If people are checked out and the person at the top is pointing fingers, they are looking in the wrong direction. The fear that building capable, independent people makes you redundant is just the old scripting running the show again.

The episode closes with the one discipline everything else depends on: presence. Two minutes of focused breathing, done consistently, rewires the circuitry. That is where the upgrade begins

00:00 Introduction and context
05:30 Self-awareness as the prerequisite for leadership 10:07 The genius brain and the caveman brain explained 17:44 Pressure exposes what frameworks cannot fix
22:13 Emotional regulation as a daily practice, not a moment skill
29:00 Why authority produces diminishing returns
33:15 The fear behind failing to develop other leaders
38:00 Executive presence and the practice of presence 46:07 Control masquerading as responsibility
52:00 Planting seeds and the inside job of leadership

Dr. Kevin Mays Website: https://www.upgradeyourleadership.com Dr. Kevin Mays Website: https://maysleadership.com/ Dr. Kevin Mays LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-kevin-mays

Our Stuff

Our website: https://www.thechangeagent.studio Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheChangeAgentPodcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-change-agent-podcast/id1794550342 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4LoAakYrrg60ld766wKqto?si=OjaQfNF9RbiRH1GCzxOtsw Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechangeagentpodcast?igsh=OXRoZmp5Z2FhdjJm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1WtowvBVkr/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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Dr. Valentina Schneider returns to The Change Agent for a second conversation, and this one gets into the research that most leadership advice skips. Valentina recently moved from her PhD work at London Business School into applied leadership advisory, and she brings both the data and the real-world context to bear on a single, uncomfortable question: what if the empathy leaders are praised for is actually making them less effective?

The episode centers on the difference between cognitive and affective empathy, two distinct processes that science has long separated but leadership training still treats as one. Valentina walks through what each type looks like in practice, why one produces better outcomes across nearly every leadership scenario her research examined, and what happens neurologically when a leader absorbs the emotional state of the room rather than reading it. The conversation also covers narcissism, vulnerability, anger management, and the specific pressures female leaders face. If you lead people or work alongside leaders, this episode is worth your time.

00:00 Introduction and Valentina's transition to industry 05:00 Why empathy became a top leadership demand after COVID

08:00 Cognitive vs affective empathy explained

12:00 How each type of empathy plays out when letting someone go

16:00 Emotional contagion and why it makes leaders change course

20:00 The bias problem inside affective empathy

27:00 Cognitive empathy as the leadership superpower 33:00 Empathy, gender labels, and the authority double standard

38:00 Using empathy to defuse anger in the room

43:00 Vulnerability at work and when it backfires

48:00 One thing every leader should take away

Dr. Valentina Schneider LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentina-sara-schneider-phd/

Our Stuff

Our website: https://www.thechangeagent.studio Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheChangeAgentPodcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-change-agent-podcast/id1794550342

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Eric Adams started The Change Agent Podcast in February 2025 with a conviction that leadership had a personal side most shows were ignoring. In this episode, the camera turns around. Producer Tonya sits down with Eric to ask the questions he normally asks everyone else: why he built this, what it costs, and where he intends to take it. The podcast began as an audio-only experiment in basic management principles. But somewhere in that first year, Eric noticed he kept gravitating toward something harder to teach: what actually makes a person worth following. The episodes shifted. Empathetic leadership. Leading under conflict. The structural content gave way to the personal, and the show found its footing. The move to video in early 2026 was not just a format change. Eric describes it as a shift in the relationship with the listener. Video demands your eyes. That demand, they found, matched the weight of the conversations they were starting to have.

Tonya pulls back the curtain on what one episode actually takes: roughly 40 hours of work before a single frame records. Guest research. Question development. One-sheets. Pre-conversations. The workflow that holds it together.

Eric talks about what keeps that effort going across more than a year, and the answer has two parts. The first is mission. The second is competitive: he wants this to be the best podcast out there, and he means it. The conversation lands on what Eric believes every guest on the show has shared, regardless of their field or their stakes. He names Valentina Schneider, Oleksandra Matviichuk, Olga Rudnieva as examples. Not one of them, he says, led with process. Every single one led with care. That thread, running through every episode, is what the show is really about. What Eric wants in two years is not a follower count. He wants the Change Agent Podcast to be the name that comes to mind when someone hears about consequential leadership and asks where they can learn more. If you have never listened before, this is the episode that shows you exactly what you would be signing up for.

00:00 Introduction and why this episode is different

02:25 From audio only to video and what changed

04:20 The hardest part of hosting: research and tonal switching

06:18 What every great guest has had in common

08:13 How the show filters and sometimes turns away guests

11:45 Where the show is headed in two years

13:27 Why this podcast matters to Eric personally

15:16 What keeps the work going after more than a year 18:17 Every episode is a different canvas.

Our Stuff

Our website: https://www.thechangeagent.studio
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheChangeAgentPodcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-change-agent-podcast/id1794550342
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Gillian Nycum works at the intersection of neuroscience, neurodiversity, and systems thinking. In this episode, she argues that effective leadership starts with understanding how the nervous system shapes behavior under pressure, not just in theory but in the moments when it matters most.

If this conversation is useful to you, subscribing and leaving a review helps The Change Agent Podcast reach more people doing this kind of work.

She opens with the distinction between neurodiversity and neuropluralism, and the cost of organizations built around a single dominant neurotype. Neurodivergent employees spend their energy conforming rather than contributing what makes them distinctive.

From there she walks through what happens when fear activates in a leader who knows they should act, her framework of practice, skill, and humility for closing that gap, and why shared vision consistently outperforms command and control when complexity increases.

The closing argument is about presence. Leaders running on chronic urgency gradually lose the ability to sense what is actually happening around them. Staying regulated is not a wellness add-on. It is what makes effective leadership possible.

00:00 Introduction
05:04 Neuropluralism and the cost of conformity
10:33 Practice, skill, and humility framework
15:08 Where traditional leadership models break down
19:46 Trauma-informed leadership in practice
25:00 Internal Family Systems and reactive patterns
29:40 Systems thinking and what leadership training misses 37:20 Identity transitions and imposter syndrome
41:19 Presence as a structural leadership strategy
45:22 What neuropluralist organizations look like

Gillian's Links:

Gillian Nycum LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillian-nycum/
Gillian Nycum Website: https://www.gilliannycum.com Gillian Nycum Substack: https://gillianaltanycum.substack.com/
Gillian Nycum Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gillian_nycum/

Our Stuff

Our website: https://www.thechangeagent.studio
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What does leadership look like when power, pressure, and personal integrity collide?

In this episode of The Change Agent, Eric sits down with former senior government leader Jo Tarnawsky to examine what really happens inside high-stakes leadership environments—from diplomacy and politics to challenging organizational environments. Drawing on her experience at the highest levels of public service, Jo shares what most people never see: the informal power dynamics, the hidden negotiations, and the difficult leadership decisions that happen far from public view. 

This conversation explores the realities of institutional leadership, why high-performing ethical leaders are often targeted in unhealthy cultures, and what courage actually requires when silence feels safer than action. Jo also discusses her personal experience navigating adversity after challenging powerful systems, and how leaders can protect their identity and purpose when titles and positions change.

This is a discussion about consequential leadership—what it demands, what it costs, and why integrity often requires difficult choices.

• How power actually works behind the scenes in government and institutions
• Why leadership success often depends on unseen influence and negotiation
• Early warning signs of toxic organizational cultures
• Why high-performing leaders can become targets in unhealthy systems
• The real meaning of courage in leadership environments
• The professional and personal risks of speaking truth to power
• Leadership identity beyond titles and positions
• How small acts of courage shape culture over time

00:00 Introduction
01:05 What leadership inside government really looks like
12:08 How power and influence actually shape decisions
15:12 Recognizing toxic cultures early
20:01 Courage and the risks of speaking up
35:18 Leadership identity after adversity
40:42 Purpose-driven leadership after crisis
41:40 The long-term cost of leadership silence
43:58 Final leadership lessons on courage

Jo Tarnawsky is a former senior government leader and advisor who has worked at the highest levels of diplomacy, politics, and public administration. Today she focuses on leadership advocacy, speaking, and advising organizations on power dynamics, workplace culture, and ethical leadership.

JD Tremblay is one of only three people in the world to complete the EpicDeca - ten Ironman-distance triathlons in ten consecutive days over the Hawaiian Islands and the only Canadian to do so. In this episode of The Change Agent Podcast, we examine what extreme endurance reveals about consequential leadership, resilience under sustained pressure, and the psychology of high-performance identity.

A military veteran, engineer, author of Hunger for More in Life, and recipient of the Ohana Award for sportsmanship at Ultraman Canada, JD shares how discipline, systems thinking, and humility shape elite performance — and how leaders can apply those principles outside sport.

This conversation explores:

• Leading yourself when quitting is rational
• Military discipline in civilian ambition
• Engineering resilience
• Ego, humility, and recognition
• Responsibility that comes with extreme capability
• Building legacy through youth athletics and philanthropy
  

If you are interested in leadership under adversity, endurance psychology, and high-stakes personal growth, this episode offers practical and philosophical insight.

Visit JD Tremblay's Website: https://hunger4more.com

Links

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In this episode The Change Agent Podcast, Eric and Dennis examine how professionals differentiate themselves in crowded, price-driven markets and why authority, trust, and precision positioning matter more than raw visibility.

Dennis “DM” Meador has spent more than two decades working alongside attorneys and professional service firms, observing how digital search and market saturation have reshaped how expertise is perceived and purchased. His work now focuses on helping legal professionals move away from commoditized competition and toward authority-driven positioning through targeted podcasting and content ecosystems designed to attract the right clients rather than the most attention.

The conversation explores the strategic use of podcasting not as a vanity metric exercise but as a trust-building mechanism. Dennis explains why highly specific content aimed at narrowly defined audiences consistently outperforms broad messaging, and why a smaller, highly qualified audience often produces better business outcomes than mass exposure without conversion.

This discussion also addresses how trust is built through audio, why intimacy and consistency matter in long-form conversations, and how answering real client questions in practical terms creates credibility before the first direct interaction ever occurs. The episode highlights how thoughtful content strategy can move relationships from discovery to confidence before a single sales conversation begins.

This is a conversation about influence built on clarity, the economics of trust, and what it takes to stand out when expertise alone is no longer enough.

-----------------

Dennis Meador and LPN Website

Dennis Meador on LinkedIn

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