The Only Constant - A Playbook for Change Leaders

Why do technical experts often make poor change leaders? Roger Guerrero, Head of Enterprise Strategy Execution at Merck, challenges how organizations select and develop leaders in transformation environments. Drawing from his experience overseeing Merck's corporate strategy implementation, Roger explains why change leadership shouldn't be confined to specialized teams but embedded as a core expectation for all managers. He argues that companies over-index on technical expertise while undervaluing the ability to inspire and lead through change—creating what he calls a "silent killer" in organizations.

Whether you're struggling with resistant middle managers or disconnected executives, Roger offers practical strategies for identifying and developing genuine change leadership beyond technical competence.

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Connect with:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nellie Wartoft⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

CEO of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tigerhall⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Chair of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Executive Council for Leading Change (ECLC)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

[email protected]

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• 00.00 - Introduction 
• 01:30 - Why change management shouldn't be limited to specialized teams
• 03:45 - How technical industries often select leaders for technical expertise, not leadership ability
• 05:20 - Why change leadership competencies should be core criteria in promotions
• 07:10 - The problem with the "individual contributor to leader" career path
• 09:15 - Creating dual career tracks for technical experts vs. leadership roles
• 11:30 - How to identify people with natural change leadership abilities
• 14:45 - Addressing the "this isn't my job" mindset in middle managers
• 16:20 - Red flags that indicate poor change leadership potential
• 19:40 - The evolving profile of effective senior leaders—from engineers to MBAs to motivators
• 22:15 - Strategies for working around resistant leaders you can't replace
• 24:30 - Handling resistance at the C-suite level
• 27:15 - The importance of communication style in successful change initiatives
• 29:35 - Why transparency and empathy are critical for change leadership

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Restructuring without destroying morale? It's possible! 

Connie Klimko, Transformation Lead at Siemens Energy, takes us inside their successful flattening of a hierarchical organization that eliminated management layers while keeping talent. 

She reveals their strategy for reframing career paths beyond traditional "boxes" on org charts, empowering experts, and rebuilding trust between newly combined teams. From transparent job postings to innovative team-bonding tactics like role-swapping, Connie shares practical approaches to making restructuring work. Plus, she explains why even successful restructures can take years to fully settle in and how to maintain employee resilience through constant change. A must-listen for any transformation leader facing reorganization.

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Connect with:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nellie Wartoft⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

CEO of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tigerhall⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Chair of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Executive Council for Leading Change (ECLC)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

[email protected]

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• 00.00 - Introduction 
• 01:30 - Context behind Siemens Energy's restructuring
• 03:45 - The initial employee reaction to flattening the organizational hierarchy
• 05:20 - What happened to managers who lost their "boxes" in the restructuring
• 07:10 - The expert career path as an alternative to management advancement
• 09:15 - Building trust between newly combined teams during restructuring
• 12:30 - Role-swapping and shadowing to build empathy between merged teams
• 14:45 - The importance of storytelling and reframing in transformation
• 16:20 - Practical advice for those currently managing a restructuring
• 19:40 - The ADKAR approach and why management often moves too quickly
• 22:15 - Communication strategies: why managers need to know first
• 24:30 - Managing morale through values consistency during constant change
• 26:50 - Using leadership essentials to guide teams through transformation
• 28:15 - Final thoughts on making restructuring successful

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Breathe by RYGO | https://soundcloud.com/francesco-rigolon

Everything You Need Is By Your Side by Vlad Gluschenko |

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Ever wonder why perfectly logical transformation plans meet fierce resistance? Travis Hahler, change management expert and neuroscience researcher, reveals how our brains are hardwired to fight change through two fundamental mechanisms: energy conservation and protection. 

For transformation leaders, this shifts the entire approach from trying to design "lovable" changes to creating environments where adoption can thrive despite neurological barriers. 

Travis explains why your most vocal critics might be your greatest allies, why resistance isn't a reflection of your leadership, and offers practical strategies for accelerating adoption. A game-changing perspective for change leaders tired of taking resistance personally and ready to leverage neuroscience for better results.

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Connect with:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nellie Wartoft⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

CEO of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tigerhall⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Chair of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Executive Council for Leading Change (ECLC)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

[email protected]

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• 00.00 - Introduction 
• 01:30 - What actually happens in our brains when faced with change
• 03:45 - Why resistance is universal: the brain's energy efficiency and protection mechanisms
• 05:20 - Comparing work stress to our primitive fight-or-flight response
• 07:10 - The change curve and why most leaders plan for the wrong phase
• 09:15 - Why jumping straight to execution never works in change initiatives
• 12:30 - How vulnerability and honesty build trust when leading through uncertainty
• 14:45 - Why most leaders take resistance personally (and why they shouldn't)
• 16:20 - Creating environments for adoption rather than trying to design "lovable" changes
• 19:40 - Why quarterly processes might take years, not weeks, to fully adopt
• 22:15 - How leaders confuse resistance to change with rejection of their leadership
• 24:30 - Breaking the productivity loop: getting past denial faster
• 27:15 - Why conscious resistors are often your most valuable allies
• 29:35 - The difference between vocal "rebels" and silent "saboteurs"
• 32:10 - Three immediate actions for leaders: vulnerability, empathy, and addressing loss

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Breathe by RYGO | https://soundcloud.com/francesco-rigolon

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When does a company need its first-ever Chief Technology Officer? Shankar Kalyana takes us behind the scenes of becoming Stantec's first CTO while simultaneously leading their digital transformation and AI initiatives. 

With refreshing honesty, he shares how he balanced technical expertise with transformation leadership, shaped a role that didn't previously exist, and executed a strategic 100-day plan that started with deep listening. Shankar explains why the traditional CIO/CTO division is disappearing, offers practical advice for those stepping into newly-created technology leadership roles, and predicts where these executive positions are heading as AI transforms business. A fascinating look at technology leadership when "digital" appears countless times in your company's strategic plan!

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Connect with:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Nellie Wartoft⁠⁠⁠⁠

CEO of ⁠⁠⁠⁠Tigerhall⁠⁠⁠⁠

Chair of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Executive Council for Leading Change (ECLC)⁠⁠⁠⁠

[email protected]

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• 00.00 - Introduction
• 01:30 - Why Stantec created their first CTO role
• 03:45 - Combining technology leadership with transformation responsibilities
• 05:15 - AI transformation as a core mandate from day one
• 07:10 - How to shape your role when you're the first person in the position
• 09:30 - Shankar's 100-day plan: Listen, build a SWOT analysis, formalize a vision
• 12:15 - Deconstructing and reconstructing understanding of digital transformation
• 14:40 - Common misconceptions about CTO responsibilities
• 17:20 - The evolution of technology leadership roles over the past 20 years
• 19:52 - How to divide responsibilities across multiple technology leadership roles
• 22:10 - Bringing transformation, digital and technology under one leader
• 24:30 - The future of technology leadership: fusion of roles vs. specialization
• 27:15 - The importance of personal leadership qualities in transformation roles

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Breathe by RYGO | https://soundcloud.com/francesco-rigolon

Everything You Need Is By Your Side by Vlad Gluschenko |

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Ever get asked for proof that your transformation is working? 

While the rest of the business obsesses over dashboards and metrics, transformation leaders are often left with... vibes? 

Stacey Taylor, Vice President of Implementation & Change at Visa, has cracked the code on measuring the "unmeasurable" in change initiatives. She shares their practical three-pillar framework connecting individual performance to organizational outcomes, using real examples from Agile and Gen AI rollouts. She reveals creative approaches for gathering meaningful data without survey fatigue and why measuring productivity requires looking at speed, effort, and quality together. 

You’ll particularly love her game-changing "snack strategy" for keeping impatient executives satisfied while the real results cook!

This episode is a must-listen for transformation leaders tired of relying on gut feeling to track progress.

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Connect with:

⁠⁠⁠Nellie Wartoft⁠⁠⁠

CEO of ⁠⁠⁠Tigerhall⁠⁠⁠

Chair of the ⁠⁠⁠Executive Council for Leading Change (ECLC)⁠⁠⁠

[email protected]

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• 00.00 - Introduction
• 01:30 - The challenge of measuring change
• 05:15 - Why change initiatives lack measurement compared to other business functions
• 08:42 - The three pillars of Visa's change measurement framework
• 11:00 - Using an Agile transformation example to illustrate measurement approach
• 13:45 - Collecting data through systems vs. surveys
• 16:10 - Strategies to combat survey fatigue and increase participation
• 19:52 - What metrics matter most to C-suite executives
• 21:38 - Using pilot teams to demonstrate early wins
• 24:15 - Measuring productivity through speed, effort, and quality
• 26:00 - Applying the framework to Visa's Gen AI transformation
• 28:48 - Measuring business impact through productivity uplift and realized savings
• 32:10 - Tracking individual performance via adoption velocity and proficiency
• 34:45 - Evaluating program effectiveness and managing resistance
• 37:35 - A/B testing methodology with Microsoft to quantify time savings
• 41:00 - Final thoughts: Every transformation should be measured, but not all in ROI

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Breathe by RYGO | https://soundcloud.com/francesco-rigolon

Everything You Need Is By Your Side by Vlad Gluschenko |

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Are your stakeholders making or breaking your transformation efforts? 

Hardeep Kaur, Director of Business Transformation at Merck, shares her three-stage approach to stakeholder management that has driven successful change across her 25-year pharmaceutical industry career.

Discover how to map stakeholders on an influence/impact matrix, create tailored engagement plans, and maintain alignment throughout the change journey. Hardeep reveals the telltale signs of stakeholder disengagement (like canceled meetings) and shares tactical advice for turning fence-sitters into advocates by deliberately showcasing early wins.

Beyond techniques, Hardeep explains why focusing relentlessly on people—not just process and technology—is crucial for transformation success, and how to reframe office politics as "corporate intelligence" to better navigate complex organizational dynamics.

Whether you're struggling with resistant stakeholders or trying to maintain momentum during shifting priorities, this episode offers immediately applicable strategies to improve your stakeholder management approach and increase your transformation success rate.

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Connect with:

⁠⁠Nellie Wartoft⁠⁠

CEO of ⁠⁠Tigerhall⁠⁠

Chair of the ⁠⁠Executive Council for Leading Change (ECLC)⁠⁠

[email protected]

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• 00:00 - Introduction: Why stakeholder management consumes so much of a change leader's time
• 01:10 - "Stakeholders can make or break your project" - The importance of effective management
• 01:45 - The three stages of stakeholder assessment and management
• 02:20 - Using the influence/impact matrix to prioritize stakeholder engagement
• 03:30 - Tailoring your approach: When to involve stakeholders vs. simply informing them
• 04:35 - Understanding stakeholder preferences to create effective engagement plans
• 06:20 - Managing stakeholders with conflicting interests or changing priorities
• 08:15 - When to stop change initiatives that no longer have stakeholder support
• 10:10 - Strategies for turning fence-sitting stakeholders into advocates
• 11:50 - How often to update your stakeholder map throughout the change journey
• 13:25 - The unique cross-organizational thinking required in change management
• 15:15 - Warning signs of stakeholder disengagement and how to address them
• 16:50 - Key questions to ask in stakeholder meetings to focus on people, not just process
• 18:35 - The three-legged stool of transformation: People, process, and technology
• 20:05 - How to measure and quantify the people aspect of transformation
• 21:30 - Finding the balance between AI and human elements in change management
• 24:20 - Preparation strategies for effective stakeholder meetings
• 26:35 - Reframing office politics as "corporate intelligence" to navigate relationships
• 28:30 - Top three takeaways for more effective stakeholder management

Breathe by RYGO | https://soundcloud.com/francesco-rigolon

Everything You Need Is By Your Side by Vlad Gluschenko |

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You may well be familiar with the stat that 70% of organizational changes fail. But what if you could build an internal "special forces" team that turns that statistic on its head?

In this week's episode, Connie Klimko, Transformation Lead at Siemens Energy, explains how she's created a two-tiered system of change champions that has demonstrably improved productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction during major transformations.

Connie shares the nuts and bolts of their "Transformation Accelerator" program - from their intensive 3-day bootcamps where participants learn about psychological safety, reframing, and immunity to change, to how they deploy these change experts across the organization in response to specific business challenges.

Whether you're a change leader looking to build better internal capabilities or a business executive tired of failed transformation initiatives, this episode provides a practical blueprint for creating a network that turns cultural roadblocks into business opportunities.

• 00:00 - Introduction: The need for effective change champion networks
• 01:05 - Why every company needs a change champion network
• 02:20 - When to deploy change champions: Impact assessment and scale
• 03:04 - The origins of the Transformation Accelerator network at Siemens Energy
• 04:15 - The two-tiered system: Change Ambassadors vs. Transformation Accelerators
• 06:08 - How business leaders request and work with Transformation Accelerators
• 07:30 - The tiered progression system for Transformation Accelerators (TA in training to Master TA)
• 09:10 - Key differences between Change Ambassadors and Transformation Accelerators
• 10:20 - Inside the intensive 3-day bootcamp: What TAs learn
• 11:25 - The power of addressing "immunity to change" in transformation
• 13:05 - How content was developed based on business needs and research
• 14:10 - The importance of psychological safety in innovation and change
• 15:30 - Building the business case: How Siemens Energy secured leadership buy-in
• 17:15 - Demonstrating ROI through improved business metrics
• 18:40 - Selection criteria: How participants are chosen for the program
• 20:35 - The 10% time commitment and how it actually saves time
• 21:45 - How being a Transformation Accelerator changes day-to-day work
• 23:50 - Lessons learned and continuous improvement of the program
• 24:55 - Advice for change leaders looking to start their own program

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Connect with:

⁠Nellie Wartoft⁠

CEO of ⁠Tigerhall⁠

Chair of the ⁠Executive Council for Leading Change (ECLC)⁠

[email protected]

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Breathe by RYGO | https://soundcloud.com/francesco-rigolon

Everything You Need Is By Your Side by Vlad Gluschenko |

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If marketing is dating, change management is like a marriage that constantly needs some spice. In this conversation, Nellie speaks with Stacey Taylor, VP of Implementation and Change at Visa, about the glaringly obvious overlaps between marketing principles and successful organizational change. “Everyone says change is hard, but nobody says marketing is hard,” - despite both disciplines aiming to shift human behavior. 

Discover Stacey's ACT framework (Audience, Connect, Tune) that applies marketing mindsets to transformation challenges, learn why segmenting employees like customers leads to dramatically better results, and explore how "influencer marketing" tactics could drive adoption rates up by 70%. 

Whether you're leading a change initiative or curious about more effective approaches to transformation, this podcast reveals why the best change leaders think like marketers.

00:00 - Introduction: Why marketing skills transfer to change leadership

01:40 - The three not-so-obvious overlapping skillsets between marketing and change management

02:35 - Building loyalty and commitment: Rewarding people for sticking with transformation

03:47 - Channel marketing in change: Getting the right message to the right people

05:33 - Why people think change management is hard but don't say marketing is hard

07:10 - The dating (marketing) vs. marriage (change management) analogy

08:15 - The ACT framework explained: Audience, Connect, Tune

09:10 - Audience: Making it your job to constantly understand employee sentiment

11:17 - Connect: Building trust through transparency and consistent communication

12:24 - Tune: Listening and adapting to feedback throughout the transformation

13:28 - Where to find useful audience data in organizations with limited HR insights

15:36 - How AI can enhance audience understanding for change leaders

16:42 - Applying influencer marketing principles to change management

18:23 - Why transparency about limitations builds more trust than highlighting only benefits

20:30 - Case study: How a telecom company increased field performance by 70% using audience segmentation

23:44 - Case study: How Diversified's CEO led transformation through empathy and transparency

26:16 - Marketing approaches change leaders should avoid: Demand generation and gimmicky campaigns

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Connect with:

Nellie Wartoft

CEO of Tigerhall

Chair of the Executive Council for Leading Change (ECLC)

[email protected]

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Breathe by RYGO | https://soundcloud.com/francesco-rigolon

Everything You Need Is By Your Side by Vlad Gluschenko |

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"If you're not leading change, what are you leading?"

In this week’s episode, Aric Wood, Tigerhall's Chief Strategy Officer, challenges us to move beyond change management to embrace change leadership as a C-suite imperative.

With the average employee now facing 17-18 significant changes annually (compared to just 1-2 a decade ago), organizations that delegate transformation to siloed teams are setting themselves up for failure. The data is clear: when CEOs lead from the front, transformations are three times more likely to succeed.

Aric shares why most transformations fail, how the rise of Chief Transformation Officers is reshaping leadership dynamics, and why renovating your house is the perfect metaphor for organizational change. He offers practical advice for both C-suite executives looking to make change a competitive advantage and change leaders struggling to secure greater executive involvement.

Whether you're navigating AI-driven disruption or implementing a new strategy, this conversation provides a blueprint for turning change leadership into your organization's secret weapon.

00:00 - Introduction: Moving beyond change management to change leadership

00:55 - Why change leadership capability will be a critical competitive differentiator

02:15 - The exponential increase in change impact: from 1-2 changes annually to 17-18

03:30 - How AI is accelerating the pace of change beyond Moore's Law

05:00 - Why 70% of change initiatives fail despite significant investment

06:10 - The renovation metaphor: Why change requires executive presence and involvement

09:05 - The data behind CEO-led transformation: 3x more likely to achieve objectives

10:35 - The rise of Chief Transformation Officers: A positive trend or delegation?

12:20 - Defining the CEO's role in transformation vs. the Chief Transformation Officer

14:15 - Why CEOs often underestimate their influence in driving change

15:30 - The business case for C-suite involvement: Risk reduction and opportunity creation

17:10 - How visible leadership creates a "snowball effect" of change adoption

18:35 - Making change leadership a competitive advantage in an accelerating world

19:25 - Advice for change leaders struggling with disengaged executives

21:05 - Three key recommendations for C-suite executives leading transformation

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Connect with:

Nellie Wartoft

CEO of Tigerhall

Chair of the Executive Council for Leading Change (ECLC)

[email protected]

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Breathe by RYGO | https://soundcloud.com/francesco-rigolon

Everything You Need Is By Your Side by Vlad Gluschenko |

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Creative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)

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Here's a stat that might make you spit out your coffee: 80% of AI projects launched last year failed to deliver on their promises. Yikes!

In this conversation that's refreshingly no nonsense, Nellie chats with Shankar Kalyana, CTO at Stantec, about why so many change leaders are struggling with AI implementation and what the successful 20% are doing differently.

Shankar cuts through the AI hype with practical wisdom from someone who's actually made this stuff work. He shares why your team might be resistant to that shiny new Copilot license (and what to do about it), which parts of Microsoft Copilot actually deliver value versus where it falls flat (Excel, we're looking at you), and why sometimes the best approach is to "chatbot the heck out of it" and learn as you go.

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Connect with:

Nellie Wartoft

CEO of Tigerhall

Chair of the Executive Council for Leading Change (ECLC)

[email protected]

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Breathe by RYGO | https://soundcloud.com/francesco-rigolon

Everything You Need Is By Your Side by Vlad Gluschenko |

Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com

Creative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US