Perspectives on Change

Exploring the Human Side of Change

Creating a Workplace Where People Speak Honestly

Many years ago, I heard about an underground newsletter inside an organization called The Grunt. It wasn't a company publication. It wasn't approved. It was created in secret on a mimeograph machine and circulated among employees. And it wasn't exactly filled with...

Why People Don’t “Get It” During Times of Change

Have you ever found yourself asking: "Why don't they get it?" Most leaders have. When people push back on a new initiative, strategy, or change effort, the natural assumption is that they need more information. So we build longer presentations. Add more data. Create...

Early Warning Signs Your Change Initiative Is Off Track

One of the questions I hear a lot is: How can you tell when a big project or change initiative is about to derail? Recently, I was reminded of a situation involving a highly controversial organizational change. The planning team had spent months developing a detailed...

What Road Runner Cartoons Can Teach Us About Meetings

So why are so many meetings awful? Not only are they awful and don’t accomplish anything, they’re boring. I’ve been thinking about that lately after coming across the rules Chuck Jones used for the old Road Runner cartoons. There were clear boundaries. Clear...

Stop Selling Change and Start Building Change Readiness

One of the easiest ways to create resistance is to try too hard to “sell” change. People can feel when they’re being pushed. And the harder we push, the more likely they are to lean back. In this video, I share two stories about leaders who took a different approach....

So Why Is “Why” Important in Change Leadership?

Sometimes leaders assume people understand why a change matters simply because leadership understands it. But enthusiasm at the top doesn’t automatically translate to buy-in throughout the organization. In this week’s video, I share a simple but often overlooked...