Skip to content

Developing Change and Transformation Leadership Capability

Developing Change and Transformation Leadership Capability The Systematic Approach to Building Psychology-First Leadership Skills, How Leaders Develop the Capabilities to Support Psychological Transition, Measure Their Effectiveness, and Continuously Improve Their Ability to Lead Transformation Successfully The Capability Gap in Change Leadership Throughout this series, we’ve explored the psychological dimensions of change leadership: the distinction between change and transition, the importance of psychological safety, the authenticity paradox, navigating the neutral zone, supporting middle management, addressing competence crises, leading with measured vulnerability,…

Recognizing When You’re the Problem

Recognizing When You’re the Problem The Specific Leadership Behaviors That Create Resistance Even When the Change Is Necessary, How to Recognize When Your Approach Is Causing the Problems You’re Trying to Solve, and What to Do About It Without Losing Credibility The Uncomfortable Truth About Change and Transformation Resistance Leaders naturally attribute change and transformation resistance to others. Employees resist because they fear change. Middle managers resist because they’re protecting territory. Senior leaders resist because they’re invested in the status…

Managing Your Own Change and Transformation Psychology

Managing Your Own Change and Transformation Psychology Leaders Experience the Same Psychological Transitions They’re Asking Others to Navigate, But They’re Expected to Hide It: How to Process Your Own Grief, Uncertainty, and Competence Threats While Supporting Others Through the Same Experiences The Hidden Burden of Leading Change When leaders announce organizational change and transformation, they’re expected to project confidence, provide direction, and support others through uncertainty. What’s rarely acknowledged is that leaders are simultaneously navigating their own psychological transition. They…

Leading With Measured Vulnerability

Leading With Measured Vulnerability The Specific Types of Vulnerability That Build Trust Versus Those That Undermine Confidence, How Leaders Share Uncertainty Without Creating Anxiety, and the Art of Modeling Learning Without Appearing Incompetent The Vulnerability Paradox in Leadership Leadership literature increasingly celebrates vulnerability. Brene Brown’s research has made “vulnerability as strength” nearly conventional wisdom. Leaders are encouraged to admit mistakes, share struggles, and reveal their authentic selves. The underlying premise is sound: vulnerability builds trust, creates psychological safety, and models…

Leading Through the Neutral Zone

Leading Through the Neutral Zone Why the Psychological Middle Ground of Transition Is Where Transformations Succeed or Fail, and How Leaders Can Navigate What William Bridges Called the Most Dangerous Phase of Change The Space Between What Was and What Will Be Every significant transformation includes a period that organizations rarely acknowledge and rarely plan for: the neutral zone. This is the psychological middle ground where the old way has definitively ended, but the new way isn’t fully functional yet…

The Truth About Transformation Revised and Expanded – Leading in the Age of AI, Uncertainty, and Human Complexity

When I published the first edition of “The Truth About Transformation” in 2022, organizational transformations were already failing at a stubborn 70% rate that had persisted for decades despite increasingly sophisticated technology, better project management methodologies, and unprecedented access to change management frameworks. The premise of that book was simple but uncomfortable: transformation failures aren’t primarily technology problems or strategy problems; they’re human psychology problems that organizations systematically ignore because addressing them requires confronting realities that make leaders uncomfortable. Three…

The Authenticity Paradox in Transformation Leadership

The Authenticity Paradox in Change and Transformation Leadership Why Being “Authentic” During Organizational Change Can Sometimes Be the Most Inauthentic Thing a Leader Can Do, and What Psychological Adaptability Actually Requires The Leadership Dilemma Nobody Talks About Every eader faces the same impossible question: Should I share my doubts about this change initiative, or project confidence I don’t entirely feel? Conventional leadership wisdom says “be authentic.” Research on psychological safety emphasizes transparency. Your executive coach probably tells you to “bring…

Building Psychological Safety During Transformation

Building Psychological Safety During Change and Transformation Why Change and Transformation Fail When Leaders Focus on Change Management While Ignoring the Psychological Safety That Makes Honest Struggle Possible The Meeting That Changed Everything Six months into a major digital transformation, a manufacturing company was quietly failing. Adoption rates stalled at 23%. Performance metrics declined. The best managers were updating their resumes. In meetings, everyone nodded and said the right things. In reality, nobody was using the new system. Then the…

The Leader’s Role in Change and Transformation Psychology

The Leader’s Role in Change and Transformation Psychology Why Managing Change Is Different from Supporting Psychological Transition, and Why that Distinction Determines Transformation Success Why Everything You Know About Leading Change and Transformation Might Be Wrong You’ve done everything right. You crafted a compelling vision for the change or transformation effort. You built a detailed project plan with clear milestones. You communicated consistently and transparently. You managed stakeholder expectations and addressed some early resistance in your leadership team. Yet six…

Back To Top