Lessons on change from the driest place on earth

Hello,

Sometimes, the best way to gain fresh insight is to change our vantage point. I recently returned from an extraordinary journey through Chile that was a masterclass in adaptation, resilience, and perspective.

In the Atacama Desert — the driest place on Earth — I saw how life defies the odds, a powerful metaphor for innovation under constraint. A geologist’s insights on tectonic shifts reinforced that transformation — whether in nature or business — reshapes landscapes in ways we must anticipate. And trekking across a sandbar to reach a glacier was a visceral reminder: bold change demands we navigate unfamiliar terrain.

As a change leader, these experiences reaffirmed that transformation isn’t just about reaching a destination. It’s about understanding the forces at play, stepping beyond our comfort zones, and awakening dormant capabilities through intentional effort.

What experiences have reshaped your approach to transformation?

Please read on to gain insight into the new rules of change management, behavioral cues that leaders must be aware of, and more.

The New Rules of Change Management

I recently joined Paul Carroll of Insurance Thought Leadership to discuss why traditional change management needs a reset in today’s fast-moving, AI-powered workplace. Organizations are seeking new approaches that engage, empower, and develop with their people.

Key insights for leaders driving transformation:

✅ Start small and build believers. Big, sweeping change programs trigger resistance. Instead, test ideas, prove value, and create momentum through networks of champions.

✅ Use AI to amplify. The biggest economic impact of AI isn’t just efficiency — it’s enhancing human creativity and potential, which carries triple the value of productivity gains.

✅ Choose iteration over rigid plans. The best innovations evolve in unexpected ways. Apple’s original iPad vision, for example, ultimately led, unexpectedly, to the game-changing iPhone.

Curious about how to apply these principles across industries and organizations? Explore our full conversation and understand how to foster a culture of change that drives real results.

3 Ways to Detect Resistance

Whether you’re promoting a new product, way of working, partnership, organization design, marketing strategy or beyond, you will need the people around you to buy into the change. That includes being aware of what stakeholders say — and what they do. A tense posture in a meeting, a hesitant pause before agreement, a familiar process quietly re-emerging after a new one is introduced — these subtle behaviors can signal resistance, hesitation, or hidden challenges.

To strengthen your behavioral listening skills:

1. Watch for patterns in daily routines.
2. Notice physical responses during discussions.
3. Observe real interactions with tools and processes.

Successful leaders don’t just listen with their ears — they listen with their eyes. What silent signals are you picking up in your organization and among your other stakeholders?

In my work with leaders whose priority is effecting meaningful change, I see the same challenge repeatedly: efforts stall because the old orthodoxies about how to implement change no longer apply. Top-down mandates and rigid frameworks create the illusion of progress while resistance quietly grows. 

Organizations need a new approach — one that doesn’t just manage change but builds authentic support for it, accelerates momentum, and produces results.

That’s where the discipline of Strategic Advocacy comes in. It transforms resistance into advocacy through deep stakeholder understanding, and helps organizations create change that aligns people around shared values and a common sense of purpose. I’m proud to work with both students and executives on building this critical muscle —  a prerequisite for realizing the changes leaders want to achieve today.

Interested in strengthening your organization’s ability, confidence and commitment to enable your change priorities? Send me an email and let’s get started. My keynote talks and half-day workshops are a great way to expose high potential members of your team to what’s possible when they have the right tools and methods to act.

Warm regards,