The Obvious/Elusive Idea That Transforms Meetings: Misha Glouberman
Here are three big questions that Misha Glouberman asks in the quest for better change gatherings:
What if the way you’re structuring your events is stopping the very change you want to create?
How might things shift if you assumed everyone involved was a competent adult?
And are your “best practices” actually working against your goals?
Misha Glouberman is a master of human dynamics and group design — a facilitator who’s spent decades helping people run better meetings, conferences, and community events. In this short, lively conversation, he shares four simple rules for creating gatherings that actually work — and how those same rules apply to change projects of every kind.
You’ll hear why most organizations forget to ask the most basic question (“What’s this for?”), how to design experiences that align with your real goals, and why giving people more control creates more engagement, not chaos.
If your change initiatives involve bringing people together — in rooms, on screens, or across departments — this episode will make you rethink how you host, design, and lead.
Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change. If you’re a transformational leader seeking modern change mastery, you’re in exactly the right place.
***
WHEN YOU’RE READY
🎧 A new episode every week (and sometimes two!)
The Change Signal newsletter. Short, practical, weekly
***
CONNECT
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SAY THANKS
💜Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
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7:24
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7:24
What Project Management Must Be Today: Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez
Here are three big questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez:
Are your projects actually shaping your future?
Is your team a true team — or just a group of people in meetings?
And what if success isn’t about deadlines at all?
Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, author of Powered by Projects and one of the world’s leading voices in project management, argues that most organizations are running too many projects — and mistaking motion for progress. Every project you approve is a bet on your organization’s future. Fewer, simpler, more purposeful projects deliver more meaningful change.
He challenges how we measure success, suggesting that being “on time and on budget” means very little if no one benefits from the outcome. Real success lies in delivering tangible value to stakeholders — even if that takes longer than planned.
And he’s refreshingly blunt about accountability: if your project doesn’t have a visible sponsor, stop it immediately. Because groups don’t deliver projects — teams do.
If you’re leading transformation or portfolio change, this conversation reframes project management from bureaucracy to boldness — and shows you how to make every project count.
Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change. If you’re a transformational leader seeking modern change mastery, you’re in exactly the right place.
***
WHEN YOU’RE READY
🎧 A new episode every week (and sometimes two!)
The Change Signal newsletter. Short, practical, weekly
***
CONNECT
💼Connect on LinkedIn
***
SAY THANKS
💜Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
💚Leave a review on Spotify
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30:26
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30:26
Are You Influencing Without Knowing It? Vanessa Bohns
Here are three big questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Vanessa Bohns:
Are you overlooking the influence you already have?
What if social proof beats every logical argument?
Could your smallest comments be shaping culture the most?
Vanessa Bohns, professor of organizational behavior at Cornell and author of You Have More Influence Than You Think, has spent two decades studying how influence actually works — not in theory, but in the everyday reality of teams, leaders, and organizations.
We talk about why influence isn’t instant or obvious — it’s delayed, cumulative, and often invisible — and why showing people what their peers are doing changes behaviour faster than any motivational speech.
She also reveals how the tiniest inconsistencies, like a side comment or an eye roll, can quietly undo even the most polished change message.
And the practical takeaway? Be present, ask directly (and in person), and make it easy for people to say no, so their yes really means yes.
If you’re leading transformation or culture change, this conversation will help you see your influence — and your everyday leadership moments — in a whole new way.
Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change. If you’re a transformational leader seeking modern change mastery, you’re in exactly the right place.
***
WHEN YOU’RE READY
🎧 A new episode every week (and sometimes two!)
The Change Signal newsletter. Short, practical, weekly
***
CONNECT
💼Connect on LinkedIn
***
SAY THANKS
💜Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
💚Leave a review on Spotify
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31:08
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31:08
Why You Build Belonging Before Belief: Hahrie Han
Here are three big insights that emerge from this Change Signal conversation with Hahrie Han:
Are you creating value or just convenience?;
Does belonging come before belief in your organization?; and
Are you building agency or just compliance?
Hahrie Han, political scientist at Johns Hopkins University and author of How Organizations Develop Activists and Undivided, has spent her career studying how people build power that lasts. She brings a sharp, human perspective on what drives genuine participation and why small, intentional acts often change systems more than sweeping plans.
The conversation explores why engagement depends less on ease and more on meaning, how “radical belonging” can transform even divided communities, and how leaders can use small, safe failures to build confidence and agency across teams.
You’ll also hear practical tools for turning involvement into influence — designing scaffolding that helps people learn from risk and own their results.
If you’re leading transformation, culture, or change projects in a big organization, this conversation offers fresh, grounded insight into how participation turns into durable power.
Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change. This is the podcast for transformational leaders seeking modern change mastery.
***
WHEN YOU’RE READY
🎧 A new episode every week (and sometimes two!)
The Change Signal newsletter. Short, practical, weekly
***
CONNECT
💼Connect on LinkedIn
***
SAY THANKS
💜Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
💚Leave a review on Spotify
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35:12
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35:12
Campfires Not Stadiums: Building Belonging: Charles Vogl
Here are three big insights that emerge from this Change Signal conversation with Charles Vogl:
Leadership maturity means rejecting the “Superman” myth of doing it all alone;
Real change requires creating spaces where the rules are rewritten; and
Belonging — and transformation — scale through small, steady “campfire” gatherings, not grand events.
Charles Vogl, author of The Art of Community, has spent his career helping leaders move from heroic independence to interdependent impact. Drawing from his work with the Peace Corps, the military, and mission-driven organizations, Charles shows how leaders can build communities that hold trust, courage, and connection — without losing focus on performance.
The conversation explores how to create “sacred spaces” where vulnerability is safe, why deep community often looks boring on the surface, and how scaling change means working in small units with intention.
If you’re leading transformation, culture, or organizational change, this episode offers grounded, practical insight into how belonging becomes your most powerful change strategy — and why it’s time to put the Superman cape away.
Change Signal. Cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change. This is the podcast for transformational leaders seeking modern change mastery.
***
WHEN YOU’RE READY
🎧 A new episode every week (and sometimes two!)
The Change Signal newsletter. Short, practical, weekly
***
CONNECT
💼Connect on LinkedIn
***
SAY THANKS
💜Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
💚Leave a review on Spotify
If you’re leading change in organizations, this will be your favourite podcast.
Change is harder than ever. Transformation is more complex, unpredictable and overwhelming than it’s ever been. Change Signal cuts through the noise to find the good stuff that works.
Michael Bungay Stanier, author of The Coaching Habit and organizational transformation student for thirty years, talks to the best thinkers, senior leaders, and experienced practitioners in the world of change, to find what works, what doesn’t, and what to try instead. With Change Signal as your guide, you’ll be more efficient and less overwhelmed, and your change projects will more likely succeed.
Change Signal: Where we cut through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works.
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