Show Notes
Leading through change isn't about sending a broadcast email and hoping for the best. In this episode, Ben Caird breaks down why most change initiatives fail and shares the ADKAR framework that actually gets teams moving in the same direction.
Ben Caird is a seasoned professional leader. He's led teams of all sizes in a variety of tech companies and has years of experience.
Show Links
Ben Pearce LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benpthoughts/
Tech World Human Skills Home - https://www.techworldhumanskills.com
Ben Caird Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bcaird/
Keywords
change management, leadership, adkar framework, stakeholder buy-in, team transformation, organizational change, effective communication, awareness and desire, change resistance, business impact
Takeaways
If you're not driving change, you're probably not leading.
The ADKAR model is a great way to think about driving change.
People resist change by default - you need to create genuine desire, not just awareness.
Starting with "how to change" before explaining "why change" is where most initiatives fail.
Effective change takes time with the right people; efficient change just broadcasts instructions that nobody follows.
Change champions who are peers often influence adoption more than senior leaders telling people what to do.
You get what you inspect - measuring adoption by team creates healthy accountability.
The right executive sponsor can unblock resistance and hold stakeholders accountable when you can't.
Sometimes you need to build a pilot and prove value before you can get widespread buy-in.
Not every change battle is worth fighting - if you can't get past awareness and desire, question whether it's the right idea.
More from Tech World Human Skills
This episode looks at how to get hired as a sales engineer while the hiring process itself is changing. David Ledger has run more than fifty interviews in his first three months at HiBob. He walks through the three questions that haven't changed in decades and still trip people up: why do you want to work here, why do you like being a sales engineer, and tell me about a deal you are proud of. The conversation gets specific about what a weak answer sounds like (a twenty-year life story, a complaint about a former manager, a timeline of events with no ownership) and what a strong one sounds like. That includes the test David applies to every deal story: if another SE had been there instead of you, would it still have closed?
Stoicism is not about feeling nothing. It is about deciding what deserves your energy and what does not.
The skills that make someone a strong technical expert are rarely the skills that make them a strong leader of the business around that expertise.
Fixing weaknesses feels productive, but doubling down on what you are already good at is usually what actually moves the needle.
Change management often fails for one simple reason: nobody diagnosed why people are actually resisting before throwing more training and communication at the problem.