Best Dan Pontefract Podcasts (2025)

1
Serve the Customer’s Customer with Executive Coach Shakeel Bharmal 37:08

Play Pause

4h ago37:08

37:08

Shakeel Bharmal lays out a practical playbook for relevance and performance. Begin with the customer’s customer to escape your own lens and create value that sticks. Coach as your default leadership stance—“Leadership is 80% about being a coach.” Make strategy a conversation that welcomes challenge and builds a stronger team, not just a document—“T…

1
The Hidden Politics of Change Leadership: Dan Pontefract 28:32

15d ago28:32

28:32

Dan Pontefract’s three big insights on modern change mastery and leading meaningful organizational transformation: Managing up is a critical part of change leadership, and there are smarter ways to do it; Culture isn’t “soft” — it’s the real work of change and can’t be delegated away; and Purpose, balance, and generational shifts are forces shaping…

1
Campfires Not Stadiums: Building Belonging: Charles Vogl 22:36

29m ago22:36

22:36

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. C…

1
Common Mistakes in Leading Transformational Change: Linda Ackerman 29:59

1h ago29:59

29:59

Here are three provocative questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Dr. Linda Ackerman Anderson: What if change were treated like finance? Are your leaders modelling the change — or just managing it? And what hidden costs are you paying for “too much change, too fast”? For forty-plus years, Linda has studied what actually dera…

1
Are You Pretending Change Has No Cost? Paulo Pisano 35:45

18m ago35:45

35:45

Here are three big questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Paulo Pisano: Is complexity masking your real priorities?; What sacrifices are you pretending aren’t happening?; and How are you building protagonist mindsets? Paulo Pisano, CHRO at Booking.com, has spent his career leading transformation in large, global organization…

1
A Fresh Take on Courage for Change: Dave Ulrich 29:53

6d ago29:53

29:53

Here are three provocative questions that emerge from this Change Signal conversation with Dave Ulrich: Why do so many leaders know what to do in change but fail to actually do it? If change is always messy and iterative, how can leaders set expectations without killing momentum? What does it really take to lead through paradox instead of choosing …

1
Are You Your Own Saboteur? Kirstin Ferguson 29:44

8d ago29:44

29:44

Here are three provocative questions that emerge from this Change Signal conversation with Kirstin Ferguson: Why does character matter more than competence when it comes to inspiring transformation? Do everyday leadership moments shape culture more than big, staged gestures? What happens when leaders ask better questions instead of always giving an…

1
Is Your Exec Team BORED of change? Probably. Kate Lye 16:30

20d ago16:30

16:30

Here are three provocative questions that emerge from this Change Signal conversation with Kate Lye: Why do executive teams excel at functional expertise but falter at systems thinking? Can CEOs transform their organizations without first transforming themselves? What happens if change leaders never secure permission to call out executive sabotage?…

1
Does Insubordination Help or Hinder Change? Todd Kashdan 30:06

22d ago30:06

30:06

Here are three provocative questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Todd Kashdan: Are you cooperating too much for change to succeed? What personal costs are you willing to pay for principled rebellion? Why do people hide their real beliefs just to fit in? My friend Todd Kashdan, psychology professor and author of The Art of I…

1
James Root of Bain & Company - Designing Work Around Six Archetypes 37:01

23d ago37:01

37:01

James Root of Bain & Company unpacks "The Archetype Effect"—six distinct motivations that show up across roles, industries, and countries—and why a one-path ladder misses most of the value. We explore how to design work around what people actually care about, not what old systems assume.We get practical: keep the ladder for Strivers while building …

1
The Hidden Rituals of Change: Michael Norton 29:54

1M ago29:54

29:54

By Michael Bungay Stanier

1
The Four Change Friction Traps: Loran Nordgren 31:23

1M ago31:23

31:23

Here are three big questions that Loran Nordgren asks in the question for modern change mastery: Are you accidentally creating resistance by making your ideas sound too revolutionary? What if the anxieties you're avoiding are exactly what you need to address? Why does pushing harder on change often make things worse? Loran Nordgren, a behavioural t…

1
CEO Victoria Tomlinson on Unretirement, Age Inclusion, and Older Workers 34:10

1M ago34:10

34:10

Victoria Tomlinson, chief executive of Next-Up, FRSA, BBC Expert Woman, bestselling author, TEDx and international speaker, explains how to value and invest in 50+ talent before and after retirement. We explore the Three R’s—recruitment, retention, redundancy by age—succession done properly, tech confidence vs. capability, and intergenerational tea…

1
David Liddle on Rewriting People and Culture 49:40

1M ago49:40

49:40

David Liddle argues that legacy grievance and disciplinary procedures corrode trust, suppress performance, and institutionalize fear. In this conversation, the TCM Group and People and Culture Association founder outlines a practical reset: retire retributive processes in favour of an integrated resolution framework, build genuinely predictive Peop…

1
Power Literacy for Change Leaders: Larissa Conte 34:28

2M ago34:28

34:28

Here’s what Larissa Conte asks us about modern change mastery: Is “power” something that’s learned and usable? What might happen if we focused on possibilities rather than problems? How can you expand your ability to handle more success “wattage”? My guest Larissa Conte calls herself a "power alchemist" — which will either intrigue you or make you …

1
How to 3x Training Results: Chris Taylor 16:48

2M ago16:48

16:48

Here are three big questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Chris Taylor: Are your high-stakes moments sabotaging skill development? Why practice once when you could daily? What if home practice beats workplace training? My friend Chris Taylor, founder of Actionable, has spent eighteen years obsessing over what Bob Sutton call…

1
Why Curiosity Drives Change Capacity: Scott D. Anthony 20:13

2M ago20:13

20:13

Here are three big questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Scott D. Anthony: What's systematically killing curiosity in your organization? Can you hold your team in that sweet spot between comfort and chaos? And Are your excuses actually avoiding the real work of transformation? Scott D. Anthony, Clinical Professor of Busines…

1
How to Plan for Resistance: Lisa Reynolds 20:29

2M ago20:29

20:29

Here are three big questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Lisa Reynolds: Are you actually enabling resistance? When did you last grieve something? How many individual changes are you actually managing? Lisa Reynolds leads change management at Christus Health, where her small team punches way above their weight across a massi…

1
Annabelle: The Doll That Terrified Dan Rivera 12:48

3M ago12:48

12:48

Send us a text Annabelle isn’t just a movie prop — she’s one of the most infamous haunted objects in the world. For decades, Ed and Lorraine Warren kept the doll locked away, warning of the danger it carried. Years later, paranormal investigator Dan Rivera would find himself face-to-face with Annabelle, leading a tour that brought the cursed doll t…

1
3I-Atlas: Alien Visitor or Cosmic Oddity? 12:52

3M ago12:52

12:52

Send us a text In 2024, astronomers detected something unusual — an object named 3I-Atlas, traveling through our solar system from deep space. Only the third confirmed interstellar object ever discovered, its speed and trajectory defied expectations. But what is 3I-Atlas? A natural fragment of rock and ice, or something far stranger? From scientifi…

1
The Black Monk of Pontefract: Britain’s Most Brutal Haunting 20:58

3M ago20:58

20:58

Send us a text In the quiet town of Pontefract, England, one house became the center of terror. A poltergeist known as The Black Monk plagued the Pritchard family with violent attacks, moving objects, pools of water, and a sinister shadowy figure that lurked in the dark. Investigators would later call it the most violent haunting in European histor…

1
The San Pedro Poltergeist: A Haunting That Wouldn’t Let Go 31:21

3M ago31:21

31:21

Send us a text In 1989, Jackie Hernandez moved into a small bungalow in San Pedro, California—hoping for a fresh start. What she found instead was one of the most violent and disturbing hauntings ever documented. Knives thrown across the room. Friends attacked in the attic. Her infant marked by an unseen hand. Even when Jackie fled, the entity foll…

1
Training's Biggest Blind Spot Revealed: Julie Dirksen 27:09

2M ago27:09

27:09

Julie Dirksen’s three key insights about modern change mastery: most training fails because it ignores immediate relevance; organizational change temporarily destroys people's competence and professional identity; corporate learning only addresses logic while ignoring the emotional brain that actually drives decisions. Julie Dirksen joins me to dis…

1
Your Brain on Change: Prof Dan Cable 24:14

2M ago24:14

24:14

Here are three big questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Dan Cable: Are you leading with fear-based management?; How much "freedom within the frame" are you offering? and How do you use dopamine to best fuel your change efforts? Dan Cable, Professor of Organizational Behaviour at London Business School, argues that as the w…

1
Three Paths Through Failure. A CEO, a counsellor, a consultant 21:59

3M ago21:59

21:59

A CEO, a counsellor, and a consultant share a key question each about change: How do you really make things safe for people? Could powerlessness actually, ironically, be a superpower? What’s the difference between guardrails and control layers? What if everything you know about leading change is backwards? Garry Ridge turned WD-40 into a global phe…

1
Should You Lie About Change? Michael Bungay Stanier solo episode 23:18

3M ago23:18

23:18

The three key insights from this episode: change is orienteering through unknown territory, not following a GPS route; organizations are addicted to efficiency when they desperately need experimentation; and the best experiments are designed to fail safely, not succeed predictably. I'm diving solo into why small experiments might be the only sane a…

1
Are Your Meetings Killing Change? Keith McCandless 25:57

3M ago25:57

25:57

Keith McCandless’s three key insights: meetings fail because we use five invisible patterns that systematically exclude people; anyone can facilitate breakthrough conversations using simple rules, no charisma required; and boosting both autonomy and responsibility simultaneously creates wildly productive teams. Most change leaders know meetings suc…

1
Why Stories Matter More: Jennifer Garvey Berger 29:56

3M ago29:56

29:56

Jennifer Garvey Berger’s three key insights: connectivity matters more than individual talent in complex systems; small experiments beat both over-planning and paralysis; and stories are legitimate measures of change before numbers shift. If you've ever had a change plan that hasn't quite gone according to plan (and honestly, who hasn't?), this con…

1
Can You Change Yesterday's People? Mark Surman, Mozilla 29:56

3M ago29:56

29:56

Mark Surman’s three key insights: spending years wrestling with whether your foundational values still make sense; accepting that legacy teams can't build the future, so you need separate structures; and mastering the ability to think across different timescales simultaneously. Mark Surman, Mozilla's president, shares the messy reality of transform…

1
Is Your Organization Change Allergic? Anne Gotte 26:22

4M ago26:22

26:22

Three key insights from Anne Gotte: change management is as outdated as "personnel" organizations must diagnose their change allergies before attempting transformation; and leaders need to embrace clumsy imperfection while providing clear direction. Anne Gotte is SVP Global Talent & Organization Effectiveness at Mondelēz and she brings refreshing h…

1
Christa Haberstock on Being Bookable as a Speaker 39:55

4M ago39:55

39:55

What does it take to go from “nice-to-have” to non-negotiable?In this episode of Leadership NOW, Dan Pontefract sits down with Christa Haberstock—founder of See Agency and Bookable Speakers, and author of Become a Bookable Speaker. Together, they unpack what it means to lead with an “obvious advantage”—the kind of value that gets you rebooked, resp…

1
Start with the Gnarliest Problem: Rodney Evans 36:59

4M ago36:59

36:59

Three key insights: Change work isn't transformative anymore—it's operational; your organization does everything the same dysfunctional way; and everyone secretly benefits from broken patterns. My guest, Rodney Evans from TheReady, has abandoned talking about "adaptability" because people's eyes glaze over. Instead, she starts every conversation wi…

1
The Imperfection Advantage: Charles Conn 34:01

4M ago34:01

34:01

Could it be that your strategic planning is actually paralyzing you, your biggest critics hold the keys to breakthrough innovation, and the military metaphors you're using to lead change are fundamentally broken? Charles Conn, former McKinsey partner, former Head of Rhodes House, and current chair of Patagonia's board, brings a provocative challeng…

1
How Many Times Should You Fight Your Boss? Molly Graham 26:21

5M ago26:21

26:21

Discover why emotional "monsters" sabotage change projects, learn the "fight it three times" rule for managing upwards, and understand why grief is the most overlooked emotion in transformation work. Molly Graham has scaled teams at Google and Meta, and now runs Glue Club for startup operators. She brings hard-won wisdom about the messy human side …

1
Finding The Real Constraint: Dan Heath 10:19

4M ago10:19

10:19

Why does nobody care about your billion-dollar vision, what can Chick-fil-A teach you about bottlenecks, and how does fixing one problem always create another? Dan Heath drops some astute and provocative truths about change leadership that'll make you rethink and reset your approach to change. First up: your carefully crafted corporate vision proba…

1
Maria Franzoni on Bookability and Leading in the Speaking Industry 40:54

5M ago40:54

40:54

Maria Franzoni has booked Neil Armstrong and Liza Minnelli—and mentored hundreds of speakers in between. In this episode of Leadership NOW with Dan Pontefract, she explains what separates the truly bookable speaker from the rest, and how those same principles apply to leadership, business, and long-term impact.We explore how speaker bureaus are evo…

1
Mandy Gill on Grit, Goals & Getting Back Up 39:14

5M ago39:14

39:14

What do ultra-marathons, workplace distractions, and failed goals have in common? Mandy Gill. In this candid episode of Leadership NOW with Dan Pontefract, Mandy shares her journey—from overcoming anorexia to guiding leaders through resilience and workplace wellness. Her book "Reset with Resilience" is a blueprint for bouncing forward through setba…

1
The Easiest Change Strategy: Roy Baumeister 10:51

5M ago10:51

10:51

Most change programs get the sequence backwards; uncertainty secretly sabotages willpower; and using your non-dominant hand might triple your success rate. My guest, Roy Baumeister, is one of psychology's rock stars, and he's spent decades studying what actually works when it comes to willpower and behaviour change. Turns out, we've (mostly) been d…

1
Beyond Resilience: Shatterproof: Dr. Tasha Eurich 30:56

5M ago30:56

30:56

What if the pain you're pushing through is actually the data you need; resilience programs are burning billions on the wrong problem; and there's a psychological theory that could transform your change work, but almost no one in business knows about it? Here's the uncomfortable truth: we're living in a "chaos era" of chronic, compounding stress tha…

1
The Three Voices Sabotaging Change: Otto Scharmer 26:00

5M ago26:00

26:00

Could it be that the biggest barrier to change isn't resistance from others, but three voices in your own head? And what if taking action too quickly is actually making everything worse? Otto Scharmer, creator of Theory U and MIT lecturer, reveals why most transformation efforts fail at the deepest level. The problem isn't strategy or resources—it'…

1
Trust: Your Change Leader Superpower? Rachel Botsman 28:51

6M ago28:51

28:51

Learn why trust is contextual, resistance signals engagement, and successfully navigating change requires embracing uncertainty. In this episode of Change Signal, I dive deep with Rachel Botsman, the world's expert on trust and Oxford University fellow, to explore how trust enables change — and how change can damage trust. Rachel challenges us to i…

1
Solo with MBS: Are you a Change drama queen? 25:36

6M ago25:36

25:36

Discover how a simple three-role model can reveal dysfunctional patterns, what your least-played role says about your biggest triggers, and which powerful questions can transform strained relationships during change. In this LinkedIn Live, I dive into the Karpman Drama Triangle—a model I've used for 30+ years as both a self-management and change ma…

1
You Have to Work with the Resistance: Adam Kahane 25:51

6M ago25:51

25:51

Collaborating across differences, embracing unpredictability, and balancing power with love: these are the keys to transforming your organization's most challenging dilemmas. Adam Kahane teaches us that meaningful change often demands working with people we don't agree with, like, or trust. He calls it "radical collaboration." Think you need alignm…

1
Can Feelings Fast-Track Your Transformation? Cassandra Worthy 5:48

6M ago5:48

5:48

Emotion in business, slowing down to speed up, and regular check-ins that boost engagement—these are the game-changers for leading transformation. In this short but powerful episode, Cassandra Worthy challenges the outdated notion that feelings have no place in organizational change. Why do we still pretend emotions don't exist in the workplace? It…

1
Jennifer Fondrevay on Fixing the Human Side of M&A 39:43

7M ago39:43

39:43

When companies go through a merger or acquisition, most leaders obsess over financials and spreadsheets. But according to Jennifer Fondrevay—founder of Day1 Ready and author of Now What?—the real failure happens when leadership ignores people. In this episode of Leadership NOW, we explore what really drives post-acquisition chaos, the arrogance of …

1
What Are Your Top Three Decisions? David Lancefield 36:02

7M ago36:02

36:02

Create to inspire forward motion, link your work to winning, and clarify who makes what decisions—these are the power moves that can elevate change work from frustrating to focused. David Lancefield brilliantly reframes "change" and "transformation" as words that trigger apathy or fear, suggesting we talk instead about creation. When you lead chang…

1
Your Change Team Needs More Conflict, Not Less: Liane Davey 20:06

7M ago20:06

20:06

Tension drives innovation, productive conflict is essential for change, and effective listening helps you understand what truly matters to people. Dr. Liane Davey reveals how to use conflict as a catalyst for positive change in organizations where most teams have too little productive tension, not too much. As a change leader, it turns out that you…

1
Stop Planning, Start Prototyping Change: John Zeratsky 28:07

7M ago28:07

28:07

Here's prototype testing, hypothesis-driven change leadership, and the power of radical differentiation all rolled into one fascinating conversation. I'm SO over slow, overplanned, change management disconnected from reality. That's why I brought in John Zeratsky, former design leader at YouTube and Google, who pioneered a process for testing new i…

1
Ageism is Hurting Your Organization with Maureen Wiley Clough 35:02

7M ago35:02

35:02

Maureen Wiley Clough, seasoned technology leader and host of the podcast It Gets Late Early, joins Dan Pontefract on Leadership NOW to discuss the overlooked yet costly issue of ageism in today’s workplaces. Clough highlights why age diversity isn’t simply an ethical responsibility but a strategic advantage. She dismantles harmful myths about older…

1
Are You Blinded by the “Change Obvious”? Dr Jason Fox 24:37

7M ago24:37

24:37

In this episode: Navigating uncertainty versus ambiguity, treating strategy as a living conversation, and looking beyond the obvious for weak signals. Dr. Jason Fox challenges conventional notions of change management by urging us to develop sensibilities rather than just skills. He argues that traditional scenario planning creates an illusion of c…