In many organisations there is an unspoken expectation that people will fit in. Fit the culture. Fit the way things are done. Fit in with the unwritten rules. But sometimes the people who bring the greatest value are the ones who don’t quite fit . These individuals are often known as positive deviants . They drive innovation which emerges from thoughtful deviation, not conformity. The term positive deviance  was popularised by researchers such as Richard Pascale, Jerry Stern

Have you ever wondered why some people get things done and others…well…they languish or talk the talk, but there’s very little to show for it? How things get done in organisations is not evenly distributed. There is great variation in capability and motivation to complete work, and…to avoid work. Here’s my observations on how it plays out: The matrix As a big fan of the 2x2 matrix to explain concepts, I created this diagram to sum up how $H!tT gets done with two axes:   Strat

Great minds think differently. It’s a phrase we nod along to, yet when it comes to hiring, many organisations continue to recruiting for culture fit . We look for people who feel familiar, who align quickly, who seem like they’ll blend in seamlessly. The problem? Too much fit can quietly become conformity. Innovation over similarity When teams prioritise similarity, innovation often stalls. New thinking gets filtered out before it has a chance to challenge assumptions. Comfor

If there’s one thing that irks me as much as the ‘change is just comms and training’ mantra, it’s this: It’s only a small tech or process change, it won’t really impact people. STOP! Change practitioners - you can stop this organisational myth before it grows its own post code! Almost every change in an organisation impacts people. If they need to DO SOMETHING differently, THINK differently or BEHAVE differently, it’s a PEOPLE change. And for PEOPLE-related changes, a change.

It happened again last week! A change lead reached out to me for help – this time it was about preparing for interviewing change management candidates to join her project team. Her people leader had asked her to do two things: 1.       Brief the external recruiter who will search and shortlist the candidates 2.       Carry out the interviews with the shortlisted people She did not know where to start. She has project deliverables and has been asked to ‘interview on the run’.

As someone who loves words, I’ve been noodling with this new word I’ve coined – change-itsu. It describes the art of gentle, adaptive change. It’s delivering change that respects the principles of calm and respect while being attuned to the people experiencing it. The name is Inspired by jujitsu, the Japanese discipline of martial arts which means gentle art. Change-itsu is about moving with intention rather than force, meeting people where they are at, and responding with fl

In a recent conversation, the topic of the Abilene Paradox came up. It was quickly dismissed as ‘just another name for group think’. No, not really. Let’s look at why. Both groupthink and the Abilene Paradox  show us how teams make decisions, not because they lack intelligence, but because they suppress honest conversations. The difference lies in the why . In groupthink, people genuinely believe the group is right. Pressure to conform (social norms), maintain harmony, or av

Let’s talk about gossip Not the stuff we see on the news or instagram about royals and celebrities. I’m talking about the gossip that...