The Hidden Politics of Change Leadership
The Change Signal with Dan Pontefract
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Dan Pontefract, former Chief Learning Officer at Telus and SAP, didn’t just improve engagement — he transformed it and built capability that lasted. Today, as an author and advisor, he helps senior leaders connect strategy, culture, and humanity in ways that stick.
In this episode, he shares practical strategies for navigating resistant executives, cultures that talk engagement but don’t live it, and projects that risk burning people out.
Most provocatively, Dan argues that culture is not a side project — it’s the core engine of meaningful transformation.
If you’re steering change management or organizational transformation, this conversation offers a grounded, human, and effective approach to leadership.
Here are three provocative questions that emerge from this Change Signal conversation with Dan Pontefract:
How can change leaders manage up more effectively when executives quietly resist?
If culture isn’t “soft” work, what does it take to make it the real engine of transformation?
How do purpose, balance, and generational shifts reshape the way change actually succeeds?
ABOUT DAN:
Dan Pontefract is an author, advisor, and former Chief Learning Officer at Telus and SAP. He helps senior leaders connect strategy, culture, and humanity, building transformational capability that lasts. Dan is the author of Flat Army, The Purpose Effect, and Lead. Care. Win.
Dan’s website: https://www.danpontefract.com
