What Really Moves/Changes a System?
The Change Signal with Helen Bevan
Listen or Watch on:
Helen Bevan has spent decades leading large-scale transformation inside the NHS, and she brings that rare blend of deep experience and fresh thinking. She makes a compelling case that the real levers of change aren’t the ones we normally obsess over—plans, resources, or methodologies—but the relational fabric that holds a system together.
We talk about belonging as a core condition for change, and why the best leaders know how to help people both “belong” and “unbelong” as the system shifts. Helen also shares the surprising results of a major five-year transformation experiment, where social capital — not expertise or investment — predicted which organizations moved forward and which fell behind.
And we explore agency: why you can’t give it, why people have to build it themselves, and how leaders can create the routines that make that possible. If you’re navigating complexity, leading transformation, or trying to spark change in a large organization, this conversation offers practical insight into how change actually travels through a system.
Here are three provocative questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Helen Bevan:
Is your belonging actually just assimilation?
Are your relationships stronger than your strategy?
And what fear is your system quietly running on?
ABOUT HELEN:
Helen Bevan is one of the NHS’s most influential change leaders, known for her work in large-scale transformation, social movement thinking, and capability-building for change agents across complex systems. Her work helps leaders create conditions where people connect, experiment, and act with greater agency.
Music Credits: Rest in the Garden - SackJo22 ft Duckett & The Stubble Field Break (Mana Mixed) - Mana Junkie ft Apoxode
