The Science of Change
Thu Jan 15 2026
Most leadership systems are built on a lie. They assume that if you apply enough pressure, accountability, and incentives, people will change. In my latest episode of Legendary Leadership Lessons, I sat down with Dr. Richard Boyatzis, one of the most cited leadership scholars in the world, and author of The Science of Change, and he explained why that approach is biologically wrong. When leaders push people through fear, targets, and performance pressure, they activate the survival system in the brain. You may get short-term compliance, but you destroy trust, creativity, and ethical judgment in the process.
Real, sustainable change only happens when leaders help people reconnect to who they want to become. He calls this operating in renewal. It is the state where purpose, values, and compassion light up the parts of the brain responsible for learning and growth. This is why so many performance-driven cultures burn out their best people. They never give them space to anchor back to their ideal self.
This conversation connected directly to what I call the Authenticity Gap. When leaders are forced to perform instead of lead, they drift away from who they truly are, and people feel it. Trust erodes. Engagement drops. But when leaders lead using the process of renewal, people follow because of the attitude and mindset shift of the leader.
That is the future of leadership, and it is why this episode of Legendary Leadership Lessons is a must-listen!
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Most leadership systems are built on a lie. They assume that if you apply enough pressure, accountability, and incentives, people will change. In my latest episode of Legendary Leadership Lessons, I sat down with Dr. Richard Boyatzis, one of the most cited leadership scholars in the world, and author of The Science of Change, and he explained why that approach is biologically wrong. When leaders push people through fear, targets, and performance pressure, they activate the survival system in the brain. You may get short-term compliance, but you destroy trust, creativity, and ethical judgment in the process. Real, sustainable change only happens when leaders help people reconnect to who they want to become. He calls this operating in renewal. It is the state where purpose, values, and compassion light up the parts of the brain responsible for learning and growth. This is why so many performance-driven cultures burn out their best people. They never give them space to anchor back to their ideal self. This conversation connected directly to what I call the Authenticity Gap. When leaders are forced to perform instead of lead, they drift away from who they truly are, and people feel it. Trust erodes. Engagement drops. But when leaders lead using the process of renewal, people follow because of the attitude and mindset shift of the leader. That is the future of leadership, and it is why this episode of Legendary Leadership Lessons is a must-listen!