Podcast

Tamsen Webster

#489: How to Inspire Meaningful, Lasting Change and Build Enduring Buy-in

You know how exciting and rewarding a major change in your life can be.

But you, me, and everyone we’re trying to change hate change.

It appears to scare the sh!t out of us because it activates the amygdala, which thinks change is a threat. So it releases a milkshake of hormones for fear, fight, or flight.

This is our basic survival instinct, which believes that remaining in the status quo will keep us safe even as everything is changing around us.

Seems odd given that evolution is all about the survival of the fittest; changing as our environment changes.

But people resist change because of:

Fear of the unknown
People are creatures of habit and find comfort in familiar routines and processes.
Loss of control
Change can interfere with autonomy and make people feel like they’ve lost control.
Surprise
Decisions imposed on people suddenly, with no time to get used to the idea or prepare for the consequences, are generally resisted.
Not understanding the reason for it
People fear change if they don’t understand the reason for it.

Today, we focus on how to lessen resistance to a proposed change using effective storytelling.

My good friend Tamsen Webster joins us to share insights from her new book, Say What They Can’t Unhear: The 9 Principles of Lasting Change.

You’ll learn some of those principles as Tamsen takes us on her journey in change management and communication, emphasizing the importance of understanding how adults learn and the need for effective storytelling strategies to get people to buy into and prosper from your change initiatives.

Because, the risk of change lands squarely on the shoulders of the initiator. If you’re the initiator, then those are your shoulders.

Part message designer, part English-to-English translator, part magpie, Tamsen Webster helps leaders craft their case for large-scale change.

In addition to her work in and for major organizations such as Harvard Medical School, Fidelity Investments, and Klaviyo, she’s a judge and mentor for the Harvard Innovation Labs, a professional advisor at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, and has spent over 10 years as the Idea Strategist for one of only nine legacy-level TEDx events in the world.

She was named to the Thinkers50 Radar in 2022 and is the author of two books, Find Your Red Thread: Make Your Big Ideas Irresistible and Say What They Can’t Unhear: The 9 Principles of Lasting Change.

She lives in Boston with her husband, two sons, and two brindle Greyhounds, Hazel and Walnut.