This is how organisations heal

Counting the human cost of avoidance

First published on
Mar 16, 2026
we’re stuck and struggling to change
Writing Workforces Business development Culture in companies Difficult conversations Getting change done High performing teams Leadership development 2026

Lately, I’ve been exploring a pattern that keeps cropping up in the organisations I work with.

Why do smart, well-intentioned leadership teams keep avoiding the very things that would help their organisations heal and regain energy?

In my new TEDx talk, I set out the three patterns I see most often. I call them the Elephant, the Hangover, and the Cupboard Under the Stairs.

If you’re reading that and already thinking it sounds uncomfortably familiar, watch the talk here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhdqiItCPe4

Once you have, I’d really like to know which of the three you suspect is operating within your organisation. (It might be more than one.)

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