Three Decades of Leading Transformational Change
My work in change leadership began with multiple large-scale transformations at the World Bank and Royal Dutch Shell. These were complex environments with global reach, diverse stakeholders, and deeply ingrained ways of working.
For more than thirty years, I’ve helped leaders navigate uncertainty with clarity and confidence—creating alignment, engagement, and momentum around their most important strategic shifts.
Read More Schedule a ConversationMy approach to successful change is built on a single premise: engagement is the foundation of real transformation.
Successful change doesn’t happen because of top-down plans or carefully engineered messaging. It happens because people get involved in meaningful ways. In my experience, the leaders who make the biggest impact don’t push change from above. They generate movement by engaging others deeply, creating shared ownership, and igniting energy across the system.
This is not about controlling outcomes. It’s about creating the conditions for transformation. Change is social. It happens through relationships, conversations, shared breakthroughs, and emotional commitment. That’s why I focus on engagement. When people see themselves in the work, when they feel heard and valued, they move from compliance to contribution and that’s where real progress begins.
Examples of Large-Scale Change Leadership from My Client Portfolio:
- Thriving Earth Exchange, powered by the American Geophysical Union
- SmartFields, Royal Dutch Shell
- Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation, American Nurses Association Enterprise
- Center for Financial Planning, CFP Board
- Stop Stigma Together, Huntsman Mental Health Institute
featuring a 7-year PSA campaign by the Ad Council, Love Your Mind - Summit on Breakthroughs in Physics in Medicine - coming January 2026, American Association of Physicists in Medicine
- Ultrasound Proficiency Grand Challenge, Inteleos
Best Seller!
Getting Change Right
How Leaders Transform Organizations from the Inside Out
Washington Post and Denver Post best-seller
An exciting read brimming with cutting-edge ideas and new views on leadership communication, Getting Change Right asserts that change doesn’t flow top-down, bottom-up, or sideways, but inside-out. Based on years of experience with organizations around the world, change expert Kahan presents a new model of communication, one that moves from a transactional view of information exchange to a collaborative construction of shared understanding.
If you would like to discuss your circumstances confidentially, reach out to me at Seth@VisionaryLeadership.com.
I don't require a contract to have a conversation.
