Right now, most leadership teams I work with are running on fumes. The pressure to “do more with less – and faster” is back on repeat. And yes, the world is moving at breakneck speed. But here’s the trap – expecting your people to adapt at the same rate doesn’t fuel performance, it erodes it.

The answer isn’t more effort. It’s different effort. Intentional interventions that interrupt the cycle.

And one of the simplest, most underestimated interventions?

Role play. Simulation. Scenario.

Let’s get real – your business will never outgrow the limits of its leadership. Full stop.

You can hire the best people, invest in shiny tech, or throw millions into marketing. But if you, as the leader, don’t change your lens, your behaviour, and your relationship with uncertainty – you’ll stay stuck.

Brittle. Hesitant. Reckless.

And brittle, hesitant or reckless won’t cut it in this market – just ask the one in three SMEs telling NAB they’re already turning down business because they can’t move with confidence.

The only way forward is Adaptive. And that starts with YOU.

Change doesn’t happen by magic. And it sure as hell doesn’t happen by willpower.

(Yes, audible gasps. Stay with me.)

For decades, leaders have been told that willpower is the key to change. Dig deeper. Push harder. Grit your teeth and get it done. The problem? Willpower is finite. It burns hot, then fizzles out. And when it does, leaders are left with guilt, self-judgment, and the crushing weight of “I should have done more.”

That’s a brittle strategy – and brittle breaks.

What actually creates change?

Drillpower.

Real transformation never looks neat in the middle.

Messy isn’t the risk. Avoiding messy is.

“Inspirational” has become leadership’s go-to word for when they want to sound bold but play it safe. It’s a catchall. It’s wallpaper. It’s the sugar coating on the stale doughnut that is corporate purpose. It’s what we think we should be, rarely what we are, and almost never what actually moves people to action.