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.

Discover the hidden barriers to adaptive leadership, why leaders struggle with uncertainty, and how to build a truly adaptive organisation.

Most businesses are still trading in certainty.

But the REAL currency of future leadership? It’s uncertainty.

Brittle organisations cling to control — long plans, fixed structures, legacy logic.
It’s not resilient. It’s rigid. And it’s costing more than you think…