Name: Pragmatic Change
Author: Mark Winter

Feel like it's all responsibility without authority? Someone designed your job this way

Pragma is my AI change advisor available at app.pragmaticchange.com.au.

It has fielded the same sentiment four times this month:

"I am accountable for this change and I control none of the levers that would let me deliver it."

Sound familiar? Nobody puts it on a slide.

Responsibility without authority is the working output of a design. It didn't simply happen to you.

Four moves for the middle layer, and two for the senior leader who is now recognising they designed an "accountability sink"...

Change, LeadershipMark Winter30 September 2026Change, Leadership, Psychology, Decision-Making, Culture, Transformation

It's tough at the top of a 115 year old machine; mostly because no one will tell you it's tough

It's tough at the top of a 115 year old machine; mostly because no one will tell you it's tough.

You are the best-briefed person in the building and the worst-informed person on your own change.

You can feel the sanitisation even when you can't see it. And the standard response is to blame culture, the consultants (it's fine, we're used to it...) or a lack of courage — why won't people just tell me the truth?

Most leaders fail to see that the machine is working exactly as designed; it's just that it was designed in 1911.

So in an era of folding iPhones, what are the mechanisms for getting your best and brightest to speak up?

Change, LeadershipMark Winter15 September 2026Change, Leadership, Psychology, Culture, Decision-Making, Transformation

I turned down a high profile role because of "vibes" in the foyer; the research backs me up

We all know what I mean when I say 'the vibe was off'. But is this a genuine consideration in leading complex change?

Last year I won a 'once in a lifetime' transformation role at a major South Australian institution.

I turned it down — for a couple of defensible reasons, and one new scenario for my career....

Sitting in the foyer before the interview, I watched a meeting end.
Disgruntled body language. Bemused glances. Passive-aggressive shrugs on the way out the door.

Felt like danger and I could sense the upcoming slog, even if the role was 'high profile'. The vibes were off...and I was out.

Paranoia? An Adelaide neuroscientist convinced me otherwise: your read of a room is your nervous system reporting data it genuinely collected.

Gut feel is the real deal, if you understand the science.

(And The Universe delivered a confirming sample that same evening...in the most unexpected place...)

Change, LeadershipMark Winter26 August 2026Change, Leadership, Culture, Psychology

What pays? Behaviours or Culture?

Your engagement survey says the culture is strong.

The corridor behaviour says something else entirely...

Which one IS the culture? If I'm leading change...what do I pay attention to?

Both. Here is a pragmatic definition for each, that leaders can actually use.

Change, LeadershipMark Winter18 August 2026Change, Leadership, Culture, Psychology, Transformation

We go from what we know; why all good Change is about meeting people where they are...and NOT labelling them "resistors"

Let's make 2023 the year we globally bin the label of "Change Resistors"

Change isn't an abstract concept or a manufacturing technique. It's a personal, human experience, with each individual processing it through their own unique lens.

Every person brings a mix of past experiences, present perceptions, and future expectations to the table. It's a complex blend that forms their reality – and their starting point for any change.

That's why change happens one conversation at a time.

In this article, I give an overview of how to do that at scale and walk you through our second Principle of Change here at Apricot, which is focused on relationships; "Meet people where they are at".

#leadingchange #transformationalleadership #changeleadership

Change, LeadershipMark Winter20 July 2023Change, Leadership, CultureComment

How well do you really know Australia?

As a Performance Coach and Talent Manager for Campbell Page, I experienced one of the most significant growth periods of my life. My travels suddenly took me through vast swathes of this wonderful country - yet far from the tourist routes. From Warwick to Moruya, Moe to Elizabeth (and 54 other places, if we're counting ✈ ) I watched dedicated managers trying to make a difference in their local communities.

Performance, Org DevelopmentMark Winter17 April 2023Leadership, Performance, Culture