Jeff Wetherhold
Live speaking
I speak in-person and virtually on topics that challenge conventional thinking about change.

What to expect
Most sessions on change stop with models and ideas. Your audience has heard the frameworks. They've tried the plans. They need something different, something clear and practical.
They've been left half equipped and wholly responsible for leading change.
Traditional approaches never fit, and your audience is skeptical of any new approach that sounds like the last one. They should be. These sessions address what traditional approaches leave out.
Selected speaking topics
Do You Speak Change?
Change is, first and foremost, an engagement problem. Yet we keep selling plans to solve it. The best plan will only reach the people you're already reaching. We know what works in engaging those who are skeptical, disengaged, and unconvinced. You should too.
Rethinking Engagement
“I feel like a therapist and nobody ever trained me for that!" You've felt this. The conversations leaders have every day draw on skills most leaders were never taught. These skills can be tailored for leaders, and they can improve your engagement immediately. That starts with this session.
Beyond Buy-in
You didn't make this term up. You inherited the idea that leaders get buy-in. It has been quietly undermining your efforts ever since. Buy-in offers the perception of control. In return, it takes something complex and human and makes it transactional. Buy-in keeps you from engaging those you need most. Let's talk about why
Rejecting Resistance
The concept of resistance costs you relationships, energy, and results. Ever feel like you've tried everything and you're still not getting through? Clearer communication, better business cases, and more engagement opportunities aren't enough. You can't see what's in the way because it's not visible through the lens of resistance. Let's put that lens down.
Influence with Dignity
Leaders need to influence decisions. It's not optional and it doesn't have to be coercive. Yet most of what we offer leaders blurs or ignores that line. This session gives you a clear and practical approach to influencing decisions in ways that preserve autonomy, build trust, and produce results that hold.
Leading Change without Burning Out
Change fatigue isn't just a staff problem. It's a leadership crisis. Most leaders carry more than they need to. When staff bring problems, leaders solve them. When change leads to friction, leaders absorb it. That pattern is unsustainable and avoidable. Leading change does not mean carrying it alone.
Custom Topics
Those don't quite fit? They're starting points. Let's talk about what does.
Proof
​This work is grounded in the most evidence-driven disciplines available: 2,300+ randomized control trials, 200+ meta-analyses, and growing.
State-level results showed 97% applied learning and a 40% improvement in change leadership capability.
Past clients include MIT, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and the State of Illinois.
Discover more through podcasts
I regularly appear on podcasts to discuss organizational change, manager capability, and evidence-based leadership.
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