Leading through change isn’t about surviving it. It’s about leveraging it.
In this episode of the Build a Vibrant Culture Podcast, Nicole Greer sits down with leadership expert and co-author of Disrupt Everything and Win, Patrick Leddin, to unpack how leaders can stop reacting to change and start using it as fuel for growth.
At the center of the conversation is a powerful idea: great leaders don’t just respond to change, they choose the role the moment requires.
Why Leading Through Change Starts With Choosing a Role
Most leadership advice treats change as something to manage from the outside: a project plan, a timeline, a communication strategy. Patrick’s research takes a different approach. After interviewing 350 people for the Disruptor Project at Vanderbilt University, he found that the leaders who navigated change well weren’t the ones with the best plan. They were the ones who recognized which role a moment called for, then stepped into it on purpose.
That distinction matters because leading through change isn’t a single skill. It shifts depending on whether your team needs momentum, stability, or simply more time to think something through before acting.
The 5 Roles Every Leader Plays When Leading Through Change
You’ll be introduced to the 5 roles every leader must play when leading through change:
- The Trailblazer, who takes initiative and moves toward change independently
- The Torchbearer, who brings others along and builds momentum as a team
- The Firefighter, who protects focus and stability by saying “not now”
- The Fire Chief, who anchors a whole team in purpose and stability during uncertainty
- The Tinder Gatherer, who slows things down to create clarity before a decision gets made
None of these roles is “better” than the others. A leader who’s always the Trailblazer can burn out a team that needs stability. A leader who defaults to Firefighter every time can miss real opportunities for growth. The skill isn’t picking a favorite role; it’s discerning which one the moment actually requires.
The Positive Disruptor Loop: A Framework for Leading Through Change
Once you know which role to take on, Patrick’s research points to a repeatable cycle for leading through change well: disrupt, discern, behave, achieve, refine.
A disruption hits, something unexpected, a new project, a difficult conversation, a shift in the market. Instead of reacting immediately, a leader discerns what this moment actually needs. From there, behavior follows, grounded in what Patrick calls the 16 behaviors of a positive disruptor, organized around the brain, eyes, ears, mouth, heart, gut, hands, and feet. Achievement comes next, at whatever scale fits you, your team, your organization, or beyond. Then comes refinement: pausing to reflect, recommit, and adjust before the next disruption arrives.
This loop is what separates leaders who get worn down by constant change from leaders who build real resilience through it.
Why “Relentless Pursuit of the Status Quo” Quietly Kills Change Efforts
One of the most useful reframes in this episode: the opposite of a positive disruptor isn’t a “negative disruptor.” It’s someone relentlessly clinging to how things already are, even when that’s clearly not working anymore. That instinct doesn’t look dramatic. It looks like nodding along in a meeting, then saying “that’s not going to happen here” in the hallway afterward. Recognizing that pattern in your own team or in yourself is often the first real step toward leading through change rather than quietly resisting it.
A Simple Tool for Leading Through Change in Real Time: Reset the Room
Patrick also shares a practical move any leader can use immediately: when the energy in a room feels off, name it. Pause and say something like, “It feels like we’re a little off today. Am I missing something?” That small act of discernment, done with genuine curiosity rather than blame, often opens the door for a team to be honest about what’s really going on, which is the first step toward actually leading through whatever change lies ahead.
Vibrant Highlights
[03:28] Why Leading Through Change Isn’t About Changing Everything: Sometimes the most powerful move is saying no and doubling down on what matters most.
[13:58] The Positive Disruptor Loop: Disrupt, discern, behave, achieve, refine. The cycle that builds resilience and results when leading through change.
[28:31] The Anatomy of a Positive Disruptor: 16 behaviors across mindset, communication, courage, and action.
[44:00] Reset the Room: One simple leadership move that can instantly shift energy and engagement.
[48:42] A Personal Story on Disrupting Relationships: Why small intentional changes can deeply transform your most important connections.
Connect with Patrick Leddin, PHD
Disrupt Everything and Win book: a.co/d/0hCqJePI
FREE Download: jamespatterson.com/disrupt-downloads
Websites: patrickleddin.com • jamespatterson.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/patrickleddin
Also mentioned in this episode:
The Path by Laurie Beth Jones: a.co/d/03nMdLWN
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