Inside the Messy Middle is a special series from The Inner Game of Change

This fortnightly short series is for people who carry responsibility inside complexity.
Between strategy and delivery. Between intent and impact. Between what was imagined and what must now be made real.

These episodes are not about tools or frameworks. They are reflections on judgement, dignity, and the human cost of change as it is actually lived.

In this episode of Inside The Messy Middle, I explore what happens when pause, reflection, and professional judgement are interpreted as pushback.

What if hesitation is not resistance, but care?
What if slowing down is competence recognising consequence?

Through a business example from Intel and a quiet literary reflection, this episode examines the cost of misreading human hesitation — and what organisations risk losing when the middle stops speaking.

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Ali Juma
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Welcome to The Inner Game of Change. where we explore the thinking that shapes how change really happens.

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” That line from George Bernard Shaw captures the heart of today’s conversation.

In this episode, I am joined by Dominic Colenso, communication expert, former actor, and author of the bestselling books Impact and Cut Through. Dominic began his career on stage and screen, trained at leading drama institutions, and later brought those performance and storytelling skills into the world of business, where he has spent more than a decade helping leaders and sales professionals communicate with confidence and influence.

We explore what it really means to cut through in a world shaped by change, uncertainty, and artificial intelligence. We talk about the shift from selling ideas to serving people, the discipline of rehearsal and reflection, and how clarity, emotion, and energy shape behaviour during high-stakes moments.

If you are leading change, presenting ideas, or trying to be heard in a distracted workplace, this conversation will give you practical insights on how to communicate with more presence, purpose, and impact.

About

“The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that is has taken place” George Bernard Shaw

I’m Dominic Colenso, communication expert, and author of the bestselling book “IMPACT: How to be more confident, increase your influence and know what to say under pressure”

Straight out of drama school I closed the most important sales conversation of my life through the audition that landed me a leading role in the Hollywood action movie, Thunderbirds.

That launched my career as an actor, director, and teacher at some of the UK’s most prestigious institutions including The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Experience in the rehearsal room, on stage, in front of the camera and behind the lens were the foundation I needed to expand my career into the exciting world of keynote speaking, training and coaching.

Over the last decade I’ve helped hundreds of sales professionals and business leaders transform their ability to influence and make an impact. To take their performance from “straight to video” to “Oscar winning ”.

I’ll never forget the day my drama school principal called me in and said: “Dahling, we still haven’t seen you do anything!” I was crushed, but he was right. I’d been working so hard to impress everyone else that I’d lost sight of who I was.
When I rediscovered the courage to be vulnerable, values-driven and visible, everything changed. That’s what I want for my audiences now.

After earning my bachelor’s degree in acting, I gained many years of experience as a working actor, as well as a director, tutor and coach. I’m also a Certified Master NLP Practitioner and Trainer.
Communication doesn’t always go well. That’s usually caused by one or more of the following:
1. Lack of confidence
2. Poor connection with the audience
3. Content that bores or confuses

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Ali Juma
@The Inner Game of Change podcast

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Inside the Messy Middle is a special series from The Inner Game of Change

This fortnightly short series is for people who carry responsibility inside complexity.
Between strategy and delivery. Between intent and impact. Between what was imagined and what must now be made real.

These episodes are not about tools or frameworks. They are reflections on judgement, dignity, and the human cost of change as it is actually lived.

In this episode, I reflect on what happens when the story of change keeps shifting, but the work stays the same. I explore the often invisible labour of translation that sits in the messy middle, where people are asked to make sense of strategy before it fully makes sense to them.

This episode invites you to notice the quiet work of holding uncertainty while still offering direction, and to recognise that translation is not about communication or certainty, but about judgement, care, and making work safe enough for others to continue.

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Ali Juma
@The Inner Game of Change podcast

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Welcome to The Inner Game of Change. where we explore the thinking that shapes how change really happens.

Some of you may remember Helen Palmer from a past episode of The Inner Game of Change. It was a conversation that stayed with many listeners because of its depth and humanity.

Helen helps people learn so something different becomes possible. Her work spans change management, organisational design, learning, and knowledge. And right now, she is living the very thing she speaks about. Returning to her homeland of Aotearoa New Zealand after nearly three decades away.

This conversation is not about certainty.
It is about how we orient ourselves when certainty is not available.
How we stay open.
How we exercise judgement.
How we move forward without locking things down too early.

Helen speaks about uncertainty not as something to manage away, but as a space to stand in with care, curiosity, and confidence.

This is Orientation in Uncertainty.

About Helen
I help people learn so something different becomes possible.

That might be a shift in mindset, a new practice, or a deeper understanding. It might show up as a beautifully crafted artefact or a well-held learning experience. What matters to me is utility — learning that is purposeful, thoughtful, and liberating.

I design and deliver learning experiences for grown-ups in workscapes. Sometimes the learning is packaged: in a workbook, article, card deck, curriculum, podcast, or social media post. Sometimes it’s embodied: in a facilitated session, a team reflection, or a conceptual model that makes complex things usable.

My approach is human-centred and deeply practical. I draw on decades of professional experience across disciplines, shaped by a fierce curiosity and a knack for turning ideas into something people can use. I’m like a Swiss Army knife — what you take when you are moving through unfamiliar territory!

He aha te mea nui o te ao
What is the most important thing in the world?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata
It is the people, it is the people, it is the people
~ Māori proverb

Contacts

Helen’s Profile

linkedin.com/in/helenp

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Ali Juma
@The Inner Game of Change podcast

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Inside the Messy Middle is a special series from The Inner Game of Change

This fortnightly short series is for people who carry responsibility inside complexity.
Between strategy and delivery. Between intent and impact. Between what was imagined and what must now be made real.

These episodes are not about tools or frameworks. They are reflections on judgement, dignity, and the human cost of change as it is actually lived.

Episode One

When you are asked to lead change you did not design

Change often arrives already in motion.

The decision has been made. The direction is set. And somehow, you are now responsible for carrying it.

In this opening episode, I reflects on what it means to lead change you did not design, and why the messy middle is not a failure of leadership, but where judgement and dignity matter most.

This episode invites you to pause, notice the moment you are standing in, and recognise that certainty is not the work. Judgement is.

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Ali Juma
@The Inner Game of Change podcast

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Welcome to The Inner Game of Change. where we explore the thinking that shapes how change really happens.

And this feels like a perfect way to start 2026.

Today I am joined by someone who represents the very best of what technology leadership can be. Lev Gonic is the Enterprise Chief Information Officer at Arizona State University, but that title only hints at who he really is.

About six months ago, I had the privilege of meeting Lev in person. It was one of those encounters that stays with you. Now I am sitting with him in conversation, and that feels genuinely special.

Lev works at the intersection of education, design, and public purpose. He does not speak about technology as something to impress, but as something we are entrusted to use wisely, always in the service of others. And in a world that is becoming increasingly agent driven, he keeps returning to one simple question. How do we stay deeply human while building the future.

This conversation is not about systems or platforms. It is about designing change with care, with responsibility, and with people at the centre.

I am grateful to have Lev chatting with me today.

About Lev

As the Enterprise Chief Information Officer at Arizona State University, I lead the design and agile management of all enterprise infrastructure, applications, products, services, and analytics at the nation's largest and most innovative university. I have over 30 years of experience in education, technology, and smart city architecture, and I am passionate about enabling and celebrating innovation, collaboration, and productivity through the broadest possible access and utilization of next-generation technologies, including AI, XR, quantum, and broadband networks.

I also chair the Sun Corridor Network, Arizona's Research and Education Network, and serve on the Board of Advisors of the Coalition for Local Internet Choice, a national organization that advocates for local self-reliance and accountability in broadband Internet infrastructure. In 2023, I received the ORBIE Award as Arizona's top large Enterprise CIO, and in 2022, EdScoop named me as one of the Top 50 Educational Technology influencers and leaders. I am proud to be part of ASU's vision to be a comprehensive public research university that is measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed.

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Ali Juma
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What Do I Want This Change To Leave With Me?

Every change leaves something behind.
A lesson.
A trace.
A quieter understanding of who we are becoming.

In this final episode of A Change Question, Ali invites you to pause and reflect on one last question:
What do I want this change to leave with me?

Drawing on Viktor Frankl, T S Eliot, Maya Angelou, and a closing reading from Rainer Maria Rilke, this episode explores how meaning settles after change, and how we can carry learning forward with care.

This is not advice.
It is a gentle ending.
A moment to honour what has shaped you, and to stay close to the questions that will continue to guide you.

A reflective close to the A Change Question mini-series from The Inner Game of Change.

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Ali Juma
@The Inner Game of Change podcast

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Today is a little different.

To mark Episode one hundred, I decided not to bring in a guest. Instead, I wanted to pause and reflect on the ninety nine conversations that shaped The Inner Game of Change.

This episode is a quiet look back at how the podcast began during COVID, how the name was inspired by Tim Gallwey’s Inner Game work, and why Dr Michael Canic’s first yes helped set the tone for everything that followed.

Across these episodes, a few ideas kept showing up.

I also talk about what happens when we stay in change long enough for it to work on us, why elite athletes taught me as much about consistency as any leadership book, and how this podcast has become a place for curiosity rather than certainty.

No expectations. No hype. Just a reflection.
If one person learns one useful thing, it is a win.
If one person manages change a little better, it is a win.

Thank you to the guests who generously offered their time, and to the listeners across more than one hundred countries. I am deeply grateful.

More conversations, more experiments, and more learning will continue in the new year through The Inner Game of Change and through the Inner Game of Change Institute.

For now… a pause.

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Ali Juma
@The Inner Game of Change podcast

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