When Leaders Get in the Way

Every change process has its main characters: the co-pilots, the early adopters, the fence-sitters, and the resistors. But what happens when the leader is an unintentional double agent: the champion of change and its most obstinate obstacle? This class is open to all—fence-sitters and co-pilots alike— who seek to remove those bottlenecks and barriers and are open to the possibility that they might, in fact, be internal to their own leadership lives. In this session, we will: 

• Learn more about the archetypes of change, putting ourselves into the mindsets of each of them (there are no heroes and villains in this story; we’re all just doing our best) 
• Explore the Theory of the Emerging Future (also known as Theory U), a systems change process that centers on an invitation to “bend the beam of observation back on oneself” 
• Hear case studies and stories about how these leadership “double agents” operate 
• Practice some simple interventions that will shine a light on these challenges in your own change settings, helping you and your community move forward. 

About the instructor:  

Rabbi Elan Babchuck is committed to leaving behind a world that is more compassionate and connected than the one he found. In pursuit of that commitment, he serves as the Executive Vice President at Clal, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, and the Founding Director of Glean Network, which partners with Columbia Business School. He was ordained in 2012 and earned his MBA that year as well. A sought-after thought leader, he is the co-author of Picking Up the Pieces: Leadership After Empire (2024, Fortress Press), and Meaning Making – 8 Values That Drive America’s Newest Generations (2020, St. Mary’s Press), as well as the forthcoming Move Slow and Fix Things (2025) and Tech in Search of Meaning (2026). He has delivered keynotes at stages ranging from TEDx to business schools around the world, has published in The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Boston Globe, Washington Post, and Religion News Service, and he has a column for The Wisdom Daily. He is a Founding Partner of Starts With Us, a movement to counteract toxic polarization in America, and a founding Board Member of Springtide Research Institute, which focuses on spirituality, mental health and Gen Z. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island with his wife, Lizzie Pollock, and their three children: Micah, Nessa, and Ayla. In his spare time, he is an avid rock climber and constant gardener.