UNSCRIPTED Episode 365

Sarah Aviram on why your relationship to change matters more than the change itself.

Most change initiatives are built around process. New systems, new structures, new reporting lines. And most of them underestimate the same thing: the human being on the other side of the change.

In Episode 365 of UNSCRIPTED, Sarah Nicastro sits down with Sarah Aviram — keynote speaker, leadership coach, and author of the upcoming book The Scenic Route — for a conversation that gets to the heart of why change is hard, and what leaders can do differently.

Sarah's perspective is shaped by an experience few could claim. In 2018, she pitched her CEO a field research study into the future of remote work — and spent the next twelve months working across 12 different countries. What began as a professional experiment became something far more personal: a deep exploration of identity, resilience, and what it means to adapt.

The conversation covers a lot of ground — from the six core drivers of human motivation to the Portuguese concept of saudade, a bittersweet longing for something that may never be. Sarah shares why flamenco dancers don't peak until their 40s, what a Buddhist monk in Thailand taught her about releasing identity, and why the most sophisticated change management strategy will always fall short if people aren't emotionally on board first.

For service leaders navigating organizational transformation, digital shifts, or simply the relentless pace of change that defines this industry right now, there is a lot to take away from this episode. Not frameworks to implement, but questions worth sitting with.