Each day, Oana Amaria, Felicia Scott, and Jason Rebello are fortunate to meet and work with individuals who are driving culture and systems change in their communities, organizations, and across the globe. From diversity, equity, and inclusion experts to champions from all fields and disciplines—we’re sharing their stories of transformation to inspire and create change in people systems, culture, engagement, and performance. Visit fireflyinclusion.com to learn more about driving culture change, organizational development, and transformational leadership.
EP 28. From Contact to Change: What Leaders Start to See When They Stay in the Room
Show Summary
Change is often treated as a process to manage, but what happens when we center the human experience instead? In this episode, Oana Amaria sits down with organizational development practitioners Jacqueline Rosenberg and Zhanel Ahearne to explore what it really means to navigate change inside organizations.
Together, they unpack the difference between change and transition, reframing change as something inevitable while transition is the emotional and psychological journey people experience in response to it. Through stories from their work with global organizations, the conversation explores why transformation efforts often struggle when leaders focus only on systems, timelines, and communication plans while overlooking loss, resistance, trust, and human complexity.
Join us for a thoughtful conversation on leading through uncertainty, supporting people through transition, and why sustainable transformation begins by putting humans at the center of change.
Learning Highlights From This Episode:
Why resistance should be viewed as valuable information rather than a barrier
How loss, identity, and uncertainty shape people’s responses to change
Why leadership behavior matters more than communication plans or frameworks
How transparency, listening, and empathy help leaders build trust during uncertainty
Link to website blog post, transcript & show notes: https://fireflyinclusion.com/from-contact-to-change-what-leaders-start-to-see-when-they-stay-in-the-room-podcast/
16 Mar 2026
EP 27. Staying in the Room: What Real Contact Teaches Us in Moments of Uncertainty
Show Summary
In a fast-moving world, it’s easy for leaders to lose touch, with themselves and with the people around them. In this episode, Oana Amaria sits down with Nnaceesay Mercier and Tsheli Lujabe to explore the Gestalt concept of contact and what it really means to connect with authenticity in leadership and everyday life.
Making contact goes beyond communication. It’s about presence, curiosity, and the willingness to truly engage with another person’s experience. Through personal stories and reflections from their work with leaders around the world, the conversation explores how self-awareness, vulnerability, and listening can deepen relationships and open the door to real transformation.
Join us for a thoughtful conversation on what it means to be present, how authentic contact shapes stronger leadership, and why meaningful connection is more essential than ever.
Learning Highlights from the Episode
The concept of contact in Gestalt practice and why it matters in leadership
The role of self-awareness and presence in building authentic connections
How vulnerability and curiosity deepen relationships
Why meaningful contact can transform conversations, relationships, and growth
Practical reflections on bringing more presence and connection into everyday leadership
Episode website w/ full transcript: https://fireflyinclusion.com/staying-in-the-room-what-real-contact-teaches-us-in-moments-of-uncertainty-podcast/ (https://fireflyinclusion.com/dei-in-crisis-living-our-values-when-leadership-loses-integrity-podcast/)
Firefly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fireflyinclusion/ (https://www.instagram.com/fireflyinclusion/)
Firefly LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/firefly-inclusion-solutions/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/firefly-inclusion-solutions/)
Firefly Substack: https://fireflyinclusion.substack.com/ (https://fireflyinclusion.substack.com/)
20 Mar 2025
EP 26. Beyond Labels: Driving High-Trust Culture
Show Summary
In this special episode of Stories From the Field, Robert Patteri (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertpatteri/), Partner/Head of Human Capital from Connex Partners, hosted a fireside chat featuring two members of Firefly’s leadership team (Oana Amaria (https://fireflyinclusion.com/oana-amaria) and Jason Rebello (https://fireflyinclusion.com/jason-rebello)). This session will reframe diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), moving beyond the acronym’s expectations and platitudes to overcome politicized narratives, blame-and-shame shortcomings, and cultural inertia. More specifically, it explored how belonging can be leveraged by adaptive leaders to bring about more human-centered client, community, and employee engagement strategies that maximize business performance. Listeners will come away with practical strategies for fostering and catalyzing a culture of trust by evolving their human resource policy, and investing in upskilling and leadership development programming. With adaptive leadership as a cornerstone, this episode will ultimately guide participants on how to empower their workforce, bridge divides, and maximize success in an increasingly polarized, uncertain landscape.
Learning Highlights From This Episode
DEI needs to be embedded across the organization, following the SIMPLE framework (Shared, Integrated, Measurable, People-Centered, Leader-Driven, Equitable).
The core pillars of adaptive leadership are what guides high-trust cultures and innovation.
How the success metrics of DEI are key to future-proofing your business.
The key to building a competitive edge when facing technology and AI disruptions.
Episode website w/ full transcript: https://fireflyinclusion.com/dei-in-crisis-living-our-values-when-leadership-loses-integrity-podcast/ (https://fireflyinclusion.com/dei-in-crisis-living-our-values-when-leadership-loses-integrity-podcast/)
Firefly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fireflyinclusion/ (https://www.instagram.com/fireflyinclusion/)
Firefly LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/firefly-inclusion-solutions/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/firefly-inclusion-solutions/)
Firefly Substack: https://fireflyinclusion.substack.com/ (https://fireflyinclusion.substack.com/)
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