Getting to Yes: Building Organizational Buy-in For Change Management | Ep 26

In today’s episode of Change Leadership Conversations, we bring you a practical panel discussion recorded live at the Change Leadership Conference on a challenge many change managers know well: how do you get to yes for change management?

I’m joined by Silvia Fraser, Blake Bell and Esther Akinrinlola for a rich conversation on building organizational buy-in, showing value early, and embedding change capability across the organization.

This episode explores what it takes to move change management beyond a checkbox activity and position it as a strategic enabler. The conversation gets into the work behind buy-in: understanding what matters to executives, activating informal influencers, creating shared language, and helping teams see change as part of how the organization works, not something that happens off to the side.

Together, we explore:

• How to build buy-in for change management
• Why showing value early is often more powerful than trying to sell the function
• How to use data, business outcomes, and case studies to influence senior leaders
• Why change capability must be built across the organization, not held by one team

Panel Guests

• Silvia Fraser: Director, Workplace Strategy & Transformation, Metrolinx

• Blake Bell: Head, Global Change Enablement, Manulife

• Esther Akinrinlola: Director, Change Management & Communications

Resources & Links

• Connect with Silvia Fraser, Blake Bell and Esther Akinrinlola on LinkedIn

• Connect with Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Change Leadership Training
• Explore the Change Leadership Conference