Positive Change
How to truly get everyone on board
Proven impact at 60+ organisations in 12 countries
Research shows that 30 to 70 percent of all change processes fail. Why? Because they often focus purely on logic. But when people feel emotionally committed, they put in 4 x more effort. Positivity creates infectious momentum and inspires people to actively tackle challenging problems.
So, don’t force people to change; engage them emotionally based on what is already going well. Change doesn’t have to be a painful journey full of resistance. Make change more human. Be positive about what works well today, and optimistic about what you could do be better tomorrow.
How to get everyone on board
Make change meaningful
Organisations are all about people. Make change meaningful so people can work together better. Tap into what motivates different people.
Do it together
Change that is imposed with a big bang rarely succeeds. In successful change, people are part of the change. Involve people interactively from the beginning to get the change going together.
Experiment and learn
Build a courageous experimentation culture where you experiment together and learn quickly from mistakes. Turn continuous improvement and innovation into a habit.
Proven impact in numbers
Happy organisations
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Countries
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Leaders trained
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Employees empowered
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Attending Lisettes' Empowerment trainings was a truly transformative experience. From the very beginning, her energy, authenticity, and deep knowledge created a space where everyone felt seen, heard, motivated and inspired. The tools and techniques shared weren't just motivational, but also very practical, actionable, and immediately impactful in our professional life and day-to-day business. I can't recommend this experience highly enough - it's a game-changer.
Yvonne Ziesemer | VP Revenue Management and Commercial Excellence | Flix SE
Lisette held a keynote on the theme of ‘Beyond the comfort zone’. Lisette is an enthusiastic and inspiring professional, who approaches things from different angles and perspectives in a very interesting and meaningful way.
Erik Jansman | Chief Operating Officer | KGS Diamond Group SA
…As a result of experiencing the exercises during the Leadership Weekend, we became aware of the kind of behaviour we display and how some behaviour actually inhibits collaboration instead of stimulating it. In particular the exercise where we had to recreate our collaborative process with thread and rods in the grass, characterised what our way of working together was like at that time…
Rob van Oene | Managing Director | Mifa
In the corona pandemic the Behavioural Science Institute at Radboud University asked Lisette to provide an uplifting, interactive session for our colleagues around 'Positivity and change'. Lisette, with her knowledge and energy, proved to be the perfect speaker for this purpose. Despite the online setting, she was able to activate and challenge our employees to keep approaching uncertainty and change positively.
Sander Berends | Managing Director | BSI | Radboud University
My team and I embarked on a change process to develop a feedback culture, which takes time and commitment. The team training provided me with the essential tools to successfully achieve this.
Dirkjan Douma | Associate Director Consultancy Climate Resilience | Haskoning
The collaboration with Lisette for the Essential Leadership Programme at Schenker is extremely customer-oriented, uncomplicated and professional. She manages to flexibly adapt the programme content to the different groups in order to meet the needs of the participants and to make the training particularly practice-oriented... Our participants especially appreciate her positive manner and lightness in the trainings, which always contribute to a pleasant atmosphere.
Aline Fischer | Talent Management | E.ON Digital Technology
The training helped me understand that organisational change is actually a complex, long-term process that requires constant communication and broad involvement of the people who are affected by it. Lisette gave us lots of opportunities to practice having conversations about change, using our own real-life examples.
Thomas Nuspl | Central Europe FP&A Director | Boston Consulting Group
This training was super valuable to me as it conveyed the central aspects of change management in a concise and ready-to-apply way, putting a lot of focus on how to identify different stakeholder groups that require custom-fit measures.
Andy Ebert | Data Product Owner – Director Global Data Tribe | Boston Consulting Group
It was very enriching for me to work with Lisette. Particularly her likeable and positive presence, her quick comprehension and her excellent analytical abilities made a lasting impression. During our collaboration, she defined and implemented many processes at our location. She was able to motivate and excite the employees for the changes.
Daniel Dankworth | Head of Global Business Unit Metalworking & Cleaning | Chemische Werke Kluthe GmbH
We really appreciated the workshop on developing a common vision and improving communication that Lisette delivered to our staff members at WUR. It was really engaging as we requested and was greatly appreciated by every member. It made us reflect on common directions and focused us on clear actions to foster positive change. Lisette’s added knowledge and intervention in steering the discussion made the whole conversation more effective and honest.
Prof.Dr. Maria Suarez-Diez | Professor and Chair Holder Systems and Synthetic Biology | Wageningen University & Research
Lisette’s considerable analytical skills, management skills and highly motivational attitude, make her an excellent (project) manager. She communicates easily in an international setting due to her remarkable English and German language skills. During our collaboration at ERIKS, these qualities ensured Lisette greatly contributed to the strategic 3-year plan and operational plan of ERIKS Region Central & Eastern Europe.
Steven Sels | Member Of The Management Board and Chief Operating Officer | SHV Energy
Lisette van de Sandt is characterised by a highly analytical working method and structural approach. The resulting considerateness was essential for her success. In addition, I greatly valued her willingness to continuously learn something new and adapt to new circumstances. Through reliability, commitment and motivation she easily convinced, inspired and led the employees.
Roland Rudolf | Director | ERIKS Frankfurt, Mannheim, Saarbrücken
Lisette was my speaker's manager @TEDxVenlo. She was a enormous source of emotional and practical support. What I truly appreciate about Lisette is her warm and caring personality. She knows how to get change started. Her feedback is to the point, but at the same time, everything she does is trust-based and always accompanied by a smile.
Loes Keijsers | Professor in Clinical Child and Family Studies | Erasmus University Rotterdam
Lisette gave a workshop about positivity and change for the Limburg Employers' Association. She is a professional speaker that knows how to engage participants. Her positive presence creates an atmosphere where people feel safe to share personal experiences. Participants were enthusiastic and indicated that they learned how to implement positivity in their own organistions.
Janou Martens-Goetstouwers | Beleidsadviseur Economie | Gemeente Roermond
Creating the HR Strategy of ERIKS Group with Lisette was an inspirational process. She greatly contributed with her intelligence and fast analytical skills. She possesses the scarce capability to be able to advise on a strategic level and to convert strategy into practical plans. Her international experience made the HR Strategy appealing to different nationalities.
René Höppener | Management & Co-Owner | Peters Rubber & Plastics
Lisette is a wonderful and targeted trainer! She is very informed to not only read the room right but also participant’s energy (apart from adjusting content overnight, agile ways of working, breaks, reflection time etc.) This is one of the best trainings I ever attended especially the fact that I am reviewing and implementing the Change topics and my actions even weeks after the training.
Garima Mongia | Global L&D Transformation Manager | Boston Consulting Group
Lisette guides the complex process of the company succession within our forty-year-old family business. She does this in a very personal and professional way with a clear focus on me as an individual. Theoretical knowledge is effortlessly combined with her business experience and as a result she is able to give me practical tools for the execution.
Funs Ebus | Owner | Ebus Planten
The combination of basic theory and interactivity come first in Lisette’s workshops. Most importantly, however, is that her enthusiasm inspires people and (certainly not less significant!) enables them to move forward.
Janet Antonissen | Coordinator organisational collaboration | Fontys University of Applied Sciences
We have been working with Lisette as a trainer for our team leader programme in Germany for many years. I particularly appreciate her open and cheerful nature, with which she approaches all participants, taking them, in a very personal way, on their learning journey. She is a true professional in her field, covering all topics that are crucial for our managers, and she conveys and moderates these in a very interactive and engaging way.
Katharina Schoof | Senior Expert Learning, Development & Talent Management | Arvato SE
During the Knowledge Festival, Lisette gave an interactive keynote on how, as a manager, you get your people along in a change process. An important lesson she gave the attendees was how to turn resistance into positive energy and motivation and how to make such a change process ‘human’. Lisette offered clear, practically applicable knowledge, backed up by relevant scientific insights. She presents clearly, energetically and with infectious enthusiasm!
Jur Venema | Event coordinator Knowledge Festival | Goede Doelen Nederland
Lisette helped me tremendously to improve my leadership coaching skills in a short time. Through her knowledge of Radical Candor and her ability to quickly see through my strengths and development points, I was equipped with concrete tools to coach and develop myself more effectively. She shifts gears quickly, is sincere, understands the context and gives directly applicable advice. Thanks to her guidance, I feel much more confident and a much stronger manager.
Celine Merkx | Manager Digital Marketing | Fingerspitz
Get everyone along
Longlisted for Management Book of the Year 2025!
- Why does change often fail and how do you prevent this?
- How do you effectively deal with resistance and change sceptics?
- How do you create a culture of experimentation where colleagues continuously innovate?
According to research, 30 to 70 percent of all change processes fail. In ‘Zo krijg je iedereen mee’ (Get everyone along), internationally renowned change expert Lisette van de Sandt reveals how, as a manager, you transform resistance into change motivation by experimenting together.
Explore the unique combination of focus on the human side of change, behavioural and neuroscience and practical applicability. Immerse yourself in stories of successful and failed change initiatives, understand the psychology behind them and immediately apply the practical tools and experiments. You’ll also find favourite change tips from leaders at organisations such as ASML, the Dutch National Police, Rabobank, and ProRail.
Rest assured: you don’t need to get your people on board one by one to make the change successful. What you do need, you’ll discover in this book.
