Ep. 138: Karsten Drath & Uwe Achterholt, how to transform Exhausted Organizations? (Live)

In this special live episode of Leaders Talk, recorded in Lvivduring a visit to partner NGOs of the Cosmikk-Foundation, Karsten and Uwe explore why so many transformation efforts stall and what organizations can do when energy, trust, and focus are depleted.

At the heart of the conversation is a core assumption of Organizational Coaching: exhaustion is not simply a side effect of change, but a systemic signal pointing to deeper misalignments in leadership, culture, and ways of working. They discuss the risks of acceleration traps, corrosive dynamics, andsilent resignation, and explain why a meaningful “North Star” must live in people’s minds, not just on strategy slides.

Topics in this episode:

• Why transformations fail in exhausted systems (05:30)

• Psychological Capital and the HERO model (13:30)

• The Executive FiRE Index (17:30)

• Organizational Energy and the Acceleration Trap (23:00)

• The Two-Loop model and emergent transformation (38:00)

• Theory of Change in Organizational Coaching (47:00)

Further links:https://www.leadership-choices.com/https://cosmikk-foundation.org/

What are your thoughts? Share your reflections in the comments. If you have suggestions for inspiring guests for Leaders Talk, feel free to write to podcastleaderstalk@leadership-choices.com⁠⁠.

Hosts: Karsten Drath & Uwe Achterholt
Production & Editing: Antonia Kaiser, Hannah Jandl & Konradin Schuchter