Rebel, Reject, Create!

Christina Hammond-Aziz is the CEO of Rainmaker Solutions, a firm that helps governments and companies deliver meaningful change by enabling the people inside organisations to design and drive it themselves. In this conversation, Christina challenges the traditional “consultancy” model and dismantles common assumptions about change management — especially the belief that people naturally resist change. Instead, she argues resistance is often created by top-down change approaches that devalue employees’ expertise and contributions. Together, Christina and host David Chislett explore why transformation programmes fail even with great technology, how to reframe change around purpose and impact, and why the future belongs to organisations that build continuous learning, experimentation, and human-centred leadership into their culture.More about Rainmaker Solutions:https://rainmaker.solutions/More about David Chislett:https://davidchislett.com

Cyriel Kortleven is a keynote speaker and long-time trainer in creativity, innovation, and—more recently—change mindset. In this conversation , Cyriel explains why people resist change (fear, control, cognitive overload), how modern media amplifies that resistance, and what leaders can do instead: notice “idea killers” like yes, but…, deliberately widen perspective, and run small, safe experiments that build momentum. The episode connects change to creativity and innovation, and argues that action—not perfect plans—is the real gateway to progress.Find Cyriel online:https://www.cyrielkortleven.com/More on David Chislett:https://davidchislett.com

In this episode of Rebel Reject Create, I speak with Sofie Marin, founder and CEO of Arts Dynamics in Stockholm, about why creativity matters now more than ever. Together we explore creativity as a source of agency, resilience, and human meaning in a world shaped by crisis, distraction, and rapid technological change. Sofie argues that while organisations often say they want innovation, they frequently struggle to make room for the people who actually think differently. The conversation moves from cultural stereotypes about creatives, to intentionality, leadership, embodiment, and the importance of grounding yourself physically in order to stay imaginative and effective. It is a thoughtful and wide-ranging discussion about what it means to remain human, creative, and purposeful in unstable times.Find Sofie Online:LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofiemarin/Arts Dynamics:https://www.artsdynamics.com/ More about David Chislett:https://davidchislett.com

My guest this episode is Joshua Baumgarten — American-born, Dutch-based poet, performer, musician, and founder of The Irrational Library, a long-running Haarlem creative project that’s been a shop, a stage, a band, and a platform for other misfits. He’s played in bands, released albums, hosted spoken-word nights, and given countless artists a first stage.We talk about creativity as a lived practice, not a brand. Joshua explains why he makes work first for himself, why the cult of celebrity actually scares people away from expressing themselves, and why DIY publishing and small gigs still matter. He shares how he built community around poetry and music in Haarlem, why he doesn’t chase social-media vanity metrics, and why one honest reaction from the right person can power you through months of silence. It’s a love letter to people who create because they can’t not.Check out Joshua's work here:Audio | The Irrational Libraryhttps://theirrationallibrary.bandcamp.com/https://open.spotify.com/artist/0X3j5iteqa7amL7MDcGawb?si=IgRw6cYuRhmJrMt1eyVZ3gInstagram Irrational Libraryhttps://www.instagram.com/theirrationallibraryband/Instagram Joshuahttps://www.instagram.com/joshuabaumgarten/More about David Chislett:https://davidchislett.com

My guest today is Dr. Myriam Hadnes — a Amsterdam-based facilitator, podcaster, and “facilitation evangelist” on a mission to make the world more collaborative. She hosts the workshops.work podcast, designs and leads workshops around psychological safety, feedback culture and collaboration, and champions what she calls “unprofessionalism” at work — dropping the mask so humans can actually work together.In this episode:Myriam and I explore facilitation as a creative act: prepared yet improvisational, grounded yet open to the unknown. We dig into psychological safety, not as a buzzword, but as the practical ability for people (including the facilitator) to admit “I don’t know” without going into defence mode. Myriam explains why creativity collapses when our nervous systems are in survival mode, and why nervous system regulation might be the critical skill for today’s workplaces. She challenges common facilitation myths about “bad ideas,” reframes them as prompt and safety issues, and shares simple practices — breathing, stretching, slowing down — that open the door to real collaboration. The conversation ends with her call for “unprofessionalism”: showing what’s behind the professional mask so we can see, and use, each other’s complementary talents.Find Myriam Online:https://www.linkedin.com/in/myriam-hadneshttps://www.youtube.com/c/workshopsworkhttps://www.instagram.com/myriamhadnes/https://substack.com/@myriamhadnes