When Transformation Hits the Wall

Oct 14

The team was already moving fast.

They’d navigated two major pivots this year - a shift in strategy and a new org structure. Everyone was doing their best to hold things together. But under the surface, the strain was showing.

Meetings were getting tense. Priorities kept shifting. Execution slowed as people second-guessed what actually mattered. A few team members quietly started looking elsewhere.

Then came the all-hands meeting.

The CEO announced that, starting immediately, AI adoption would become a top internal mandate. Every team would need to transform how they worked. Suddenly, the ground shifted again, and what felt shaky now felt like quicksand.

Sound familiar?

The Real Problem Isn’t Talent - It’s Infrastructure

Most teams don’t crumble because they lack smart, capable people. They falter because they lack the behavioral infrastructure to thrive amid layered transformation.

Faced with overwhelming change, organizations tend to respond with grand gestures: new programs, bold slogans, AI task forces, or massive change initiatives.

But they often skip over the everyday team behaviors and habits that actually determine whether transformation sticks. That’s where the real leverage is.

Teams that don’t have clear routines for clarity, trust, and adaptability get stuck in what I call the disengagement dip:

Priorities blur
Trust erodes quietly
Execution slows down
Energy drains away

In 2025, this dynamic is accelerating. Transformation agendas, especially AI adoption, are stacking up faster than teams can adapt.

The Opportunity: Normalize Disruption

What if, instead of layering more on top, we helped teams build simple, repeatable practices that normalize disruption?

Imagine teams that…

Rebuild clarity quickly when priorities shift
Strengthen trust through micro-behaviors, not just slogans
Adapt with agility under pressure, without burning out

This is where my new collaboration with Torch comes in.

Torch + Vijay Pendakur: The Infrastructure for Disruption-Proof Teams

I’ve partnered with Torch to launch a group coaching program that combines my disruption-proof team frameworks with Torch’s scalable coaching infrastructure, so leaders don’t just learn new behaviors, they actually embed them into how work gets done.

Torch brings three powerful components:

AI Agent – Reinforces new behaviors in the flow of daily work, prompting teams to experiment with AI tools and apply what they learn between sessions.
Human Change Coaches – Build trust and adaptive leadership capacity, surfacing real fears and barriers that tech alone can’t reach.
Organizational Intelligence – Gives executives real-time visibility into where transformation is stalling or scaling, so they can target the right interventions.

I bring the behavioral playbook—practical trust, belonging, and connection strategies that help teams rebuild clarity fast, strengthen trust through micro-behaviors, and adapt with agility under pressure.

Together, we close the strategy-to-execution gap that’s stalling AI adoption inside so many organizations:

For Transformation Leaders: You already have the strategy and the tech stack. We give you the people infrastructure to actually adopt and scale AI.
For Functional Leaders: We help managers lead through technical change, build psychological safety for experimentation, and create accountability systems that make adoption real.
For HR and L&D: Instead of generic AI training, this program delivers context-specific development. Torch coaches are trained on your org’s AI priorities, and feedback loops surface hidden blockers in real time—building lasting leadership capacity, not just short-term skills.

The data is clear: “47% of senior leaders ranked leadership effectiveness as the single biggest driver of AI ROI…” (HBR 2025).

This partnership provides both the behavioral foundation and the execution infrastructure your teams need to thrive through disruption.

Learn more about Torch + Vijay - Disruption-Proof Teams group coaching

Let’s Talk

If this sounds like what your teams need right now, let’s connect.