What research was it built on?

Change Metabolism developed independently of established business change theory. Instead, it was shaped by humanistic work from both classic and modern thinkers in human transformation, including Carl Jung’s exploration of the psyche and Beatrice Chestnut and Uranio Paes’s Enneagram model. Comparing it against the field later showed close kinship with William Bridges’s work on transition. What’s new is integrating these into a practice applied at the team level.

Isn’t this change management?

Not quite. Change management typically drives a specific initiative from the top, treating acceptance as something to produce through communication and sponsorship. We treat acceptance as a capacity teams build and keep. Change Metabolism works at the human level, helping teams accept the reality of change at the same speed they execute it, for this change and the next one.

Why use the Enneagram?

We do not use the Enneagram as a traditional personality assessment tool. We use it as a thesaurus, a team map, and a decoder ring for how each person uniquely experiences change and conflict. It also reveals the potential of individuals and the team, and their unique paths toward growth through integration of the head, heart, and body.

How quickly do you see change?

Every engagement begins with individual and team awareness, then moves into on-the-job working sessions that reform how the team behaves around change. Each team is different, but we often see individual and team behavior change within the first 30 days. The program is designed to build habits that keep metabolizing change after we leave.

A group of helmeted cyclists gathered with their road bikes on a leafy woodland trail.

High-performing teams that execute and explore at the same time.

Hands-on coaching for executive leadership teams, leaders in transition, and design, product, and innovation teams in healthcare.

Book a discovery call

Flat rate fees. Clear goals achieved.

Problems we hear from healthcare leaders:

We have the strategy, but our challenge is capacity.
We launched the initiative. Our own people haven't bought in.
We don't need more advice. We need someone in the room with our team.

Our proven Change Metabolism method deployed with your team in as little as 30 days.

See how our model works

Telling teams to work harder or use smarter AI won’t fix burnout. Teaching teams to accept change as fast as they execute it, will.

The equation

An equation for Change Metabolism^™

We leave you with a new language and an equation to get your teams unstuck. Because each team is different, the Change Metabolism™ map we build for yours lets leaders clearly see the dynamics that lead to successful or failed acceptance of change.

Our methodology is ours. The philosophy belongs to everyone. That’s why we’re releasing the equation openly for anyone to use, so any team can start measuring what it can’t yet metabolize.

Mc=A×f(C)÷E

When Mc < 1, execution outpaces acceptance and the difference shows up as burnout.

(Mc) Change Metabolism:: the ability to accept the reality of change at the same speed we execute it
(A) Acceptance:: the degree to which people accept the reality of change
f(C) Conflict:: the team’s functional capacity to work well through conflict
(E) Execution:: the speed at which we execute change beyond the status quo

WHO WE SERVE

Team coaching for every corner of healthcare.

Change succeeds or stalls with the team carrying it. We coach leaders and teams across health systems, hospitals, physician groups, payers, private equity portfolios, and healthcare companies.

Executive teams
Clinical leadership
Nursing leadership
Operations teams
Product and innovation teams
Department leaders
New and merging teams
Portfolio company teams

We coach leaders

For executives and department leaders

Leaders who can guide their people through change without losing them along the way.

We teach teams

For teams that aren’t aligned

Shared goals, clear roles and a plan everyone can actually execute.

We facilitate conflict

For teams stuck in tension

Hard conversations turned into forward motion, with a neutral guide in the room.

Solve immediate problems
One challenge solved now
Build trust
Aligned teams expand scope
Move forward
Repeat processes in-house

Behavior science at work

How do we know this works?

Combining a number of team potential frameworks and structured models like the Enneagram, our customized approach consistently results in team-level change capacity embedded into your culture in 45 to 60 days.

Four steps to connecting your disconnected team.

Frame the call to change
Define the challenge a team must address to break the status quo.
Reform the team around change
Map individual perspectives into team-level dialogue that builds curiosity.
Build the team’s capacity
Surface conflict and learn to signal, pause, share, and integrate as a team.
Break the status quo
Facilitate experiences where teams practice change under real conditions.

Explore the different work personalities on your team

Body centers

Body centers lead with instinct and action. In change, they react first to questions of control, autonomy, and what’s right.

The Challenger

Takes charge fast and says what others are thinking, which can feel like steamrolling in tense moments. They align when they trust the team is being straight with them and that leadership won’t back down from hard calls.

The Peacemaker

Keeps the team steady and sees every side, but may go quiet or agree on the surface to avoid friction. They thrive when conflict is made safe and their opinion is directly invited, not assumed.

The Reformer

Holds the team to high standards and spots what isn’t working, though change that feels sloppy or rushed can frustrate them. They engage best when the “why” behind decisions is clear and quality isn’t sacrificed for speed.

Heart centers

Heart centers lead with feeling and connection. In change, they react first to questions of belonging, recognition, and identity.

The Helper

Notices who’s struggling and jumps in to support, sometimes taking on too much and burning out quietly. They do their best when their contributions are seen and they’re encouraged to name their own needs, too.

The Achiever

Drives momentum and keeps eyes on results, but may push past team tension to hit the goal. They align when success is defined as a shared win and slowing down to resolve conflict is framed as progress.

The Individualist

Brings depth, honesty, and creative ideas, and often names the emotional undercurrent others avoid. They engage fully when their perspective is valued and the change feels meaningful, not just procedural.

Head centers

Head centers lead with thinking and planning. In change, they react first to questions of security, information, and possibility.

The Investigator

Offers sharp analysis and calm in a crisis, but may withdraw when conversations get emotional or crowded. They contribute most when given information early and time to think before being asked to weigh in.

The Loyalist

Spots risks others miss and stays committed through tough stretches, though uncertainty can trigger doubt or pushback. They align when leaders are transparent, consistent, and willing to talk through worst-case scenarios.

The Enthusiast

Generates energy and fresh ideas that keep a team moving, but may sidestep hard conversations or lose interest in the grind. They stay engaged when the work has variety and difficult moments are tied to an exciting future.

Coaching network leader

Jon Kohrs

Team Coaching + Development principal

Decades of corporate experience in bridging human and business transformation, rooted in Enneagram theory and in-depth psychology and behavioral science. Jon leads our team of certified coaches.

Fractional change leader

Chris Fox

Bridging strategy to execution

More than 20 years working with or as part of executive teams exploring strategic growth and galvanizing teams to drive the execution of key initiatives.

WHAT WE OFFER

Three ways to metabolize change

Here are a few easy ways we can start working together.

Teams
We facilitate teams in transition, helping leaders reform their teams with greater awareness of their potential and how they metabolize change.
Monthly price per team
$10,000
Sprint
We facilitate change sprints over a 45 to 60 day cycle, accelerating awareness, conflict, and change metabolism in teams at important moments of change.
Price per sprint
$50,000
Leaders
We facilitate leaders in transition, coaching and integrating their whole leadership potential within their team and how they uniquely metabolize change.
Monthly price per leader
$5,000

Alongside your transformation

Growth through transition

When organizations invest in workforce potential alongside transformation initiatives, they expand leadership readiness and realize far more meaningful growth outcomes. We work within your transition, leaving knowledge, processes, and ways of working that stay long after we are gone.

Growth becomes something your people do, rather than something done to them.

What our clients are saying

I wanted my executive team to be in creative conflict together. You’ve delivered everything I wanted in the first week. I’ve never seen my executive team more connected.
Executive in city government
My team struggled with moving through uncertainty. You aren’t consultants or OD people. They just teach us by talking at us. You’re human and deeply get our team.
Product leader in healthcare
I was skeptical when I heard we were doing this program as a leadership team. I didn’t really know what the Enneagram was. I can tell you now that I’m happy you’re here.
Leader in an executive team

Common questions

Team coaching questions we get often

It began around 2008, building high-performing teams within the Federal Reserve System. It evolved through years of implementing change through innovation teams across industries, supported by team psychoanalytic assessments, and later through studying how coaching reduced burnout among family caregivers. Change Metabolism grew out of reforming hundreds of teams into subcultures with greater camaraderie, satisfaction, and creative output than the organizations around them.

The science behind our approach

Our work is grounded in Change Metabolism™, an approach developed by Empactful Partners co-founder Jon Kohrs over nearly two decades of building high-performing teams.

Next step

Empower your high-performing team

Book a call to tell us more about your healthcare team and the challenges you're facing.