What Are You Protecting By Staying the Same? (Dwayne Smith)

What Are You Protecting By Staying the Same? (Dwayne Smith)

From Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast by David Fung

March 12, 2026 · 37 min

About this episode

Dwayne Smith discusses the importance of identity shifts in leadership and personal change.

We sit down with Dwayne Smith, host of the What Changed? podcast, for a real conversation about the question most of us avoid when we feel stuck:“What am I protecting by staying the same?” Dwayne unpacks why willpower-based change so often fails, and why the real work is an identity shift—from “I’m trying to stop…” to “I’m the kind of person who doesn’t…” He also shares a key leadership turning point: realizing you can’t motivate people, you can only create an environment that is motivating. If you’re in a season where your life looks fine on paper but something feels off, this one will land. In this episode, you’ll learn: * The difference between forcing behavior change vs shifting identity * The question that reveals what “stuck” is really doing for you * Why your internal environment (your story) matters as much as your external environment (your structure) * The moment Dwayne moved from “manager” to “leader” What Changed? https://linktr.ee/whatchangedpod Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/what-changed-with-dwayne-smith/id1511627465 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5UW6hWeJ3vzEOAQLFBoGrG YouTube (What Changed?): https://www.youtube.com/@whatchangedpod…

People in this episode

Host: David Fung

Guest: Dwayne Smith

Topics covered

  • identity shift
  • leadership
  • behavior change
  • motivation
  • personal development

Keywords

  • leadership
  • identity
  • motivation
  • behavior change
  • personal development

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: What Changed?, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube

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