Edition #24 - The Power of Transformation

Why real transformation is not becoming someone else, but learning how to become more fully human

By Mykel Salomon · 2026-04-25

Why real transformation is not becoming someone else, but learning how to become more fully human<hr><h3>🔓 Opening Reflection</h3>Most people talk about transformation like it is a grand reveal.A new title. A new strategy. A new system. A new version of ourselves that suddenly appears once the old one disappears.But real transformation rarely works that way.In this week’s conversation with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#4FD1C5] underline hover:opacity-80 ember-view" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-caminiti-5827b784/">Sarah Caminiti</a> , she said something that stayed with me:"Most people confuse transformation with metamorphosis. A caterpillar becomes a butterfly. The caterpillar is gone".But transformation is different.Sarah compared it to a Transformer, like Optimus Prime. The pieces do not disappear. They move. They shift. They take on a new shape and a new purpose. But they are still there. Nothing was wasted. Nothing was erased.That may be the most human definition of transformation I have heard.Because we do not become new by destroying everything we were. We become new by learning how to use what we have carried differently.Our grief. Our experience. Our culture. Our failures. Our questions. Our relationships. Our scars.Transformation is not escape. It is rearrangement with purpose.<hr><h3>🔦 Signal of the Week</h3>The world is demanding transformation from all of us.AI is reshaping roles. Companies are rethinking operations. Leaders are being asked to communicate with more clarity. Teams are being asked to learn faster than ever.And yet, transformation keeps failing.McKinsey has repeatedly noted that about 70% of transformations fail, often because organizations underinvest in engagement, capabilities, and the behavioral work needed to sustain change.That matters because transformation is not only a strategy problem. It is a human behavior problem.You can announce change in a town hall. You can publish a roadmap. You can buy the new tool. You can say “AI transformation” in every meeting.But if people do not understand the story, trust the system, and feel part of the work, nothing really transforms.It just performs transformation.<hr><h3>🌍 In the Wild</h3>Transformation has never meant only one thing. Across cultures, it has always carried different human lessons.<h3>1) Ubuntu: transformation through relationship</h3>In many African philosophical traditions, Ubuntu is often expressed through the idea “I am because you are.” UNESCO describes Ubuntu/botho as a concept tied to the qualities of a respected member of society and a humanist ideology rooted in shared humanity.Sarah brought this idea into the conversation beautifully.We love to tell success stories as if one person did it all alone. But real transformation is full of invisible hands.The person who covered for us. The mentor who corrected us. The partner who made room for us. The team that carried the weight. The community that helped us believe.Transformation, through Ubuntu, is not individual achievement. It is collective becoming.<h3>2) Kintsugi: transformation through repair</h3>In Japan, Kintsugi is the art of repairing broken ceramics with gold, highlighting the break instead of hiding it. The practice treats the crack as part of the object’s story and value, not something to erase.That is a powerful lesson for us.We live in a world obsessed with appearing unbroken. Perfect career. Perfect leadership. Perfect transformation.But what if the repaired places are where our wisdom lives?Transformation does not always mean becoming flawless. Sometimes it means making meaning from what broke.<h3>3) Liminality: transformation through the in-between</h3>Anthropologists have long studied rites of passage as moments of transition: separation, threshold, and reintegration. Victor Turner’s work on liminality builds from Arnold van Gennep’s idea that transformation often happens in the uncomfortable middle, when the old identity no longer fits and the new one has not fully arrived.That is where many people are right now.Between old work and new work. Between human skill and AI leverage. Between the career they built and the future they are trying to understand.The middle is uncomfortable. But it is not empty.It is where transformation does its quiet work.<hr><h3>💬 The Big Question</h3>What part of you are you trying to erase that may actually be asking to be transformed?And for leaders:Are you asking people to change without giving them the foundation, language, and safety to do it?<hr><h3>🧠 A Small Exercise</h3>Take 10 minutes and write this down.<ol><li>What am I calling transformation right now? Is it real change, or just a new label?</li><li>What am I trying to throw away too quickly? A skill, a failure, a version of myself, a person, a process?</li><li>What pieces can be rearranged instead of erased? What still has value if used differently?</li><li>Who helped make my transformation possible? Name the invisible hands.</li><li>What foundation is missing before the next change? For your life, your team, or your organization.</li></ol>Transformation becomes less overwhelming when we stop treating it like destruction.<hr><h3>🎙️ This Week’s Episode</h3>Episode: Transformation Isn’t What You Think | AI, CX, and Real Change Guest: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#4FD1C5] underline hover:opacity-80 ember-view" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-caminiti-5827b784/">Sarah Caminiti</a>This conversation explores what transformation really means beyond the LinkedIn version, the press release version, and the performative version.We talk about:<ul><li>Why transformation is not metamorphosis, and why you do not have to erase who you were</li><li>How real change happens through small wins, momentum, and quiet work</li><li>Why actions matter more than announcements</li><li>How Ubuntu reminds us that transformation is never fully individual</li><li>Why leaders must learn to take up space before they can help teams transform</li><li>Why tech transformation fails without strong foundations, knowledge, strategy, and maintenance</li><li>How AI exposes weak processes when organizations rush past the basics</li></ul>This episode is a reminder that transformation is not what we say we are becoming.It is what we practice, repair, maintain, and build together.🎧 Available on:<ul><li><a target="_self" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#4FD1C5] underline hover:opacity-80 rbJlXBzRbySbuPCWQzjoswVAGlGBFmEhY " href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/3HwWxXBvOHUKcfuNWP7KQ6?si=_C-LJTT8RwuSfWJ0b9fTMA">Spotify</a></li><li><a target="_self" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#4FD1C5] underline hover:opacity-80 rbJlXBzRbySbuPCWQzjoswVAGlGBFmEhY " href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s2e16-transformation-isnt-what-you-think-ai-cx-and/id1843402023?i=1000763049117">Apple Podcasts</a></li><li><a target="_self" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#4FD1C5] underline hover:opacity-80 rbJlXBzRbySbuPCWQzjoswVAGlGBFmEhY " href="https://youtu.be/s5eR8C0QX44?si=EpkpUJrkIjgCsKTM">YouTube</a></li></ul><img class="max-w-full h-auto rounded-md my-4" src="https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/D4E12AQF5g_K1nHu9Vw/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/B4EZ3E4ziIJQAU-/0/1777124722454?e=1784764800&v=beta&t=n4lEFyNGjfx8mhhTxwjdz1cmKC48HlNnK4gTGCP9W3I" alt="Article content"><hr><h3>🧭 Thought to End the Week</h3>Transformation is not becoming someone or something else. It is learning how to carry your pieces differently.The pieces you thought were broken. The stories you thought were behind you. The people who helped you rise. The quiet work no one saw.All of it matters.Because real transformation does not erase the human.It reveals them.— Mykel