Implementation Science in Action: Making Change Practical for Leaders with Julia Moore

Change rarely fails because of bad strategy; it fails because execution collides with human reality. We sit down with Julia Moore from the Center for Implementation to unpack how leaders can swap “train and pray” for practical, evidence-informed strategies that people will actually use. From hospitals to schools to public health, Julia shows how to design for behavior, not just broadcast information.

We start by reframing the work: define the thing you’re implementing, identify everyone involved, and get precise about what must change in daily behavior. Then we diagnose barriers and facilitators at the individual, organizational, and system levels, mapping them to behavior science so strategy selection isn’t a guess. Julia opens her toolkit—the free Strategies Tool that links barriers to actions, and Map to Adapt, a process that helps teams decide when to tailor, when to pause, and when to pivot while protecting what matters most.

The conversation moves into leadership as five core functions: understand, connect, inspire, enable, and transform. We talk about why authority no longer carries change, how to build trust and navigate power dynamics, and why storytelling outperforms slide decks when you need hearts to move before metrics improve. Julia also bridges quality improvement and implementation science, showing how combining cycles and measures with barrier-driven strategy and adaptation planning accelerates real-world results.

If you’re a leader craving clarity and traction, you’ll leave with a practical path: start with self-awareness, equip your team with the right skills and resources, and remove the friction that blocks progress. Grab the free mini course Inspiring Change 2.0, share this episode with a colleague who leads change, and leave a review with one barrier you’re committed to tackling next.

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