Breaking Start Up Myths: Scaling Change and Leadership with Martin Gonzalez

In this episode of the Change Management Review Podcast, host Theresa Moulton sits down with Martin Gonzalez, creator of Google’s Effective Founders Project and expert in organizational design, leadership, and culture. With experience advising leaders across startups and large enterprises, Martin reveals critical insights into what it really takes to scale organizations successfully—and why many leaders fall for myths that hold them back.

You’ll discover:

The Myth of Scaling Without Hierarchy – Why eliminating structure doesn’t drive innovation and how to build healthy hierarchies that enhance creativity and commercial success.
The Illusion of Structural Harmony – How healthy conflict between teams drives better outcomes and why leaders shouldn’t rush to eliminate tensions.
The Danger of Sustained Heroics – Why relying on “superstar” employees to save the day weakens organizations and how to create a sustainable, high-performing culture.
Diagnosing Resistance to Change – A practical framework to identify blind, ideological, and political resistance, and how leaders can tailor their approach to drive change more effectively.
The From-To Shift – Why many leaders struggle to communicate the real reason for change and how simple language shifts can create clarity and alignment.

If you’re a change management practitioner, startup founder, or leader navigating high-growth environments, this episode is essential listening. Martin Gonzalez brings a fresh, research-backed perspective on leadership, scale, and sustainable change that will challenge the way you think about organizational growth.

Guest Bio 

Martin Gonzalez is the creator of Google’s Effective Founders Project, a global research program that decodes the factors that enable startup founders to succeed. He also works closely with Google’s engineering and research leaders on org design, leadership and culture challenges. Martin is a frequent lecturer at Stanford, Wharton and INSEAD, and has advised leaders across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. He has been recognized as a Fellow by the Aspen Institute’s First Movers Program and as a Thinkers50 Radar awardee, both for his contributions to shaping the future of management and leadership. He studied organizational psychology and behavioral science at Columbia University and the London School of Economics.

Connect to

Martin Gonzalez Website

Martin Gonzalez on LinkedIn