Whether it's a tech rollout, a policy change, or a restructuring, the DANCE System™ gives you the framework, templates, and coordination tools to lead change with clarity, even when you don't have formal authority
You know what happens:
Leadership makes a decision. You craft the announcement. You brief the managers. You send the message.
Then everything goes sideways.
Someone influential pushes back...loudly.
Three managers are interpreting your message three different ways.
One team thinks this means layoffs. Another team thinks nothing's actually changing.
Your inbox fills with questions you literally answered in paragraph two.
By week three, momentum has stalled. You're managing speculation instead of progress. Your managers are asking "what do I tell my team?" and you're making it up as you go.
This isn't a you problem.
It's a system problem.
You're coordinating change without a framework. You're improvising messaging. You're reacting to breakdowns you could have prevented.
And every rollout feels like you're starting from scratch.
Here's what happens when you don't have a system:
You announce the change.
You draft an email. Or a Slack message. Or talking points for an all-hands. You try to be clear. You try to anticipate questions.
You hit send.
Then the translation begins.
Your message reaches middle managers. They interpret it differently. Some add context you didn't include. Some strip out nuance you carefully built in. Some just forward your email with "FYI" and hope their team figures it out.
By the time your message reaches frontline teams, it's been filtered through three layers of telephone. The intent is garbled. The boundaries are gone. People are filling gaps with speculation.
The DANCE System™ gives you the framework to break this pattern.
Just communicate more clearly
You rewrote the announcement. You made it shorter. You added bullet points. You bolded the key dates. You sent it three times.
People still misunderstood it. Or they didn't read it. Or they read it and invented their own interpretation anyway.
Get buy-in first
You scheduled pre-announcement meetings. You asked for input. You incorporated feedback. You tried to build consensus before moving forward.
But the decision got delayed or derailed by someone who didn't actually have decision-making authority...but had strong opinions. By the time you finally announced something, the momentum was gone.
Brief the managers better
You held a managers' meeting. You walked through the talking points. You answered their questions. You asked them to cascade the message to their teams.
Three managers cascaded it correctly. Two managers added their own interpretation. One manager didn't cascade it at all.
By the time the message reached frontline teams, it had fragmented into five different versions.
Wait until we have all the details
You held off on announcing until you had complete information. You didn't want to communicate something that might change later.
Rumors filled the gap. By the time you announced, people had already formed narratives and your announcement contradicted those narratives, creating whiplash. Or worse: people assumed the delay meant the change wasn't actually happening, so they ignored your announcement entirely.
Just be more empathetic
You softened your language. You acknowledged concerns. You validated feelings. You tried to make people feel heard.
But people interpreted your empathy as uncertainty. Your careful language got read as hedging. Your acknowledgment of concerns made people think you agreed the change was a bad idea.
Resistance didn't decrease. It intensified.
Wing it and hope for the best
You sent the announcement. You dealt with problems as they came up. You adapted on the fly.
And it worked...barely. The change eventually happened. But it took twice as long, created unnecessary conflict, and left you exhausted. Now you have another change initiative coming. And you're going to wing that one too.
You don't need to communicate more. You don't need better buy-in. You don't need softer language.
You need a framework.
Instead of improvising every announcement, you know which phase you're in and what that phase requires.
Instead of reacting to resistance, you anticipate it and address it proactively.
Instead of going silent during ambiguous periods, you hold people through the uncertainty without overpromising.
Instead of losing control as your message cascades, you give managers the structure to adapt your message without fragmenting it.
You stop firefighting. You start coordinating.
That's what the DANCE System™ does.


DANCE™ is a five-phase framework for coordinating change communication.
Each phase prevents a specific type of breakdown and builds on the last.
Together, they give you a system for moving people through change...even when you don't have the formal authority to mandate it.
Before people can emotionally process a change, they need structural clarity. Define establishes what's changing, why now, and for whom...without inviting committee governance or waiting for perfect information.
This phase prevents: speculation, scope creep, and the "why didn't anyone ask us?" trap.
People don't resist change because they're difficult. They resist when they don't understand how it affects them specifically. Apply identifies friction before it surfaces and positions support proactively.
This phase prevents: resistance blindsiding you, defensive reactions, and having to backtrack publicly.
Most rollouts stall in weeks 3-4 when there's nothing new to report but people still need to hear from you. Nurture keeps people connected to the change during ambiguous periods without overpromising or creating false urgency.
This phase prevents: momentum loss, speculation during silence, and people reverting to old behaviors.
Plans change. Timelines shift. Details evolve. Clarify manages known unknowns without losing credibility by distinguishing between what you know, what you don't know yet, and when you'll know it.
This phase prevents: whiplash from changing details, credibility erosion from hedging, and people assuming you have no plan.
When new groups come online or new phases begin, you need to extend the message without starting over. Expand brings additional people into the change while maintaining consistency with what's already been communicated.
This phase prevents: fragmentation across departments, later groups creating their own interpretations, and having to re-announce the same change repeatedly.
A clear sequence for coordinating any change initiative
Diagnostic language to identify which phase is missing when things break down
Reusable structure that works across different types of change
I'm Whitney Stout.
I build frameworks for coordinating change without authority.
After starting my career as a lawyer, pivoting into tech and consulting, I'm now a Director of Strategic Operations. I've operationalized change across law firms, SaaS, and higher education...as well as optimized the workflows of projects spanning from AmLaw 20 and Magic Circle Law Firms to Fortune 500 companies.
DANCE™ isn't academic theory. It's what I use when results matter more than consensus.
I built this framework because I needed an industry agnostic system for repeatable success.
So I systematized what actually works.
DANCE™ is the result.

Frameworks gives you language to diagnose problems without making it personal.
Right now, when a rollout goes sideways, your post-mortem sounds like this:
"Why didn't you tell them about the timeline?"
"Sarah didn't cascade the message correctly."
"That team is just resistant to change."
"The announcement didn't land."
Everything is vague, situational, and personal. Someone screwed up. Someone dropped the ball. Someone "just doesn't get it."
With DANCE™, the same conversation sounds like this:
"We Defined without Applying, people didn't understand how this affects them."
"We're three weeks in with no Nurture touchpoint, that's why momentum stalled."
"This message needs Clarify language, we buried the timeline in paragraph four."
"We skipped friction planning in the Apply phase, we got blindsided by predictable resistance."
The difference?
Problems become structural, not personal. Breakdowns become diagnosable. Your team can identify what's missing without it feeling like an accusation.
The DANCE System™ framework depersonalizes failure...and that changes everything.
It creates psychological safety for naming what's broken early, before it becomes a disaster.
Your managers can say "I think we need more Apply phase messaging here" without sounding like they're criticizing leadership.
Your team can flag "we're in a Nurture gap" without it feeling like they're being difficult.
When everyone speaks the same language, you can troubleshoot fast. You're not debating tone or intent or whose fault it is.
You're identifying:
Which phase are we in?
Which phase are we missing?
What comes next?
This is why organizations pay consultants $25,000 to facilitate change.
Not because consultants have magic but because they bring a framework that gives everyone a shared vocabulary for discussing what's happening.
DANCE™ gives you that vocabulary.
The Over-Explainer You write 800-word announcements anticipating every question. Nobody reads them. More information doesn't create clarity...structure does.
Missing: Define phase structure.
The Conflict-Avoider You soften language to reduce resistance. "We're exploring" instead of "we're implementing." Your caution reads as uncertainty. People think the decision isn't final. When you hold the line later, they feel blindsided.
Missing: Apply phase friction planning.
The Silent Operator You announce, then go quiet while implementing. Silence creates anxiety. Speculation fills the gap. By the time you resurface, people have created narratives you now have to counter.
Missing: Nurture phase messaging.
The Reactive Responder You spend weeks answering the same questions individually across Slack, email, and hallways. Your responses become inconsistent. Different people get different information.
Missing: Apply phase proactive messaging.
The Optimistic Announcer You promise smooth implementation with aggressive timelines. Reality doesn't match. Every update erodes credibility.
Missing: Clarify phase contingency language.
The One-and-Done Communicator You announce to the initial group and move on. Later groups piece together what's happening from forwarded emails and hallway conversations.
Missing: Expand phase reinforcement.
Recognize any of these?
These are predictable behavior patterns that emerge when you're coordinating without a system.
The DANCE System™ fixes all of them.
The DANCE System™ Fundamentals
Module 1: Foundation & Context
Why organizations fail at change communication (and what actually works)
Role mapping tools to identify your position and influence paths
Team archetype diagnostic to assess your organization's readiness
Use case grid to match DANCE phases to your specific situation
Module 2: The Define Phase
Scope-setting without inviting committee governance
Boundary messaging that prevents speculation
Announcement frameworks for different change types
Common Define failures and how to avoid them
Module 3: The Apply Phase
Friction mapping before resistance surfaces
Impact assessment by stakeholder group
Positioning support proactively instead of reactively
Resistance patterns and how to plan for them
Module 4: The Nurture Phase
Holding pattern messaging during ambiguous periods
Emotional and logistical anchoring techniques
Communication cadence planning (when to send what)
Preventing momentum stalls in weeks 3-4
Module 5: The Clarify Phase
Timeline communication when details are still evolving
Managing known unknowns without losing credibility
Decision update frameworks
When to communicate (and when to wait)
Module 6: The Expand Phase
Scaling messaging as new groups come online
Preventing fragmentation across departments
Phased rollout coordination
Onboarding later groups without starting over
What you'll have:
Complete understanding of all 5 phases
Pattern recognition for diagnosing breakdowns
Framework for sequencing your communication
Case studies examples of DANCE™ in action
From Framework to Function
Part 1: Planning with DANCE™
Rollout planning templates for mapping all 5 phases
Pre-announcement diagnostic tools
Stakeholder coordination grids
Timeline planning frameworks
Part 2: Messaging Across Channels
Phase-specific message templates (Define, Apply, Nurture, Clarify, Expand)
Stakeholder-specific language guides (executives, managers, frontline teams)
Announcement structures by change type (system, policy, org structure, process)
Email, Slack, and meeting message frameworks
Part 3: Embedding and Monitoring
Manager briefing templates (how to prep managers who don't report to you)
Cross-functional alignment tools
Escalation frameworks when stakeholders go rogue
Meeting agendas for coordination sessions
Part 4: Coordinating by Role
Diagnostic grids to identify which phase is missing
Recovery strategies when momentum stalls
Resistance response frameworks
Post-mortem tools for extracting lessons
Part 5: Troubleshooting When it Falls Apart
DANCE by organizational archetype (startup, enterprise, nonprofit, etc.)
Role-specific applications (Project Managers, HR Business Partners, Operations Coordinators, Strategic Comms professionals)
Industry considerations (tech, healthcare, education, professional services)
Team size and complexity adjustments
What you'll have:
Planning templates you use immediately
Message frameworks for every stakeholder
Coordination tools for complex rollouts
Troubleshooting playbooks when things go wrong.
Using AI to Support DANCE™
AI prompts and automation tools to accelerate implementation and AI-Assisted Message Development
Prompt templates for each DANCE phase
Message drafting workflows
Tone and clarity testing prompts
Stakeholder-specific adaptation prompts
Friction Analysis with AI
Resistance prediction prompts
Impact assessment frameworks
Objection anticipation tools
Support positioning strategies
Planning Acceleration
Rollout timeline generation
Stakeholder mapping assistance
Communication calendar planning
Scenario planning and stress-testing
Safety & Anonymization
Workplace-safe AI usage protocols
Data anonymization techniques
Privacy-conscious prompting strategies
Risk mitigation frameworks
What you'll have:
Complete AI prompt library for DANCE™
Workflow templates for AI-assisted planning
Safety protocols for workplace use
Time-saving automation strategies
This is What you have in common:
You're responsible for moving people through change but you don't control the decision, the timeline, or the people affected.
You have to coordinate without commanding. Influence without authority. Get alignment without having formal power over the people you're aligning.
Most change management advice doesn't help because it assumes you're the executive sponsor with budget and authority.
You're not. You're the person in the middle, translating decisions into action and hoping your message doesn't fragment as it cascades
Instead of staring at a blank page wondering how to announce this change, you'll know exactly which phase you're in and what that phase requires.
You'll have message templates. Planning tools. Coordination frameworks.
You'll anticipate resistance. You'll know how to friction-map before you hit send and know who's likely to push back and why.
You'll position support proactively instead of reactively.
You'll know what to say when there's nothing new to say. You'll send messages that keep people anchored without overpromising or creating false urgency.
Your rollouts won't stall anymore because you'll hold people through the uncertainty.
You'll communicate timeline changes without losing credibility.
When plans shift (and they will), you'll use Clarify language to update people without creating whiplash or suspicions of a bait-and-switch.
People won't assume you're unsure or disorganized when details evolved.
You'll diagnose breakdowns fast. When a rollout goes sideways, you won't be guessing. You'll identify which phase is missing and what to do about it.
"We skipped friction planning in Apply" is actionable. "The message didn't land" is not.
You'll troubleshoot with diagnostic language instead of hoping.
You'll scale change without fragmenting the messaging.
When new groups start you'll use Expand phase language to bring them into the existing framework.
New groups won't re-interpret because you onboarded them into the phase of DANCE™ already in motion.
You'll save 40+ hours per rollout. You won't spend weeks in reactive cleanup mode. You won't answer the same questions 47 times in Slack or Teams. You won't be firefighting preventable breakdowns.
You'll plan once, coordinate cleanly, and move on to the next thing.
You'll have language to diagnose problems without making it personal. You're not saying "Sarah didn't cascade the message right." You're saying "we skipped the Apply phase." You're not accusing your team of being resistant, you're identifying that Nurture was missing.
DANCE™ gives you a detached lexicon for troubleshooting. Problems become structural, not personal. Conversations become diagnostic, not defensive.
You'll sleep better. You're not lying awake at 2 AM wondering if you should have said something differently.
You have a system. It works. You trust it.
The DANCE System ™ : $497
You get:
3 complete courses
Course 1: DANCE System™ Fundamentals (master the framework)
Course 2: From Framework to Function (operational tools and templates)
Course 3: Using AI to Support DANCE™ (AI prompts and optimization tools)
Lifetime access (all future updates included)
Self-paced (implement immediately or learn first)
One-time payment. No ongoing subscription.
Compare this to:
Change management consultant: $15,000-$25,000 per engagement
Corporate training program: $5,000-$10,000 per cohort
Communication coaching: $3,000-$5,000 for a few sessions
My hourly rate: $300-$500 per hour
You're getting a complete system for $497 and you'll use it for every change initiative you coordinate for the rest of your career.
5-day money-back guarantee. Enroll, go through the content, look through the tools. If within 5 days you determine it's not what you need, you get a full refund. No questions asked.
Not ready to enroll?
Join the Think Shift Lead™ mailing list to get a 5 day mini course delivered direct to your inbox for free.
❌ This is not a magic script that works for every situation
There's no such thing. Context matters. Your organization is different from someone else's.
DANCE™ gives you a framework to adapt, not a script to copy-paste.
❌ This is not about "getting buy-in" or "building consensus"
If the decision is already made, you don't need buy-in. You need clarity.
DANCE teaches you how to communicate decisions cleanly, not how to turn every announcement into a committee discussion.
❌ This is not about being liked
You're coordinating change. Some people won't like it. That's fine.
DANCE™ teaches you how to hold the line with clarity, not how to make everyone happy.
❌ This is not hand-holding
You get the framework. You get the tools. You implement.
There are no office hours. No coaching calls. No Facebook group or Slack community where you can post questions and wait for validation.
This is for self-directed professionals who want a system, not people who need ongoing support to take action.
❌ This is not a substitute for decision-making authority
DANCE™ helps you coordinate change. It doesn't give you the power to make decisions you don't have authority to make.
If your organization's dysfunction runs deeper than communication, a framework won't fix that.
FAQs
Common Questions and FYIs
The DANCE System™ includes 3 complete courses:
Course 1: DANCE System™ Fundamentals teaches you the 5-phase framework. You'll understand what each phase does, when to use it, and how to diagnose which phase is missing when rollouts break down.
Course 2: From Framework to Function gives you the operational tools: planning templates, message frameworks, coordination strategies, troubleshooting guides, and role-specific applications.
Course 3: Using AI to Support DANCE™ provides AI prompts, templates, and safety protocols for accelerating DANCE™ implementation.
Total: 83 lessons. Self-paced. You can work through all 3 courses in one weekend, or spread it across several weeks, whatever fits your schedule.
If you're moving fast: You can complete all 3 courses in one focused weekend (8-10 hours total). You'll understand the framework and have access to all the tools.
If you're moving at a normal pace: 2-3 weeks working through 3-5 lessons per day (20-30 minutes daily).
Most people do this: They complete Course 1 (Fundamentals) first to understand the framework, then jump into Course 2 (From Framework to Function) when they have an actual rollout to plan. Course 3 (AI tools) is there when they want to accelerate their workflow.
The course is self-paced. Lifetime access means you can revisit sections whenever you need them.
No. DANCE™ works for anyone coordinating change without formal authority.
That includes:
Project managers
HR business partners
Operations coordinators
Strategic communications professionals
Team leads
Department heads
Change managers
Anyone responsible for moving people through organizational change
If you're in the middle—translating decisions into action, coordinating stakeholders who don't report to you, managing rollouts you didn't design—this is for you.
No. This is a single-user license.
If your team wants access, each person needs to enroll separately.
If you're looking for workshop/facilitator licensing, group pricing, or consultant white-label rights, that's a different offering. Contact me directly.
5-day no-questions-asked refund.
Enroll. Preview through the content. Take a look at the tools. If it's not what you need, email me within 5 days and you get a full refund.
Yes. That's the point.
You don't need to complete all 83 lessons across the 3 courses before you use the framework.
Learn Course 1 (Fundamentals) to understand the phases. Then use Course 2 (From Framework to Function) templates for your current rollout.
You'll learn faster by applying it than by consuming all the content first.
The DANCE System™ is industry-agnostic.
The framework works whether you're in:
Tech
Healthcare
Education
Nonprofit
Professional services
Government
Consulting
Change communication patterns are consistent across industries. The friction points are the same. The breakdowns are predictable.
Courses 1 and 2 includes organizational adaptation guidance so you can adjust DANCE™ for your specific context.
Good. DANCE™ complements it.
Most change management processes focus on:
Stakeholder analysis
Impact assessment
Training plans
Executive sponsorship
DANCE™ focuses on:
Message sequencing
Coordination without authority
Preventing communication breakdowns
Troubleshooting when things go wrong
You're not replacing your change process. You're adding communication structure to it.
No.
Course 3 (AI tools) is a bonus. Courses 1 and 2 give you the complete DANCE™ framework and all the operational tools.
If you use AI, Course 3 will accelerate your workflow. If you don't, you still get the full system.
Video lessons with slide presentations
Downloadable templates and frameworks (PDF, editable formats)
Planning tools and diagnostic grids
Message templates you can customize
Everything is designed for immediate implementation, not just consumption.
Yes. Lifetime access includes all future updates.
When I add new content, templates, or learning formats, you get them automatically.
No.
This is self-directed learning. You get the course content and tools. You implement on your own.
There's no Slack community, no Facebook group, no office hours, no coaching calls.
If you need ongoing hand-holding, this isn't structured for that.
Most questions are answered in the course content itself.
If you have a technical issue (can't access a lesson, download not working), email support.
For implementation questions ("how do I apply this to my specific situation"), the course teaches you how to diagnose and adapt, that's the skill you're building.

The DANCE System™ gives you:
3 complete courses
The 5-phase framework for coordinating change
Planning templates and message frameworks
Troubleshooting tools and coordination strategies
AI prompts for accelerated implementation
Lifetime access
You'll use this system for every change initiative you coordinate for the rest of your career.
Copyright 2025. Whitney Stout, Think Shift Lead. All Rights Reserved.