Amanda Behan | Why Outside Insight Makes Inside Progress Possible

Amanda Behan

When organizations hit a period of transition, it’s easy to default to familiar voices. But Amanda Behan argues that those moments are precisely when unfamiliar input can be most valuable. External perspectives help teams see the bigger picture — especially when internal patterns and assumptions have gone unchallenged for too long. Change is hard, but tunnel vision makes it harder.

Outside voices aren’t a replacement for institutional knowledge — they’re a mirror that reflects what the team can’t always see from the inside. Amanda has worked with groups that uncovered new strategies not by reinventing everything, but by hearing a challenge reframed through someone else’s lens. Often, it takes someone with no stake in “how it’s always been done” to name what’s holding progress back.

Of course, introducing external insight isn’t always smooth. Amanda points out that pushback is natural when fresh ideas arrive in established environments. That’s why it’s essential to position those insights as invitations to expand, not critiques to defend against. When teams understand that external input is about support, not disruption, they’re more likely to engage with it productively.

In practical terms, outside input can show up through cross-sector partnerships, advisory relationships, or even leadership coaching. What matters is that the perspective comes from outside the echo chamber. Amanda encourages leaders to seek this kind of insight proactively — not as a last resort, but as part of how they plan for change.

Amanda Behan believes outside perspectives aren’t just helpful in transition — they’re essential. In her experience, the organizations that thrive through structural change are the ones willing to learn from beyond their own walls.