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Change Management for leaders: Lead like a lion (Udemy.com)

Use neuroscience, human psychology AND change strategies of lions, elephants, and other animals on our leadership safari

Created by: Axel Rittershaus

Last updated July 2026

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What you will learn

  • You focus on the crucial topics and actions when leading change projects
  • You use the success principles of lions, cheetah, or elephants, to master changes in your business (and life)
  • You leverage newest findings from neuroscience and assist your people thriving in times of change
  • Use the 66-page workbook for your change-management efforts
  • You surprise your people with examples from African wildlife to explain, how to adapt to necessary changes
  • You know which of the 5 psychological triggers can jeopardize your change project and you know how to handle them
  • You use the 5 principles of communicating change to bring across the message in a motivating way
  • You master the 10 crucial leadership skills of change management
  • You use the 10 bullet proof strategies to handle change

How it compares

Against the other 1,210 rated Udemy courses in Business on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.5 out of 5higher than 46% of them
  • Reviews1,552#357 of 1,211 by number of reviews
  • Length2.8 hoursshorter than 50% of them
  • Last updatedJuly 2026more recently than 78% of them

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Course Description

  • 'One of the most interesting, storytelling, modules I've enrolled for in a long while!! The association with the animals surely will make the content "stick". Thank you.' Kirsten S.

  • 'First of its kind. I really appreciate the hard work invested in the course. The content is amazing as well I would highly recommend it to future leaders' Mpumelelo D.

Instead of learning about change management in a dull meeting room, we go on a safari to Africa (yes, really!). You get to know the impressive change management skills of the animal kingdom and their ability to adapt - which we will use immediately to take actionable, practical lessons from it into our personal and professional life. The 66-page workbook will assist you all the way. This course, part of our "Wildlife Leadership" series, will impress you!

Already during the course, you will implement and use the checklists, templates, psychological tips, and practical examples in your life immediately. At the same time, you will be impressed by the animal world and how far ahead they are when it comes to adapting to change - and what we can learn from it.


THIS COURSE IS MADE FOR

you, if you are

  • Manager in charge of a change project

  • Executive and you want to take your employees with you during a 'change project' - even if you might not know where the change will lead you

  • Change agent who is supposed to support the upcoming and current change processes

  • HR-employee and you want to support employees and managers of your organization in coping with the (constant) changes and implementing the changes motivated and successfully

  • Employee of a company and you want to play an active role in the change initiatives of your company


IS THIS COURSE IS THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR YOU?

Perhaps you have already attended various courses on change management, read books about change processes, and participated in some changes yourself ...

  • ... but you are still looking for a better way of dealing with change?

  • ... and you have the impression that there has to be another way than CIP, Kaizen, Six Sigma and Co.?

  • ... and you think that changes are nothing new and that others - for example, nature and the animal kingdom - have been able to cope with them for millions of years and that we could learn from them?

If this is the case, this course is perfect for you!


THE IDEA OF THIS COURSE & WHY IT WAS RECORDED DURING A SAFARI

  1. Wild animals neither have the luxury of a comfort zone nor can they plan for the future - and yet they are still here. In this change management course, we learn why animals are so good at handling change

  2. Everyone knows examples of ‘how to handle change' in the business environment - and nobody listens to them anymore. Once you use the examples from the animal world, people will listen to you again

  3. Since my first safari in South Africa in 2005, I have been fascinated by lions, cheetahs, African wild dogs, elephants, and Co. - and only then did I realize how much hidden knowledge we can find in the animal kingdom

  4. You will be able to remember considerably more from this course because the connection between the animal world and our world will give you completely new impressions that your brain can remember better

  5. The different sceneries we used for recording the videos are an additional reminder of how positive change can be - in this case, it will keep you more engaged with the course and help you to learn more


Yes, I actually recorded this course on a safari in South Africa.

I, your coach Axel Rittershaus, have been a professional executive coach and facilitator of leadership development programs worldwide since 2008. Until 2010 I lived and worked near Stuttgart in Germany.

In 2010 my wife and I moved to South Africa, and I continued working with companies and executives worldwide. I've been to more than 20 countries personally, and my online courses even reach 130+ countries.


In September 2021, we flew from Cape Town to the Sabi Sands area, near Kruger National Park, South Africa. The mission: Record the content for this and several other courses of our "Wildlife Leadership" academy at the Ulusaba Rock & Safari Lodge, owned by Sir Richard Branson.


My objective:

To produce the best course for you that motivates and supports you in actively tackling changes and confidently leading even challenging change projects.


If you want to think 'outside the box', then this course is for you.

You can hardly go further 'outside the box' than going with me on a safari in South Africa!

Despite the unfamiliar environment, you will know exactly what you should do in your everyday life afterward.


CONTENT OF THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT COURSE

A brief overview of the content of the change management course:

  • What distinguishes 'change management' in the animal world from our human world - and what can we immediately learn from it?

  • 5 main psychological reasons that block even perfectly organized change projects (based on neuroscience)

  • 10 crucial leadership skills for successfully managing change

  • 10 immediately usable strategies for dealing with change - for you personally, for your employees, in management

  • 5 basic rules of communication in change projects

  • 7 phases of the change curve and their meaning for your leadership

  • 7 leadership principles for change

  • various examples from the animal and professional world

The

  • 66-page workbook

  • checklists

  • templates

  • step-by-step instructions

make the practical transfer into your business life a no-brainer.


THE CO-FACILITATORS FOR CHANGE MANAGEMENT FROM THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 


Our co-facilitators in this course:

  • Lions

  • Cheetahs

  • Elephants

  • Chameleons

  • Buffalo

  • Antelopes

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Instructor Details

Axel Rittershaus

- "Great introduction to AI, Axel provided clear and concise information on the topic," Tammy B.

- "First time learning about OKRs and this course was super helpful giving me the foundation knowledge to implement this in my work life.," Billy J.

- "Great info and the narrator was great, well spoken and explained things very well.," Kevin R. 

Learn how to lead in a world where AI does half of what leadership used to mean.

In Axel Rittershaus's courses, you build the skill that matters most now. Not how to use the tools. How to make the calls that the tools cannot. You will learn to spot the decisions that are actually yours, to lead people through change without faking certainty, and to stay the person on the team whose judgment others trust when the answers stop being obvious.

More than 300,000 people have already learned from his courses, in plain language, with methods you can use the same day. No theory for its own sake. Every lesson is built to work in your next meeting, not just in your notes.

Axel knows both sides of the room. He built software and ran tech companies before he spent 17 years coaching leaders in over 20 countries, from new managers to the boards of international corporations. That is why his courses connect what AI can do with what only a human leader can.

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Reviews

4.5

1,552 ratings on Udemy

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By Alix McCulloch on 8/11/2025

Full of useful, memorable content, I'm sure I'll return to these lectures for a refresh in the future. Really enjoyed the safari/animal theme and the outdoor shoot: so much more interesting to watch than an exec in an office! I find Axel to be an inspiring and authentic coach and look forward to taking more of his course on Udemy.

By Narendra Kothuri on 5/15/2025

An excellent course that truly delivers practical insights into change management. I particularly appreciated the real-world examples and the leadership strategies grounded in empathy, communication, and structured action. The ‘lead like a lion’ concept was both inspiring and actionable. This course gave me clarity on how to guide teams through uncertainty with confidence. Highly recommended for anyone in a leadership or management role!

By Anonymized User on 9/11/2023

Love the concept. Up to now really enjoyed the course, however the reference to gender pronouns for male as leaders and female as the reports is off putting and not relevant to current leadership climates.

By Robyn De Wet on 1/10/2023

Change is inevitable, growth a requirement, we have to adapt to how we perceive change. Once we realize a comfort zone is "the zone an animal dies in" if it has a predator, it is hard to become as comforted by no movement as I was a few minutes ago!

By Anonymized User on 1/5/2023

It was really great to see the correlations made between wildlife and people... as the reactions are so similar and the examples were spot on! I really enjoyed this course, and have recommend it to many others. This is not just for change managers, but all levels of leadership.

By Jacky Maritz on 8/1/2022

Great concepts, well communicated - lots of things to consider and implement. There is definitely some ideas that I will be implementing and consider during the current change management process in our organization. I can recommend this as a starting point as the work does not stop post this course. Thank you

By Anonymized User on 3/24/2022

Very relevant information, and easy to relate to. I enjoy the comparisons to wildlife. Overall, I am confident that this helped me intentionally think about the topic more - and gave good insights to improve in change management both professionally and personally.

By Anonymized User on 3/11/2022

The content within this course was really helpful. I specifically liked the emphasis on Change not being a project, rather a long-term adaptation that helps to shape the new normal. Really creative and interesting way to convey complicated business topics. Thanks so much!

By John Harrison on 2/11/2022

This was very interesting in using African wildlife to discuss change management. Having the chance to go to Africa once and see some of the animals shown throughout the course, it not only brought back some great memories, but furthered my education in the process.

By Tabea Lanz on 11/12/2021

This Course is truly remarkable and is a perfect guide for anyone interested in Change Management. The depth of knowledge of the instructor, Axel Rittershaus distinguishes him as an expert in this field with lots of practical experience. This course has truly surpassed my expectations.

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Overall Score : 90 / 100