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"Life doesn’t get easier, you handle hard better"
Alan & I delve into the world of self awareness and personal growth. It all began with a moment that could have been his last. After a life changing car accident, which propelled Alan into a journey of self-discovery and growth, Alan shares how his experience at Cognex highlighted the dual-edged sword of industrial automation: while it propels personal success, it also challenges job availability for other workers. We explore how this moral conflict fuelled his mission at Next Level University to empower individuals with free, open source personal development resources to allow people to take themselves to the next level of who they are.
We discuss using learning sciences to alleviate ignorance-induced suffering, and the importance of awareness, commitment to growth, and the harmony of team dynamics. In a world that often celebrates overconfidence, alongside gathering knowledge must be humility and self-efficacy - leaders often have external self-efficacy but less internal self-efficacy. We must keep the balance between external achievements and internal fulfillment, encouraging ongoing effort and intentionality.
Alan shares not only his personal journey, but also his insights and methods from working with people all over the globe, to help them transform into a fulfilled version of who they really are.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- The rise of industrial automation will take jobs from the growing population of less educated people; therefore, retooling is necessary and the NLU aims to empower people to create their own jobs.
- It is free to attend and offers resources and opportunities for those willing to put the work in to grow themselves and their business, reach their potential and create a brighter future.
- It is a big ambition with a mission statement, core values, metrics, subjects, and vehicles to achieve it, based on self-awareness being a necessity, not a luxury – if we are not part of the solution, then we are part of the problem.
- The root cause of human suffering is ignorance and apathy, i.e. we don’t know (enough) or don’t care (enough); we must learn and find our purpose, caring deeply (enough) to fulfil our true potential.
- Alongside gathering knowledge must be humility and self-efficacy - leaders often have external self-efficacy but less internal self-efficacy; after all, ‘life doesn’t get easier, but you handle hard better’.
- There is always a percent error (that requires underlying contingency plans) but being right increases with age – we are never fully right but we become more and more right, and more right than others.
- The challenging duality of knowing more than others but less than there is to know requires vulnerability and radical humility – we must be able to hold two different ideas simultaneously, as decisions are not always binary.
- A good modus operandi can be to reverse engineer problems, understanding the calculations that go into decision-making. Comparing self-driving cars with human beings, both need:
· Accurate current location, i.e. self-awareness
· Accurate destination location, i.e. a goal
· Accurate...
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"playfulness and adults is very under researched and under utilised in organisations to help people to thrive..."
Elrika and I have a great conversation about the power of play and playfulness in creating workplaces where people and performance can thrive. Light-hearted practices enhance empathy and shared experiences, and despite challenges in remote work, maintaining playfulness is possible in virtual meetings.
Playfulness is often undervalued in adult contexts, yet it’s crucial for brain function, creativity, and performance. We explore the cultural sensitivities around play in the workplace as well as the neuroscientific processes as work. Technology and digital can also be used to leverage play in the workplace and leaders who dare to incorporate playfulness can create more collaborative, creative, and resilient workplaces, and enhance human connection.
Techniques like Lego Serious Play are more than just child’s play; they are strategic tools for inclusion, creativity and balance, even at the highest levels of management.
Elrika shares her research, insights and experience from working with organisations and leaders around the globe on 'how to play' seriously and to enhance the bottom line business results.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- Playfulness in adults is important for thriving although sadly scarce. Research into playfulness and its effect on the brain shows that play is rooted in our brain chemistry, so it is part of all of us but not nurtured in all of us.
- An agile world requires us to consider the whole human and embrace our roots of being playful. One definition of play is the playful onion: play is on the outer layers we can see, playfulness is on the inner layers we can’t see, and the playful centre is where we find compassion, warmth and imagination.
- The LEGO Serious Play approach allows us to learn from each other’s models and gives us time to reflect on the results, which enables introverts and extroverts to play along by creating a safe space and catering for all personality types – it is overarchingly collective but facilitates individual input.
- It builds skills, increases challenge, enables flow and does not assume that leaders have the answers – rather that everyone has the answers. Neurologically, thinking and talking use only the frontal lobe of the brain.
- The hand-brain connection relaxes people enough to listen and be creative and using more of the brain increases divergent thinking. LEGO stimulates multiple processes simultaneously, releasing serotonin (excitement about the process), dopamine (completing the task) and adrenaline (the urgency of the task).
- In a safe environment, it is possible to build something and break it again, enabling us to fail together and building team cohesiveness. Playfulness in the workplace can also address stress and burnout challenges, providing a feeling of safety to experience emotions: ‘If I can laugh with you, I can cry with you’.
- Playfulness creates safety, but safety is required to play – this reciprocity needs respect, clear boundaries, and space for exploration and engagement; it allows us to bring our personalities to work, and be less afraid of who we are, and of imposter syndrome.
- When using play for leaders in organisations with a clear hierarchy, it is important to understand different levels of play and playfulness; sometimes apparently serious people are playful (NOT silly – this is a clear and significant difference).
- The Proyer approach of OLIW – other-directed, light-hearted, intellectual, whimsical – is...
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"Clear beats clever, yet we’re still incentivising clever in organisations… “
A brilliant conversation with Eric about creating the conditions for both performance and people to thrive. We delve into the different parts of this journey to build a culture that enables performance. The acronym LoL—listen, observe, learn— highlights the importance of engaging with employees and clients to understand their challenges beyond financial metrics.
We also discuss the importance of personal interactions, that are vital for building trust, particularly in the digital age. A human-centric strategy and cultural resilience are crucial for navigating crises, and being intentional with our actions to build relationships, communicate effectively and take people with us on this journey is important to building a new way of thinking, acting and being.
We all suffer from complexity bias, and the importance of clarity over complexity has never been more pressing, as we look to lead with empathy, streamline messages and enhance focus.
Eric generously shares his stories, experience and operational tips from his career and from working with leaders across the five generations.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- Starting from a fascination with leadership from an early age, through business school, and working for a company that enabled personal growth resulted in a message of impact to pass on in the form of a book.
- Based on the notion that ‘simple’ plans are not necessarily simplistic to implement, the book offers anecdotes and practical tips for hands-on operationalisation for leaders as the mechanic for the car, and whose people are the vehicle for the journey.
- LOL – listen, observe and learn – as a foundation for strategy to obtain different opinions to give a new view of how best to act, thanks to a diversity of perspective - no one is ever smarter than the room even if they are the smartest person in the room.
- Observing behaviours and action is the simplest definition of culture. Visiting with and talking to people builds trust – a roadmap is not a new idea, but without the human element it is just directions, and leadership must navigate both the path and the people.
- The ‘velvet hammer’ approach refers to the relationship between people and performance – leaders must truly listen, observe and learn, make people feel special, but also give them accountability, balancing head and heart.
- Clear beats clever, despite this not being the paradigm in most organisations. Clarity can be achieved through simplicity to overcome complexity bias - complex does not mean better, and improvement does not mean adding to.
- It is much better to master the basics than trying to be too clever; leaders are overwhelmed with information and excuses are introduced – far better is to avoid the noise and be a ‘distraction catcher’.
- The abc of communication: know when to amplify a message, buffer it, and convey it. To embed this in a culture successfully and sustainably requires feedback, time management, the definition of priorities, and difficult conversations.
- Cultural resilience is about equipping people to have conversations in the workplace and about having an intentional approach to everything e.g. stay interviews. It acts as a shock absorber when bad news strikes, by building a solution mindset.
- A ‘check under the hood’ process allows for the tangible measurement of culture by asking questions, obtaining data,
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"we need to think of conversations as living systems...this mechanistic story is so all pervasive that we don't even recognise it... "
A brilliant conversation with Michelle on creating sustainable conditions for people & living systems to thrive. Michelle offers a refreshing and transformative perspective of thrivability. This concept redefines how communities and businesses operate by viewing them as dynamic, interconnected living systems. We discuss moving beyond the mechanistic approaches and the leadership paradigms that support this, and us embracing a more holistic vision rooted in collaboration, diversity, and shared purpose.
This of course asks for different leadership skills and the intention to create practice grounds where individuals and teams can hone these skills. We delve into the wealth of wisdom in indigenous cultures, and within our selves as we walk through the spiral of conversations as living systems. At each stage we can look at new habits, thinking and feeling. Never have organisations been more in need of cultivating and nourishing the human elements of systems and practition-ing sustainable change to a more inclusive and collaborative way of working.
How can we all channel our personal agency to create cultures where we collaborate and care and not compete and compare ?
How do we create regenerative and intentional practice to build Thrivability and competitive advantage ? A platform for world change..
Listen here to find out more as Michelle generously shares her research, experience and models form working with individuals and organisations all over the globe.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- Brand strategy, international marketing and organisational development are all characterised by a lack of relationships with customers, a lack of purpose, and a fiercely competitive internal culture.
- Research into sustainability involved looking into the notion that everything operates as a machine, separate from each other and nature, and exploring biology to see if the facts of being alive apply to communities and organisations.
- Went on to develop frameworks that have now been in use for over 25 years based on living systems, survival of the fittest, an adaptive capacity for change, a holistic view of systems, and the wisdom of natural living systems.
- The four patterns of thrivability – diversity, nourishment, learning, emergence – have significance for us as individuals and collectively; organisations are seen as separate from us and static, but we must see everything as part of a living, dynamic world.
- Thrivability is an informed intention and practice to enable life to thrive - living and participating enable the setting of an intention whilst being informed enables life to thrive, drawing on indigenous wisdom, intuition, poetry, spirituality, biology, etc.
- Organisations as living systems must invite diversity in relationship and flow, enabling the emergence of a new whole beyond the level of the parts – this shared purpose then acts like a magnet to bring parts together.
- Mechanical systems have no capacity for innovation, healing, regeneration, reaction to change, or spark of life - we are the gardeners who cultivate life, without necessarily knowing what we are growing.
- Collective intelligence is about the integration of diverse parts, moving from ‘compete and compare’ to ‘collaborate and compare’, which is a profound and revolutionary shift in terms of social context.
- The starting point is being aware of the wholeness of the present...
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"The more cognitive diversity we have in the workplace, the better we will be as organisations if we can manage it effectively"
Jodie and I discuss the shifts that need to happen to create safer and more inlcusive workplaces. Leaders play a pivotal role in nurturing a culture of empathy, understanding, and genuine care. Over and above all, leaders need to know their people and reflect on their behaviours and what they are enabling and hindering in the workplace. Understanding the challenges and opportunities faced by neurodivergent individuals in the workplace, as well as coming from a place of curiosity and care is necessary to cultivate environments where everyone feels safe and valued. Inclusivity isn’t just a moral imperative—it’s a catalyst for creativity, performance and innovation. When organisations embrace diverse ways of thinking, and interact with the reality of the 5 generations who work in there, they can unlock new levels of performance and problem-solving capabilities. It is important to clearly define cultural narratives and what behaviours are required, to own our mistakes and fix them to restore relationships, and to call out bad behaviour.
If you are looking for simple and actionable things that you can do to encourage and create the conditions for a safer and more inclusive workplace, listen to this episode as Jodie generously shares her perspectives, stories and thoughts on this important topic.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
-A culture of safety and inclusion are essential for performance: from a
neurodiversity perspective, improvements made for neurodivergent people
benefit everyone, e.g. clearer communication and more flexibility.
- Diversity too improves organisational performance, but people are often
overwhelmed by the subject so that no real action is taken. Unfortunately,
direction, guidance and outcomes tend to supersede interpersonal
connections.
- Conscious conversations are required to delve into what people need, and
then resource the skills required to react and respond to needs: ‘fix, deliver,
advise’ should give way to space to listen, be heard and be comfortable with
discomfort.
- The post-covid backlash against the dialogue around mental health leaves us
asking how we equip people to talk about it - this is based on empathy as well
as cultures of care, which mean different things to different people.
- Leaders must know their people in order to support them and help them
thrive; they must reflect, have an adaptable mindset for inclusivity and role
model a different approach, connecting with people 1:1 and building a
relationship.
- Team away days provide the opportunity to talk about something other than
work, build trust on an individual level and thereby create more psychological
safety at a team level.
- Flexible working (post-covid) reinforces the narrative that women can have/do
it all – yet nothing can increase the amount of time available and only a strong
support network can facilitate this.
- The only option to flexible working is often not working at all, and people will
seek out flexibility because getting the right balance at home has an impact
on professional relationships too (ripple/cascade effect).
- Five generations in the workplace now is very beneficial in terms of cognitive
diversity, cross-mentoring, etc. - progress depends on a growth mindset and a
willingness to see others’ point of view.
- Humble leaders with strong people skills who are up to date with the latest
thinking, work on their own unconscious bias and build a strong foundation of
understanding the well-being of their people can be transformational.
- Trying to get people to ‘fit in’ is better replaced by a recruitment strategy that
is aligned around
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"The path that leads to success is the path where you dare to take on those challenges and question yourself"
A fabulous conversation with karl about crafting our own path in the age of technology. How can we use what technology brings to leaders as individuals and to the workplace ?
Many of us fall into autopilot mode, driven by societal pressures, especially in large organizations, and we discuss work being defined by life experiences rather than the other way around.
Amidst rapid AI advancements, human resistance to change is natural—our survival instincts kick in - but instead of merely managing technological changes, we should embrace them. There is a lack of AI expertise among many leaders and we need to help foster a culture of learning and risk-taking, moving away from traditional education to collaborative learning. This shift promotes inclusive conversations and empathy, crucial elements in a world increasingly influenced by AI. AI should enhance decision-making, not replace human judgment.
Karl shares his stories, experience and insights from setting up his innovation factory and working with leaders and youth all across the globe.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- Innovation requires an atypical mindset and not accepting the norm – there are always alternatives, which can be more challenging but also more rewarding; taking a ‘detour’ prevents autopilot and keeps the brain active.
- We have evolved over millennia to follow the norm in order to save energy, avoid risk and survive; it takes a long time to change mental models, particularly compared to the exponential speed of tech and, more recently, (generative) AI.
- Boundaries and limitations have been removed to make way for AI, but this involves bypassing safety features. What does that mean for humans? We like to feel in control, although we don’t always fully understand the technology.
- There are inherent problems and risks, and the challenge of AI in business is how it will be managed from a legal standpoint; companies should try out new technology on mock data first, then use AI to make the solution more efficient.
- We must let AI strategies emerge using synthetic data to then make decisions about which AI-enabled tools will be most beneficial - leaders often do not understand enough about AI and should work closely with those who do.
- Leaders must be comfortable with not knowing and feel free to ask ‘stupid’ questions on a development journey – the teacher/student approach doesn’t work with AI as everyone must play around with it together to find answers.
- The hierarchy of leadership will be partly managed by AI (algorithms), i.e. an AI decision support engine, that will redefine boundaries; AI will treat us as humans if we treat it as human.
- The ‘innovation factory’ initiative is about learning from other entrepreneurs and inventors, and pushing boundaries - cultures can prevent progress and all ideas should be welcome to ‘fail forward’ and add knowledge.
- Aimed mostly at universities, it goes from no idea, to defining, questioning and pressure-testing an idea in order to reshape and repurpose it, and to develop microproducts along the way (in contrast to an accelerator).
- Today’s regenerative approach can involve ‘AI for good’, giving us options for us to then make the decisions, e.g. how can AI prevent war? We can instruct an AI solution to help us do good.
- We still have agency over the technology but will be an AI-enabled society by
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"AI job automation is gaining more and more ground, but emotional intelligence currently remains irreplaceable by AI."
Vladimer and I discuss insights and strategy around digital transformation, marketing and the importance of personal brand in the digital age. The digital revolution has fundamentally altered how companies operate and engage with their audiences. and our discussion sheds light on the pivotal role of digital marketing and innovation in this transformation. With a strong emphasis on personal branding and direct consumer engagement, we discuss how the power has shifted from traditional media to individuals who master social media.
We also dive deep into the importance of active learning, curiosity, and collaboration as well as analytical thinking. AI knowledge, leadership, resilience, and empathy are key factors that will drive success & keep us competitive in the digital age.
As digital transformation continues to reshape the business landscape, Vladimer offers valuable advice for individuals and companies aiming to thrive. His emphasis on personal branding, consumer engagement, and adaptability provides a clear path to success in navigating the complexities of the digital world.
The main insights you will get from this episode are :
- International experience in the tech industry mentoring companies and entrepreneurs to help them remain relevant in the digital world - power has shifted dramatically with social media from big corporations to human beings.
- Social media gives consumers a voice and a reaction for the first time in the history of marketing and communication and stops brands interrupting while open-minded entrepreneurs communicate openly with clients (e.g. Elon Musk).
- Personal branding is everything in the streaming economy and is at the heart of competitive advantage - large organisations must rise to this challenge by becoming consumer-centric, not boardroom-centric.
- In the new world order, David surpasses Goliath with speed, agility, lifelong learning, open-mindedness and open communication – the market decides what is good these days (cf. Spotify, Airbnb, etc. who solve consumers’ problems).
- Traditional, tried-and-tested (marketing) strategies no longer work; companies must build a great customer experience, reinvent themselves, be experimental/ inventive, think long-term and listen to their consumers (‘listening businesses’).
- Authenticity and openness are paramount, and content drives business. AI will lower operational costs and replace large chunks of the global workforce by 2030 - the only sustainable option in the digital age is to build a personal brand.
- Personal brands are built through storytelling, gratitude, consistency, passion, openness, curiosity, communication and transparency – they must educate consumers, become the best publishers of information, and build not sell.
- AI will generate followers/influencers and disrupt jobs – this requires organisations to undergo a huge mindset shift towards permanent reinvention and being proactive as opposed to reactive.
- WEF skills for the future include self-efficacy, working with others, analytical thinking, creative thinking, leadership, social influence, resilience, flexibility, agility, empathy and active listening.
- Great content can be created and then spread across different platforms to billions of social media users with very few resources and at no cost (iPhone, YouTube, etc.).
- We can become unicorns through blogging and gaining...
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"Everybody, essentially, deep down on a personal level, wants the same thing.”
A brilliant and humbling conversation with John Marks where we delve into the power of social entrepreneurship as a transformative force that blends positive change with financial sustainability. We look at the 11 principles John has taken from his work in international conflict resolution and what it means to fully empower yourself and others and embrace adaptive leadership.
We discuss the need to decrease the defensive, reactive tendencies we have, regulate our emotions, and add intentionality in order to be more effective adaptive leaders - eventually it must come naturally. We discuss various initiatives, such as improving U.S.-Iran relations through “wrestling diplomacy,” and reflect on John’s own transition from opposition-focused activism to collaboration-centered leadership, promoting a “win-win” approach. It is important to be defined not by what you are against but what you are working for – this paradigm shift can be transformative for people as leaders and as individuals.
We look at the challenges of collaborative problem-solving at different scales, the consistent principles of mediation, and the importance of active listening and mediation in leadership and other insights to improve business culture.
John generously shares insights and stories from his wealth of knowledge and wisdom from working with international actors and conflicts across the globe. If you are passionate about creating positive change in the world but unsure how to balance your ideals with financial sustainability listen here to the rest of this episode which unpacks the rich insights from his transformative book, “From Vision to Action: Remaking the World Through Social Entrepreneurship.”
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- Vision is to create a more peaceful world and deal with conflict peacefully; applied visionaries use the ideas of mediation to resolve problems and set up processes to deal with problems.
- Social entrepreneurship is a means to try and make the world a better place for someone with the skills to launch an initiative and make it happen, beyond themselves, without financial gain as the primary goal.
- Having purpose can find resources for and with us, e.g. the SFCG mantra is to understand differences and act on commonalities, i.e. find ways for people to agree, starting with what is possible, and building trust during the process to resolve the conflict.
- An inclusive approach is based on everyone essentially wanting the same thing and commonalities can be used to bring people together, e.g. sport – building teams, both sides being ready and willing.
- Example of ‘wrestling diplomacy’ [when the US wrestling team visited Iran] gained press coverage and provided leverage for further signalling at a political level – different motivations for different parties but all benefited.
- It is important to be defined not by what you are against but what you are working for – this paradigm shift can be transformative for people as leaders and as individuals.
- ‘Yesable propositions’ offer win-wins that make you more attractive to others; it doesn’t mean getting everything you want, rather the maximum you can get, and the same for the other...
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"Its the story not the tech that is the bridge between whether an idea gets funded and gets to market ."
A fun conversation with Susan about the power of stories for the human brain. We delve into the eclectic journey that she travelled to link storytelling and innovation. The human need for connection is ever present, particularly in a digitally connected world. Human connection is about having empathy and understanding others’ situations – essential for innovation & effective collaboration, which requires behaviour change.
The role of stories in creating followers and convincing people is as old as time, and people don’t change much; the prophets moved the word around the world, making them the greatest viral marketers of all time. There is so much power in stories, especially the ones we tell ourselves, which are instrumental in helping or hindering both innovation and collaboration..
We discuss all this and lots more as Susan shares her insights, stories and experiences from working with people & leaders all around the globe .
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- The common trait for innovation is an insatiable curiosity – innovators are constantly asking questions, talking and telling stories with a desire to tell other people.
- The human need for connection is about having empathy and understanding others’ situations – essential for innovation, which requires behaviour change.
- The advent of the Internet made it clear that the story was the bridge between new tech/ideas and how to get people to change their behaviour around interacting with the technologies.
- A ‘tech translator’ needs to use plain language to tell a relatable story that matters to the readers, and CIOs need to take the same approach; they must become storytellers themselves to get the funding/recognition they deserve.
- The role of stories in creating followers and convincing people is as old as time, and people don’t change much; the prophets moved the word around the world, making them the greatest viral marketers of all time.
- How did they succeed in selling an idea that wasn’t visible to our human minds, and persuading us to continue sharing their stories long after their death?
1. They relied on a shared history and looked for common ground (orthodoxy vs. progressivism); evidenced by similar calendars/rituals across religions.
2. Their basis was in core values; behaviour change requires new, worthwhile values to replace old ones that are no longer sufficient.
3. Their message was memorable; an innovative message requires momentum for other people to adopt it - stories create both memory and momentum.
4. They got other people to tell it; identify early adopters who will absorb the message and amplify it, pre-programming others to share it.
5. The made good use of language; rallying cries ground people to the mission of change.
- There will always be doubt, even among early adopters, and impactful communication varies among national cultures – we must be clear about the cultural values in the tribe we are currently in.
- Empathy mapping...
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"At the heart of it is finding and speaking with your own voice..."
Nausheen shares her journey from corporate to public speaking coach, and highlights the interplay between confidence and fear, advocating for positive self-talk and learning from failure, illustrated by her personal story and experiences. Finding and speaking with your own true voice is very unusual - particularly in women – and many people are self-silencing or silenced by others. Helping them involves addressing mindset, message, and delivery (in that order).
We delve into the importance of effective communication tools and different approaches, and the importance of finding one’s voice, establishing a personal brand, active listening, overcoming self-doubt, and intentional message sharing to attract audiences and achieve success. It is never too early to start telling your story – being more public and vocal is a good way to build a business, build your confidence and attract people. Breaking away from the conventional path can be a transformative experience – not always easy, but it grants a great sense of autonomy by creating a new identity, building creative resilience and showing ourselves and others that reinvention is possible.
Nausheen generously shares her stories, experience and insights from working with senior leaders across the globe.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- A varied career path and eclectic entrepreneurial adventure led to the realisation that anyone should be able to give their best performance in front of a camera; coaching executives is very fulfilling and aligns with her own passions.
- Finding and speaking with your own true voice is very unusual - particularly in women – and many people are self-silencing or silenced by others. Helping them involves addressing mindset, message, and delivery (in that order).
- It is possible to fake confidence but not advisable, as the performative aspect allows the projection of confidence without feeling it; in the absence of confidence, we must create a virtuous cycle by proving to ourselves we can do it.
- This requires the right tools and debriefing after speaking commitments to learn lessons for the future and filter knowledge of the subject into understandable messages that will be remembered, not minimising good content with poor delivery.
- The approach depends on the individual: introverts who are shy, hate the spotlight, and perform sub optimally require lots of mindset work; confident, ambitious people who develop very specific patterns of speaking and presenting and perform sub optimally require lots of work on message and delivery.
- Fear and confidence can coexist, but fear must not get in the way of performance - we take action to overcome the fear: people feel scared, do the scary thing and this action creates the virtuous cycle to feed the next scary thing.
- Confident people talk to themselves and impact their future action positively by taking accountability for doing well (sense of control); insecure people blame themselves and do not let wins positively affect their confidence (removes agency).
- Scary things are the worthwhile things; we must reframe what fear brings in a creative way and do away with negative self-talk, recognising that failure is part of progress.
- Building a practice to reframe failure means learning from experience and taking action to prevent failure, e.g. recognising red flags in behaviour and being a better listener to receive information with judgement.
- It is never too early to start
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"I really value peer learning, thats where it all happens.. that's how culture spreads in your organisation"
A fun and insightful conversation with Michelle about the future of learning and the importance of creating impactful and interactive learning experiences.
Lifelong learning is essential in today's complex world and we need to understand what this means for us as leaders, and how we can equip organisations to create a sustainable learning culture. We delve into the dynamic shift towards digital and social learning environments in the workplace, and what that means for the concept of power and for practitioning - for the way we think, act and interact on a daily basis.
The challenge for leaders trying to pioneer a culture of learning is the ability to be vulnerable and demonstrate their own learning. Learning is currently not a KPI so is not ‘popular’ as such - in fact, it is one of the first budgets to be cut when organisations need to tighten their belt, yet it is part of what will maintain competitive advantage.. We need to understand how to embrace the new learning paradigm, tools and approaches and how to create the conditions for a culture of learning to become the norm. Only then can we expect innovation, business results and well being to happen at scale..
Michelle generously shares her stories, experience and research from working with academics and leaders around the globe.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- A strategic practitioner and leader who values peer learning and is satisfying demand for how to do learning differently and apply it practically.
- Learning has evolved hugely, not least digitally thanks to Covid - digital learning has moved from e-learning to a much more interactive form to demonstrate that it works, and we can do things differently and better.
- The communication tool of Zoom became a learning tool as it transcended geographical boundaries, and we all had to immerse ourselves in a new environment - Covid provided a skills uplift / new skillset.
- Digital body language is important to read a room online - this is difficult for face-to-face practitioners, such as teachers, but has revolutionised coaching, for example.
- Teachers need training (‘lift and shift’, e.g. with generative AI) and the current exam system does not teach for future skills – the education system needs to look at the future of work.
- There is resistance to genAI as people worry about their jobs but its accessibility can be amplified by digital - face-to-face plus closed captions, personalisation, additional support and linguistic tools all make learning more inclusive.
- The challenge for leaders trying to pioneer a culture of learning is the ability to be vulnerable and demonstrate their own learning; learning is currently not a KPI so is not ‘popular’.
- Reverse mentoring, whereby a less experienced person mentors a more experienced person in any given setting, is useful as a means to show vulnerability and demonstrate how productive it can be.
- Openly talking about learning as a two-way process involving self-awareness and humility should be the norm, and everyone should have a learning KPI, e.g. 10% - this learning can also be from mistakes that are then spoken about.
- Good leaders are humble, curious and require both people skills and technical skills – flatter structures promote not only technical brilliance, but also take into account the softer people skills.
- Those on the...
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" life is about taking risks, I don't think you get incredible rewards without incredible risks..... the best things in life are often risky"
A brilliant conversation with Vera Quinn about how to successfully navigate business challenges and opportunities. Vera puts the focus on people and what we can learn from each other if we are open to embracing this. we live in a world where life and systems in general are set up to reward people who are ‘right’ – a leader's goal should be to have smart people and give them a voice for the right answer to come through dialogue/brainstorming.
We discuss the power of people in a digital world and how this can translate into business growth. We delve into valuing collaboration, diverse perspectives, learning from failures, risk management and understanding cultural differences as a way of finding strategies to manage the different pressures in the workplace. Vera also addresses managing CEO pressures, focusing on impactful work, self-improvement, and aligning actions with goals. We also explore true success through peace and contentment, the transformative impact of therapy, and the importance of taking action to overcome challenges and pursue personal growth and positive influence.
If you’ve ever wondered how to navigate the complex landscape of business growth while staying true to your roots, listen to the full episode where Vers generously shares her experience, wisdom and inspiration.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- People can be whatever, whoever and however they want, from both a potential and self-worth perspective - transient states do not define us.
- Seeing life through an immigrant lens was very influential personally and professionally to strive for a better life; a formative experience in a sales job talking to people on the doorstep was an opportunity to learn about values.
- Big moves and changes or once-in-a-lifetime experiences can be very rewarding but require risk and risk-taking is integral to entrepreneurship.
- Life and systems in general are set up to reward people who are ‘right’ – the goal of a leader should be to have smart people and give them a voice for the right answer to come through dialogue/brainstorming.
- Leaders can reward speaking up, collaborating and pushing back to encourage risk-taking, and can role model the behaviour of only having the right answer 10% of the time (and reward the process instead).
- Tolerating risk reframes failure, and failure is what happens when we give up: risk is a part of life and failure is a learning, with role models coming in all shapes and sizes – both younger and older.
- Bias training looks at everyone’s unique set of experiences and lens on the world: we need to stop and understand others’ lenses and appreciate that different cultures are real by valuing feedback from other perspectives.
- It will take time to have more women in leadership, but women must organise, support, teach, and advocate for each other – the system will not keep women out as 50% of talent is women and businesses need good talent.
- Employers must understand why there are fewer women in the pipeline for digital and tech – how can we fix the process, make the roles attractive to women? Barriers take time to break down and there is residue bias in older generations.
- The pressure of being a successful CEO is created by the stories we tell ourselves. A commitment to provide an opportunity for employees to create a better life for themselves means focusing on what is...
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"Tough on results tender on people is really the ultimate yin yan of humble leadership"
A great conversation with Urs as we delve into the realms of humble leadership and how we can consciously create this practice. We take a dive into the transformative potential of radical humility in leadership and how it can revolutionise the way you lead and connect with your team.
Urs's experiences as a peace-keeper gave him a unique perspective on leadership, which he generously shares with us. In environments where lives are at stake, the ability to build trust and foster relationships is paramount. Effective leadership is not just about making decisions but about understanding and connecting with people on a deeper level. This requires a balance of humility and confidence—a delicate dance that can lead to remarkable outcomes as you master the process intentionally.
As diverse teams become more frequent, understanding and bridging generational gaps can lead to a more harmonious and productive work environment. This also requires leaders to be humble, adaptable and open-minded, willing to learn from the unique perspectives each generation brings to the table.
Urs shares his insights, stories and experience to date from all angles : his peace-keeping missions, his experience as an ultra athlete, as a father and from working with leaders all over the globe.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- An important part of leading with radical humility is to ask bigger and more difficult questions and not judging when dealing with different value systems, for example.
- Non-humble leaders need to be shown what teams can achieve by a humble leader in a top-down control culture looking down, controlling their own team and demonstrating their ability.
- Leaders can be humble and confident, humble and decisive, or humble and ambitious; fundamental self-confidence is required to humbly invite feedback; and being ambitious is about asking hard questions.
- Leaders should show vulnerability and role model humility: demonstrating appropriate vulnerability is one of the quickest ways to build trust as people admire perfection but can’t relate to it.
- Shifting from ‘then’ leadership (top-down command control in the industrial age) to ‘now’ leadership (with humility) by developing deep self-awareness; training the feedback muscle; and realising the value of focus and the importance of failing successfully.
- The most important factor in teams are relationships, so treat others as you would like to be treated and lead like a compass – the true test of leadership is how things function in the absence of the leader.
- Lead with a shared purpose and with full transparency – share your imperfections, your decision-making and your thought processes, engaging in the ‘thinking person’s sport’.
- Focus should be on organisational leadership as opposed to individual leadership excellence – create a fearless culture, take responsibility for how your team members interact, provide psychological safety, and be direct.
- Leaders must ask for help and acknowledge and show gratitude for feedback: there is great value in learning together experientially – in different situations, teams have to rely on each other, regardless of rank.
- The network age is the fog of war with generational and technological changes, and the ‘fog of work’ presents us with a very complex environment: like the immune system, a team gets stronger when it is tested.
- A multi-generational workforce...
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"it is about enabling a bigger version of ourself...People are only in their head, not in their heart and solar plexus."
Katja and I delve into the world of purpose, spirituality and business, looking at demystifying the subject and exploring how we can connect more effectively to our inner wisdom.
We explore the concept of “universal intelligence” and the importance of personal beliefs, connecting with unseen energies, and uncovering internal strengths. Katya shares her journey from the corporate world to spiritual work, stressing the significance of challenging assumptions and being open-minded.
In an age where the rush of everyday life often drowns out our inner voices, we discuss the positive impact of spirituality in corporate environments by fostering sensitivity, awareness, and intuition, while also encouraging individuals to explore their spiritual capacities and seek guidance for personal development. Letting go and letting things unfold creates a conducive environment, which is necessary both professionally and personally, but even the education system frames emotions and sensibilities as weaknesses.
katja shares her personal story and insights from her journey from the corporate world to spiritual work, and how important it is in today's busy and interconnected world to really connect to something bigger than us.
The main insights you will get from this episode are :
- Spiritual is defined variously as believing in a greater power to connect to if we choose or believing in the existence of something beyond the physical and material world; it is not linked to religious or esoteric beliefs.
- This ‘power’ will not harm us, but help us by adding to our thoughts, emotions and sensitivity; helping us to develop our sixth sense; giving us access to the invisible; and teaching us as we become part of our ‘spirit team’, which is not static, but changes over time.
- It makes us aware of our unused capabilities and our own immense potential and enables us to exchange with our physical dimension (e.g. in the form of plants, animals) but also with another dimension, as it all revolves around energy, which is everywhere and can change everything.
- The spiritual world depends on personal parameters but is commonly known as ‘God force’, the ‘divine’, or ‘universal intelligence/consciousness’ - the key to accessing it to remain open, flexible and tolerant in the absence of scientific proof (today).
- Connecting to something bigger is a hot topic at the moment in terms of having purpose – it keeps us humble and makes us realise that we don’t know everything. We must listen to what is said/not said and tune into the different energies around us.
- The corporate and spiritual worlds are compatible, e.g. in terms of leading with purpose, sensitivity and empathy, as healing and mediumship help us improve on all levels, understand ourselves better, and realise how big we are (many environments, e.g. corporate, make/keep us small).
- Orientation and guidance are helpful in both private and professional lives, giving us increased sensitivity and awareness, raising our consciousness of our own value, helping us validate ourselves, granting us inner freedom and wellbeing to overcome challenges and leave our comfort zones.
- Talking about spirituality openly brought more positive reactions than expected. The law of attraction means that people who want or need it will come, and a grounded vision of mediumship and healing helps blend the spiritual life with ‘normal’ life.
- Own experience of the spiritual world guided Katja to the truth,...
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"Tech is no longer niche, but fundamental to life in Industry 4.0..."
A great conversation with Anne-Marie Imafidon about the importance of women’s involvement in technology as well as the importance of breaking stereotypes and having diverse voices around the table for inclusive product development. Tech is no longer niche, but fundamental to life in Industry 4.0 and it is dangerous to have a small number and limited range of people making tech decisions that are also social, moral, political and ethical decisions.
Anne Marie and I discuss tech fluency, democratising tech access and how to foster these diverse voices, distributing power differently and understanding that technology allows us to have a multiplicity of experiences. Diverse voices lead to more inclusive product development, which is crucial for the success of any tech venture in today’s world. A call to action for us all to get curious, get involved and take control. Through her multiple tech ventures, authorship of the insightful book “She’s in Ctrl,” and tireless efforts in systemic change focusing on Science, tech, engineering, Arts and maths, we discuss how to make shaping a more inclusive future a reality from an individual, collective and societal perspective.
Anne-Marie shares her thoughts, insights, stories, humour and incredible vision for recognising women’s historical contributions and addressing male-dominated industry challenges whilst advocating for a lens of continuous learning amid the 4th industrial revolution to ensure more inclusive technology moving forward.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- Passionate about future-looking tech ventures; breaking stereotypes around access to tech for women; engaging with tech and other people to improve society; and looking to effect systemic change.
- We are making progress in terms of talking about women in tech but currently they are not high-profile and the ‘herstory’ is hidden, which is both frustrating and perilous.
- Tech is no longer niche, but fundamental to life in Industry 4.0 - it is dangerous to have a small number and limited range of people making tech decisions that are also social, moral, political and ethical decisions.
- All decisions about tech carry risks, can be wrong or even harmful on both an individual and wider level; the biggest mitigation lever is to have as many different perspectives as possible.
- If multiple elements are missing from the tech, it becomes harmful when deployed - we must see the value in everyone; overlooking huge tranches of society can have serious consequences.
- We must value the impact of tech as opposed to simply its prowess, understand that it enables a multiplicity of experiences to be reflected and this is a serious responsibility; our default is to think that tech is neutral, but it isn’t.
- Divergent thinking is absent in our (convergent) education system and in organisations: no company is an island, e.g. what they do affects the supply chain, customers, and ultimately society at large.
- The exponential speed of tech alongside the glacial speed of societal change means that technological advancement will create more problems than it solves.
- Education must transform for learning to take precedence over knowledge – we need the right structures and support for teachers to stay in post and a culture of learning at all ages and not just in formal spaces.
- The Institute for the Future of Work looks at upskilling, the new knowledge that is being created, and promoting wellbeing...
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"Don't be fooled by shiny technology... have a look at your business pain points and what problems you need to solve first"
Matt and I delve into the world of driving sustainable digital transformation with all its pitfalls and iterative loops. We unwrap the journey of digital transformation in organisations - which is inevitably fraught with challenges - from enacting organisational change to managing career risks and adapting to the rapid evolution of emerging technologies. Organisational stamina is however one of the biggest challenges we face - not giving up at the first success or failure, but organisations are like people – always looking for a quick fix.
We delve into how taking a systems thinking lens can be transformative, especially coupled with the revolutionary potential of generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) in industries like construction, which have historically been skeptical of technological advancements due to past disappointments. Generative AI and LLMs, despite the challenges exemplified by Google’s struggles with bias, are lauded for their capacity to revolutionise data management and processing. They promise a future where complex data is not just managed but harnessed to drive decisions, optimize processes, and ultimately, catalyze growth. - leaving time for the more complex human elements to be top of mind. For technology implementation to be successful, it must be rooted in continuous progress, systemic analysis, and the dismantling of operational silos through collaboration and empathy.
Matt shares his insights from his career to date, and the model he developed of how to successfully implement digital transformation - work done right !
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- Work Done Right is a collection of lessons learned from various industries with common themes of how best to achieve or not to achieve digital transformation.
- Society needs infrastructure but is not good at providing it on time and on budget; we must improve processes using technology to help project leaders get it right first time.
- The Work Done Right methodology is about process, culture and systems thinking – we must view projects holistically as interconnected wholes rather than in silos.
- Within the system, we must define the quality we want and the systems we need to achieve it but work quality requires a speak up culture, akin to speaking up about health and safety for the greater good.
- Human error can cause problems but there are rarely systems in place for errors to happen, i.e. people do not speak up about quality/process failures - tech and engineering are very knowledgeable but fail to take account of human factors that are part of the processes/system.
- Translatability of ways of working from one industry to another is very beneficial, e.g. energy companies approaching other industries that have a good track record for safety of operations in hazardous environments, e.g. aviation.
- Systems engineering and systems thinking can be used to ‘engineer out’ value risk. Any large organisation naturally builds up silos over time due to specialisation and bureaucracy but derisking is important as doing things differently entails risk.
- There are competing elements of culture and technology at play in the explore-exploit scenario - change is often initiated for the sake of it without recognising the good reasons why systems are put in place.
- ‘Splashy technology syndrome’ describes situations in which people desire digital...
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""Organisations that fail to hire for and develop positive character among their leaders are missing an opportunity.."
A great conversation with Mary about the crucial relationship between character and leadership, and how it can enable transformation in organisations and organisational culture.
We dive into the 11 dimensions of character with corresponding behaviours and look at the importance for leaders to balance extremes and manage polarities to promote inclusive and collaborative spaces.
We discuss dismantling the assumption of static character and empowering leaders to embrace personal agency in their decision-making processes. Our conversation goes beyond the surface, tackling the subconscious influences on our behaviour, balancing polarities and looking at the various different levers for developing character, as well as challenging biases in different processes and systems.
What is the impact of taking Character into account ? A significant shift in the environment within organisations, calling for a re-evaluation of leadership selection to be more character-centric.
Mary shares her research and experience from running educational programmes with leaders all over the world on Character and its impact on leadership in today's workplace.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- Character development can unleash excellence once unlocked, but linking the science of character to leadership is a relatively new concept. Leadership was on trial during the economic crisis in 2008 – the leadership failures that led to the global financial crisis were not a failure of competence but a failure of character.
- What is character? Is it possible to develop character? There is no evidence that character is ingrained and cannot change, but it should not be confused with personality, which is semi-stable (e.g. introvert/extrovert).
- Character is a set of specific behaviours that satisfy criteria, and each one of these behaviours can be developed as a habit. Most of us have underdeveloped character because we don’t know of the possibility to develop it.
- There are metrics, e.g. 11 dimensions of character with 62 associated behaviours, and Aristotle called character practical wisdom – the key facet is that any virtue operates as either an excess or a deficiency, e.g. a lot of courage requires a lot of temperance.
- We need to understand that strengths operate in a dysfunctional way in the face of the virtue vs. vice polarity; operating with a deficiency must be recognised and excess must countered, e.g. tenacity/grit has to be offset to avoid negative outcomes.
- The link between character and DE&I is that understanding character can create a more inclusive environment in which people can thrive. We judge ourselves on our intention and others on their behaviour, but character is about observable behaviour, and our intentions mask our lack of understanding of others’ behaviours.
- The culture of an organisation will reflect the character of the individuals in the organisation: intention and behaviours don’t match up, which is borne out by research on self-awareness. Character supercharges the DE&I agenda and helps us get to our real natures.
- We have personal agency over our character and must form the right habits to develop it. Character brings laser focus to core beliefs and scripts that we are unaware of and that are difficult to overcome, e.g. vulnerability, trust, worthiness.
- There are various levers that create an intention...
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"As we navigate the post-COVID landscape, the need for intentionally empathetic leadership has never been clearer.."
Neal and I delve into the profound impact of empathy on cultivating thriving workplace cultures and how we can scale this skill, particularly at more senior levels of the organisation.
Empathy is often referred to as a 'soft skill' but is actually one of the hardest to enact and is more than a soft skill—it’s a strategic advantage. Executives and leaders who embrace empathetic practices are witnessing tangible benefits in business metrics, marketing, and branding.
We discuss debunking common myths about leadership and collaboration in organisations and conclude that it’s time to challenge the status quo and embrace the paradigm shift. Engaging in courageous conversations, addressing conflicts with sensitivity, and creating a shared vision through empathetic confrontation can be powerful and strategic tools for organisational transformation.
Neal shares his experience, insights and research from his book 'the E suite' and from his operational daily life as CEO of Cybercore Technologies.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- The shift in work-life balance during Covid saw people and empathetic leadership come first as opposed to empathy being considered a soft skill and not representative of ‘strong’ leadership.
- Executive leaders must seek to apply empathy and openness by understanding context and emotional states and making decisions based on this – it is not about ‘niceness’ and should be reframed as relationship building.
- The concept of business(-focused) empathy is about understanding the people you work with and using it as a tool to help with decision-making, e.g. how to deal with a diseased tree branch that impacts the tree as a whole.
- Strategically impactful decisions for a business involve the deliberate and intentional use of empathy as a leadership skill and lever - empathetic confrontation is linked to collective vision and organisational transformation.
- The most impactful transformations come from a place of safety and understanding the context so that transformation is not combative but involves all parties to solve a common problem.
- Create unity, not homogeneity by creating a level of trust - intense conversations in a trusted and safe environment can be very productive and senior leaders can create the conditions for empathetic discussion by saying transparently what is going on, inviting people to talk to them and creating psychological safety.
- Empathy is not always the solution but personal agency can be leveraged using effective communication, for example, by meeting with people for a disclosed reason; not letting emotional states come into play; monitoring reactions; looking for underlying issues and finding constructive solutions.
- Post-Covid, there is more openness to empathy generally but still many generational differences in terms of what makes a workplace successful, although it is clear that people-first policies affect the bottom line.
- Talent managers have an opportunity to inform leaders of the impact of empathy using bare metrics (e.g. the cost of firing/hiring v. retraining) or demonstrating the proven ROI of empathy.
- Leaders must hold themselves and others accountable and practice empathy until they are conversant in it – if they lend their voice to the conversation, people are more disposed to talking.
- Transformation instigates fear, which thrives in quiet and...
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"There can be kindness in telling the truth, and therefore providing a place from which to move forward.."
A great conversation with Paru about being authentic, and defining our own meaning of success. Learning to trust one’s intuition is a skill that many overlook, and we discuss the very essence of authentic leadership, the art of self reflection and how to empower others as you stand boldly in who you are.
Paru shares the trials and triumphs of tuning into that inner voice. It’s about looking back to move forward, reflecting on past experiences to navigate & create the future. This isn’t just about what works in business—it’s about what makes us human in our careers.
Are you ready to lead with authenticity? Are you prepared to break the mould and champion honesty in your professional life?
Paru generously shares her stories, her life experiences, her insights and her wisdom from working with C suite leaders across the globe.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
- Mission: seeing across multiple functions and profiles and speaking authentic truth in the corporate world - leaders must remain authentic and truth is important for stability.
- There can be kindness in telling the truth, thereby providing a place from which to move forward; many of us have a tendency to bury our heads in the sand instead.
- The ability to spot patterns and predict next moves led to an advisory role, offering help to avoid falling back into old patterns in order to overcome fear and learn how to manage hypervigilance.
- (Self-)reflection helps to prevent repetition of mistakes and sharing vulnerabilities builds trust - in short, being authentic saves time!
- Just as we must encourage introspection and think about who we are, the same also applies for clients - exercises can be for both professional and personal purposes, but the universal truth is that there are no shortcuts.
- Putting in the work brings epiphanies and results, which we can use as a mirror to reflect back, embracing tough lessons to grow and learn.
- Moving from hypervigilance to trusting (one’s own) intuition is where genius happens; we must relinquish that which we hold on to and hold up the mirror to ourselves instead of other people.
- Collating the data we derive from this will show us what happens when we follow our intuition and are ourselves – in the formula of ‘if you do x, I feel y, so I do z’, we can make choices.
- Legacy means the impact we have on the world by sharing personal lessons learned, learning to trust our judgement in others, and offering stories for people to take ingredients from to maybe apply to their own lives.
- How do we know when we have reached 100% (of ourselves)? It is a gradual process, and each challenge helps us dig deeper and find that bit more – we can’t really ever know if we are at 100%, as it is a constant journey.
- It is helpful to be direct with others, to give instructions and information and be who we are - we cannot rely on others to do things for us and need our own backup plan.
- We must find our authentic version of ourself by spending time alone, regularly checking in with who we are today; as we evolve, we are impacted by extraneous factors but once we find it, we must hang on to it!
Find out more about Paru and her upcoming book here :
https://www.paruradia.com/paru
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"Role modelling is the most powerful way to influence people and cultures ..."
In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, resilience has become a buzzword, but how do we move beyond buzzwords to action?
Julian and I do a deep dive into the heart of organisational resilience, unpacking strategies that can help your teams to do more than just survive, we focus on building resilience through fostering well-being, growth, learning, and vulnerability. We discuss the transformative effect of creating a workplace where challenges are shared openly, and optimism is balanced with a healthy dose of realism.
We also touch on the critical role vulnerability plays in team dynamics and how it ties back to character and attitude. We discuss the essence of authentic leadership and the importance of role modelling in catalysing and strengthening collective resilience.
How can we create these conditions in a hybrid workplace ?
How can we intentionally cultivate workplaces where people and teams can thrive ?
Julian shares his research, experience, stories and insights from his ongoing work with leaders and teams.
The main insights you'll get from this episode are :
Thriving is the flipside of surviving – like a plant that thrives with the right food, soil, environment, water and sunlight, in an organisation this means people feel they can learn, grow, excel and make mistakes.It is an ambitious concept for organisations as constant high performance is unrealistic and can lead to a culture of toxic resilience, i.e. constant optimism, overachievement and ultimately burnout.The middle ground between thriving and surviving means being open about challenges; being real (with people); being optimistic, i.e. rooted in the now but with an eye on the future; and being realistic.Organisations should provide check-in times for teams and a comfortable environment in which to share – resilience must be operationalised and it can be developed and grown like a muscle (through discipline and practice).Given the diverse profiles in a team, it is important to scale the mindset and create collective resilience - having a mission lifts the team, gives energy from positive purpose, and offers a path forward with innovative solutions.There are processes to ‘reduce, regulate and repair’: scenario planning, iceberg drills, collaboration, mitigation ideas, debriefing through difficulties and successes, reflecting on lessons learned.Clear roles and responsibilities are required for collective understanding, as are discipline (i.e. a commitment with structure yet flexibility), consistency and messaging – the processes must serve the people, not the other way round.Authentic leadership improves team resilience through self-awareness, balanced processing, internal moral perspective, and openness and transparency – very important for interaction.Psychological safety is paramount and the responsibility of the leader, with self-awareness the most significant of all as it has the biggest impact on creating a resilient team.Hope and optimism are very good things to have in organisational constructs – leaders with hope retain staff, raise profits and have thriving teams with optimistic intentions for the future of both the organisation and the people.Role modelling is the most powerful way to influence people and cultures in terms of bringing in pessimists as it offers inspiration but not toxic positivity and grounds people in reality.Leaders must create conditions for people to thrive in a hybrid environment through connection and communication, e.g. virtual townhall meetings, in-person get-togethers (with social elements, not always work-based), and open-door policies (also via Zoom).Find out more about Julian and his work here :
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