Эпизоды
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What is the key task of a leader?
Ask 100 people and you’ll get 100 answers. When you abstract at the most universal truth of leadership. The key is to connect people to the reality of their situation.
We are a world of 8 billion people.
Each with our own interpretation of the world. What it means. And what is good or bad.
A Leader creates a frame that fences the boundaries of the group.
The team then operate within this frame of reality. This defines shared objectives, values and standards. It becomes the culture that creates the performance.
What do you think is the key task of a Leader?
Today’s podcast episode with Clark Ray and Tony Walmsley discussed how Managers can set and control the operating frame.
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What's the opposite of fragile?
Most people would say something robust. But Nassim Nicholas Taleb says that's a mistake. He argues that the opposite is something antifragile.
Something which gains from disorder.
In an increasingly volatile world, he says we shouldn't try to protect the fragile. But instead to be more resilient through anti-fragility. Industries like restaurants become better as the fragile get weeded out.
The system as a whole becomes stronger.
How can we use this principle in our work and life?
In this episode Eduardo Dos Santos Silva, Neil Hamilton and I discussed the implications.
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Пропущенные эпизоды?
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Is a referee a leader or manager?
Often today we use the term referee or leader interchangeably. This dilutes the difference those roles have. Which poses the question... is a sports referee a leader or a manager?
Establishing the differences, allows us to define the responsibilies of each.
In today's podcast, Clark Ray, Tony Walmsley and I discussed Managers, Leaders and Followers.
What are the rights, responsibilities and duties of each?
What happens when team members fall short or disengage?
Is it the responsibility of team members to follow? Or for leaders to inspire followers to want to follow?
Share your thoughts below and as part of The Building Better Leaders Research Project
Links:
Clark Ray’s Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/10thman/
Clark’s Website: https://www.clarkray.com
Tony Walmsley’s Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-walmsley/
Tony’s Website: https://theleadersadvisory.com
Rob McPhillips’s Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robmcphillips/
Building Better Leaders Research: https://robmcphillips.com/building-better-leaders-project/
Chapters:
00:00 Ben White's Gamesmanship: A Controversial Tactic
00:39 Referee's Role: Leadership or Management?
01:25 Defining Leadership: A Philosophical Debate
02:33 Ethics in Sports: Comparing Football and Rugby
03:28 Historical Leaders: Churchill, Blair, and More
04:23 The Complexity of Leadership and Followership
05:31 The Referee's Ethical Dilemma
08:52 Leadership in Crisis: Trust and Authority
14:42 The Role of Vision in Leadership
20:13 Permission vs. Commitment in Leadership
31:42 The Essence of Leadership
33:25 The Problem with Modern Leadership
34:02 Historical Examples of Leadership Failures
35:50 Character and Integrity in Leadership
37:12 Leadership in Family and Society
39:39 Challenges of Leading in Today's World
44:22 The Role of Vision in Leadership
54:06 The Importance of Moral Leadership
55:45 The Need for Collective Vision
58:58 Final Thoughts on Leadership and Followership
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Who do you serve?
How do you serve them? Why? And what are the boundaries of that service?
The answers to these questions go a long way to clarifying our work.
They help define the contexts of our relationships in coming together. They ensure we fulfil our purpose. And they help us frame the decisions we make.
This starts with understanding who we are and how us and our colleagues work.
Today's episode was a discussion into self awareness informed by Tony Walmsley's work on his SCORE Profiling Tool.
Links:
Clark Ray’s Linkedin Profile
Clark’s Website
Tony Walmsley’s Linkedin Profile
Tony’s Website
Rob McPhillips’s Linkedin Profile
Rob’s Website
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How good are you at making decisions?
How confident are you in your answer?
The more aware you are of the way your mind works, the less sure you will be of your answer. Our decisions are fraught with biases and distortions.
Thinking Fast and Slow is one of the most respected books on decision making. Daniel Kahneman's work won him a Nobel Prize for Economics. Some call it the bible for the developing field of Behavioural Economics.
In it he shows a number of surprising ways we fool ourselves.
Eduardo dos Santos Silva, Michael Ward, Romana Prochazkova and I met to discuss our insights from the book.
Links:
Eduardo Dos Santos Silva
Michael Ward
Romana Prochazkova
Rob McPhillips
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction: Understanding Decision-Making Systems
00:17 Key Insights from the Book
01:10 Exploring Biases and Decision-Making
01:40 The Importance of Diverse Teams
02:55 Personal Reflections and Comparisons
04:51 Frustrations with System One and System Two
05:16 Regression to the Mean: A Key Concept
06:13 Psychological Soundness and Boredom
06:58 Head, Heart, and Gut: Different Systems?
09:27 Decision-Making Processes and Logical Thinking
13:04 The Book's Audience and Writing Style
21:17 The Legacy of Kahneman and Tversky
23:00 Visual Learning in Mathematics
24:08 The Pyramid Pattern and Pattern Recognition
26:57 Heuristics, Algorithms, and AI
28:10 Cultural Differences and Fairness
28:39 Book Readability and Summaries
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Clark, Tony and I discussed our ideas of leadership. We talked about how our own sense of identity and our psychology impacts our thinking and behaviour as a leader using examples from history and personal experiences.
Links:
Clark Ray’s Linkedin Profile:
/ 10thman
Clark’s Website: https://www.clarkray.com
Tony Walmsley’s Linkedin Profile:
/ tony-walmsley
Tony’s Website: https://theleadersadvisory.com
Rob McPhillips’s Linkedin Profile:
/ robmcphillips
Rob’s Website:
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Want to really know someone?
Get into a fight with them. Especially one that hits all their hot buttons. You’ll soon see the worst of them.
Conflict does funny things to people.
It is one of the few times we drop our carefully crafted social masks. It’s one of the reasons couples think their partner has changed. Because they just didn’t get to see this side when everything was smooth sailing.
Work is the other place where conflict can often happen.
It happens because we care. We see our future as being tied up with the future path we choose. And so we get threatened.
How we deal with conflict is the key determinant of how effective we will be.
All too often, we avoid conflict. Or we become over-aggressive. In today’s episode Clark Ray, Tony Walmsley and I talked about conflict at work.
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What did you want to be when you were a child?
Before the world filled you with doubts. Before you learned to subjugate yourself to it's rules. What did you love to be?
I loved @Michael's quote from Gustave Flaubert in this context
'Genius... is childhood rediscovered'
One of the most influential schools of psychological thought is that of Behaviourism. That children are blank slates. And we can program them to be whatever we want.
Yet to be human is something much more than one of Pavlov's salivating dogs.
We are born with something, that flavours everything we do. Today's podcast episode is our discussion of the book, Mastery by Robert Greene.
I was joined by:
Eduardo Dos Santos Silva: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eduardodossantossilva/
Michael Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-ward-7a4671227/
Saurabh Debnath: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saurabh-debnath/
00:00 Introduction and Initial Impressions
00:06 Different Versions of the Book
01:01 Author's Background and Controversial Works
02:41 Personal Reactions to the Book
03:39 Comparing Mastery with Other Books
07:12 Themes and Commonalities Among Masters
13:38 Education and Mastery
23:20 Socioeconomic Disparities and Their Impact
25:16 Global Perspectives on Poverty
28:47 Aid to Africa and Global Wealth Disparity
30:10 Work-Life Balance and Cultural Pressures in India
32:38 The Influence of Social Media and Role Models
35:37 Economic Systems and Societal Values
39:41 The Concept of Mastery and Personal Growth
46:59 The Role of Coaches and Mentors
48:26 Ego and Mastery in Various Disciplines
56:02 Final Reflections on Mastery and Ego
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In this episode, Clark Ray, Tony Walmsley and I talked about the power of authentic leadership.
How do we know what's authentic?
We discussed psychological safety, the pitfalls of social media's lack of authenticity, and the importance of staying true to oneself.
The conversation also tackles the role of universal truths, conflict resolution, and the 10th man concept in leadership and personal development.
00:00 A Chance Encounter: A Story of Unexpected Connection
02:01 Reflecting on Authenticity and Psychological Safety
03:00 The Cost of Social Media and Authentic Interactions
05:49 The Complexity of Authentic Leadership
14:19 Universal Truths and Leadership Models
23:49 The Importance of Honesty and Self-Awareness
26:50 The Nature of Truth and Belief
27:41 Religious Beliefs and Personal Values
29:30 Self-Limiting Beliefs and Authenticity
30:10 Understanding Assumptions and Wisdom
32:02 Coaching and Leadership Challenges
34:23 The Role of the 10th Man
47:06 Conflict Resolution and Communication
52:07 Dogma and Open-Mindedness
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What is Leadership beyond the theories?
This episode explores the core principles of effective leadership, emphasizing humility and the importance of values.
Through the lens of experiences in sports and business, the discussion covers situational leadership, the impact of values like honesty and integrity, and the power dynamics in relationships.
The episode features anecdotes, such as Unai Emery's interaction with his set piece coach and the challenges faced by leaders in fast-growing companies. It advocates for a values-driven approach to leadership, recognizing the critical role of self-awareness, the need to yield when necessary, and the importance of relationships in maintaining influence and authority.
00:00 Introduction to Leadership Philosophy
00:16 Analyzing a Real-Life Leadership Example
03:59 The Role of Humility in Leadership
06:05 Challenges of Situational Leadership
15:41 The Importance of Values and Moral Compass
23:46 Building Trust Through Conflict
29:57 The Concept of Leadership
30:20 Defining Good Leadership
32:06 Values and Principles in Leadership
38:23 Leadership in Relationships
49:42 Influence and Organizational Leadership
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Do you feel your work brings you purpose?
In all my work with individuals, I've seen three core needs. The first two dominate our early career.
To belong and feel part of a tribe.
To gain status and value within that tribe.
We seek out the field we want to be in. And how we can fulfil our ambitions in that field. But often many then feel a sense that something is missing.
A sense of purpose.
This relates to the third need. The desire to want to be part of something meaningful. And this is what Simon Gallagher coaches Clients on.
In today's podcast we talked about his journey from PHD Chemist to Beer Brewer to Purpose Coach.
Links:
Simon Gallagher's Linkedin
00:00 Finding Your Purpose
00:45 Understanding Core Values
01:20 A Journey Through Education
02:21 Discovering Coaching
03:50 The Power of LinkedIn
05:16 The Irish Influence
13:32 Transition to Coaching
19:25 The Coaching Landscape
24:45 Values and Purpose: The Foundation of Coaching
26:13 The Role of Humor in Personal Values
27:27 Navigating LinkedIn with Authenticity and Humor
30:59 The Importance of Visual Content on LinkedIn
32:37 Mechanistic vs. Aspirational Values
37:53 Coaching for Clarity and Performance
44:00 The Challenge of Freedom and Self-Validation
46:36 The Burden of Comparison and the Education System
47:20 Final Thoughts and Future Conversations
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In this episode, we talk about the implications of Blackbox Thinking (by Matthew Syed) for organisations.
We talk about how differing companies such as Kodak, Google, and Amazon either learned or ignored the lessons from failure.
The conversation explored concepts such as antifragility, psychological safety, and growth mindset.
By integrating ideas from various domains, this episode offers insights into fostering a resilient and thriving organizational culture.
Links:
Michael Ward:
Saurabh Debnath:
Rob McPhillips:
00:00 Introduction to Black Box and Rebel Ideas
00:48 Critique of Matthew Syed's Approach
01:31 Ben Hardy and Making Ideas Accessible
03:09 Personal Reflections on Failure
04:32 Learning from Success vs. Failure
11:04 Marginal Gains vs. Kaizen
16:35 Corporate Culture and Innovation
26:36 Processes and Anti-Fragility
30:10 Productivity and Training Methods
30:36 David McClelland's Research on Professional Performance
32:34 The 10,000 Hour Rule and Perfect Practice
34:10 The Role of Psychological Safety in Organizations
35:45 Religion, Closed Loop Systems, and Cognitive Distortions
44:38 Blame, Emotions, and Learning from Mistakes
50:06 System One vs. System Two Thinking
58:46 Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
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In this episode, dive into Harit Bhasin's journey of becoming a successful Tech Leader.
Learn the importance of embracing conflict and building trust, as well as the value of a 'can-do' attitude, continuous self-learning, and personal branding. Discover how integrating diverse knowledge and fostering a growth mindset can lead to professional success. Gain insights on effective networking, mentorship, and balancing various perspectives within an organization.
This episode highlights key leadership principles such as empathy, active listening, and resilience in both startups and large enterprises.
Links:
Harit Bhasin
Rob McPhillips
00:00 Understanding Conflict in Leadership
02:25 Personal Leadership Journey
05:46 Career Growth and Networking
10:36 Entering the IT World
12:12 Challenges and Resilience
16:56 The Importance of Mentorship
22:48 Beyond Expertise: Expanding Your Knowledge
24:35 The Drive Behind Ambition
25:13 The Importance of Continuous Learning
28:51 Balancing Priorities and Consistency
32:56 Empathy and Leadership
34:26 Common Leadership Mistakes
39:18 Mentoring and Coaching
40:30 The CEO Mindset
42:22 Final Thoughts and Advice
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How do we lead conversations that engage people and create change?
All change starts with a leader who can engage their team. True leaders open conversations that engage their teams. Leaders through their example create the organisational culture.
They create the context and set the frame that work is done within.
In today's podcast episode I spoke to Rachel Gooen about her work.
Rachel coaches individual leaders in her Engaged Leader programme. She also facilitates conversations throughout organisations.
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What's the first question for every leader to answer?
This is the question Romana Prochazkova answered in today's podcast. She explained the answer that is key for every leader. Especially those early in their journeys.
Watch to understand what makes the foundation of your leadership style.
Until you have that foundation, you cannot be authentic. Integrity will be a struggle. And you will find it a challenge to connect with your team.
A key part of authenticity is understanding and embracing your quirks.
People will accept them. And you. But you have to accept yourself and embrace who you are first.
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How do we get to peak performance?
In an ever more demanding world there are more and more demands on our time and energy. How do we ensure that we meet the demands of our work, home and family and yet maintain our health and wellbeing. Everything we do rests on foundational pillars.
Performance too rests on certain foundations.
Performance too rests on certain foundations. I talked to Abigail Ireland about her work and journey in getting people into Peak Performance. What are the habits that will really make a difference?
She has a model of Five Pillars of Peak Performance which you can hear about in this episode.
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Why should someone choose you?
For the job. The project. Or the contract.
We live in a world of overwhelming choice and yet each of us is trying to stand out and be valued.
The social media world has created the personal brand which can seem contrived. At it's worst it's creating a false image to sell. But at it's best it's about clarifying what you do best, who for and the unique flavour you bring to your work.
Clark, Tony and I discussed our experiences and understanding of explaining who we are and what we do.
On the surface we each do something similar. But our personality and backgrounds mean our focus and style is different.
Tony gets people ready to perform under high pressure. This comes from his background of operating at the highest level in football.
Clark challenges so people not only make decisions in the right way, but they make the right decision. This comes from his background in manufacturing where decisions make the difference.
I give people understanding about themselves and the context they are operating within. This comes from my therapy background in helping people make sense of their problems.
Each of us is unique, but we have to identify the flavour we bring and who it brings most value to.
That's the core of authentic branding for me. To do the work for others to understand what you do and who for. So they can say yes or no.
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Why do groups of the smartest people make dumb decisions?
The Bay of Pigs invasion. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. Blair and Bush's war on Iraq.
Every day in smaller ways groups make terrible decisions because of groupthink.
Yet the increasing complexity of the world shows that collective intelligence is key. Overwhelmingly, science, business and social breakthroughs happen through teams. Individual brilliance is no longer enough.
Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed shows how teams get it wrong.
People not speaking up. The people who could see the flaws not being in the room. The unconscious biases that mean we don't know what we're missing.
If you lead or are part of a team, it's a must read.
Here's our Book Club discussion with:
Eduardo Dos Santos Silva
Neil Hamilton
Michael Ward
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Whenever we introduce change we meet resistance.
Every change involves loss of some sort for someone. That person is likely to be the person who most resists the change. How well we address their concerns determines the smoothness of change.
We can push past resistance, but when we don't address these concerns we suffer.
Either we get silent conflict and disengagement. We get loss of trust or active sabotage against us. Or we get outright conflict.
The success of any change over the long term comes from the ability to change old beliefs.
When we leave someone behind. Knowingly or not. We have created a pothole that will eventually cost us.
The key to bringing everyone along is empathy and curiosity.
Finding out where people are. How they feel. And what is behind their resistance.
Links:
Clark Ray’s Linkedin Profile
Clark’s Website
Tony Walmsley’s Linkedin Profile
Tony’s Website
Rob McPhillips’s Linkedin Profile
Rob’s Website
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Why do we do this?
Whenever we join together, there's a sacrifice. We give up time, resources or autonomy. So why would we join?
Humans have always joined together because some goals we can only achieve in numbers.
Once that was to succeed in the hunt or to stay safe. Now it is to achieve increasingly complex goals. Or even to have a stable wage.
We sacrifice something to get something greater together.
At the core of what makes a group effective is clarity in that purpose. When we recognise the payoff, we accept the trade-offs. We accept what we have chosen to sacrifice for the greater purpose we are striving for.
In this episode, Clark Ray, Tony Walmsley and I talked about purpose in groups and tried to relate it to why we gather to talk.
As Tony says, every group needs a clarifying question that guides every decision.
What's yours?
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