Let's talk Transformation : The business leaders podcast

"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...

"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...

"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 throu...

"we always understand anything new in terms of what we already know.." Dave and I discuss the art of possibility and how we can change our thoughts and perceptions to allow ourselves to enter the gateways of what's possible. Ever wondered why visualising things is so powerful ? Ever challenged your beliefs about whether you can draw or not ? We discuss all this and more as Dave leads us through hi...

" we are still so afraid of speaking up and showing our emotions in the workplace... " Mollie and I discuss emotional inclusion, what it means and how it can help to humanise the workplace. How do we operationlise the 'doing' and bust the more traditional but very present leadership myths held in workplaces about vulnerability, emotions and 'strong leadership' ? We explore the lagging advancement...

“ We need to be looking at how the risks are entangled - we can’t think about any of them singly… “ Asha and I discuss the current meta-crisis, and the great uncertainty this holds : How can we influence the complex world we live in? What can we see from where we are? What levers do we have for action ? Life is no longer stable, and organisations are still seeking to be ‘robust’, i.e. stable in an...

"Are we coming from deep curiosity... are we ready to challenge the norm and become a catalyst for change in our organisations?" Poornima and I had a rich and fun exchange on building powerful communities to create more inclusive environments In a world that is increasingly diverse, the concepts of inclusion, powerful coalitions, and allyship are more relevant than ever before. Poormina isn’t just...

"Do we really have the right conversations in our teams ?" Tanvi and I delve into the different conversations that can enable and enhance a deeper, more effective collaboration at all levels of the organisation. We explore the concept of “Deep collaboration” within teams and organizations, revealing how understanding the roots of conflict can reshape the emotional landscape of the workplace. What...

" the best way to solving human problems at scale is to focus on what we CAN do, and make sure we are intentionally working to get there" Kate and I delve into the future world of tech, exploring trends and different technology and human enabled ways of meeting business objectives in today's world. When it comes to alignment, it is difficult to bring business, human and digital strands together, i...

"There are two things that allow teams to be more resilient – clarity on goals and psychological safety" Marie-Hélène and I discuss the much debated topic of resilience in today's organisations, and what this means for how we lead - our teams, ourselves and our organisations. Resilience is something of a buzzword in today’s hustle culture and context is key to understanding it. We discuss the exis...

"When we avoid failure, we also avoid discovery, innovation and accomplishment..." Such a fitting thought for the rich & fun discussion Amy and I had on failing intelligently and learning to thrive. Humans aren’t an exact science, and neither is failing - so how we can change the way we think, act and interact about failure - in organisations, in society and in our personal lives ?  ...

"There is a part in every customer journey where people need to interact with a human being .. " Tom and I discuss the human guided digital Customer journey and how this is evolving as technology evolves. Customers have endless choices when it comes to digital CX today: chatbots, knowledge bases, data bases, google searches etc and as technology moves on so quickly, we are left with this ever grow...

"Humans should move from fear to curiosity about AI in a business setting and relinquish control in certain areas" A great conversation with Garik about AI strategy and what it means for businesses - how they can leverage AI for business outcomes and the value it can bring to people in the business. We delve into myths on what it can and cannot do, and how leaders can think about what AI means for...

"the biggest challenge of all is the mindset shift...we need to be doing this 'with' people not 'for' people. " A fun conversation with Jim and David about how to create and lead healthy ecosystems . What does this mean ? How do you create a system where people and business can flourish ? How can we make sure that we retain our competitive advantage, or should it be collaborative advantage ? Healt...

"you always have choice - choose to be an agent of change in your life, to build your own castle, to devise your own methods, and to think intentionally about your legacy..." Rick and I have a fun conversation that takes us through English castles, into manufacturing and lean methodologies and circling back through our inner game as leaders in a Business as UnUsual world. What do we need to naviga...

" bringing new digital tech in that genuinely solves a real problem people have is often the easiest part of the change management in digital transformation " Fun conversation with Adam exploring the challenges and opportunities of scaling digital and scaling transformation in different industries. We delve into the legacy systems, the people legacy systems and the power of creating the model that...

"Crisis can be the catalyst but not the reason for sustained change ... " Tim and I explore the nature of change, the link with innovation and the effect of COVID on the workplace. We particularly explore the people side of change and delve into what happens when we look at the re-humanisation of the workplace. What skills are needed ? What place will technology have ? and how will we constantly a...

"Fear : False Evidence Appearing Real... " How does this dictate the way we talk to ourselves ? What else determines how we show up ? How can we regain confidence in who we are and who we were meant to be ? Clarissa walks us through her regime for self esteem and how we can manage our habits and mental models to transform the way we feel about ourselves. Is what we think real ? How do we step away...

" people are people : they make mistakes, they're social animals - why and when do they cooperate, what do they think is fair and unfair... ? Frederic and I delve into the world of organisational design and behavioural economics, looking at what type of structures and relationships we need to build more agile, more interconnected and more effective organisations. Organisational fairness requires v...

"we are very very small but we are profoundly capable of very big things..." Chris and I delve into the power of purpose and being part of something bigger than us, starting with Stephen Hawkins quote that figures on the Very Big Things website. We discuss what drives motivation and the secret sauce to successful innovation and scaling operations in today's competitive digital environment. We look...

"Be yourself, everyone else is already taken"  A great discussion with Hortense, summed up in this quote from Oscar Wilde. Hortense walks us through the journey of alignment and what connecting with your true self can bring to your leadership. Who are you as a leader ? Are you aligned ? How do you manage failure ?  We discuss not only the gifts of alignment, such as failure and intuition...

"silence is the mother of all creativity" Mandar and I have a brilliant conversation where he shares his life philosophy, and his learnings from using breathwork and peace to approach violence differently. Almost a decade ago, Mandar was part of the Shell gamechanger innovation incubator programme and realized that many leaders did not understand that innovation is not just a technical process . I...

"context is key, we must take this opportunity to look to "SHTEM" and integrate the humanities into science and take all voices into account" A brilliant conversation with Jayshree about the importance of science and the role of business in bringing science to a more diverse population. We discuss how to bring more diversity to STEM, and continue to build more powerful communities for innovation a...

"An ideal environment for learning provides a transformational experience, builds strong bonds and unlocks potential with very few resources..." Jon and I discuss everything from history in high school to hacker communities. We discuss the shift of perspective you can get from going to check your assumptions of what skills are and how they are done. We also discuss the future of developer skills,...

"Workplace systems are powerful but I am not powerless..." Jenny and I discuss the leadership paradigms of today's world, and the untapped leadership potential held in underrepresented leaders in today's systems. How can we unleash this potential ? How can we bring more diverse voices to the decision making tables to shift stereotypes and increase innovation ? There is no step-by-step model for le...