Partnering Leadership

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Jason Richmond. Jason is the president, CEO, and Chief Culture Officer at Ideal Outcomes. Jason Richmond is the author of Culture Spark: 5 Steps to Ignite and Sustain Organizational Growth and his most recent book Culture Ignited: Five Disciplines for Adaptive Leadership. In addition to speaking about the importance of organizati...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Jerry Sachs.  Jerry is the former president of Centre Group, the operating entity that included the Washington Bullets, Washington Capitals, and Centre Management.  Jerry Sachs shared his leadership journey, including how he ended up working for the Baltimore Orioles, his move down to Atlanta to work for the Braves, and what brou...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Gary Bolles, chair for the Future of Work for Singularity University, co-founder of eParachute.com, and author of The Next Rules of Work. Gary Bolles shares how his father’s career advice book What Color Is Your Parachute impacted his early life and how he has gone through continual reinvention while guiding leaders through ongoi...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Susan Lacz, principal, and chief executive officer of Ridgewells Catering, shared her leadership journey with Mahan Tavakoli. Susan Lacz spoke about how she has managed the obstacles in her life and has built a successful business that needs to continue changing and adapting through disruption. Susan Lacz also shared why she is so committed to giving back...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Steve Robinson, former executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Chick-fil-A. Steve Robinson shared lessons from his decades-long experience leading marketing at Chick-fil-A, including stories from his book Covert Cows and Chick-fil-A: How Faith, Cows, and Chicken built an Iconic Brand. In addition, Steve Robinson s...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Gina Schaefer, the Co-Founder and CEO of A Few Cool Hardware Stores, a chain of ACE hardware stores located in the Greater Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia DMV region. Gina talks about her journey founding the hardware store, her commitment to shopping local, and providing opportunities to many who don't often get the...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Park Howell, host of Business of Story Podcast, author of Brand Bewitchery , and co-author of The Narrative Gym for Business . Park Howell teaches one of the most powerful tools in storytelling: the And, But, and Therefore (ABT), going through the science behind it and how you can start crafting great stories and communicate more...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli explains the power of the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, in the world around us. Mahan talks about how we can observe the 80/20 principle in everything we do and use this mental model to focus our attention on the leverage points in systems enabling us to have a more significant impact on our teams, organizations, and the co...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with John Rossman, Author of The Amazon Way book series, and managing partner and business advisor on strategy, leadership, and innovation at Rossman Partners. John talks about many lessons leaders can learn from the rationale behind Amazon's 14 leadership principles. John Rossman also shares his experience and advice on navigati...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Ed Offterdinger, chairman of AO People Partners, co-founder of Conscious Capitalism D.C., and co-author of the book Conscious, Capable, and Ready to Contribute. Ed Offterdinger shares lessons learned in his leadership journey and the reason behind his focus on coaching leaders, and his commitment to making a difference in the com...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Charlene Li, a Digital Transformation and Disruptive Leadership Expert, Founder of Altimeter, and author of best-selling books, including Open leadership, Groundswell , and her latest book called The Disruption Mindset . Charlene Li discussed how leaders and organizations can embrace and benefit from disruption.  Some highlights:...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Minal Bopaiah. Minal is the founder of Brevity & Wit, a strategy and design firm that helps organizations achieve the change they wish to see in the world through a unique approach that combines human-centered design, behavior change science, and the principles of inclusion diversity, equity, and accessibility. Minal Bopaiah...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Jon Levy, behavioral scientist and author of the book You're Invited: The Art and Science of Cultivating Influence. Jon Levy shares how we can build stronger and more trusting relationships and how leaders can use the science of connection to increase team trust and engagement.    Some highlights: -Jon Levy's interest i...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Barbara Davis Blum, one of the founders of Leadership Greater Washington and president of BDB Investment Partnership, shares stories from her early life and how it shaped her to become the resilient, feminist leader that she came to be. Barbara Davis Blum shared her journey as a pioneering female leader in government, business and the community.   Some hig...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with John Kotter, professor emeritus at Harvard Business School, co-founder of a management consulting firm Kotter International and a pioneer in organizational change. John Kotter is the author of 22 books on change, including his most recent book, Change: How Organizations Achieve Hard-to-Imagine Results in Uncertain and Volatile ti...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli celebrates 100 podcast episodes by going back to the core of it all: purpose-driven leadership. Mahan shares why purpose is becoming an overused buzzword, gives examples of organizations not living up to their purpose, and how we can become genuinely purpose-driven leaders.     Some highlights: -Mahan celebrates you, the purpose-driven audie...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Ann Hiatt, Leadership Strategist & Consultant and Author of the book Bet on Yourself. Ann Hiatt shared the many lessons she learned while working alongside the world's top tech CEOs—Google's Eric Schmidt, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Yahoo's Marissa Meyer. In addition to the story of her reinvention, Ann Hiatt sha...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Richard Bynum, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer at PNC, shares the many leadership lessons he learned while at the American Red Cross and in his various roles at PNC. Richard Bynum also shares why and how he intends to have an impact on reducing systemic inequities by leading the implementation of PNC’s Community Benefits Plan through which the compa...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Michele Wucker, author of The Gray Rhino and You Are What You Risk , explains the origin of the concept of gray rhino and how to use it to improve decision making. Michelle Wucker also shares how to spot a gray rhino and strategies for dealing with grey rhinos by applying her 5-stage framework. Michele also goes into the logic behind risk-taking and the ne...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, David Rubenstein, co-founder & co-chairman of Carlyle Group & President of the Economic Club of Washington DC, shares his journey from working at the White House to starting one of the largest private equity investment firms globally. He also talks about his leadership lessons, philanthropy, Peer-to-Peer interviewing for the Economic Club of Washin...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Mark Johnson, co-founder and senior partner at Innosight. Innosight is a growth strategy consulting firm focused on helping leaders design and create the future instead of being disrupted. Mark Johnson focuses on growth strategy and disruptive transformation and has authored many books, including his latest, Lead from the Future....

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli talks with Beth Johnson, Founder and CEO of RP3 Agency. Beth Johnson shares the setback that helped birth RP3 and the organization's many successes over the years. Beth Johnson also shared why she initially became involved in the community and including her involvement in Washington Area Women's Foundation and Leadership Greater Wa...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Dr. Irene Butter, a professor, peace activist, and holocaust survivor. Irene Butter shares why she decided to break her silence and tell the story of her family's experience through the Holocaust, first by sharing her story on stages and at schools and by eventually publishing her book: Shores Beyond Shores - from Holocaust...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Danny Vargas, US Air Force veteran, founder of VARCom Solutions, and community leader, shares impactful stories from his life, from growing up on welfare to becoming an award-winning and noted business & community leader. He also shares his mission to represent and give light to the contributions of the American Latino community to the country. Through...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli shares how leaders can effectively lead through uncertainty. With everything going on in the world, leaders might find it frustrating not knowing or being able to predict what’s ahead. Mahan mentions why the only certainty in the near future is that there will be greater uncertainty and shares five elements to consider when leading in a worl...