The Love in Action Podcast—ranked #33 among the 100 Best Leadership Podcasts and in the top 2% of shows worldwide—is where leadership meets humanity. Hosted by global influencer, author, and executive coach Marcel Schwantes, the show features candid conversations with bestselling authors, visionary executives, and thought leaders who are redefining what it means to lead. Whether you want to sharpen your leadership skills, create a culture people love to work in, or grow your business by putting people first, you’ll find practical wisdom and inspiring stories to help you get there.
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“This Venn diagram has been the story of my life. How do I achieve really cool, hard stuff and at the same time be the best human I can be?” [11:16] Urs Koenig has a diverse background in endurance sports and intense careers. Whether ultra biking or working as a NATO military peacekeeper, the most impactful part of his life was finding balance in being a good person—this inspired his book, Unlock Leadership’s Secret Weapon: Radical Humility.
“People often tell me, ‘If I show up with humility, I’m a pushover; I have no spine; I have no confidence.’” [22:28] Dispelling myths about humble leadership and moving away from the "heroic leader" model, Urs explains that humility is actually a prerequisite for confidence and a strong sense of self. It allows leaders to be vulnerable and open to feedback—critical components of humility.
“The soft stuff—building more self-awareness, showing up with vulnerability—it’s not soft. The soft stuff is tough.” [30:25] Urs shares a powerful story of vulnerability from the CEO of Intuit. Leading with humility requires immense courage, as well as the work involved in developing these "soft skills": journaling, reflection, accepting feedback, and applying the necessary focus and thought.
“The Platinum Rule requires me to really know my people on a meaningful level, so I can treat them the way they want to be treated.” [35:04] Urs contrasts the Golden Rule, "treat others the way you want to be treated," which he calls selfish, with the Platinum Rule. The latter encourages leaders and teams to have conversations about how they want to be treated and receive feedback.
“Humble leadership sometimes means raising your voice or giving clear, direct orders. Let me be very clear—this is not about name-calling or yelling. It's about being firm, direct, and inviting feedback, all with the goal of raising performance.” [46:23] Urs shares a story from his time as a NATO Peacekeeper Commander, explaining how strong, safe workplace cultures thrive on openness and feedback. It’s not about agreeing on everything, but about being receptive to criticism.
“Schedule one 'deepening the relationship’ meeting with one of your teammates.” [51:22] Marcel and Urs discuss humble leadership throughout the episode. To make the shift to Radical Humility, Urs suggests starting with a first step: strengthen the relationship with one teammate this week.
Key Takeaway: Urs Koenig closes the episode with this message: “Be tough on results, tender on people. The notion that we either have to be a good human or a tough leader is a false dichotomy. We can all courageously do hard things in a human way.” [53:52]
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john a. powell - Belonging Without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World
Épisode 229
jeudi 10 octobre 2024 • Durée 01:18:12
Quotes:
“Othering is not according to someone else for expression, for dignity, for mutuality of their humanness. In some ways you’re saying they can be less than, conditional, or completely invisible and some way they don’t count.” [14:44] What is othering? john powell defines this important term and explains these expressions on a vast spectrum, from not acknowledging to genocide and ethnic cleansing. Othering happens on a gradient, being by one single person or entire groups like organizations and governments.
“Those that can fit into the environment, those species actually thrive. But what happens when the environment changes? Can those species adapt? When the change is slow, inevitably yes. When the change is fast, it's not clear. [19:12] In 2024, it's clear that while in many ways we have become more accepting, the world is changing rapidly, causing anxiety and stress that increases instances of an expanding othering.
“The driver is fear, and fear can be manipulated. Fear is not rational... How do you talk to the lizard brain? When fear is activated, it's not the prefrontal cortex; it's the amygdala, the part of the brain we share with the lizard…what this lizard is most afraid of? Not belonging. [50:43] As Marcel and john’s conversation shifts from othering to belonging, john explains that irrational part of our brain, “the lizard,” as the barrier we most often find to creating belonging.
“A leader has many roles. But one role is to hold the container that holds everybody else... and tell the story. What does the company stand for?” [56:20] How can leaders create more belonging in their organization? The answer is to reflect the values of the institution as a priority. Create an atmosphere that makes it clear that human dignity is at the forefront.
“Be hard on structures, and soft on people” [1:01:00] john brings attention to the need for systems and structures for harmony in the workplace, noting that too often it's the people we are hard on and the structures we let off softly.
Key Takeaway: Guest john a. powell closes out with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Commenting that it doesn’t just bend on its own; WE bend it, and even more so, we bend it toward belonging. As we move forward in history, we will move forward to a world where everyone belongs.
Brad Deutser: The Five Rules of Belonging
Épisode 220
jeudi 23 mai 2024 • Durée 01:07:56
Quotes:
“It’s hard to believe I’m an expert in belonging when so long in my career...I didn’t belong.” [07:55] Guest Brad Deutser shares his diverse background that led to his company, Deutser Consulting Firm, all about human approach to change!
“What the research found is that belonging is actually above strategy AND culture.” [21:56] As Brad explains the levels of research that went into his book, Belonging Rules: Five Crucial Actions That Build Unity and Foster Performance, he shares this idea that belonging at work is a crucial purpose in society as a whole. He even found that people were able to work for LESS if they had more belonging at work!
“In our organization, in our families, in our communities... it doesn't matter where; there are power structures that impede our progress and our ability to win.” [25:45] Rule #1: Turn into the power, Brad dives into the first rule in his book explaining power structures and compliance that comes along with things like affirmative action, title 9, and DEI. How do we turn into the power? Pause. It’s not charging through but instead stopping, thinking, and asking questions.
“When we listen with labels, we diminish people… we diminish their thinking, their ideas.” [33:30] Brad’s Rule #2: Listen Without Labels serves as a message that yes, labels can be true, but they often don’t tell the complete story. Removing labels from listening allows you to see the big picture without bias and engage differently.
“Purpose alone doesn’t give the differentiation enough to where someone says, ‘I’m going to opt in to THAT’.” [38:57] Oranizational identity is made up of purpose (the why it exists), the values, and the behaviors expected, which comes back to Rule #3: Identity over Purpose. It’s about creating a space of shared importance.
“Challenge needs to be a bigger part of our society; how we challenge needs to be different.” [42:04] Too often people confuse conflict and challenge. Rule #4: Challenge Everything. Brad explains what an effective positive challenge versus a negative conflict. He outlines how to invite challenges to incite creativity with curious and human questioning. You need to stop coming to conversations with your boxing gloves on!
“Do you really tell 100% of the truth? Or do tell 100% of YOUR truth? It’s different than THE truth.” [49:45] The last rule is a tricky one, RULE #5: Demand 100% of the truth. Reject the 80% of the truth that is typical, and go after that additional 20%. There are things that our easier not to talk about; diversity, psychological safety, inclusion. These are the truths that are often not told. We don’t have to have the answers, but we do need to have the questions.
Unfear with Mark Minukas
Épisode 130
jeudi 7 avril 2022 • Durée 47:08
Mark Minukas is the co-author of the book Unfear: Transform Your Organization to Create Breakthrough Performance and Employee Wellbeing. He’s the managing partner of Co-Creation Partners and an engineer by trade. He began his career as a Navy officer, before working as a consultant at Mackenzie and Company. There, he mastered the art of transforming teams and creating success. He has worked across multiple industries to build high-performing operations. “Even the most profitable companies on the planet aren’t fear-free. But here’s what makes them different: Those companies know how to transform that negative energy of fear and anxiety and uncertainty into opportunities for learning and growth and development.” [3:20]“Sometimes we see fear and love as two completely separate things. But part of what we want to communicate to the world is that fear can actually be this amazing cue for learning and growth.” [6:55]“I looked around and had this intense experience that it was all a mirage.” [9:45] After striving for the approval of other people, forces, or circumstances, Mark remembers an intense realization that would change his life forever. There’s the Fight Club and the Nice Club. Each of these groups represents different peoples’ approaches to life. The Fight Clubs needs to stand out and be special. The Nice Club, by contrast, are people that just keep their heads down. Likeables, minions, sticklers – people that shy away from conflict. “How can you drive performance and human well-being at the same time?” [20:00] is one of the questions Mark tackles in his book. All too often, leaders think it’s one or the other – it doesn’t have to be. “There’s a few key mindsets we talk about in our book. One of those is that you are infinite potential.” [24:22]“Shifting from a knower to a learner mindset” [25:45] is a critical part of Mark’s strategy. He affirms that we should go into situations ready to learn and ready to ask questions, rather than assuming we already know what to do. “Almost always we live through our assumptions and interpretations of the world… Oftentimes we engage with people without acknowledging the difference between observation and interpretation.” [36:15]“Organizations don’t transform, people do.” [39:05] “When a critical mass of people start shifting what they’re believing you can get the whole system to tip over.” [39:12] Mark says that this is how you enact true, meaningful change in an organization. Resourceswww.cocreationpartners.comwww.unfearbook.com
Jennifer Moss is a burnout expert. She is also an international speaker, award-winning journalist and author, and a frequent writer for Harvard Business Review and SHRM. As a nationally syndicated radio columnist, she reports on topics related to happiness and workplace well-being. Her articles have been featured in publications such as Forbes, Fortune, and The Huffington Post. Her most recent book, The Burnout Epidemic: The Rise of Chronic Stress and How We Can Fix It, emphasizes the impact of corporate burnout and shares steps organizations can take to mitigate this crisis. She is Marcel Schwantes’ guest this week on Love In Action.Marcel asks Jennifer to share her story. “Happiness is in love and action; it’s about resetting priorities and understanding what makes us happy,” she claims. “We spend about 50% of our waking hours at work, and it’s really depleting us. How do we make sure that the place where we spend so much of our time is happy and healthy?” [3:48]Jennifer had the privilege of working with the world’s leading experts in her research on burnout, collecting thousands of qualitative responses through WHO from 46 different countries. She was able to hear, in their own words, how people were feeling, and the results were devastating: 89% said their well being had declined; 85% said their job demands had increased and were getting worse; 67% were unable to talk about their mental health at work. “Only 2% of people in our data across 46 different countries said that their well-being was excellent,” she remarks, “so you imagine most people are really unwell.” [8:37]Burnout has been especially hard on women during the pandemic, Jennifer’s research shows. One respondent resumed working but had no assistance in caring for her eight-month-old baby while attending to her duties. Her husband couldn’t even help her, as he was backed up with work as well. [11:04]“Workload is the leading cause of burnout,” she cites. “Overwork is responsible for the deaths of over 2.8 million workers per year.” Industries like tech, finance, education, and healthcare are where people are extremely burnt out, to the point where there are trickle-down effects. For example, hospitals are shutting down due to a lack of available nurses who can support people in their communities. People are burning out this year from too many unsustainable workloads, Jennifer adds. [16:31]The transition from the face-to-face, physical workplace to the virtual one has forced leaders to assume their responsibilities from afar, but this has led to people feeling micromanaged. This is especially the case for the employees who remained working from home when restrictions were relaxed and the workplace became a hybrid of onsite and remote. [20:30]“We constantly recognize people for growth or revenue, and we don’t recognize them for going above and beyond for a fellow coworker in a time of need,” Jennifer comments. “We need to think about changing the reward metrics… sometimes those metrics have biases that we don't realize. We need to change the bias in our metrics so that we are creating a more diverse group of people that we are recognizing in our organizations.” [26:48]When making policies, we should consider equitable paternity and maternity leave; that way, we make family planning a socially accepted part of the way we work. Additionally, we should advocate for extra leave days for emergencies, in the event that time needs to be taken off for domestic duties. [34:41]“Organizations that embrace vulnerability in leadership are faring way better than those organizations that aren’t,” Jennifer affirms. “They’re saying… ‘I’m also feeling stressed out, so please give me grace,’ [and] that’s all people want.” [40:00]ResourcesJennifer Moss on LinkedIn | TwitterJennifer-Moss.comThe Burnout Epidemic: The Rise of Chronic Stress and How We Can Fix It
Do You Foster Psychological Safety?
Épisode 128
jeudi 17 mars 2022 • Durée 05:48
In this mini-episode, Marcel Schwantes discusses the importance of psychological safety at the workplace. He explains why fear is not a valid motivator, and shares three action items leaders can use to foster psychological safety.
Robb Holman is a thought-provoking global keynote speaker, and the founder and CEO of Holman International, a global leadership consultancy. In 2022, he was named as one of the Top 30 World’s Leadership Gurus. He is also the founder of Meeting House Ministries, and a best-selling author whose work has been featured in Inc, Forbes, and Fast Company. Robb’s most recent book, Move the Needle: How Inside Out Leaders Influence Organizational Culture, takes a deep dive into why we must prioritize people over procedures to get better results. He is Marcel Schwantes’ guest this week on Love In Action.Though many of us have lived through some kind of trauma, many of us don’t have the mindset or awareness to work on healing the hurt that came from these traumatic events, Robb claims. “The trauma manifests itself in things like fear, shame, guilt, or grief that we haven't dealt with, and we carry that through our lives, [which] impacts how we lead people and our relationships with others.” [8:35]“The greatest dreams, accomplishments, and goals come out of [a] place of genuine community; we have to get past the [notion] that asking for help is weak,” Robb advises. “Asking for help is an act of vulnerability that some people can’t [bring themselves to do],” Marcel adds. “[In a previous episode], Ken Blanchard said that people aren’t willing to be vulnerable leaders because of ego; if it’s not your true self, you are leading through arrogance and not authenticity.” [11:09]“We’ve been given our gifts, our skill sets, our personality, and our life experience as a gift to be used to benefit other people,” Robb says. “We [need] to get out of our own way and channel our significance and uniqueness to serve other people.” [15:02]There are many ways to serve, but whichever path you choose, make sure that you serve your team members personally and professionally. Are you spending time on a consistent and intentional basis with your team members? Do you know what makes them come alive? Do you know their hobbies, interests, and life milestones? You must commit to the process of learning these things, Robb shares. [19:01]Leaders often make decisions based on their gut, Robb claims. Undoubtedly, having the facts and the truth is important, but how do you make the right choice when the facts are pointing in one direction and your gut is leading you to the other? “The accuracy of going with your gut goes up drastically when your team members [focus] on their areas of expertise,” he comments. He explains why. [24:54]“Servant leadership is about getting under a team member only to elevate them above you… In my estimation, the greatest and most effective leaders are ones that get out of the way [of recognition]; they’re looking to serve faithfully through guidance, encouragement, correction, and love,” Robb remarks. [35:46]Marcel asks Robb why leaders prioritize processes, procedures, and policies over people. “We want quick fixes,” Robb replies. “We want to reach the goals yesterday ... But I believe that slow is the new fast. With anything [that’s] great and long-lasting, we need to slow down in order to learn what speeding up is all about.” [39:13]Robb talks about leaving a legacy. “When we start with the end in mind and re-engineer this thing, we could be much more intentional about the people we spend time with, and the reasons behind that. In the first place, I think we give too much attention to things that don’t matter.” [46:50]The more we practice servant leadership in and out of the home, the smoother we will lead in service within our sphere of influence in the workplace, our culture, and society, Robb affirms. [52:01]ResourcesRobb Holman on LinkedIn | TwitterRobbHolman.comMove the Needle: How Inside Out Leaders Influence Organizational Culture
Elevating the Human Experience with Amelia Dunlop
Épisode 126
jeudi 3 mars 2022 • Durée 42:23
Amelia Dunlop is Chief Experience Officer and US Customer Strategy and Applied Design Leader at Deloitte. Her core belief is that before we are consumers, we are humans with values and emotions. She uses that belief to influence how she connects businesses with their customers. As a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal’s CMO Journal and Adweek, Amelia holds a deep passion for the written word. Her first book, Elevating the Human Experience: Three Paths to Love and Worth at Work, tells the story of how Amelia discovered her own sense of love at work, and embraces the readers who may be struggling with that very same thing. She is Marcel Schwantes’ guest this week on Love In Action.Elevating the human experience is fundamentally about acknowledging human work and nurturing growth through love, Amelia says. “So many traditions and philosophies teach that the human condition is one of suffering,” she remarks. “There are many things you and I may not have in common but [we can understand] that feeling of suffering we share, and so that’s why I believe every experience could be made just a little bit better.” [7:56]Burnout, loneliness and isolation are not new concepts, Marcel comments. People were burning out pre-pandemic, but it’s at the forefront now. Amelia shares how workplaces have created these problems, and how they intersect with lack of self-worth. The increasing amount of attention around burnout, DE&I, purpose and well-being shows that we all want to feel loved and worthy, she explains. When you don’t put the human at the center, these problems arise. [10:21]The first path to elevating the human experience is the path of the self; you must see yourself as inherently worthy of love. “For me, one of the struggles growing up is that all we were taught about external affirmation… Everything you do is graded, and so we have this mindset that we’re only worthy when we get a certain letter grade,” Amelia claims. She talks about how this translates into the workplace. [14:17]In order to continue growing professionally, we need to learn to grow personally, Amelia quotes. It takes the whole head and heart to show up equally. She recalls how she learned to understand herself in the context of an obstacle. [19:46]Amelia describes the four ways we can show up as allies at work. “The first is as a friend, [who] just wants to be there on your journey with you; the second is as a mentor, who offers you a short way to see the world a little differently; third is as a sponsor, who uses their power, formal or informal, to remove obstacles for someone else; and fourth is as a benefactor, which is the combination of the first three.” [27:26]When workers feel like they belong, are respected, and are psychologically safe, it creates the ideal work environment, which translates to better results and productivity, Marcel cites. “Some of these things seem intuitive [in that] it’s definitely the type of world I want to live in and the workplace I want to be a part of, but we’ve also done the research to demonstrate,” Amelia adds. “Organizations that focus on this human experience are twice as likely to outperform their peers over a three year period.” [31:04]“We have about 40 years of research from Gallup that says [recognizing your employees’ contributions improves employee engagement,” Marcel affirms. “It does something special to the human spirit when somebody lifts and builds you up through gratitude.” [37:00]ResourcesAmelia Dunlop on LinkedIn
What Makes Leaders Memorable
Épisode 128
jeudi 24 février 2022 • Durée 03:18
In this mini-episode, Marcel Schwantes discusses what makes good leaders memorable and more effective. He asks listeners, “Are you approachable?”
Get exclusive access to the Green Room for post-episode conversations where Marcel and his guests offer practical advice and strategies not heard anywhere else.
“Leadership doesn’t start at a certain time, later in our life. It starts early in our life.” [1:00:49] Brad is talking about the leadership tether, this is one of the exercises he encourages listeners to try as Brad and Marcel close out the episode. He asks listeners to go back as far as they can and create a timeline of events and opportunities where they were called on as a leader, and consider the commonalities and feelings of belonging associated with these events.
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