Explore every episode of the podcast Let's talk Transformation : The business leaders podcast

"AI is taking our jobs” is a false binary.

The conversation around artificial intelligence currently feels trapped in a binary loop. We hear that AI is either the ultimate savior of our productivity or an existential threat to our employment, and leaders often feel pressured to adopt these tools at breakneck speed, forcing them into a cycle of command-and-control mandates.

This high-pressure approach often ignores the most important factor in any technological shift: the people who use it. The real risk isn’t the machine, it’s the lack of human agency in the design process. Julia and I discuss that when we treat AI as a neutral tool, we ignore the biases baked into its development. The most successful leaders I observe aren’t just deploying software. They are facilitating spaces where teams define the problem before jumping to the tool.

If you aren’t asking “Who gets to shape this technology?” you are likely missing the most critical part of your innovation strategy. True progress requires shifting from automated efficiency to human flourishing.

The future of AI is not predetermined. It is a work in progress that is being written by our choices today, and by shifting our focus from the speed of adoption to the quality of our human interactions, we can build systems that truly serve us. We must move toward a future where technology supports human flourishing, and that requires us to maintain our agency, voice our values, and build together with intention.

The most important shift we can make is moving from “AI adoption” to “purposeful design.” We often treat technology like an inevitable wave that just washes over our organisations. Instead, we need to ask what our specific goals are as human beings. Only after we define our purpose can we look at whether a tool actually supports that vision.

Practical change happens when we foster communities of practice. You don’t have to be a tech expert to have a say. By finding peers and sharing what is working—and what is not—you build the confidence to push back when a tool doesn’t align with your values. It’s about creating those small pockets of sanity and collaboration, even within massive, fast-moving systems. The goal should never be to automate the human out of the loop, but rather to utilise AI to strip away the bureaucracy and ego that keep us from collaborating effectively.

When we prioritise the human experience, we ensure that the technology we deploy today serves the sustainable, equitable goals of tomorrow.

What is one way your team has pushed back against “tech-first” thinking to ensure better outcomes?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Bringing different disciplines and approaches together to build a positive future for everyone.
• What are we trying to fix? Who diagnosed the problem? Who is building the tech? Whose visions of the future are we receiving?
• Social entrepreneurs seek to have impact by tackling systemic problems, but they get very little visibility.
• Showcasing this non-mainstream approach importantly brings hope and optimism.
• To shift the paradigm of fear around AI requires remembering that the direction is not fixed and a community of changemakers take a different view.
• Providing a forum for things to happen via communities of practice creates a foundation to build on.
• There is great potential in the tech but it must be shaped correctly based on shared values and a specific understanding of the benefits.
• This requires courage and permission to share and ask questions about AI and its use.
• Women tend to bring a different approach, e.g. careful, impact-driven, listening, empathetic.
• Managing the speed and narrative of AI is pivotal – humans still need to put in the work for it to be the gamechanger we want.
• AI adoption is about the transformational element and the promise of being able to do things differently.
• There are no quick fixes, and a more nuanced approach is increasingly gaining ground (to formulate a strategy to present to decision-makers).
• The future is not determined, there is no certainty, which gives room for influence – we are all building the future, but this requires trust.
• We must challenge this uncertainty, tell AI what we want support with, and ask the right questions: what are the trade-offs? what do we feel comfortable with?
• First formulate the goal and then determine how can AI help us realise it, not the other way round.
• Vital to focus on human flourishing, take a long-term view, be sceptical about promises and take time to develop AI.

find out more about Julia and her work here :

https://www.sheshapes.ai/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-julia-stamm/

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

"Minds do not open from the outside through force.."

In fact, we are the only people who can change our own minds - we explore this and more in this episode as we delve into the neuroscience of influence - how the brain works as a social survival machine and not a computer, and what this means for persuading and influencing people in the workplace.

AI is creating a crisis of humility. We are increasingly using technology to handle the “heavy lifting” of critical thinking. The risk? We believe we understand complex problems better than we actually do.

We discuss what JonRobert calls the “illusion of explanatory depth.” where we confuse familiarity with mastery.

One simple solution: ask “how” questions. When you force yourself—or your team—to explain the mechanism of a decision, you quickly identify the gaps in your logic.

AI can propose strategies, but it cannot manage the social dynamics of execution. Humans still need to build the trust, align the incentives, and navigate the identity-based resistance to change. Yet the harder you push, the harder people resist. It is a fundamental law of human behavior called psychological reactance.

We have all been there. You present a perfect, logical case for change. You expect buy-in. Instead, you get defensive silence or active pushback.

But we also know that human minds do not open through force from the outside. They open from the inside. People are 90% more likely to adopt a change when they generate the reasons for it themselves.

If you want to move people, stop talking and start architecting the right conditions. The future of leadership is not about managing output; it is about managing human experience. As you move forward, remember that your brain and the brains of your team members are social survival machines. They crave belonging, they defend their autonomy, and they look to others to define acceptable behavior.

If you are a leader, your goal is to design a culture that satisfies the need for belonging while protecting individual agency. This means choosing your words with intent. There is no shortcut for doing the hard, messy work of understanding human dynamics. You cannot automate empathy, and you cannot outsource the development of trust. If you want to transform your organization, start by changing how you show up.

Don’t let the ease of AI replace the hard work of deep human thinking.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• The human brain is a social survival machine, not a computer – we are rationalising creatures and seek out the data and evidence we want.
• Belonging is a survival instinct and while society has evolved, our patterns haven’t and our social nature matters.
• The paradox of persuasion comes into play in sustainable change, which is often compliance disguised as change.
• Our psychological reaction to persuasion is to defend our autonomy; changing minds requires opening them from the inside.
• The solution is self-generated persuasion, whereby we are more convinced by reasons we have come across ourselves = agency.
• Change requires a culture where people don’t have to try and fit in but aims instead for holistic belonging.
• Belongingness impacts people’s decisions and behaviour, e.g. social norm adherence, but norms can be misperceived.
• Engagement surveys in organisations do not ask the right questions to identify misperceived norms – making misperception public is impactful.
• AI brings many wonderful things to organisations and is paradigm-shifting for efficiency and scale, but it also entails the thesis-antithesis-synthesis dynamic.
• The challenge of AI is to accept that it can’t do everything better than we can; it is creating a crisis of humility and exacerbating the illusion of explanatory depth.
• Hasty decisions involving AI will come home to roost and leave ultimate responsibility to humans, who need to question (their) assumptions.
• AI can propose strategies, but people still need to buy into them – this involves social dynamics managed by human leaders to bridge the critical gap.
• Today’s leaders need to focus on three main things:
• help people understand that the human brain is not a logic machine
• take a persuasive/subtle approach to people (and change)
• understand that data does not exist in a vacuum and pay attention to messaging
• AI can be used to deliberately create the space and opportunities for people to hone their uniquely human skills and to encourage behaviour change.

Find out more about JonRobert and his work here :

https://influence51.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonrobert-tartaglione-ph-d-21b26770/

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

"Imagine you are holding a glass of mud. Adding more water doesn’t make it drinkable; it just creates a bigger mess".

The narrative that AI will replace thousands of jobs is often a convenient excuse for poor management. Ryan and I challenge the narrative of mass AI-driven layoffs. He observes that in mid-sized and smaller businesses, the focus is increasingly on repurposing talent. If you have an employee doing a repetitive, low-value task, don’t fire them—give them the tools to do something that actually drives revenue or improves customer retention.

Many organizations are falling into the same traps they faced during the digital transformation era a decade ago, and fixing the tools and processes, but not looking at what it means for humans and human systems. When we treat humans as a cost to be eliminated rather than an asset to be upskilled, we lose the institutional knowledge that keeps a business alive. True ROI comes from augmenting human capabilities, not erasing them.

Successful AI implementation depends on returning to basic project management and strategic planning. Businesses often struggle because they treat AI as a “shiny object” rather than a tool that requires specific goals. Ryan highlights that the most effective approach begins with identifying quick wins and long-term objectives before selecting any technology. Proper governance, including data auditing and clear project requirements, must precede deployment to ensure the system delivers a positive return on investment.

Does your organization have a plan to reskill team members, or are you just looking at the headcount & productivity figures?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Clients can’t make decisions quickly enough during AI rollouts to keep up with AI and often don’t have a plan due to shiny object syndrome.
• AI adoption requires a plan first, tools later - human-driven problems hold things up; strategy and context must precede upskilling and training.
• HITL should be everywhere or wherever needed to avoid AI drift - process(es) need(s) an owner, accountability and a feedback loop.
• An AI governance team must determine the requirements for a project and work backwards to make sure the criteria are in place.
• New jobs are cropping up, e.g. AI Officer, and rollout involves some trial and error to find bespoke solutions and bring value to a company.
• Collective budgeting/accountability models do not yet represent real collaboration; structure and authority must be in place.
• Adoption in large organisations is more difficult (logistics) and depends on the industry; small companies can factor in the human element more easily.
• The quiet cost of AI is leadership identity; AI leadership is not competent at present, so good employees need to be involved rather than the leaders.
• A company needs a reason to have AI, with measurables and goals – preparation is key, i.e. seeking help (early on) and conducting research.
• The biggest blind spot at C-Suite level is relying on headlines and listening to hearsay instead of thinking things through, resulting in rushed/failed projects.
• Despite a dearth of data, immediate future will likely see job losses, but new roles – and opportunities – will be created that bring more satisfaction.
• We must go back to basics and logic, using the smartest individuals who know what is going on inside the company to involve employees at an early stage.
• Constant experimentation will increase ROI and generate positive experiences.

Find out more about Ryan and his work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-drumheller/

https://www.stellarhorn.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@DeclineinvitePodcast

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

"Most of us haven't touched our leadership system since we built it."

Anna and I discuss the concept of internal operating systems in leadership, how AI impacts leadership development, and practical strategies for transformation. We explore how beliefs, emotions, and behaviours shape leadership effectiveness and how to upgrade these systems for the AI era.

The biggest gap in leadership isn’t a lack of knowledge. It is the inability to execute what you know under pressure. We discuss this common trap: we assume that if a leader is intelligent, they will naturally adapt. The reality? Intelligence often reinforces rigidity. The very traits that drove a leader’s early success—like being detail-oriented or needing control—become the “shadow side” that creates a ceiling for their team.

One of the most significant insights from Anna's work is the gap between what leaders know and what they can execute under pressure. Many leaders possess the knowledge required to lead effectively, yet when faced with stress, they often revert to outdated behaviours rooted in their old operating systems. This disconnect can lead to frustration, burnout, and ultimately, transformation failures.

Simply acquiring knowledge is not enough. Leaders need to cultivate self-awareness and understand their internal operating systems to bridge this gap. This involves recognizing patterns of behavior that arise in high-pressure situations and consciously working to shift those patterns toward more effective responses. The onset of AI makes this even more visible.

Real growth requires more than a new training manual. It requires a hard look at the beliefs driving your decisions. If your default mode is control, AI becomes a tool to suffocate your team’s autonomy. If your default mode is “I must have all the answers,” AI becomes an echo chamber for confirmation bias. Stop using technology as a project to be managed, start treating it as a partner to be coached and focus on “psychological readiness” before deploying new tools.

Before you invest in the next piece of tech, have you upgraded the human system meant to oversee it?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Failed transformations are due to people not processes, i.e. change management must address the human side.
• The architecture of internal operating systems is the fundamental problem and calls for rewiring of the leadership system.
• Seven components of a human operating system: beliefs, mindsets, emotions, thoughts, behaviours, values, and communication.
• Leaders rarely look at their inner system or change their ‘screen saver’ and find it difficult to execute under pressure to the level of what they know.
• An outdated operating system has control as its default and is not compatible with people leadership or fast-moving AI.
• Intelligent leaders have more expertise but are more resistant to letting go (of what they are most proud of/their strength).
• AI amplifies everything, whether positive or negative, such as a leader’s rigidity/ patterns.
• Shifts are required to lead in the AI era: slowing down, awareness, observing mindsets, being curious.
• AI is full of confirmation bias and humans are responsible for using it based on explicit instructions and high-quality input.
• ‘Upgraded’ leaders must embrace strategic discomfort as their starting point to build a ‘house of empathy’.
• This house of empathy is based on curiosity, care and courage to create individual leadership and a strong culture.
• Every leadership skillset involves an interplay of internal architecture; emotional literacy is required to scale it up in the team.
• Leaders’ blind spots tend to be overfocusing on technology, leaving people behind, and lacking psychological readiness for change (with AI).
• Leadership is a journey not a destination - we always have a choice and must ground ourselves through our values.

Find out more about Anna and her work here :

https://leaderwired.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/annabarnhillmcc/

[https://www.annabarnhill.com/]

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

Workplace culture is often portrayed as a harmonious collection of professionals working toward a shared goal with shared values. Yet, anyone who has spent significant time in corporate environments knows the reality is far more complex. Beneath the surface of official mission statements and team-building exercises, office dynamics are often defined by power plays, hidden agendas, and distinct personality types that can significantly impact a project’s trajectory.

Jonathon and I explore the prevalence of the “dark five” personality types within corporate structures, noting that certain traits are often rewarded by organisational systems. We look at how to identify and work with difficult personality types in the workplace, as well as practical strategies for leading through office politics and dynamics.

While sociopathy, defined by an absence of empathy, is often stigmatised, it functions as a necessary mechanism for high-stakes leadership, such as managing layoffs or major structural transitions. By distinguishing between sociopathic behavior and the more destructive, less useful traits of sadism and spitefulness, leaders can better navigate interpersonal challenges. These behaviors have deep evolutionary roots, making them persistent aspects of human social interaction that cannot be ignored or simply trained away through culture building.

Technology, specifically artificial intelligence, is rapidly altering the landscape of corporate influence. Tools that once required massive data science operations—like those used by Cambridge Analytica to manipulate political outcomes—are now accessible to individuals. This democratization of data manipulation is a significant concern for organizational security. The primary danger of AI in the workplace is not its intelligence, but its ability to be used for unethical ends by those who understand the system. Leaders need to ensure that every interaction with powerful AI agents is logged, tracked, and attributable to a specific user.

Understanding the “dark five” personality traits and their influence on corporate strategy is not just for HR or executive management; it is a vital skill for anyone leading change. When the political currents of an organization become too strong to ignore, the ability to identify the players and their underlying motives allows a leader to maintain their integrity while continuing to deliver results.

The modern leader must be an astute observer of human behavior, a pragmatic technologist, and a firm guardian of ethical processes. Ultimately, the goal for the integrity-minded leader is not to eliminate sociopathic traits—which is likely impossible—but to manage them effectively. The best defense is a combination of radical transparency and a clear understanding of human drivers. Leaders who spend their time fighting against the nature of their peers often lose; leaders who understand the nature of the game and adapt their strategy usually win.

What is the biggest “unspoken” personality challenge you have navigated in your career?

The main insights you get from this episode are :

• The many unethical stories from the corporate world are very relatable but never spoken about.
• The ‘dark five’ highly correlated personality types: sociopaths, Machiavellians, sadists, spitefuls, narcissists.
• Socipathy is helpful at C-suite level, whereas sadists and spitefuls are destructive in leadership and not useful in a business.
• Sociopaths are easier to manage than mixed-trait middle managers who are more diverse yet ambitious.
• The higher up the ladder, the more sociopathy and less of everything else there is; but sociopaths are unpredictable and good at hiding their traits.
• Evolutionary psychology overrides everything, pre-dates humans, and is a fundamental driver that should not be ignored.
• Dominance and submission are also relevant; there must be less dominance 30% of the time to prevent disengagement.
• There are multiple versions of manipulation and power games as well as (unspoken) differences in how they present in males and females.
• DEI can be difficult as the more diverse the workforce, the less likely they are to support each other (lack of affinity).
• Hero ideology cultivation or hero brand concept: narcissists do it because they have to and sociopaths do it because they will benefit.
• Monthly group meetings for praising and criticising is very constructive and motivational but requires trust and the right context.
• Notional team building will fail as teams are about personal connection and mentorship – and leadership with integrity.
• High-functioning sociopaths develop their own ethical and moral code to talk about things they don’t understand; they intellectualise.
• The biggest challenge for AI currently is knowing what the user wants and whether the response is ethical or not, despite its validity.
• AI guardrails for senior leaders are impossible as it is so fast-moving and rules slow things down.
• Basic principles of big system architecture also for AI: logging, monitoring, and recording; logs must also be reviewed by a human.
• Review requires an understanding of the basic human drivers and the ability to recognise cognitive dissonance.
• Learn to work with the traits in the team – acceptance of neurodiversity does not (yet) apply to the dark five personalities, yet they are valuable and must be understood.

Find out more about Jonathon and his work here :

https://www.nexoid.com/

https://www.corporatesociopathhandbook.com/

[https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathongrantham/]

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

"It isn’t complexity or technical challenge or some mysterious forces that are keeping us from fixing American healthcare… It’s fear"

The most talented individuals in high-stakes fields often reach a tipping point. They spend years honing technical skills, yet eventually realize that their expertise alone cannot solve systemic failures.

Dr. Larry Moss spent 25 years in operating rooms, holding children’s lives in his hands, before realising that the American healthcare system itself was failing the patients it aimed to serve. We discuss his journey from surgical precision to executive strategy and his mission to create healthier futures for the next generation.

Leadership is about moving away from the “heroic” surgeon model where one person controls every decision. In a large health system like the one Larry leads, success depends on leveraging the ideas and insights of thousands of employees. This is a difficult shift for someone wired for speed and precision. He admits that he is naturally impatient, yet he has learned that complex organizational change often moves at a pace that feels uncomfortable for those used to the immediate feedback of surgery.

Systems thinking requires a different definition of success. If a leader owns all the decisions, the system becomes a bottleneck. This distinction between having a profound impact for very few people and having a significant impact for a huge number of people = complexity vs. volume, and is key in leveraging the momentum for transformation.

Resilience is a concept often applied to individuals, but systems also possess a form of resilience. In the context of healthcare, this resilience can be a double-edged sword. When a system is doing the right thing, its persistence is an asset. When it is failing, that same persistence makes it incredibly resistant to reform. Breaking down these negative feedback loops requires leaders who are willing to act as change agents from within. They need to identify the leverage points in their own systems and use their agency to act on them.

When you want to change a system, look at the incentives. If your team is struggling to innovate, ask yourself: Are you rewarding them for the outcomes you actually want, or for the volume of activity you’ve always tracked?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Ensuring children’s health is safeguarding the health of the entire country, economy and future.
• The transition from surgeon to CEO involves opposing core traits; decisiveness, individual mastery and control vs. the collective in leadership.
• Surgical procedures require a good decision at the time instead of a better decision over a longer time.
• Leaders must leverage collective intelligence with patience and fortitude to see it through.
• Distinction between having a profound impact for very few people and having a significant impact for a huge number of people = complexity vs. volume.
• It is only possible to make a difference inside a system; childhood is the best lever to bring about change in health (which is not medical care) and society.
• Trust, close collaboration and partnerships are essential to bring all factors together to create health and have an enormous impact on a life trajectory.
• The massive changes desired by society start in childhood (birth to age 5) and small interventions early on have an almost immeasurable impact 50 years later.
• Complicated and untenable problems in complicated and untenable systems require (economic) incentives to solve them, and a different model to do so.
• Solutions are obvious if everyone has the same goal, but they generally fall foul of a lack of will and courage to do the right thing.
• The privilege of a key leadership role provides a platform to show what it possible and issue a challenge to others.
• Unifying values and basic principles must remain the same against the backdrop of a collective vision (why) with different ways to get there (what and how).
• Systems are inherently very resilient and tend to continue in their modus operandi; fine line between changing them and having a positive infrastructure.
• Children’s healthcare requires a core mindset shift to being stewards of child health and taking accountability for it.
• Scaling holistic change would improve things for millions of people in radical service of humanity.
• Human happiness is being an agent to make somebody/something better; senior leaders should not be afraid of complexity, technical challenges or doing things differently.

Find out more about Larry and his work here :

larrymossmd.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/r-lawrence-moss/

https://www.nemours.org/

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

Modern leadership often feels like a race against an invisible clock. As organizations struggle with the rapid integration of AI and shifting market expectations, many executives find themselves physically present but existentially hollow.

The traditional advice of taking breaks or setting boundaries is no longer sufficient. Leaders need a new approach to energy management that prioritizes their core identity over the constant pressure to perform - leaders are making more decisions than ever with less certainty and diminishing time. This exhaustion is not just a symptom of overwork; it is a signal of a deeper disconnect.

Lena and I discuss how to use emotional regulation and human design to help leaders overcome exhaustion and reclaim their authentic power in the era of AI.

The “strong leader” myth is a primary driver of modern burnout. AI will soon perform 95% of our cognitive data processing. Senior leaders often deny - or are disconnected from - their emotions, outwardly exuding strength for the benefit of others.

If your leadership identity is built on being the “smartest person in the room” or the one who sees patterns first, you are at risk of an existential crisis. The new competitive advantage for leaders isn’t IQ. It’s consciousness and emotional regulation.

We are taught to suppress emotions, wear a brave face, and act with unyielding certainty. But this self-preservation mask is exactly what leads to exhaustion.

Lena Thompson highlights a critical reality: burnout isn’t just about what you do. It is about what you refuse to feel. When you stay in a job or relationship you have outgrown, that internal pressure compounds.

The fix isn’t another week off or a better calendar app. The fix is cultivating a relationship with your emotions. When you pause and label your frustration or impatience, you create space, space where you can move speeds and where better decision live.

Neuroscience suggests that our logical mind operates at just 5% of our potential. The remaining 95% is driven by subconscious patterns. If you only make decisions based on past data, you are destined to repeat the same predictable results. Human design can help executives understand their unique wiring. It’s not about labels or frameworks, but it’s about energy management.

Some leaders are built to work in bursts. Others are built to create consistent output. When you try to force a different energy model onto your team, you foster burnout and stagnation.

Try this strategy for this week:

Spend five minutes every morning without a screen. Connect with what you actually want to experience that day.

Stop checking your phone and start setting your intent.

What is one “old behavior” you are trying to break this month?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• It is often possible to build mental and physical resilience without having any control of emotions.
• Senior leaders often deny - or are disconnected from - their emotions, outwardly exuding strength for the benefit of others.
• Burnout develops over time as internal pressure builds into illness, depression, collapse.
• In the absence of open discussion of burnout in organisations, human design helps people connect to their emotions and understand themselves, impacting relationships, optimising energy and aiding decision-making.
• Energy management and consciousness in the corporate world help provide a better ‘view’, enabling life to respond to energy as opposed to struggles.
• Energy also affects decision-making and is far more effective than basing decisions on (binary) logic that offers repeat solutions based on past data.
• We are driven by subconscious patterns and developing our intuition teaches us how to trust our impulses.
• Amidst the constant cognitive pressure to deliver, the power of pause is undeniable, particularly in the age of AI when everything is immediate.
• Sometimes it is better to make no decision; and making decisions with awareness creates space to make a different choice.
• Stopping and recognising/feeling emotions builds the capacity to hold more pressure and gives us power over our emotions.
• Scaling human design in the corporate world requires more conscious leaders, or a realisation that things have to change and current tools don’t work.
• There is no limit to what human design can do in the corporate world: elevating consciousness, bringing our best selves to work, allowing us to be authentic and free.
• Taking time in the morning to connect to how we want our day to be programmes our minds to focus on what we want and redirects our brains.
• Reflecting in the evening will offer insight into how our responses differ and require less energy.

Find out more about Lena and her work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lena-thompson1/

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

What happens when a company built on trust and purpose faces the immense pressure of quarterly profits?

Eric and I discuss why good companies go bad and explore the structural blueprint to keep your business mission-driven, soulful, and incorruptible for the long term. We go from story to story of human centric and purpose driven founders trying to combat the corrosive effects of financial gravity. We explore why “financial gravity” pulls good companies toward bad decisions and how leaders can protect their mission.

The companies that last aren't the ones that avoid pressure. They're the ones that decided early what they would refuse to trade away. This is an ethical and a leadership question. One of organizational soulcraft, and it's one that every single person listening gets to answer in some small way. In order to build orgs that are truly strong we need to pay special attention to the exoskeleton that separates inside from outside - this is the art of organisational soulcraft — designing the deep structural foundations that give organisations strength - governance.

This involves embedding values directly into the legal and structural foundation of a business. A central element of this blueprint is adopting a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) status, which formally aligns the company’s purpose beyond simple profit maximization. We explore the importance of appointing mission guardians and utilizing board structures that ensure accountability to long-term goals rather than just quarterly financial reports. These mechanisms help protect the engine of value creation from outside interference.

Modern business often relies on a set of “best practices” that, ironically, can destroy shareholder value. Bundling cost, short term thinking and choosing convenience over mission is still very much the status quo, even if there are people that believe otherwise. This is the downwards pull of financial gravity

Profit should be redefined as the result of maximizing human flourishing. To sustain this, leaders must maintain a “culture bank” where every decision is an opportunity to make a deposit by acting in accordance with core values. The example of HEB, where a manager allowed customers to take necessary supplies during a power outage, illustrates how a strong internal culture empowers employees to act consistently without awaiting corporate permission. This operational coherence ensures that the company’s mission remains the guiding force in daily interactions.We all can and must act, and when individuals recognize they are not just victims of a system but are “traffic” within it, they can then reclaim the agency necessary to build and preserve truly meaningful organizations.

It is time to move past the myth of shareholder primacy and stop chasing the market. We need to start building engines that can sustain themselves, organizations that create more value than they extract. The future of our economy depends on our willingness to design better, more soulful institutions.

What is one structural change you could make this week to better protect your core mission?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• An incorruptible company must be structurally, intrinsically and permanently soulful.
• In the fiduciary hierarchy – customers, employees, shareholders – shareholder value is only created by serving the other two first.
• Building an ethos attracts loyalty to successfully grow a company, but the pull of financial gravity undermines this (i.e. making money without creating value).
• The golden goose is a recurring problem in our economy - systems should counteract human failings, not amplify them (i.e. kill the golden goose).
• The ability to operate the engine of a company is required to run it successfully; purpose-driven companies are proven to outperform others.
• Forces at work below the surface are experienced indirectly in a company but are very impactful and have a universal warping effect, e.g. ‘financial gravity’.
• The ‘art of organisational soulcraft’ = governance, but in accessible language to create the conditions to be incorruptible.
• Governance is foundational and the blueprint for the solution is composed of information that is widely available (but counter to shareholder primacy).
• A sound definition of profit is to maximise human flourishing, with leadership and operational techniques creating an aligned culture, a ‘culture bank’.
• The simple rule of a strong company culture is to only make deposits and never withdrawals from this culture bank.
• Trustworthiness is an asset with intangible value for customers; creating good stories becomes company lore.
• Individual agency is important in the face of destructive forces, as highlighted by the effort companies make to dispirit us.

Find out more about Eric and his work here :

https://www.incorruptible.co/

https://howisincorruptiblegoing.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/

https://tryvirgil.com/

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

“We often think meetings are the problem. Usually, they’re a symptom of a bigger problem: a broken communication system.”

Poorly run meetings cost trillions of dollars every year yet there are multifaceted drivers for why we keep them as a comfort zone for ‘moving forward’. This powerful insight challenges us to look beyond the surface of meeting overload, beyond the binary concept of how much time we're spending and look at exactly how much it is costing us and why.

Consider the “visibility bias” : we often equate presence with productivity. Meetings are highly visible, making them status symbols rather than efficient tools. This bias fuels unnecessary meetings and hinders true progress.

Imagine an organization where 30-50% of meetings could be eliminated without negative consequences. While canceling meetings provides relief, the real change comes from employees redesigning what deserves to be a meeting

Applying a “product design” lens means intentionally crafting meetings. Just as you wouldn’t ship a product without user feedback and refinement, why do we tolerate poorly designed meetings that are our most expensive form of collaboration? This approach empowers teams to reclaim their time and focus on valuable synchronous interaction.

This strategy requires leadership buy-in and a psychologically safe environment for employees to decline meetings without guilt. It shifts the mindset from “busyness as a badge of honour” to “impact as a measure of success.”

What’s one “meeting legacy system” in your organization that needs a redesign?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

“We often think meetings are the problem. Usually, they’re a symptom of a bigger problem: a broken communication system.”

This powerful insight challenges us to look beyond the surface of meeting overload, beyond the binary concept of how much time we're spending and look at exactly how much it is costing us and why.

Consider the “visibility bias” : we often equate presence with productivity. Meetings are highly visible, making them status symbols rather than efficient tools. This bias fuels unnecessary meetings and hinders true progress.

Imagine an organization where 30-50% of meetings could be eliminated without negative consequences. While canceling meetings provides relief, the real change comes from employees redesigning what deserves to be a meeting

Applying a “product design” lens means intentionally crafting meetings. Just as you wouldn’t ship a product without user feedback and refinement, why do we tolerate poorly designed meetings that are our most expensive form of collaboration? This approach empowers teams to reclaim their time and focus on valuable synchronous interaction. AI reinforces ‘busyness’ and its role will depend how we enact it; AI often makes collaboration worse here as it offers an opportunity to cognitively offload hard work.

Applying these meeting strategies requires leadership buy-in and a psychologically safe environment for employees to question the impact and decline meetings without guilt. It shifts the mindset from “busyness as a badge of honour” to “impact as a measure of success.”

What’s one “meeting legacy system” in your organization that needs a redesign?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Visibility bias: presence = productivity, but most of the real work takes place behind the scenes, and visibility = value, so meetings become a status symbol.
• The users of the meeting ‘product’ are attendees, but meetings are not generally designed with the user in mind – it tends to be a very poorly optimised product.
• A tangible metric is simply to ask users if the meeting was worth the time they invested, i.e. impact v effort, and what the organiser could do to improve it.
• Calendar cleanses offer temporary relief but no ownership for the users; ‘meeting doomsday’ involves employees proactively deleting meetings.
• Time savings come mostly from small changes that add up, e.g. five minutes shorter, or fewer attendees – this gives employees social permission.
• Meetings are a symptom of a broken communication system in which employees do not understand how they contribute to the bigger picture.
• AI reinforces ‘busyness’ and its role will depend how we enact it; AI makes collaboration worse as it offers an opportunity to cognitively offload hard work.
• There is a trend to over-index on tech, but we must be intentional and clarify how the AI is in service to the humans in the room.
• Collaboration overload and intensification of work with AI means that strategic collaboration will be required for specific types of output.
• Meeting design demonstrates leadership in an organisation, and the ability to rescue a meeting that is going badly.
• Leaders need to create a psychologically safe environment in which employees can tell leaders when the tech is not working.
• In the face of cognitive debt, we must use tech to become more strategic, and leverage AI to become more human, e.g. in terms of meeting schedules.
• Apply the rule of halves to one dimension of a dysfunctional meeting to trigger positive questioning and healthy conversation (with a potential domino effect).

Find our more about Rebecca and her work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-hinds/

https://www.glean.com/work-ai-institute

https://www.rebeccahinds.com/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Your-Best-Meeting-Ever-Principles/dp/1399640305

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

It’s about creating white space in our brain, on our desk, in our inbox, on the desktop of our screens to reduce clutter..

While most leadership advice suggests adding more habits or tools, My discussion with Nell proposes that the most strategic action a leader can take is to subtract. We discuss a life's “forced stops,” which occur despite us feeling aligned and successful. Having a forced stop can be a pivotal moment, even in a fully aligned life; doing too much is dangerous to self and others.

This contrasts with the common belief that one must feel “empty” to realize a problem. Nell introduces her “Lead in 3D Framework” and “Subtract to Succeed” philosophy, which challenges the traditional view of adding more to achieve more. This draws on two decades of global development and humanitarian leadership experience. It helps high-performing leaders address a quiet crisis: they are achieving success on paper but are running on empty.

We explore the transformative power of subtraction, offering practical insights for leaders navigating an increasingly demanding world. The conversation delves into the impact of AI on work habits, the often-overlooked gender asymmetry in work-life balance, and the potential of regenerative leadership to combat exhaustion as a badge of seriousness. We explore practical methods for leaders to reconnect with their bodies, prioritize intentional space, and leverage their natural energy for sustainable impact.

The modern leader faces unprecedented pressures, often pushing them towards unsustainable levels of activity. The call to “subtract to succeed” offers a vital counter-narrative, proposing that true growth and lasting impact come from strategic removal, not endless addition. Leaders can listen to the subtle signals of their bodies and environments, intentionally create space, and reallocate their energy towards what truly matters.

This holistic approach, rooted in the interconnectedness of “me, we, and world,” fosters regenerative leadership that benefits not only the individual but also their teams, organizations, and the broader community. The journey begins with a simple act: choosing to believe in the reality that less, when done intentionally, ultimately brings more.

What one non-essential task or thought pattern could you subtract today to create more impactful space?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Having a forced stop can be a pivotal moment, even in a fully aligned life; doing too much is dangerous to self and others.
• The AI world enables overwhelm – we must recognise that the infrastructure is designed to enthrall us and breaking away from it is difficult.
• A framework for recognising the reality of our bodily systems within systems of systems is helpful to connect me, we, and the world, opening up opportunities.
• Less is more but the human instinct is to add; the ‘subtract to succeed’ methodology uses the ‘stop, drop, and roll’ approach from fire safety:
• stopping in situ, gathering data, paying attention, taking stock
• dropping experimentally, getting curious, creating space
• rolling with the additional time and space, intentionally filling the vacuum
• There is a gender difference re subtraction – feminine energy understands the need to stop, masculine energy less so.
• Feminine energy is interconnected and more systematic, whereas masculine energy is linear, partly shaped by the current system and societal stereotypes.
• There is resistance to the shift from a linear, industrial approach to a more interconnected approach in workplace cultures (due to the illusion of control).
• Regenerative leadership understands that neither energy inputs and outputs nor rest are created equal, which speaks for the benefits of diversity.
• Extractive capitalism detracts from rest and undermines the neurology of and need for rest; it is imperative to select activities that bring us joy and energise us.
• Learning what individuals’ natural energy is enhances collaboration and delegation; subtraction is regenerative rather than extractive.
• The cognitive reframe for subtraction happens quickly because it is simple, has immediate tangible benefits and brings peace.
• Unhelpful thinking is very detrimental and leads to rumination as opposed to constructive thoughts – it is time to reclaim our brain power!
• A daily practice is transformative; we must believe that reality can be different and we choose our reality.

Find out more about Nell and her work here :

https://nell3d.substack.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nell3d/, https://www.nell3d.com/

Guest pass : https://nell3d.substack.com/guestpass

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

Imagine a world where leadership ignites potential, turning $200 million losses into $3 billion profits.

A great conversation with Chris about transforming organisational performance, and moving beyond industrial-era practices. We explore the critical role of mood, leadership, and systems in fostering high-performing teams and how CEOs can navigate the challenges of the modern competitive landscape, including the impact of AI.

Successful organisational transformation depends on three crucial variables: mood, leadership practices, and systems.

Many organisations fail to realise their potential not due to bad people or poor tech, but bad practices. Transformation hinges on three levers: Mood, Leadership, and Systems, and yet, the majority of organisations miss the most critical piece. The trap? Ignoring the “mood” of the organisation.

Mood isn’t emotion, it is more of a predisposition for action. Generative moods like confidence and trust pave the way for progress, while degenerative moods like cynicism and resentment guarantee failure. You can’t just paint over old, peeling walls with new paint and expect it to stick.

After mood, new leadership and management practices are necessary to transition from industrial-era supervision to coordination-era collaboration. Leaders have two responsibilities – the guardian of mood and the architect of the future; they must listen to the organisation, read the world and not be risk averse. Finally, systems and processes must align with desired behaviours. For example, a compensation system rewarding individual effort will sabotage any attempt to build high-performing teams. The system itself must align with desired behaviours.

What “mood” currently defines your team or organisation, and how is it impacting performance ?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Elements of consistent winning performance from athletes can be transferred to any field with human beings and bring about transformation.
• Bad leadership management tries to use industrial-era methods with modern-day coordination workers whereas completely different leadership is required.

Three levers of transformation:

• Mood: a predisposition for action, generative or degenerative for the future; most organisations have negative moods and if the mood is not right, nothing else matters.
• Leadership: a need to install new management practices, constitute teams, and design workflow.
• Systems: they must provide incentive for all, not reward individuals, and not ‘paint over old paint’.
• Caretaker CEOs vs. real leaders: new CEOs often promoted from within and remain in the manager mindset rather than assuming the role of leader.
• Leaders have two responsibilities – the guardian of mood and the architect of the future; they must listen to the organisation, read the world and not be risk averse.
• Sustaining competitive advantage depends on the CEO having a coach (cf. athletes) and being open to improvement.
• AI is creating disorder faster than we did and it cannot replace coaches; it must be used organisationally but not based on financial decisions (which affect mood).
• Awareness is a prerequisite to everything, and calm is a trainable skill – none of us can see our own limitations and we need to hear it from a trusted objective source.
• Taking new action starts transformation, being and doing differently experientially, finding your edge and continuing forward.
• The lone ranger/noble hero is an inhibiting leadership myth as nothing is created alone; great leaders build teams and develop people.
• To navigate transformation in an AI world, the CEO must listen to the junior people first – there is no innovation in the boardroom.

Find out more about Chris and his work here :

https://humanpotentialproject.com/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Power-Transform-Passion-Purpose-Daily/dp/1623362717

https://chrismajer.com/

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

Imagine a world where AI doesn’t just automate tasks, but actively builds bridges, connecting individuals to mentorship and opportunities previously out of reach.

Stephanie and I discuss how AI can level the playing field for underrepresented communities and can drive transformation, inclusion, and belonging. We explore the intersection of digital innovation and human systems, particularly looking at responsible AI solutions through intentional design. A critical blind spot in AI adoption however is not knowing what the root access it. Many leaders are rushing to implement new AI tools without understanding the underlying risks.

Our conversation uncovered that the true power of AI lies not just in its capabilities, but in its responsible deployment. This means having clean, validated data and carefully configured agents. Just as a human needs clear instructions and a focused task, so does AI. A small, refined dataset leads to more accurate, less “hallucinating” results.

Building responsible AI means involving the people it will serve from the very beginning. and creating AI solutions that are specifically designed for people whose voices are often unheard, operationalizing inclusion in a way that I hadn’t considered before - this is the mission of Avatar buddy.

We also discussed the concept of digital twins – digital versions of ourselves that capture our personality and life history. These aren’t just cool tech, they’re tools for accessibility, providing judgment-free support and encouragement.

We also explored Mosaic Commons, Stephanie’s virtual community for digital twins, and how crucial representation is. Mosaic commons is a space where Black and brown people can see themselves reflected. This idea of seeing yourself in positions of power and access is such a powerful motivator for intentionally building for inclusion and reminds me how key representation is, even in the digital realm.

I truly believe that the future of AI hinges on intentional design and ethical considerations. If you’re a leader, I urge you to think about Stephanie’s advice: don’t use AI just because everyone else is. Instead, have clarity on the problems you’re trying to solve and include diverse voices in the design process.

Main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• AI and inclusion belong together at the intersection of digital innovation, culture change and human systems.
• AI can level the playing field for marginalised/locked-out communities so that inclusion becomes a design decision.
• Avatar Buddy delivers cutting-edge, responsible AI solutions for transformation, belonging and performance.
• AI must have clean data that is accurate and has been reviewed by humans, as well as be deployed properly with specific directions to reduce hallucinations.
• As it is designed like a human brain, AI makes mistakes, but smaller datasets produce more accurate results.
• AI agents must be properly configured to prevent slop, and it cannot perform infinite multiple tasks together.
• Avatar Buddy uses digital twins to digitise people: capturing their essence, interviewing them, taking an audio sample and feeding everything into the AI.
• The underlying premise is that everyone can overcome if they have one loving adult in their life who believes in them more than they believe in themselves.
• For AI to fulfil this role, it is configured not be to addictive, to improve knowledge acquisition/retention and self-esteem, and to be judgement-free.
• AI levels the playing field, gives a voice to those who don’t have one, promotes accessibility and enables people to see themselves reflected back.
• To operationalise inclusion, C-suite digital twins can offer real human insights, let leaders be heard and seen too, and give juniors access to the C-suite.
• The 5-step process is ultimately aimed at eliminating bottlenecks, not people, and involves meeting the whole team to craft the solution they will use.
• Diversity of opinion is fundamental to development at Avatar Buddy, which is also localised for different geographical regions.
• Guardrails are required when building AI, e.g. only use products you understand; a productivity increase no longer requires edge cases or the latest development.
• AI can be used in some parts of business processes but always with humans in between; used correctly, it removes emotional churn and improves quality of life.
• Google AI is a safe, simple, fast and low-risk alternative and can improve civil society.
• Leaders need a specific problem to solve with AI (but nothing mission-critical) and must include all the appropriate voices.

Find out more about Stephanie and her work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-a-sylvestre/

https://avatarbuddy.co/

https://youtu.be/32LAt1sJPTA?si=I6-OowG5E8yy2DU8

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

When there is any deviation from expectations, grief show up, we just don't call it that...

A brilliant conversation with Angela Fusaro, an emergency medicine physician and CEO, and our conversation completely shifted my perspective. Here is the powerful idea that really resonated with me: what if these feelings, these un-budgeted operating costs of change, are actually a form of grief? Not just the traditional grief we think of, but a “non-traditional grief” — any deviation from our expectations.

It’s a game-changer for understanding how our teams truly function, and how we can manage navigating the unseen costs of organizational change as levers for business growth. We explore how acknowledging non-traditional grief can improve team performance and leadership identity in an AI-driven world.

Our brains are wired for pattern recognition, and when expectations aren’t met, our brains interpret it as a threat. This kicks us into defensive & undesirable behaviours we often see: micromanagement, rumination, or even just general irritability. Naming it as loss or grief, rather than anger or frustration, disarms it and creates a path to deal with it constructively.

This reframe is crucial because it allows us to move from a place of blaming to a place of understanding. We can’t control everything, especially with things like AI changing our landscape so rapidly, but we can control how we process these moments.

Leaders have a responsibility to take this bold step, as their role offers a level of protection that individual contributors may not feel, and building this space for explicit co-regulation is what will keep performance and safety at a level where business and people can grow and thrive in the AI era.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Leadership in the ER involves facing grief and being comfortable with loss, yet deviation from expectation affects all professional settings and elicits the same human response.
• Human brains are wired for pattern recognition, and to have intention or want a desired outcome, but this loss of expectation is often not acknowledged, leading to irritability, rumination, and micromanagement in teams.
• The brain interprets deviation as a threat, but naming grief disarms it; many leaders see the discussion of vulnerable topics as a loss of authority but normalising vulnerability helps co-regulation, which improves performance.
• Unprocessed grief threatens confidence, certainty and control – it entails complexity and pain, which are important signals that can be leveraged once acknowledged.
• Holding grief and gratitude at the same time is a necessary leadership skill but requires practice and training our brain to believe; we use gratitude to cope with loss rather than alongside it (as part of a transition process).
• ‘And’ is a powerful word in terms of polarity: in systems thinking, it reframes processes, decision-making, and outcomes from a duality perspective and instils worth and authenticity in the process.
• AI is increasing how often leaders have to let go of what they think would work: as AI fulfils more complex tasks for us, our ability to process being human and connection to each other will have to accelerate.
• Leaders will have to model this, demonstrating a shift away from outcome-based KPIs to KPIs that value decision-making quality and the bravery to make decisions in ever-increasing ambiguity.
• Leaders must take stock with their team after a setback to acknowledge it, reframe regret, and commit to doing things differently going forward; accountability requires a safe environment to prevent the ‘blame game’.
• Accountability will be the last thing to be delegated to AI, e.g. in medicine, the responsibility is still on the physician - AI is unable to handle the complexity of being human, to hold polarities, to metabolise loss, etc.
• People with authority must take the first bold step to acknowledge the truth and reflect for themselves if they can self-regulate before tackling co-regulating others.

Find out more about Angela and her work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelafusaromd/

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

Joanna and I explore shifting from overwhelm to conscious leadership, how business owners can reclaim time, build effective systems, and cultivate inner peace to achieve success and joy in their work.

When you stop drowning in the “doing,” you can finally get back to the “leading.” we dive deep into how we can reclaim our time, build systems that genuinely work for us, and, most importantly, cultivate the inner leadership game needed to stay above the overwhelm and find joy and success in our work. Joanna offers insights into transforming leadership through self-awareness and intentional action.

We know that many identify of us identify with the desire for control, especially when stressed. The challenge therefore is moving from understanding to practical action. How can leaders “let go” and create space in an uncertain world?

Many of us start with a vision: freedom, impact, a unique offering. But daily tasks—emails, invoices, meetings—overwhelm, replace the initial spark with doubt. “Is this what I signed up for?”

Our discussion highlights a crucial shift: from time management to energy management. Before her awakening, Joanna filled her calendar, feeling exhausted. Now, she prioritizes her energy state. In a “high vibration state,” she’s efficient and inspired. When energy is low, she rests instead of pushing.While external schedules remain, internal tasks are flexible. If a brainstorm doesn’t align with your energy, reschedule it.

Joanna Zhang’s shift to spiritual leader was not really planned but profound. She became more aware of her actions and motivations and discovered that Self-love and boundaries are key. As she embraced self-love, her boundaries strengthened, allowing her to respect her team while holding her ground.

We draw the parallel with the use of AI. If we are using AI from fear (e.g., being outdated, wanting more money) more than from love and care, the result will look very different. With love, AI creates space, reduces repetitive tasks, and fosters creativity for leaders and teams. It empowers self-care, self-love, and abundance. Our intention dictates its use., so partnering with AI with love and care, means that we can create AI systems that benefit us, our teams, and the world. The choice is ours, and releasing control and creating space starts with self-awareness and inner work to create this clarity. All leaders should make time for this, particularly in today's fast moving AI era.

How has intentional energy management shifted your leadership and enabled your strategic genius ?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• The gradual move from a title leader to a serving and spiritual leader means relinquishing control, standing in others’ shoes, understanding their challenges.
• Seeking external validation to avoid conflict leads to boundaries being violated; increasing our awareness of self and self-love helps hold strong boundaries.
• Learning to let go of control – also in personal relationships - helps leadership; it results in more support, calm and assertiveness within the team.
• Stress increases the need for control and controlling leaders get dragged down by their mistakes, and by a focus on results as opposed to progress.
• The first step in the inner game of operations is making the decision to delegate - demonstrating courage, taking action and recognising one’s own patterns.
• Energy management is more important than time management – treating oneself with respect in order to treat others with respect.
• Conscious leadership means allowing people to make their own decisions and find their own rhythm.
• Four layers to help leaders: removing pressure on the system (emotional burnout); creating momentum; understanding the parts of the machine (the business design and processes); returning to the genius of the business owner.
• Building a soul-aligned model creates space to access the ‘genius zone’; the business becomes a fun, energetic and creative playground - a high-vibration state that has a ripple effect of abundance and happiness.
• We must accept the existence and vibrating resonance of AI and be intentional about how we work with it, i.e. from a place of fear, desire, love, creativity, etc.
• A change in intention is required for transformation, e.g. what is the purpose of the business? It must be in alignment with the business owner. The same applies to AI as a double-edged sword and we must choose how we treat it.
• A shift in intention from external to internal is transformational – accepting, forgiving and caring for oneself is the starting point for everything else along the soul journey.

Find out more about Joanna and her work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhang-joanna/

"Plant the seeds of a tree you'll never sit under.."

Andrew and I explore this mantra and what it means for leaders in today's world. We discuss a leadership approach where the ultimate goal is for the leader to become redundant. This means cultivating a team so capable that it functions better in the leader’s absence.

What if the best thing a leader could do for their team was to disappear? Not to abandon, but to empower. To cultivate an environment where operations run smoothly, even flawlessly, in the leader’s absence.

A major challenge for many leaders lies in detaching their ego from their work. For most organizational cultures, a leader’s identity is often intertwined with their output and ability to deliver results. This ego-driven system rewards constant doing, making it difficult to step back and move from a "must fix it" mentality to allowing people to find their own brilliance. Leaders often mistakenly believe that by staying busy, they become indispensable, but this actually limits their growth and the growth of those around them. As Ai challenges leadership identity more and more it is important to uderstand this phenomenon and intentionally intercept it.

AI not as a threat, but more of a tool to create new horizons and solutions, such as helping people leave behind their legacies through stories. When discussing the impact of AI on loyalty, particularly with the rise of AI agents and distributed teams, Andrew Brummer offers us a different perspective : AI as a utility, akin to tools in a woodworking shop. Just as exquisite wood and advanced machinery are useless without understanding the desired outcome, AI is ineffective without critical, creative, and outcome-based thinking.

For those who can engage in such thinking, AI becomes a powerful multiplier, enabling individuals to achieve things they once only dreamt of. AI will bring people back together in humanity, i.e. away from tech; the humanity of a team becomes super critical and will become more significant to society as time goes on.

How do you cultivate team autonomy while maintaining impact ?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are:

• Leaders who make themselves indispensable limit both themselves and their team - the book is a practical field guide to move away from feeling needed.
• Working with clarity, not frameworks, helps to detach from ego/identity to allow the wisdom of stepping back shine through – letting people be brilliant and autonomous rather than governing them.
• Rewarding managers sets a bad precedent, demonstrating individual divisiveness as opposed to cohesiveness; much better to help people find their ability/confidence and encourage them to grow and act.
• Teams need space to become loyal, learning and defining themselves with an intentional and transparent social contract = vulnerability in giving people trust without them having to earn it.
• Yielding information yields a relationship, which then yields outcome: leaders can love their people for the individuals they are, trust them and watch them grow, but this requires introspection.
• Leaders must allow themselves to be loved by their team; when teams no longer need their leader, leaders must have the resilience to pivot.
• ‘Plant the seeds of a tree you’ll never sit under’ means: radical service, deep connection, humility in helping (younger) people, sharing your knowledge, and leveraging technology (AI) in smart ways to help create new horizons.
• Loyalty remains unchanged in the age of AI; AI is a tool for those who can think critically and want to maximise themselves – we can re-engineer ourselves by asking specific, creative questions and thinking differently.
• AI will bring people back together in humanity, i.e. away from tech; the humanity of a team becomes super critical and will become more significant to society as time goes on.
• Once AI no longer requires our human limitations, we will reinvent a new world; leaders must aim for a larger outcome, embracing AI, love, vulnerability and introspection to find out how to plant their seeds.

Find out more about Andrew and his work here :

www.andrewbrummer.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewbrummer/

https://www.mystorytold.ai/

"Discover how to build resilience that truly supports you and your growth, not just survival."

Victoria and I reflect on what we celebrate in leadership. The drive, the composure, the ability to read a room—these are often seen as peak leadership skills. But for many, these aren’t just skills. They’re survival strategies, honed long before any boardroom.

We delve into the definition and application of healthy resilience: it involves processing, self-reflection, and intentional strategy, not just “plowing past” adversity. Many leaders, unknowingly practice an “unhealthy” version, equating resilience with stoicism. Yet, this often leads to burnout and a lack of genuine connection within teams.

Healthy resilience to remain as human and authentic as possible in the way we show up as leaders has this been more relevant and important than today in the age of AI and a potential to become more and more transactional and isolated. We need to build more resilience at both human and systems level as people drive everything; given that perception is reality, changes must be made to show up differently and display emotion.

While organizations are starting to talk about different leadership styles, they often miss the deeper “why” behind people’s behaviours. We discuss authentic leadership, but not the underlying fears or insecurities that prevent it. It’s not about therapy at work, but about designing environments where people don’t need survival strategies. This means shifting from simply promoting good performers to also supporting & training them to be good leaders, truly focusing on people and creating a sense of belonging to allow for innovation, better decision making and ultimately improved performance.

How can we better integrate people strategies with business strategies to underscore the ROI of human-centered leadership?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• ‘Iron maiden’: the armour necessary for a young female executive that does not reflect the ability to express or feel emotion - a toxic culture can be a response at organisational level due to the trauma of the people leading it.
• Need to build more resilience at both human and systems level as people drive everything; given that perception is reality, changes must be made to show up differently and display emotion.
• Unhealthy resilience: resilience as a badge of honour, never processing, never self-reflecting, never sitting in awareness, never integrating trauma, etc. vs. healthy: having clarity around goals, creating strategy/intentions, asking for help.
• Dialogue around mask-wearing in organisations requires leaders who start with themselves first and design environments in which people don’t need survival strategies, i.e. trauma-informed organisations that foster trust and belonging.
• ‘Whole human leadership’ is an innovation practice as leaders often perceive two separate halves – business/financial performance vs. people; the human-centred design used in tech/processes should also apply to employees.
• For leaders to leverage communities, intentionality is critical: innovation through diversity, recruitment based on bridging gaps in the workforce, moving away from facts and figures, modelling the behaviour of being a whole human leader.
• The metaphor of the turtle that moves deliberately, carries its home, and protects its wisdom and softness is very helpful to model behaviour, speak out, tell your own story with learnings and outcomes – less need to wear a mask.
• Permission to fail – following initial disappointment, leaders can demonstrate moving on, rectifying mistakes, supporting people, creating safety: thoughts, language, actions, and behaviour must be intentional.
• Resilience is about growing through, not pushing through – support systems/ structures are often not ideal but we still have agency within the system and can step into the zone of discomfort to go beyond the fear.

Find out more about Victoria and her work here

https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriapelletier/

https://victoria-pelletier.com/

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

Growth is a collective development. We should grow as a community. We should grow as a humanity, we cannot succeed individually.

In a world already obssesed with growth, and AI bringing speed that we've never seen before, understanding how to intentionally design for human centred growth strategies is so important. Systems only work when the humans inside the systems are seen, valued, and allowed to grow.

Bala and I discuss the fact that building effective systems—engineering, organizational, or community—is fundamentally a human design problem, and how AI makes this more urgent. Bala shares invaluable insights from advising startups to teaching coding in public schools.

We dive into redesigning organizations around AI without losing the human element, ethical AI as a design principle, and building human-centered communities when tools change faster than people. Many see AI as a tool for efficiency, a way to move faster. But if you purely optimise with AI without deeply examining your organizational structure and culture, you’re merely moving the bottleneck, not solving it. AI accelerates discovery, highlighting existing issues, especially in low-trust environments. Introducing AI into a low-trust culture doesn’t magically build trust. It automates around the lack of it, potentially exacerbating issues and inciting the use of 'shadow AI'. The foundational element for any successful team remains trust.

As leaders, we must focus on fostering environments where trust is built proactively, before the pressure of AI-driven decisions.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

Systems only work when the humans inside are seen, valued and allowed to grow; humans are also the meta point in organisations, so it is vital to understand what motivates them (before they decide to leave).

Building a team in a fast-scaling company requires first and foremost the right environment and culture, i.e. how people interact, how things are set up; AI acts like an x-ray machine, quickly showing what is broken and mirroring what is happening.

Any team success requires trust and in the AI age, this entails trusting (or not) in AI as a system, trusting (or not) the output I produce (direct), and trusting (or not) others to use AI properly (indirect).

The human aspect is about making things come together; AI requires fast decisions from leaders so leaders must trust their people, not identify or label them by their mistakes.

AI governance is both a legal and human/behavioural issue – everyone should be involved in the conversation as AI is not an entity in itself; we give it life/power, which gives rise to ethical issues.

New generations have access to tools/power and are already thinking about impact (moving away from the conventional leadership model) and the need for community, factoring this into decision-making to make it easier to create new tools quickly.

Growth is a collective development, and success is not possible individually because access is now decentralised; the infrastructure must be a community as a living thing, helping others unbidden and building networks of trust.

Leaders must intentionally make time for and ‘invest’ in community, taking off their leader ‘hat’ in an informal setting, for example; it all starts with objective communication, removing the subjects to change the perspective.

AI is an opportunity to revamp organisational design with humans as the connective tissue in the system; in future, governments, education/industry, and economies must come together to include everyone and work for humans.

Being curious is good enough and will guide us to the next step; we should get our hands dirty and humbly remember that our day jobs are creating a world for the next generation.

Find out more about Bala and his work here :

https://balamuthiah.com/

You need to treat time as sacred...

In our 24/7 hustle culture this is no mean feat.. Imagine a workday where time seems to vanish, distractions fade, and your team produces their best work effortlessly. This isn’t a fantasy. It is the power of “flow states,” a concept gaining traction among forward-thinking leaders.

Steven and I explore this concept of Flow, steven is a visionary who has navigated the worlds of IBM engineering and Academy Award-winning film production. Their conversation reveals how understanding and cultivating flow can transform productivity, performance, and overall happiness within any organization. Entering a flow state typically requires 15 to 23 minutes of uninterrupted focus and that interruptions reset this process.

To facilitate flow, leaders must treat dedicated work time as sacred, encouraging “time blocking” where team members can focus without distractions like instant messages or impromptu meetings. This intentional protection of time allows for deep work and creative insights

Steven shares his unique perspective, having witnessed high performance in both highly creative and deeply technical fields. This dual experience provides a rare insight into universal patterns that drive sustainable success. His journey from IBM software engineer to visual effects producer for “Independence Day,” a VP at Fox, and now the creator of the SUkha company, a platform designed to help remote workers achieve focus and flow.

We explore why leaders might be hesitant to adopt models that prioritize deep, creative work, often attributing this to a fear of losing control over their teams. This fear often stems from a hiring problem, if leaders effectively articulate a mission and values, they will attract engaged individuals who are intrinsically motivated. Trusting talented employees to pursue the mission without constant surveillance is crucial. We touch upon the increasing importance of “inner game” skills and fostering creativity in an AI-dominated world to ensure both relevance and fulfillment.

Leaders should protect time for deep strategic thinking, as this is often given away to busywork, impeding true leadership, care and innovation. Steven’s company, SUKHA, built on the Sanskrit word for happiness through self-fulfillment, provides tools to foster these conditions for remote knowledge workers. By offering distraction blockers, curated soundscapes, and smart assistants, SUKHA helps individuals consistently enter flow states.

The result? 94-96% month-over-month retention, showing people truly value the ability to achieve deep work and finish their tasks efficiently.

What’s the one thing you will commit to protecting in your week to foster deep thought and move your strategic objectives forward?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• There are patterns that are common among high performers that must work in a hybrid world that can oscillate between periods of remote working followed by intense in-person periods.
• LLMs are great for automating established patterns but leaders must also know how to manage and create the right conditions for people to thrive in this setup - Sukha helps people create flow states for healthy productivity.
• Productivity can be defined more broadly as extracting people’s greatness and creativity, i.e. creating a flow state which provides an uplift as opposed to energy depletion.
• The trick to translating an understanding of flow into real-world situations is to treat time as sacred, e.g. by using time-blocking and -boxing, working according to chronotype, and changing working methods.
• Small insights can lead to huge competitive advantages, but they are difficult to measure and make tangible; leaders are also fearful of being unsure what their people are doing and losing ‘control’.
• This can be traced back to hiring the ‘wrong’ people: if leaders articulate the company’s mission and values correctly, they will naturally attract the type of person that wants to work in the organisation.
• Systems in organisations have antibodies to a culture of creativity and are structured around demonstrating results as a means to get things done, whereas Sukha – meaning happiness through self-fulfilment in Sanskrit – aims for flow.
• The Sukha platform offers the right aural environment, a smart assistant for optimisation, and blocks distractions to enable people to enter flow and build self-belief in defiance of the all-pervasive ‘steal your life’ model.
• Every leader (everyone) should aim to protect what we give away free for others to monetise: time for deep thought - before giving in to temptation or distraction, we can think of one thing every day that we can do to move our life forward.

Find out more about Steven and his work here :

steven@thesukha.co

https://www.thesukha.co/

The biggest danger in today’s hyperconnected world isn’t moving too slowly. It’s moving too fast without understanding the system.

The world today operates with unprecedented interconnectedness, where a single decision in technology can impact climate systems, and policy shifts can ripple across global supply chains. We no longer manage isolated organizations. Instead, leaders navigate a complex, living ecosystem. This fundamental shift requires a new kind of awareness and a deeper understanding of the systems at play.

Matt & I explore the evolution of leadership from data-savvy to AI-savvy, drawing on insights matt's decades of experience in technology, ecosystems, and supply chains. He understands how interconnected decisions impact industries, communities, and even the planet. His journey from deep tech innovations to corporate data science and now to Earth Savvy provides a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities for modern leaders.

Today’s hyperconnected world means we must understand connections; an architecture based on AI agents enables us to ask our own questions about the world around us to get simple insights/answers one at a time.

In this hyperconnected landscape, understanding what happens outside your immediate business becomes crucial. While asking the right questions remains vital for leaders, AI offers something more profound. AI provides the ability to go deeper, to question assumptions more thoroughly, and to imagine connections in ways previously impossible. AI agents can perform work on our behalf, multiplying our abilities in driving transformation, but they need to be directed by human input and questions. The key is to ground AI use in our desired direction and questions, rather than simply outsourcing our thinking to an AI model.

What’s one aspect of your business where you’re actively exploring broader systemic connections, rather than just refining existing processes?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• To project into the future, leaders must heed current circumstances elsewhere in the world; experts know the key questions to ask but need help to get the answer from huge volumes of data.
• Being data savvy now means being AI savvy, and asking the right questions is at the heart of transformation; AI brings an ability to go deep and question ourselves first and foremost.
• AI agents can work on our behalf and act as multipliers for our own abilities as long as they are directed by human questions – but moving too fast and ignoring the system is dangerous.
• Human-agentic collaboration complexifies decisions and a core skill for leaders is true systems thinking, i.e. understanding your own hypothesis to fit into an AI framework - simplicity and focus are vital to get answers.
• A big deep tech issue is to make data understandable and valuable - innovation is no longer about creating new products/solutions/tools, but about curation and removing complexity.
• Leadership is moving from control to orchestration – in future, thriving organisations will build connections/value chains internally; AI is both a blessing and a curse here as it can stop humans connecting.
• AI is no different from previous automations but the insights it delivers need to be human; the increasing power of software will help us understand the data and enable us to simplify processes via agents.
• Satellite data will be as integral to our lives in future as GPS data is today; earth observation data is much richer than GPS data and we will come to rely on it - EarthSavvy will provide the platform while we ‘update our human software’.
• Leaders should consider all touchpoints outside the organisation over a large surface area to build a mental model for change - taking an inventory as a starting point shows where you fit into the broader system around you.

Find out more about Matt and his work here :

https://earthsavvy.ai/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-evans-8756726/

Finance leaders often find themselves measuring the past, but what if finance could drive future decisions?

Jasmine and I discuss transforming finance from a transaction-focused department to a value-driven decision enabler.

This episode explores how finance leaders can leverage EQ, rethink ROI in a platform-driven economy, and overcome traditional mindsets to drive organizational growth and stay relevant.

We explore the challenge of moving finance teams away from rigid adherence to spreadsheets and past data, advocating for a more holistic, forward-looking approach.

This discussion centers on the overlooked power of finance in driving organizational value, emphasizing the need for cultural shifts and investment in human capital alongside technological advancements.

The age of AI requires more generalists as tech is no longer a dedicated, highly specialised vertical; in future, the finance structure and function will be more horizontal and fluid, high-performing, and interdisciplinary, combining human and digital talent.

Jasmine shares her insights and experience as a finance and transformation executive.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• The finance function must become value- not transaction-driven and balance EQ (addressing what’s not in the numbers) and IQ (traditionally rewarded) in order to enable decisions.
• Letting go of numbers can cause anxiety for those who work with them, but finance transformation business cases must invest in talent and culture, not just tech, to change operations and how value is created.
• Adoption happens after the (tech) go-live, which requires ongoing subsequent effort to have conversations and integrate this into the transformation - the finance department must talk to people to understand the intangibles.
• AI is simply a sophistication of the algorithm, it cannot offer EQ or creativity are not covered by AI, therefore talent must have and understand both EQ and IQ – this requires interviewing for growth mindset as opposed to technical skills.
• Digital literacy/fluency in finance means understanding how data models are designed and maintained and using critical thinking to drive improved design and maintenance independently of the tool.
• Operating models must evolve to break down functional silos and verticals and instead have horizontal fluid talent that are subsequently upskilled – it is a long-term investment rather than a quick fix, and it uplifts the entire organisation.
• Development programs for all leaders should be skills-based, with promotion based not on ‘what’, but on ‘how’; after developing real leadership skills, leaders should then be accountable to deliver against those skills.
• The age of AI requires more generalists as tech is no longer a dedicated, highly specialised vertical; in future, the finance structure and function will be more horizontal and fluid, high-performing, and interdisciplinary, combining human and digital talent.
• Functions, individuals, and organisations must all continuously reimagine how they create value beyond the superficial layer, requiring continuous investment to lead from the front, not the back, and recruiting for adaptability.

Find out more about Jasmine and her work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmineahmedt/

"If you truly want a competitive advantage, you have to start looking at the human systems involved, and make sure you understand your customer”

Remember when agile and lean felt like the magic bullet for every organizational issue? We embraced them, hoping to cut waste and move faster. For a while, they really did change things, but the frameworks became the main point, and many companies ended up with sticky notes and stand-ups that went nowhere. It’s a story I’ve seen play out too many times.What happens when the tools designed for change become barriers themselves?

This question becomes even more pressing with the rise of generative AI. Is this the long-awaited solution that will truly change everything? Is it the “magic wand” for better work? We discuss the reframe of agile and lean in an AI-driven world, where AI can generate, decide, and act. We also discussed what this means for humans who still need to connect, lead, and make sense of it all.

The reluctance to change often stems from what JL calls a “can’t culture.” This culture takes various forms :

• Political “can’t”: Resistance due to perceived loss of power or control.
• Financial “can’t”: Claims of insufficient funds, though some of these are not genuine constraints.
• Strategic and capability “can’t”: Limitations in strategy or skill sets.
• Structural “can’t”: Incentive structures that conflict with agile organizational goals.

When these factors converge, the transformation process can widen the divide between those performing the work and those leading the organization, creating a dangerous situation. Agentic-human collaboration can enable a team/organisation to use AI to enhance their work and analyse outcomes to look for optimisation, e.g. to help solve customers’ problems and create more customer value, but we also need to address the culture and the mindset of the leaders and teams.

Many organizations are “shoehorning AI into… structural support, capability enhancement, or supporting some sort of political structure… they’re bringing AI in to do the things they’re already doing faster.” But doing the wrong things faster doesn’t lead to better outcomes.

It is dangerous to over-rely on AI, particularly during the innovation process, as it is derivative – not innovative - and human ideation can’t be automated, therefore it can be counterproductive.

What metrics are you using to ensure your AI initiatives are driving actual outcomes, not just motion?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• A ‘can’t’ culture prevails when it comes to making difficult decisions, e.g. transformation; most leaders know why change is needed but struggle to implement it as they confuse motion with outcomes.
• Cultural, political, financial, strategic, capability, and structural ‘can’t’s are not necessarily the real constraints – it is about examining principles and values and asking the right questions at the right time to create change.
• AI acts as an accelerant, whatever the starting position is – it is an excellent tool for generating ideas and self- and organisational analysis but requires the human in the middle.
• Being ‘AI-ready’ is less accurate than having a team that is ready to use AI – it is more productive to be problem- rather than solution-focused, using AI as a thought partner at the innovation stage.
• Agentic-human collaboration enables a team/organisation to use AI to enhance their work and analyse outcomes to look for optimisation, e.g. to help solve customers’ problems and create more customer value.
• It is dangerous to over-rely on AI, particularly during the innovation process, as it is derivative – not innovative - and human ideation can’t be automated, therefore it can be counterproductive.
• The Breakthrough Lab Method helps clients identify ‘how might we’ statements, implement cross-functional teams and design sprints (using AI as a thought partner), and look at customer problems from a human-centered perspective.
• AI does not come up with the solution but helps us understand the problem better so we can iterate further; it does not change human interaction or human problems but rather exacerbates the pain of these problems.
• AI is making it harder to step back and solve human problems, accelerating failure without changing things for the better; we need to solve our own problems first before we can solve customers’ problems.
• Real competitive advantage requires an understanding of the human systems, the customer, and the problem you’re trying to solve – as AI won’t give us anything new, requiring companies to innovate and change to survive.

Find out more about JL and his work here :

https://centered.work/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlheather/

For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast

To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

"Burnout is a choice"

This bold statement by Melanie challenged my perspective. We often see burnout as an inevitable outcome of ambition, and performance.

Melanie and I unpack why so many leaders are experiencing burnout, not just as “overwork,” but as nervous system overload. We explore the invisible rules about success and how they impact leadership. Are you silently running on empty, normalizing exhaustion as excellence? Many high-achieving professionals find themselves in this cycle.

We discuss practical strategies for regulating your nervous system, reframing your identity beyond performance, and designing organisational cultures that prioritize emotional repair. Burnout is a consequence of our choices, boundaries, and how we define personal value and identity. We explore how societal conditioning, amplified by the internet, drives us to benchmark ourselves against unrealistic standards, leading to constant striving as opposed to thriving.

This relentless “always on” mentality prevents our nervous systems from resting, pushing us past our natural limits. It’s a critical lesson for all leaders: valuing self-care is not a weakness; it’s a strategic necessity for sustained effectiveness.

The conversation then shifts to how organisations can design cultures that reward emotional repair and psychological safety. We discuss simple yet impactful changes, such as scheduling dedicated lunch breaks, ending meetings early on Fridays, creating hydration stations, and modelling boundaries by not emailing leadership after hours. The core idea is to value human beings beyond their roles and metrics.

People do not operate well under fear or exhaustion, as these states hinder effective thinking and decision-making. Leaders should be taught emotional regulation as part of leadership development, to highlight that sensitivity is a strength, not a weakness. Now more than ever, we must challenge the myths that strong leaders are constantly busy or never vulnerable, particularly as AI takes over more task-oriented work.

This involves fostering adaptability, having a “plan B” for careers, and detaching self-identity from job roles to maintain well-being and thrive amidst continuous organizational shifts.

What cultural shifts do you believe are most critical for preventing chronic stress in leadership today?

The main insights you"ll get from this episode are :

Society has normalised exhaustion as excellence, and this is exacerbated in

the Internet age by more striving to ‘have it all’, which causes stress and leads

to nervous system overload/burnout.

- The para-/sympathetic nervous system is designed for the body to rest but

‘always on’ is glorified and busyness does not equal productivity; we over-

define ourselves as individuals through work, and this identity can be taken

away.

- Leaders must pause, stop, reflect, and seek help if necessary – (high-

functioning) burnout can be avoided by ring-fencing self-time and resetting:

 Scan (your body)

 Tell (yourself the truth)

 Own (your decisions)

 Prioritise (yourself)

 Intentional (actions)

 Transform (willing to change)

- Cultures that reward emotional repair can start with small steps such as no

meetings on Fridays and modelling boundaries; removing fear and exhaustion

enhances productivity.

- Pre-AI experience is valuable for the new AI era to bring humanity to the data

point, help us thrive and remain viable; this involves anticipating change and

reskilling, using transferable skills from jobs and life experiences.

- Human aspects such as vulnerability and remaining flexible and joyful should

be part of leadership development; we need emotional regulation for

individuals, teams, and the overarching system to keep us all healthy.

Find out more about Melanie and her work here :

https://drmelaniegraycoaching.com/

" Innovation is not just technology, systems and strategy, it is also about energy and embodied behaviour."

Bruno and I discuss the human side of innovation and the strategic role of AI. We explore how leaders can foster creativity and manage uncertainty by adopting principles from martial arts and leveraging AI for better decision-making.

Bruno brings a unique perspective, combining engineering rigour, martial arts mastery, and deep reflection on embodied leadership. We explore different perspectives on how to master generative conflict for Innovation success and making strategy an embodied practice. The insight on the intersection between martial arts mastery, strategy and leadership brings a new lens that every CEO should learn: how to engage in “generative conflict.” So how to 'use' fear and agression in a smarter, more constructive way, which is consensual, respectful, collaborative and vulnerable.

Bruno sees innovation not just as systems and strategy, but as energy and embodied behaviour. The difference between doing and managing innovation is really key. Doing is about turning ideas into value; managing is scaling that process across hundreds of ideas, accepting uncertainty and potential failure. This distinction really hit home because if something is truly innovative, it comes with a big element of uncertainty. And that means failure is always a possibility, even if you do everything right.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Finding innovative solutions for leaders that address the human side of innovation and AI’s strategic role beyond the hype; innovation is energy and embodies behaviour, away from processes and tools.
• The difference between ‘doing’ and ‘managing’ innovation is important: the former is about transforming ideas into money (in a corporate context); the latter is doing it at scale, i.e. concurrently developing hundreds of ideas.
• Creativity brings something to life and is an inherent part of human nature - innovation is very personal, from which we can harness failure and maximise learning to create something of value.
• Whilst uncertainty and ambiguity always exist, senior leaders can remove ambiguity in the form of strategy, as an unknown or unclear strategy spreads uncertainty. Strategy is like embodied practice – need to feel it in the real world.
• Martial arts redirect fear and aggression rather than eliminate them, providing a good lesson for CEOs in how to engage in generative conflict, which is consensual, respectful, collaborative and vulnerable.
• Strategising and innovating demand conflict, and innovation can be seen as the equivalent of sparring practice: articulating and creating something that then becomes the discussion point.
• Playing Lean is a (serious) board game for innovation, providing a safe space between the classroom and the front line, but the emotions and experiences are real – real skill transference and a team activity.
• Augmented strategy using AI is currently very superficial applications of LLMs, which are worthless in the bigger picture – we must optimise decision-making processes and understand decisions as humans.
• We must first map out the requisite data, insights, and knowledge, and then leverage specific AI to create multiple scenarios; hybrid intelligence uses AI to enhance human creativity.
• Asking customers (in a B2B environment) for feedback is invaluable for innovation – it is of great importance to have people with (life) experience who will understand the issue, and AI cannot replace this.
• The simplest practice leaders can implement immediately is to listen and play back what they heard to check correct understanding, thereby inviting others to bring forward their thinking.

Find out more about Bruno and his work here :

https://www.pesec.no/

A crisis is not a dramatic event, but is any situation where circumstances exceed a person’s ability to cope..

What does this mean for leadership behaviour and psychological safety in teams ?

Jessi and I discuss what trauma actually is and why it is present in organisations. We explore burnout, disengagement, and toxic culture, emphasizing the importance of intentionally designing leadership to counter these issues. Our discussion goes beyond typical well-being perks to explore the invisible dynamics of trauma at work and how leaders can unknowingly amplify it.

Jessi Beyer, a crisis mental health clinician and SWAT negotiator, defines a crisis not as a dramatic event, but as any situation where circumstances exceed a person’s ability to cope. This means that seemingly minor deviations in workplace behaviour—like chronic tardiness, increased irritability, or uncharacteristic outbursts—can signal an employee is in crisis. Recognizing these subtle shifts is crucial for early intervention, preventing situations from escalating to more severe emergencies.

However, leaving these signs unheard is toxic. Many leaders feel discomfort when addressing an employee’s struggles, often citing lack of time or fear of saying the wrong thing. However, even a brief, genuine moment of connection can make an employee feel seen and less alone, planting a seed for future support and for their nervous system to calm down somewhat. The analogy between an organization and a human nervous system, is so important when we see that a leader’s tone, pacing, and language directly regulate the team’s emotional state. The “vibe” created by leaders profoundly impacts how employees feel, behave, and perform.

Leaders who show up with empathy and a willingness to sit with discomfort create an environment where employees feel safe to bring their best selves to work.

Listen for further insights and practices to help you anticipate and intentionally regulate your team's nervous system

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Prevention starts long before a crisis, responding to people’s worst moments; trauma can show up in everyday situations, hence trauma-informed leadership for situations in which circumstances exceed a person’s ability to cope.
• In the workplace, deviations from standard behaviour are warning signs for intervention; crisis requires safe regulation and emotional precision must overcome discomfort by creating a moment of connection.
• It is important to regulate the human nervous system, and organisations are systems that have an impact on their team’s state – an organisational culture must indicate safety, and leaders’ energy has a downstream effect.
• Culture is what you tolerate, based on lived experience, and leaders can interrupt harm in the moment by questioning to de-escalate the situation; addressing people directly is a way to anticipate the situation.
• Creating a culture in which other people see the harm demonstrates solidarity and ideally permeates all functions; it must be more than just a box-ticking exercise to dispel hyper-vigilance.
• A flat hierarchy allows a leader to be approached by taking a curious (and empathetic) view - leaders have experiences that make them toxic, often subconsciously, and psychoeducation can be helpful here.
• Daily practice to build a positive culture involves applauding the behaviour that you want; engaging in small, interpersonal exchanges makes a big difference, leading to incremental change over time.
• Awareness when it comes to change starts with recognition before action: the best leaders are often not those with the supervisory title, but those who inspire trust and support, with boundaries, and change lives.
• Healing from trauma requires learning that you have agency – work can be a place of healing with trauma-informed leadership: recognition, empathy, and a willingness to be uncomfortable and exposed to the full human experience.
• Compliance in the short term does not ensure professional growth, and leadership requires real listening without fixing, judging or shaming – essentially emotional regulation, restoring capacity, and fuelling performance.

Find out more about Jessi and her work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessierinbeyer/

https://jessibeyerinternational.com/

Implementing technically perfect solutions often meets unexpected resistance.

Even with vast amounts of data and advanced AI, organizations struggle with decision-making.Russell and I explore why this is so. Because the problem isn’t always technical; it’s systemic. We discuss case studies where this happens and we see this pervasive structural issue. Dropping an amazing gadget into an ecosystem without addressing “structural changes” like incentives, rewards, and identity within the organization can lead to rejection. It’s not just about changing tech; it’s about changing the “collective habit of the system.” This idea of small impactful experiments and measurable success is key to creating momentum for adoption and scaling the understanding of the value of AI-human collaboration to drive organizational change.

Leaders must address these systemic barriers in order for the organisations to intentionally redesign workflows, processes, relationships and results.

What structural changes does your organization need to make to truly embrace AI-driven insights and transform decision-making?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

1. Decision-making is still a big failure point in transformation; even if data is perfect, humans still don’t make the right decisions due to excessive information and emotional aspects that cloud our judgement.
2. The (dysfunctional) product innovation process clearly displays the consequences of a poor decision over the course of idea to product – despite huge input, many products don’t succeed.
3. The competitive process of gaining customer insight is exacerbated by huge amounts of data and embodies a pervasive incentive system that is punitive if things go wrong or fail.
4. AI makes things worse with a glut of data - we need a balance between humans enabled by AI (to provide sanity checks + intangibles) and the use of AI to synthesise and curate huge volumes of data.
5. To keep humans in the loop, we must intentionally slow down in the rush to automate as AI + human outperforms either on their own; we can partner with AI to make sense of unstructured data as part of a stage gate model.
6. Structural and systemic issues remain obstructive - leaders must disrupt the system to facilitate sustainable transformation, but legacy human systems are not as quick to update/upgrade as legacy tech systems.
7. Leaders need compassion for this evolution and should aim to reshape rather than reduce their organisation; a pragmatic approach to understanding the tech and a vision for the organisation’s purpose and mission are vital.
8. The potential of AI in future could see it empower us to make better decisions; it is time now for action to experiment and succeed on a small scale as a decisive factor for transformation.

Find out more about Russell & his work here :

https://www.zs.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/russellsevans/

A special edition episode as part of Podcasthon, the world’s largest charity podcast event. This is dedicated to the Freedom and Justice partnership charity, which aims to bring education and inclusion to child miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Mark Preston’s journey began in January 2023 after reading “Cobalt Red,” a book that exposed the horrific conditions of artisanal cobalt mining in the DRC. Cobalt, a critical mineral used in modern technology, primarily comes from the DRC, with a significant portion sourced from artisanal mines where an estimated 200,000 children work in dangerous conditions. This realization, coupled with a quote from C.S. Lewis about the tendency to feel without acting, motivated Mark Preston to take action. We walk through their journey from awareness to action : the horror of artisanal mining, their vision for impact and scale and ultimately justice for children through rectifying broken systems.

The Freedom and Justice Partnership employs a two-pronged strategy: “ground war” and “air war.” The “ground war” focuses on immediate relief by funding education for former child miners. The “air war” involves advocacy and policy work, with Mark Preston and Carl engaging with Parliament and various committees to influence policy changes. They are particularly focused on the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, which will hold large companies accountable for their supply chain integrity, creating a cascading compliance effect for smaller businesses.

The overarching goal is to rectify broken incentive structures that harm both the environment and people, while simultaneously providing relief to those suffering. We discuss the importance of agency, emphasizing that charity should empower rather than create dependency.

Mark Preston encourages listeners to visit freedomandjusticepartnership.org, read “Hell on Rare Earth” to understand the issue, and consider donating to support their cause.

Find out more about mark and the partnership here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-preston-contact/

https://www.freedomandjusticepartnership.org

https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Freedom-and-Justice-Partnership-61558804512321/

Donate here : https://www.freedomandjusticepartnership.org/donate

"Leadership is an art, it’s not just something we do"

Research indicates over 75% of leaders remain in reactive behaviour, often avoiding difficult conversations and triggering hyper-vigilance within their teams. This creates an “intention-impact gap,” where good intentions don’t translate into desired outcomes.

Susanne and I discuss the antidote to this 'immediacy' and presence. Sounds simple right ? A surprising fact from executive coaching: many powerful leaders struggle with authentic self-expression. Suzanne shares a compelling anecdote from her mother’s barbershop, where high-profile clients found solace in being treated as simply “people,” not titles.

This highlights a core business lesson: authenticity builds connection, reducing the “lonely at the top” phenomenon. People stop seeing us and interacting with us as human beings when we lose touch with our true selves. Developing the courage to be “most fully yourself” is a priceless journey, transforming not just personal interactions but also team dynamics and organizational culture.

How often do you adjust your communication to fit perceived expectations rather than expressing your genuine thoughts?

The insights you'll get from this episode are :

1. This Could be Everything offers actionable exercises for leaders taken from life lessons, e.g. we perceive famous people as less human, powerful people are just people, we must learn how to interact with all types of people.
2. It helps to pay attention to subtle clues, understand how to create a good interpersonal experience, enable people to relax, share things and get to know people – an interest in serving other people requires trusting yourself first.
3. We can recognise authenticity, curiosity, warmth, and openness in people (as well as the opposite), particularly in a work scenario; faking it is uncomfortable for authentic people, and we must grant ourselves the freedom to be ourselves.
4. Outward signs of leaders not trusting themselves are a lack of creativity, innovation, healthy debate, and challenge; not acknowledging the work of others – we can reflect on the quality of our conversations to learn about ourselves.
5. Leadership coaching involves speaking truth to and challenging people in order to advance them - we can all have impact if we share with the intention to serve; leadership is about being brave enough to speak up and following your instinct.
6. Immediacy is one of most important – but underutilised – aspects of coaching, because whatever is happening in the here and now gives a complete picture of how people act in other situations.
7. It can be difficult to build the immediacy muscle without it feeling confrontational - there must be a feeling of safety to address real issues; this can be based on our own personal history of speaking truth but taking small risks improves it over time.
8. To shift out of reactive behaviour leaders need self-compassion and an understanding of their behaviour – it is important to convert the inner critic into an inner champion in order to be able to serve others.
9. Leaders need to foster a different mindset to focus on the positive despite the inevitable negative that comes with the job; they can act by taking on feedback, being curious, learning, adapting, connecting with themselves, being flexible, and having conversations.
10. Artistic unity, as in a piece of art or music intended to create a feeling, is a means of communicating for alignment and results, requiring humanity and emotion to tell a good story – the message is nothing more and nothing less, but ignites hearts and minds; leadership is an art after all.

Find out more about Susanne and her work here :

https://susannebiro.com/

Meggi and I discuss the concept of mindful rebellion - which isn't about anarchy, but about strategic influence and finding your voice in complex environments. This discussion explores the psychological impact of organizational identity on personal well-being, the challenges of reinvention, and the power of strategic, quiet disruption within established systems.

An interesting take on mindfulness as an antidote to the potential pitfalls of AI. While AI can augment human capabilities, it risks making people “cognitively lazy” by replacing critical thinking and skill development. Learning mindfulness alongside AI skills from a young age can help individuals leverage AI’s benefits while preserving their capacity for presence and independent thought.

Mindfulness became a crucial tool in meggi's own journey to prevent burnout and in turn informed her concept of mindful rebellion, a gentle yet powerful approach to challenging the status quo for greater innovation and employee satisfaction.

The challenge of distinguishing between healthy self-reflection and destructive self-doubt, and allowing yourself to mourn during transitions, but not getting stuck in a negative space. This resonated deeply with me, as I know how easily we can fall into overthinking, especially when facing big changes or career shifts.

How to foster and accompany this change ? The “submarine technique” for creating change within organizations was one idea. Instead of pushing loudly against resistance, working “under the radar,” gathering evidence, and building momentum with champions before emerging. This strategic patience allows new ideas to strengthen and gain support, making it easier for leaders to say “yes.” and enable them to cultivate environments where challenging the status quo leads to greater engagement and retention.

This approach feels so relevant in today’s constantly changing workplaces, where reinventing ourselves and our businesses is the new normal for keeping up with technology and market shifts.

The main insights you will get from this episode are :

1. Mission-driven organisations can be outwardly compassionate but internally harsh; when organisational and personal identities merge, the outcome is akin to complex family dynamics – difficult moments mean we appreciate what binds us and feel a sense of belonging, but without becoming (too) attached to the need for external validation.
2. We are all constantly evolving, moving through phases of (maybe radical) reinvention, changing priorities, learning from difficult moments along the way - the younger generation do not speak from a place of lived experience or pain and this gap between the generations is widening.
3. Upskilling is the new normal and requires transferrable skills across sectors: our superpowers here are hard skills like craftsmanship (analytical, strategy, etc.) and soft skills like empathy, that come from life experience, e.g. ‘unofficial’ skills from family life or hobbies that can be a USP in bringing our whole selves to a job.
4. The difference between healthy self-reflection and destructive self-doubt is mindfulness – understanding the principles of non-judgement, being aware of a negative mindset, feeling and acknowledging feelings and then letting them pass; artificial positivity can be dangerous, and mastery of self is important (especially in teams).
5. The ‘submarine’ technique can be used to develop positive case studies to convince people of change, i.e. running small side projects under the radar to make the bigger point and then surface with demonstrable success, displaying strategic patience to help leaders support new ideas in a tangible, specific way.
6. ‘Mindful rebellion’ (based on the PCM personality model and Rebel Talent by Francesca Gino) is about finding our voice, accepting who we are and speaking up authentically; mindful rebel managers working with mindful rebel talent is a potent combination for successful intrapreneurship, even in bureaucratic setups.
7. William Bridges’ three phases of change – the ending, the neutral zone and new beginnings – emphasise sufficient time in the neutral zone for introspection and challenging old scripts; in the absence of clarity, courage and confidence, the Japanese concept of ikigai is a good starting point for true alignment.
8. Mindfulness can be the antidote to AI, making us aware of the risks - going through the pain ourselves will enable us to derive the biggest benefits from AI; curiosity about mindfulness and rebellion allows us to test them out in micro habit form, experimenting with an open mind and being bold with ideas.

Find out more about Meggi and her work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrombach/

https://mindset-mastery.ch/

https://meggirombach.com/

"What if the secret to leading change was simpler than you think?"

Most change models are built for organizations, not people. They're layered, complex, and quietly ignore the messy, human reality of what it actually takes to shift human behaviour at scale.

The journey of leadership in an era of constant change demands a shift from traditional, often performative models to a more human-centered approach. By integrating insights from high-performance environments like adaptive sports, leaders can cultivate clarity, provide genuine support, and leverage the undeniable power of encouragement.

The three pillars of information, support, and encouragement offer a pragmatic framework for simplifying change, ensuring that transformations are not just enacted but are truly sustainable and impactful. Drawing on lessons from elite and adaptive sport, Carlee unpacks why clarity is the most underused leadership tool in the room, why encouragement isn't soft — it's neurochemical — and why inclusion isn't a values statement, it's a performance strategy.

Furthermore, intentional inclusion becomes the non-negotiable foundation for innovation and resilience. As AI reshapes the landscape of talent and work, human-centered leadership, characterized by curiosity, learning out loud, and deep empathy, is more crucial than ever. It’s the human element that will drive AI’s true potential, connecting technology with purpose and fostering cultures where everyone can thrive. The invitation is clear: reflect on what you want to be proud of, and just begin.

Whether you're leading a global transformation or a team of five, the fundamentals don't change. And they're more human than most leaders dare to admit.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

1. Performance happens quickly in sport and is built on the continual pursuit of betterment and excellence to achieve small improvements through hyperfocus and continual refinement.
2. This approach can be transferred to work in the form of incremental gains, priority-setting, awareness of environment, self-leadership, understanding individuals’ needs within the context of the team; the celebratory energy of sport – as well as dealing with both wins and losses – is also very helpful and positive.
3. A holistic approach (physical, emotional, and psychological) and balance are beneficial, but the power of clarity is often lacking in leadership, which requires big picture thinking in a world of change and the confidence to support a team when times are tough.
4. Traditional models for change are coming up against future models – they are helpful but can become overwhelming; consultative conversations are very constructive and simplicity provides clarity, particularly for messy human issues, such as breaking down change into information, support and encouragement.
5. Good support (from leaders) means providing information about what change entails, what development for the new role looks like, removing barriers to support, providing tooling/resources, addressing team dynamics, and making it clear where support comes from (e.g. informal chats, formal company communication channels, internal/external resources [ChatGPT]).
6. Encouragement drives performance and is the anchor for delivering success, and ongoing praise functions as a barometer along the way; inclusion must be intentional and representative - a lack of innovation and reach impacts performance; small adjustments count and provide connection in communities.
7. In terms of inclusion in the workplace, AI brings learnings, insights, skillsets, growth and development, and elevates innovation; we have to shift into an AI mindset of investing in tools and making them accessible, as well as upskilling for career development - leaders must remain human-centered in the face of shiny penny syndrome, learn out loud, and be curious, empathetic and caring.
8. ‘Leading out loud’ means looking ahead and wanting to be proud of one’s achievements as a leader in challenging times; this includes striving for AI excellence to leave a long-term impact – leaders should just begin and continue to take one step at a time as their authentic self.

Find out more about Carlee and her work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carleeawolfe/

https://aceandarrowconsulting.com/about/

The future of digital marketing isn’t about more content; it’s about deeper connections.

In an age saturated with AI-generated content, how do businesses ensure their message resonates and builds trust?

Wes and I discuss this shift, and that artificial intelligence is forcing us to be more human. For founder-led businesses, this means reflecting the founder’s values and convictions. Small businesses have a distinct advantage here, and large corporations struggle to replicate this personal touch but as AI models become more sophisticated, the challenge for businesses shifts from mere content quantity & quality to genuine quality and uniquely human branding.

The strategic move is to focus on what makes your brand uniquely human: case studies, core values, proprietary models, and authentic storytelling. The shift is clear: a strong personal brand, combined with the company brand, creates significant market advantage. This moves beyond traditional lead magnets (like free e-books) which are losing relevance as AI provides instant information. Instead, focus on demonstrating expertise and reliability through genuine connections.

How are you leveraging your unique human element to cut through the digital noise and build trust?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

1. Uncertainty about the future is the death knell for a business’ value and a good motivation to adapt; the founder-led business model requires communication with and the involvement of other team members to bring about change.
2. An AI world demands constant reinvention and questioning; it is difficult to stand out in the marketplace unless a business is unique, but AI means we crave the human element of collaboration and authenticity.
3. It is all about creating relationships/human connection – the goal of social media is to get people off social media onto the website, and the goal of a website is to get people off the website into a human conversation (to make a sale).
4. Smaller, founder-led businesses can leverage advantages and opportunities that are not open to large businesses, with the combination of both a personal and a company brand providing a valuable competitive edge.
5. Privacy is paramount now; LLMs surface the best information, which means companies must provide genuine IP; the tools will get better at presenting this information to the right people at the right time = quality over quantity.
6. LLMs are challenging language and our use of it, and it is important to have a consistent voice and language (style guide) - tools can help by writing copy based on prompts but having your own unique language is powerful.
7. In terms of visibility and branding in a crowded market, it is imperative to focus on the most relevant platforms (e.g. LinkedIn for B2B) and use tools to syndicate out to other platforms - every business has a human story.
8. A high-performing website needs a UX that guides the eye through the core message in order to grasp it and interact with it – vibe coding will advance to meet the needs of website design, where tech provides the labour and the human adds the value (moving from content to process).
9. In the age of LLMs, businesses must build authority, trust and reputation, and indicate their sustainability; visits to websites are still relevant and less traffic does not mean fewer enquiries - qualitative metrics count, and drawing out positive opposites from missteps helps to determine future direction.

You can find out more about Wes and his work here :

www.uplift360.com.au

https://www.linkedin.com/in/westowers/

Leadership isn’t about a position; it’s a lifelong practice.

This perspective highlights the strategic use of informal networks and collaboration to drive systemic change. For decades, we have had the narrative focused on “fixing women” to fit leadership moulds rather than addressing systemic biases and looking at how to fix the system.

In this conversation we explore how the very skills often dismissed as "soft"—context awareness, emotional agility, adaptive thinking, collaborative workload management—are exactly what drives systemic change. Research backs this up: women managers disproportionately champion DEI initiatives and build stronger teams. Yet these skills remain undervalued.

Why? Because we haven't disrupted the power dynamics that determine what "leadership" looks like.

Real change happens when we: Build cross-functional coalitions; Make implicit power structures more explicit; Consciously leverage privilege to create space for different approaches ;Use informal networks intentionally & strategically to create momentum

This isn't about adding more women to broken systems. It's about redesigning the systems themselves.

Jodi generously shares her research, insights and experience as weexplore how leadership, courage, and values converge—and how factors like caregiving, generational wisdom, and a career-long view can transform how we lead today.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

1. Leadership is about collaborating, creating better workplaces/community environments, and bringing together courage and values - caregiving, generational wisdom and a career-long view of impact can transform leadership.
2. It takes courage to transcend hierarchy - leadership is not a title or position, but a lifelong practice to overcome the fear of retribution; finding moments of clarity aligned with our values makes this easier to withstand.
3. Integrity and clarity bring courage and confidence; we always have agency, which can become leadership capital and have a lasting legacy – the need for women to constantly codeswitch between multiple identities brings many skills, e.g. communication, holding space, EQ, context intelligence, etc.
4. The skills to navigate complexity involve mental and emotional agility; we can use these skills to disrupt systems and biases to leverage strategic thinking and relationships - formal leadership provides a platform and greater sphere of influence (to bring about change).
5. It is important to seek allies in a network of champions and create our own spaces - being effective is an act of disruption and diplomacy, and positioning goals in the context of the mission and organisation appeals to people’s decency.
6. The informal nature of power dynamics makes values-driven leadership difficult to maintain against a backdrop of value clashes – a career journey will wax and wane in terms of value alignment, but courage comes from the collective, by building a diverse and cohesive team in an effective space for shared values.
7. Younger generations see leadership differently, and have more interest in racial justice, feminism, LGBTQ rights, etc. - different experiences give rise to new questions and subsequently new thinking.
8. Smart organisations will capitalise on the knowledge and ideas of young people and bring it to the leadership - intergenerational experiences count and should also counter age and learning humility in both directions.
9. Courage in an (AI-)augmented, hybrid world will still have the same values and practices but there will be a need to create more space for human interaction, for listening, creating feedback loops, and learning about others.
10. It is essential that we develop deeper self-connection and self-trust in the face of buffeting forces – the human operating system doesn’t really change; we must still put people first and recognise our own courage by finding our voice, taking a stand, paying attention to our behaviour in the moment and being generous.

Find out more about Jodi and her work here :

https://www.jodivandenberg-daves.com/

Is complexity really complex of Productivity pretending to be complex ?

Simon and I discuss why this is often observed in organizations. What appears as insurmountable complexity is often rooted in inefficient processes and workflows. The key is distinguishing between inherent complexity and self-imposed inefficiency. Complexity often feels like the default in organizations, making simplicity seem impossible. Given the blurring of boundaries, the shifting paradigms and the need for constant change, we need to review our capacity to manage complexity.

Reinvention is key and all transformation shares the same human map – parenting can sharpen leadership skills given that a parent’s mission is not to succeed, but to help others succeed, just as leaders can sharpen their teams skill to develop themselves and each other, and constantly question each others' assumptions.

We explore how to frame complexity and how to create space enough to see things differently. For teams, especially in agile and DevOps models, it is so important to understand how teams fit together within the overarching organizational goal. Ideally, interdependencies between teams should be minimized to avoid slowdowns. If interdependencies exist, teams must synchronize their efforts by aligning with the same goal, which informs their prioritization.

To truly foster cooperation, and simplify processes, organizations must rethink individualistic incentives like performance reviews and bonuses, moving towards global optimization. Building intentional communities who align and swarm together can also help cut through the chaos of complexity, and become a blueprint for ho to navigate it more effectively;

Approaches like sociocracy and visual cause-and-effect diagrams to facilitate collective debugging and ensure that improvement efforts are focused on the right areas, building on the belief that people are good and that understanding complexity requires multiple perspectives and humble challenge

Whether it’s in your team, family, or community, knowing your goal and helps you prioritize, say no to distractions, and ultimately, make a significant impact. To move from “doing more” to “doing smarter,” leaders must define clear goals (the “one goal”), then establish the conditions necessary for their teams to achieve them. Just as a gardener provides water and light, a leader cultivates a safe environment, fosters learning, and ensures clear direction. For instance, if a team’s goal is to innovate, the condition might be dedicated “learning time” or a “speak-up” culture to surface roadblocks.

Whether it’s in your team, family, or community, knowing your goal and helps you prioritize, say no to distractions, and ultimately, make a significant impact. What is your one goal and how do you actively challenge assumptions within your leadership team to foster genuine improvement?.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

1. Having shared goals but different approaches rules out a collaborative approach to identify differences, ultimately impacting on decision-making and therefore productivity.
2. Reducing complexity can involve trimming it (by reducing process complexity, for example) or paying more attention to the signals that matter (with a clear goal) – focusing on progress towards a goal minimizes complexity to focus on the goal.
3. Leaders can use the thinking process (five focus steps) from the theory of constraints to decide what to simplify: clarity on a single goal; cause and effect diagram; step into action; filter reality based on the goal; work out the obstacles.
4. Innovation comes from constraints and the biggest obstacle in organisations is assumptions held by leaders; people generally welcome change if it is an improvement, well communicated and well managed.
5. Reinvention is key and all transformation shares the same human map – parenting can sharpen leadership skills given that a parent’s mission is not to succeed, but to help others succeed.
6. Compliance is based on punishment and rewards, whereas choice is the ability to make decisions - in a team environment, the manager’s role is to magnify the role of the team to be better.
7. To progress towards a goal, certain conditions need to be true, and these conditions need to be created – there is no guarantee of success but it increases the chances of success.
8. Creating the conditions for teams to grow together requires the removal of interdependencies – understanding the overarching goal and enabling teams to synchronise (and function independently).
9. The ideal is to have one team across the entire value chain (no interdependencies); otherwise, teams need a shared goal to cooperate (no conflict); goals, performance reviews and bonuses obstruct cooperation by encouraging individualistic performance rather than the collective.
10. Achieving a goal requires learning; intentionality; hearing all voices (diversity); sociocracy/holacracy; we need humans as AI can weaken both our thinking and our (inductive and deductive) logic skills.

find out more about simon here :

https://curiouscoffee.club/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simoncopsey/

Empathy is no longer a “soft skill”; it is a hard skill, a disciplined practice, and a foundational architecture for organizational success

Research shows that leaders effectively employing empathy boosted productivity by 87%, innovation by 86%, and profit by 84%. These aren’t just “soft skills”; they’re hard metrics that directly impact your bottom line.

Melissa and I talk about why leaders often underestimate empathy and how to move past that. If you’ve ever felt like you’re hitting a wall in your leadership, or that your team isn’t as connected as they could be, this may be part of the answer. This is a common leadership pitfall: expecting people to adapt without understanding their perspective.

Leaders who lack self-empathy often create roadblocks, forcing their teams to “go around” them to get work done. This isn’t just inefficient; it erodes trust and hinders progress.

I particularly loved Melissa's analogy of Stradivarius violins. They are beautiful instruments, but you only get their true value if you know how to play them. Without that skill, its potential remains untapped.Empathy is similar – it’s a powerful tool, but you need to know how to “make the strings sing” in your leadership. Our conversation made me reflect on how many leaders might intellectually understand empathy but struggle to connect and operationalize it daily.

We discuss how actionable empathy drives innovation, scales across teams, and why top organizations are placing it at their core. We explore the critical difference between empathy and self-empathy, and how a lack of self-awareness can derail even the best intentions.

How do you actively cultivate empathy & perspective-taking in your leadership approach?

Melissa shares her experiences, research and insights from working with leadesr and teams all over the globe.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

1. Making empathy actionable to help leaders operationalise empathy for themselves and their teams, using it to drive innovation and understand connection through perspective-taking.
2. Leaders don’t view empathy as a skill and are often not connected to their people, representing an immovable object that people have to circumnavigate; without actionable empathy for themselves, they cannot apply it to lead others.
3. Helpful to reframe empathy as strategic awareness rather than weakness – it takes courage to practice empathy whilst making difficult decisions; leading well requires the correct perspective.
4. Four steps to self-empathy: self-observation, which leads to self-reflection, which leads to self-awareness, which leads to self-compassion.
5. Judgement and empathy cannot exist in the same place: empathy in action is compassion, and a low-empathy culture ultimately produces weak leadership.
6. An empathic culture has a leader in touch with what’s going on, making everything more efficient - empathy is important for middle management because they lead both up and down, and touch the most people.
7. Practicing empathy takes discipline and energy and empathy fatigue can set in, especially with emotional empathy, which drains neurological reserves.
8. Scaling empathy within leadership is about building a culture, living the asserted values - leaders are often unaware how their actions affect their people, which is the very opposite of inspiration.
9. Operationalising empathy on a sustainable basis must be discussed in teams and integrated; it runs alongside change management and can survive hypergrowth if it is part of the culture and comes from the top.
10. Leadership is an organism, whereas management is a machine - the former grows and requires nurturing; similarly, empathy in an organisation hugely improves productivity, innovation and profit.
11. As a machine, AI has no empathy or perspective, so doubling down on the human connection enables better navigation of AI/tech; training people in empathy will hopefully make compassion the norm.
12. AI can take over menial tasks, leaving people to shape the global perspective, social responsibility, etc.; empathy allows us to tap into human potential, scaling humanity as opposed to tech.

Find out more about Melissa and her work here :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Empathic-Leader-Transforms-Leadership-Productivity/dp/1964014581

https://eqviaempathy.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaoXSEWeILo

The biggest illusion organisations have about being product-centric is that adopting buzzwords or frameworks alone guarantees success.

What does it mean to move from KPIs to outcomes, from silos to more interconnected ecosystems of teams ?

Moving from project to product is more than a process change; it’s a mindset shift. Tim and I discuss who to help organizations connect their outcomes, their work and their teams into living value streams so that they stop measuring activity and start measuring impact.

Our discussion highlights a crucial point: “When work is still being organized as programs or projects, and there are plans that have got start dates and end dates, that’s usually an indicator that the mindset is still in that project mentality.” This perspective reveals a core issue in many “agile” transformations.

The traditional project approach, with its fixed timelines and temporary teams, often hinders true value delivery. Instead, long-lived, cross-functional teams that “roll the valuable work into the team” rather than “staff a project over people” yield superior results. This fosters psychological safety, boosts performance, and increases adaptability.

The best foundation for success is collaboration and starting small. The perception of mindset and metrics can be changed using value stream mapping/metrics-based process mapping, quantifying before and after, crossover times and rate of completeness to provide data and success stories right from the beginning.

How are you shifting your teams from temporary assignments to continuous value delivery units?

Tim share his wealth of experience and insight from orking with teams and leaders all over the globe.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

1. Helping organisations connect their outcomes, work and teams into living value streams to measure impact over productivity and bring about sustainable transformation in the delivery of outcomes.
2. Claims to be agile or devops-driven are often waterfall projects in disguise - a clear distinction between project mode and product mode is often stymied by organisational infrastructure.
3. Cohesive teams outperform projects that are simply resourced, a model that is very dependent on specific skills and requires a shift (from t-shaped to i-shaped) towards m-shaped - cross-functional teams deliver value and are adaptable, permitting value management instead of scaled resourcing.
4. Value streams – comprising two components of flow and end-to-end – begin with a need and end with a perceived value, but the entire process and how it all fits together must be understood.
5. The perception of mindset and metrics can be changed using value stream mapping/metrics-based process mapping, quantifying before and after, crossover times and rate of completeness.
6. Shifting from output to (connected) outcomes involves mapping the constellation using simple visualisation to demonstrate connections within the organisation and what values each team delivers.
7. Constellations of bright stars then join together to meet strategic goals and boost engagement; keeping an eye on KPI dashboards within the confines of safety and governance allows progress to be determined by OKRs (create focus, then align).
8. The best foundation for success is collaboration – leaders need to make way for an experimental mindset and micro shifts that start small with one team and tell a story which serves as a catalyst for wider implementation.
9. Flexible frameworks can establish what tools work in a given organisation, avoiding the hype around ‘the right solutions’, using comfortable language and focusing on the principles rather than the labels to bring the values to life.
10. Recommended action to move from a product organisation to a product operating model is to ascertain what the need is; establish how progress will be measured; define a strategy; discuss how to test it; and build feedback loops into the system of work.
11. When other strategies have failed, it is important to focus on the retrospective learning, looking at what did work against the backdrop of the change curve - creating communities embraces the people issue to unlearn ingrained habits.

Find out more about Tim and his work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/company/stellafai/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tdbeattie/

https://www.stellafai.com/

"the microphone is a mirror for our culture – when leaders start listening, cultures start changing..."

What if your voice, not just your words, could build deeper trust and connection? Tom highlights that audio communication activates the brain’s pleasure centre. People often trust what they hear more than what they see.This trust mechanism is invaluable for leaders aiming to foster genuine two-way communication. It moves beyond formal messaging, making leaders more relatable. Human trust is becoming more and more important as we move into an AI generated era.

AI will not replace humans enjoying each other’s company, having interactions that an audience can feel, and building niche communities that create impact beyond monetisation, spark movements, and give rise to new communities in turn.

Think about it: have you ever felt like you “know” a podcast host, even without meeting them? This phenomenon creates a powerful, intimate connection. Tom Fox calls it “your voice is in my head” and notes how listeners pick up on inflections, emotions, and authenticity. Tom and I discuss how organisations can leverage this and Tom outlines five reasons in the business world to have a podcast: thought leadership, relationship building, audience engagement, content creation, and sales – a B2B podcast does all five, conveying information and creating an authentic voice.

The power of this approach is also that people get the chance to use their voice to build and inspire communities, wherever they sit in the hierarchy, and all voices can be heard.

What untapped communities or conversations exist within your organisation that, if amplified, could lead to significant cultural shifts?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

1. Initially a segue from corporate compliance (making businesses more successful) and blogging (for marketing purposes as a sole trader) to podcasting (and the community behind it) as a means of communicating beyond writing.
2. The audio format of podcasting is very different from video - hearing something instils more trust than seeing it, and voices/inflections are remembered and recognised – despite being as old as humankind, storytelling still resonates.
3. The effectiveness of podcasts is measured in terms of social media touchpoints with an audience (listens, engagements, views, etc.) based on an IAB certified download (listened to for 60 seconds or longer).
4. This method highlights customer engagement and the impact of voice - leaders can use internal podcasting as a supplemental form of communication to share messages and foster two-way communication within their organisations.
5. Podcasting is about having fun while learning - it is informal and very important in the hybrid world; its democratising power offers companies leverage to surface diverse perspectives and facilitate bottom-up communication.
6. The choice of guests and hosts on internal podcasts must be considered –successfully navigating the politics of internal podcasting must focus on the ultimate goal, e.g. personalise the C-suite or explain a policy.
7. The human attention span has changed dramatically, and a corporate podcast could replace other forms of communication, being used for short-form content as snippets for inclusion in a video, for instance.
8. AI will not replace humans enjoying each other’s company, having interactions that an audience can feel, and building niche communities that create impact beyond monetisation, spark movements, and give rise to new communities in turn.
9. A podcast can meet a market need, capitalise on an opportunity or focus attention on a particular area of an organisation, seeking out the unheard voices and giving them a platform.
10. Podcasts enable us to learn from other experts; continuously connect the dots of the bigger picture around us; listen to people tell their stories; and build our network: the microphone is a mirror for our culture – when leaders start listening, cultures start changing.

Find out more about Tom and his work here :

https://compliancepodcastnetwork.net/

https://www.texashillcountrypodcastnetwork.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasfox13/

tfox@tfoxlaw.com

Collective intelligence is the most important intelligent asset an organization has.

The conventional wisdom of “command and control” in leadership is crumbling. A rapidly changing world demands a different management model, one built on “power with” rather than “power over.”

Rod and I dig into why nobody is smarter than everyone and explore the power of collective intelligence in organisations. In a fast-moving world, a top-down hierarchy stymies progress and innovation; networks require different leadership that is not based on levels or departments, i.e. not horizontal or vertical in structure. In fact, networks are the lever for effecting lasting change, and harnessing the potential of an organisation.

Rod vividly recalls a pivotal moment at Blue Cross Blue Shield: “The world moves faster than any CEO can think.” He realized no single leader, no matter how brilliant, could keep pace with rapid change. This insight sparked a shift from traditional hierarchy to a networked approach. This led to the unlocking of collective genius. In an AI world, how can we keep that human creative genius ?

We explore extending the principles of collective intelligence to the development of artificial intelligence and integrating the learning from human and crowd sourced wisdom.

Rod shares his insights, experience and research from working inside and with organisations on building a more collective and distributed leadership and decision making structure.

Are you inadvertently stifling your team’s collective genius?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

1. Culture-building meetings with external parties are often more productive - having internal leaders act as facilitators off-site and bringing together a microcosm of the business gives everyone the same voice.
2. Success depends on seeking first to understand then to be understood; asking clarifying questions; engaging in small mixed-group discussions; ensuring diversity of opinion; no censorship; and participation over disruption.
3. Debate often gives rise to ‘lowest common denominator’ solutions; preferable is looking at the outcome regardless of agreement and disagreement, always having group decisions and avoiding polarisation.
4. Uncovering what we didn’t know we knew as well as what we didn’t know we didn’t know is very important in a rapidly changing world - networks are better at this; successful companies know that it drives efficiency and leads to growth.
5. Mining and leveraging collective intelligence (CI) is based on four attributes that work together: diversity of opinion, independent thinking, local knowledge, and an aggregation mechanism.
6. Bosses who become facilitators make growth, adaptability, innovativeness, and the ability to pivot more likely - intentional design for CI busts leadership myths and creates conditions for sustainable growth.
7. Senior leaders must accept divergent thinking, which is traditionally sorely lacking in the West, and companies must be free markets of ideas (with a decision-making structure).
8. In a network, miscreants become contributors and leadership is about facilitating constructive conversations where everyone is heard and diversity is welcome - everyone has an obligation to speak up in a safe space.
9. Slowing down to move fast under pressure reduces resistance - leaders ideally keep their opinions to themselves to allow CI to run its course and come to a (different) solution.
10. If everyone’s voice is heard, everyone is accountable – in a network, accountability is to peers, and is an effective mechanism for experimenting, keeping what’s working and discarding what’s not.
11. CI principles are critical for AI as they will determine whether we build a tyrannical AI on an enormous scale (enemy of the state) or evolve human intelligence (accelerator of humanity).
12. Fast thinking (biases, false confidence) vs. slow thinking (rational, deliberative, doubtful): AI could enable the former at the speed of the latter, thereby playing a constructive rather than destructive role.

Find out more about Rod and his work here :

https://rodcollins.net/

AI is changing work faster than people can change how they work

This requires a new approach to human adaptation, not just technology deployment.

A rich discussion with Nikki about how to move past chaotic AI adoption to focused, fast-paced organizational learning cycles, understanding at the same time that AI speed is unprecedented. We explore how leaders can transform, innovate, and amplify their impact in the AI age.

Many organizations are grappling with the “Shiny Object Syndrome” in AI adoption. It is vital to keep business fundamentals in sight given that AI is ‘just’ a tech to help meet business objectives, yet shiny object syndrome prevails in many companies - strategic business clarity does not come from AI.

Now is an opportunity for every business, also to stay competitive – the fundamental operating cycles are getting faster, and models are changing (from pyramid to molecular).

We discuss how to ensure sustainable transformation, through continuous iteration in rapid 90-day cycles. This sprint-based approach allows for quick wins, builds internal capability, and maintains relevance in a fast-changing AI landscape.

The result is Agentic-Human Reinvention; where humans and AI amplify each other, where output becomes exponential without more hours. Where people become People Squared.

Nikki shares insights from her 25-year career helping top brands reinvent their culture and capabilities.

What specific business objective could AI help your organization achieve in the next 90 days?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

1. Organisational learning cycles help leaders trying to navigate the rapid changes AI is wreaking on work – it is the greatest disruption in modern human history, and most leaders are ill equipped to deal with it.
2. It is not just a matter of AI adoption, but how to help humans adapt and relinquish evolutionary design to co-evolve with AI for a new reality that reshapes roles and value creation models.
3. It is vital to keep business fundamentals in sight given that AI is ‘just’ a tech to help meet business objectives, yet shiny object syndrome prevails in many companies - strategic business clarity does not come from AI.
4. Clearly defined AI projects create sustainable change, which requires continuous and rapid iteration – in cycles – for specific use cases to create the highest ROI and demonstrate the value of AI.
5. The superficial application of AI erodes trust and wastes resources; this new tech must be taught rather than learnt, which makes it more valuable yet also more difficult to create a culture of trust in it.
6. Deploying AI must begin with the people, not the project - AI is forcing a deep change in human beings who feel threatened evolutionarily by a lack of safety, certainty and comfort.
7. Embracing risk and navigating uncertainty is an identity/mindset shift and the starting point to determine which zone of genius remains and what must go; AI as a co-worker follows the reinvention of the people, the process and the tools.
8. Personal transformation is the first step towards reshaping the philosophy of leadership guided by core values; continuous learning is now the ultimate superpower to turn knowledge into wisdom.
9. Clarity, courage, and conviction could be joined by a fourth ‘c’, curiosity - we all have access to infinite intelligence, but it is our own inherent curiosity that will distinguish us from others – innately human skills make us valuable in an AI age.
10. Flipwork is a response to the scale and speed of change and how to approach transformation in order to make it a reinvention engine; people2 is about collaboration between humans and AI.
11. The aim is to amplify not replace the human by building a world to bring out the best of humans - agentic human reinvention beings with a personal case study that is then developed for deployment in organisations.
12. The adoption of AI (at scale) as a team member is challenging at both individual and organisational levels as it requires reimagining the business as opposed to simply implementing tech.
13. At individual level, the challenge is about trust – job security, data privacy, rogue use of tech, AI slop, fake content – as not trusting the effects of AI will prevent its adoption; AI upskilling helps people think differently about it to adapt skill sets.
14. The unit of value is decreasing in organisations, affecting community - hybrid must contextualise humans and machines and embody teams of specialists operating with speed, precision and ability to adapt to any given environment.
15. Redefining hybrid also changes cultural codes and organisational design; redesigns the role of HR; reimagines planning cycles; and must keep employees engaged rather than transactional.
16. The power of leadership necessitates leaders to recognise their important new role in the new reality and understanding what makes people (feel) uniquely valuable rather than focusing on (machine) productivity.
17. Expectation management, accountability, etc. still matter and leaders must be willing to shed the playbook for previous success and reinvent themselves, bringing people with them by being explorers, not experts.
18. Constant learning is about moving from a level-1 toolset to an improved toolset to overcome obstacles and move up to level 2, etc. - there are infinite levels, but progress is limited by the time available and attachment to identity/skills.
19. A sense of self that does not come from success is threatening, therefore embrace this change as the best adventure of your life – have fun, build skills, drive change, and trust yourself.

Find out more about Nikki and her work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkibarua/

https://www.nikkibarua.com/

https://www.nikkibarua.com/newsletters/reinvention-roadmap/

https://www.flipwork.ai/

"The way we talk about change is more important than how we plan it.."

88% of organizational change efforts fail to produce lasting results. What if the solution isn’t a new framework, but a new conversation?

This episode challenges leaders to reconsider why change efforts fail, pointing to a surprising culprit: a lack of listening and communication. Jeff and I explore how shifting our approach to conversations can transform outcomes and build stronger, more adaptive organisations.

We literally change the conversation, digging into the fact that individuals are often ambivalent about change, possessing both reasons to accept it and reasons to hesitate. This ambivalence is not fixed but fluid, and can be navigated intentionally

Motivational interviewing (MI), originally developed in clinical psychology, provides a framework for guiding individuals toward change they cannot be compelled to make. Motivational Interviewing teaches us to listen for “change talk” and “sustain talk” — people’s own reasons for and against change.

This deep listening reveals the raw ingredients for productive dialogue, moving beyond fixed attitudes to address underlying concerns. It’s about meeting people where they are, acknowledging their ambivalence, and helping them clarify their own path forward. This approach doesn’t dismiss models; it feeds them the human insights they need to succeed.

How do you differentiate between true resistance and genuine hesitation in your teams?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

1. Conversations about change need to be front and centre in organisations – organisational change requires communication, commitment and engagement, making it easy to find excuses not to undertake it.
2. Failed organisational change comes at enormous cost, making successful organisational change essential for the bottom line - everyone is ambivalent about change, but leaders often interpret hesitation as resistance.
3. Change management has unhelpfully popularised the word ‘resistance’, yet attitudes towards change are not fixed - the many reasons why people are for or against change fluctuate; tweaking this balance can move the needle towards change.
4. ‘Resistance’ attributes intention without discretion or discernment, whereas it might be due to a lack of understanding or training - calling people resistant is self-fulfilling; likewise silence does not always signify defiance.
5. Motivational interviewing (MI) for organisational change can be defined as a set of conversational tools and skills for helping people move towards change that you can’t make for them – this makes it relatable and teachable.
6. Understanding how to listen differently, speak differently, and help build belief in different modes of communication means that small steps can be interleaved with immediate effect (MI-inspired microskills).
7. Learning to listen for change talk (someone’s own language of change) and sustain talk (someone’s own language against change) brings to light the ‘raw ingredients’ for a different kind of conversation.
8. Frameworks and models (i.e. planning) for organisational change don’t work, are unsustainably expensive and alienate staff; ‘all models are wrong, some are useful’ is true if they are used consistently.
9. Overinvestment in models makes it difficult to undo and reveals the gap in change management: clients have expectations of a certain model but generally only half the tools required for successful organisational change.
10. Change is constant, which makes a relational infrastructure essential - change fatigue is real and driven by the low success rate; transformation is necessary to remain competitive but it can be stressful to revisit it all the time.
11. The cycle of change is a relational activity to build the social tissue of an organisation, not a process flow, roadmap, etc. – a different approach positions the relational piece as a solution to the problem.
12. AI is transforming multiple aspects quickly but is not immune to the laws of change adoption (like the Internet before it) – the issue is to get people to adopt it, which is a highly relational pursuit.
13. AI will not eradicate the problem of talking and helping others to change – it makes people worse at communicating, therefore exacerbating the problem – and is still a long way from being able to help us solve these problems.
14. Interaction with AI is by default transactional rather than involving empathy and human connection, but the way we speak to each other about change matters, and requires skills that most leaders have never been taught.

Find out more about Jeff and his work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/wetherhold/

https://www.jeffwetherhold.com

https://www.miforhealth.com

"Leadership is a collective ability. It’s not an individual skill set."

Now more than ever this phrase rings true for leadership in teams, organisations and society as a whole. The inherited leadership model is destructive, not productive in today's interconnected world.

Never has it been more important to challenge the status quo, to unlearn old formatting and build new patterns so that organisations and teams can thrive. The best way to avoid risk is to actually do nothing.- Celine's observation highlights a critical issue in modern leadership. Many organizations inadvertently foster environments where inaction is safer than innovation. I see this firsthand frequently.

Leaders, fearing blame for mistakes, often maintain the status quo. This “risk of doing versus risk of not doing” dynamic stifles creativity and energy. We need leaders to challenge this complacency. Rather than trying to be the best, leaders should challenge themselves ethically and morally; pursue human pastimes to maintain emotional and creative ability; hold space to think and feel; and improve the quality of relationships with their people and between people - leadership is a collective ability, not an individual pursuit.

Celine shares her insights and experience from working with leaders all over the globe and from researching her book : Dare to Unlead.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

1. The inherited leadership model is destructive, not productive: it is evident in the corporate world that leadership has been transformed into an industry, making it difficult to progress (business- and human-wise) in large, industrialised companies.
2. Toxic patterns are reproduced, resulting in a male-dominated, ego-drive, territory-obsessed culture with the heavy infrastructure of prediction and control that is slow, outdated, inefficient, and comes at enormous personal, social and planetary cost.
3. Red flags often come in the form of multiple small indications, such as cultural, ethnic, and gender homogeneity at decision-making level; a prevalence of no vs yes; and difficulties driving innovative projects forwards because leaders are risk averse.
4. A lack of accountability for not doing the right/wrong thing leads to complacency and ‘yes’ people who maintain the status quo, leaving no room for new blood or change, which in turn produces stagnant energy that is directed into negative politics.
5. In the workplace, we have to be with people we haven’t chosen or who aren’t like us, giving us an opportunity to develop our diversity muscle in terms of dealing with different opinions, worldviews, etc. against a clear mandate of making the business work.
6. Leadership is about enabling something productive; creating value across the board; and mobilising all talent - energy and power are omnipresent and can be either a constraint or an opportunity, depending on the mindset.
7. Familiar power structures are still honoured, e.g. one knowledgeable expert has the right to overrule all other opinions, but they are no longer applicable given that managers now are often less knowledgeable than their direct reports.
8. Knowledge and relational work has changed the foundations of old decision-making systems, with more agility and diversity required - leaders must stop seeing themselves as the centre/top of the system, and rather as an enabler of a network.
9. Leaders must foster strong, effective connections in multiple ways, including making themselves dispensable - mentoring other good leaders to overcome the parent/child dynamic and step into the less comfortable environment of an adult/adult relationship.
10. Late-stage, extractive capitalism is unhelpful in that it encourages us to seek an ‘easy’ solution and gives way to a ‘strongman’ approach: when it comes to mobilisation vs manipulation, the former should be top of mind for any engagement professional.
11. The new identity in the workplace is not tied to roles or locations, but is part of a larger, living ecosystem in which people must feel valued and welcomed - hierarchy can remain, but the relational aspect is more relevant, and everyone is important.
12. Relational energy is scaled by spreading the load and opening up the vision to everyone – it cannot simply be replicated as it is a living system, therefore new versions can be created by connecting the energy centres in the system for mutual benefit.
13. Leadership practice based on liberty, equality, and fraternity (from the French culture):
14. Liberty: allowing for more (creative) freedom in the system (reducing control, trusting people to play); becoming free yourself (questioning our behaviour and latitude)
15. Equality: connecting freedom at a collective level (having a network model); maintaining a cohesive network (no bureaucratic control)
16. Fraternity: wanting to be together with very different people; promoting co-activism
17. It is important to build a ‘we’ space – internal social media let down by algorithms that fragment rather than connect; community audio (e.g. internal radio/podcasts) gives people a voice without a visual image that can have an excluding effect.
18. Storytelling and relational leadership in the AI era must value the human aspect to heal, teach, lead and let people be human, otherwise we will have more rebellion and an increasingly negative impact on the planet.
19. Rather than trying to be the best, leaders should challenge themselves ethically and morally; pursue human pastimes to maintain emotional and creative ability; hold space to think and feel; and improve the quality of relationships with their people and between people - leadership is a collective ability, not an individual pursuit.

Find out more about Celine and her work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/celineschillinger/?originalSubdomain=fr

https://www.figure1publishing.com/book/dare-to-un-lead/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dare-Lead-Relational-Leadership-Fragmented/dp/1773271822

https://weneedsocial.com/

"If my top talent walked out tomorrow, or AI shook things up overnight, would I still know how to win with people ?"

This is the question Kate and I discuss - the urgent need to rewire work and change the way we view talent, skills and the workplace. One of the shifts is moving from viewing individuals as mere “employees” to recognising them as “contributors.” This change fosters a sense of agency within any organizational system.

The topic of agency highlights a crucial shift: workers have agency to choose and the long time loyalty contracts are gone. People, particularly the younger generations now prioritize health benefits, time off, and flexible working over pay raises. This signifies a deeper desire for lifestyle integration and genuine care from employers. It’s about feeling valued for one’s skills from day one, having a voice, and ensuring long-term employability, especially with AI on the horizon. If our identity is tied to what we know, how do we adapt when AI “knows more”?

Historically, the more people got used to new tech, the less anxious they became. But with AI, it’s the opposite! The closer people get, the more nervous they feel. This isn’t just about understanding the tech; it’s about our identity and status tied to what we know versus what we’re willing to learn. This paradox calls for a fundamental shift: from being “know-it-alls” to “learn-it-alls.” Leaders must foster environments where learning and adaptability are paramount, rather than relying solely on existing expertise.

If you had the opportunity to redesign work in this department how would you do it differently ?

The insights you'll get from this episode are :

-      It is people, not technology, who breathe life into businesses and keep them competitive; the pressure businesses are under puts a premium on talent and GenAI is increasing the gap between average and high-performing employees.

-      Hiring, development and promotion must be right for a business to unlock opportunities, but workers have more options than ever before - Gen Z feel work is broken and the lift provided by augmented AI does not fix what is broken.

-      The proximity paradox, i.e. the nearer people get to AI, the more nervous they are about it, is the opposite of past experiences with tech – if people are worried about losing their jobs and using AI, they will not innovate and look forward.

-      This paradox is also a human paradox – GenAI provides no reassurance as it is always changing and learning, which is at odds with a system that values knowing over learning: know-it-all v learn-it-all is a threat to identity and status.

-      Companies must care about guiding employees so that they stay relevant, and managers must have honest conversations with employees about how AI will change their jobs – this may well involve not having all the answers.

-      The employee turnover rate is driven by the labour market and HR must know what the company’s reputation is externally to prevent the top talent from leaving in a flexible and fluid talent supply – motivation is key here.

-      More agility in the workforce requires intentional work redesign - fixed v flex v fully flow roles - to solve real human problems and supply gaps through e.g. offshoring, right-shoring, making use of global capacity centres.

-      Leaders must be able to work across temporal, digital, cultural and behavioural boundaries, and across generations, i.e. manage paradox, sense markets and people, have a global mindset, and embrace DE&I.

-      Upskilling is crucial, as skills are the real currency in the AI era; businesses must make clear what opportunities they offer but it is difficult to move to skills-powered talents practices if we don’t know what skills we need in future.

-      Leaders must hire based on skills and relocate skills internally, which means less cohesive teams, but the benefit must be demonstrated and governed - the transferability of skills becomes essential for both employees and employers.

-      Change is easier under the right leader, who must understand what really creates value and what human skills will become premium – a commitment to breeding great leaders is urgently required.

-      Leaders need to be empathetic; inspire a team; understand what the impact of AI is going to be; and build sustainable businesses with a healthy workforce to drive up productivity.

Find out more about Kate and her work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-bravery/?originalSubdomain=uk

https://www.mercer.com/en-gb/insights/people-strategy/future-of-work/podcast-new-shape-of-work/the-skills-powered-organization/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sustainable-People-Strategies-Organizations-Employees/dp/1394181299

“Most organisations don’t fail through lack of strategy, but because the strategy never reaches the front line.” 

How do we ensure that our organisational strategy truly reaches the front line of operations, preventing it from remaining solely at the board level?

Matt & I delve into this critical challenge facing leaders today. We uncover how to bridge this gap, ensuring your strategic vision translates into frontline execution and sustained growth.

The tension between “explore” (innovation) and “exploit” (business as usual) is a constant balancing act for organisations. and we need to inherently foster both. But how ? 

The Square management system provides an architecture for leaders to scale their culture without stifling innovation, a critical balance for companies. Matt shares his journey, from transforming underperforming sports franchises to investment banking and corporate development, where he observed how different companies created or captured value. He realised the importance of intentional organisational design when asked how to maintain culture across multiple offices and states, leading to the development of his book and approach.

“square” does not imply a rigid, binary system but represents a dynamic space for culture. He defines good culture as the alignment between an individual’s perceptions, beliefs, and values and the company’s systems and procedures. The “square” changes in size and shape depending on the company’s needs. Discover the four "I"s—Identity, Instruction, Intercommunication, and Information Feedback—that form the foundation of an effective organizational design. We discuss how leaders can utilize this system not just as a culture tool, but as a comprehensive operating framework, especially vital during M&A integrations or major reorganizations. 

How do you balance freedom for innovation with the need for operational consistency in your organization ?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

-      Regardless of sector, there are commonalities in terms of workplace cultures and thriving, i.e. understanding where value lies and how to create or capture it - the square management system is an architecture for leaders to scale culture without suffocating innovation.

-      The Culture of Alignment is a philosophical exercise around how to run a company, a model for operationalising strategies into tactics, as strategy often stays at the top, without penetrating the front line.

-      Rather than copying what others have done, it offers a way to intentionally structure a high-performing organisation, with direct tools to provide for growth and scale - not a blueprint, but an invitation to create a bespoke model.

-      The system factors in both alignment and flexibility by understanding what the culture is and intentionally designing for it: the culture is the square, but the size of the square and the walls can change.

-      The square comprises: identity (do customers and staff know what we stand for), instruction (expectation for performance standard across the organisation), intercommunication (flow of information across the company), information feedback (data and information on the company and employees).

-      The fifth i in the middle of the square is constrained independence (the known degree to which an employee can action their own ideas) = culture; a lack of constraint leads to mini squares = chaos.

-      Most companies fall short in one area: identity deviation erodes trust; instruction deviation leads to a varying standard of performance; intercommunication deviation produces a disconnect between the publicised view and the reality of the culture; information feedback deviation sees companies failing to assess themselves.

-      The system must offer space to pivot (e.g. startups) yet ensure constraint where necessary (e.g. hospitals, factories); when scaling intensifies, there must be adherence to the full system: intentionality, completeness and constitution.

-      It also acts as an operating framework for diagnostic purposes, e.g. flagging employee churn as a sign of misalignment, and as a container for ‘business as usual’ and innovation (degree of innovation depends on the size of the square).

-      The square allows for known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns, but if these are not communicated by leaders, employees fall foul of them unwittingly; the system enables leaders to be in alignment with their employees.

Find out more about Matthew and his work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdperson/

https://townsquare-advisors.com/

"Think about how stretchy you are and what you accept. Where are your breaking points?"

One particularly striking data point: 70% of people face obstacles asking questions at work. 

This statistic underscores a core issue. Curiosity is often cited as a value, yet many environments make it unsafe to ask for clarification or challenge ideas. Fear of looking incompetent, challenging authority, or slowing down progress often silences valuable input.

Julie and I discuss how curiosity, respect, and self-awareness can transform organisational life. We explore practical strategies for leaders to foster psychological safety and inclusive collaboration, using Julie's own unique journey and the powerful “Seven Forms of Respect” framework for guidance.

We often talk about “soft skills” in organisations, but as teams become more global and complexity increases, these skills are anything but soft. They’re foundational. We discover a refreshing perspective to curiosity, respect, and self-awareness, showing us how to make these invisible dynamics tangible and actionable. This in turn allows leaders to shift from just “knowing” to truly “learning” — a real leadership superpower in our changing world.

Recognising your “rubber band” stretchiness - Understand personal boundaries and breaking points, and communicate them to others is also key as it prevents snapping and strengthens relationships. This episode offers key insights into navigating complex team dynamics and maintaining a learning mindset in high-pressure environments.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

-      Being a self-taught organisational development consultant taught the critical value of sharing resources and building communities in times of crisis; there is tension and friction in any community but making the invisible relational dynamics tangible helps to understand them.

-      When it comes to learning from other people, curiosity and self-assessment are required for the shift from knowing to learning, and to decode the different dynamics; curiosity requires questions, but do people feel safe enough to ask questions?

-      Internal narrative and cultural formatting influence communication - we are all members of multiple cultures, communities and identities simultaneously, and inward curiosity is a prerequisite: What matters to me?

-      Our multiple identities mean that we must slow down and reflect to enable good decisions to be made from a place of curiosity; leadership rituals (e.g. meeting facilitator rotation) can help teams maintain curiosity when under pressure, create empathy and force listening.

-      Using the seven forms of respect as a framework for collaboration helps understand how respect is relative, dynamic, subjective and contradictory: Procedure, Punctuality, Information, Candor, Consideration, Acknowledgement, Attention.

-      A useful analogy here is with language: the organisational level represents the national language; departments represent dialects; and the individual is represented by their own language – we all need to be multilingual.

-      Intercultural working results in unclear messages, which lead to perpetuated actions and unmet expectations that were never made explicit - a team must understand what respect means to them, not by guessing, but by asking others.

-      Inward curiosity is about self-reflection and admitting what challenges us and what our expectations are – this can be difficult to acknowledge given that it can be perceived as a challenge to our identity.

-      Curiosity in practice means approaching conversations curiously and asking ourselves two questions first: Do I want the other person to learn from me? Am I willing to learn from them? This applies in the workplace and in our private lives.

-      Context, such as corporate, personal communities, etc., can make a difference to the outcome given that some relationships are more transactional (e.g. tech company) than based on investment in people (e.g. governments) - it is easier to practice curiosity when there is less emotional attachment.

-      The golden rule of respect is to treat people the way you want to be treated. The ‘rubber band rule’ holds that we can all stretch, if we want to, for other people; if we overstretch, we snap and break but often blame others for this.

-      The stretchiness of the band varies depending on contexts, which require different boundaries; it is about adapting, reframing what you can do rather than what you can’t, and feeling safe enough to make a counteroffer.

Find out more about Julie and her work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliepham2/

https://curiositybased.com/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/curiosity-at-work/id1761849370

TedEx : https://youtu.be/Jb0aQ2gE4tU?si=izPd0kf_1OfzW7Bz

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMatwOESTROb6qJF5qYf1Kg

"it’s faster to implement a piece of technology than it is to get 10,000 people to stop doing what they’ve been doing for a decade and start to do new things and work in new ways"

Hilton and I unpack the hidden dynamics of organizational change, and the influence of informal power dynamics on transformation. Most change programs falter, not due to strategy, but because leaders often overlook the invisible power of trust and connection networks. Amidst the 'talent' lists and org charts, do you know where your powerful influencers are in your organisation ?

Hilton shares his powerful “people, not pixels” philosophy, explaining how technology investments frequently overshadow the critical human element. It is difficult to budget for, and prioritise, translating a ‘people not pixels’ approach into culture change; similar to what we are finding with AI today, digital transformation stands and falls with the people and the culture of an organisation, not the technology. We also dive into the “3% rule" from Innoviser, exploring how identifying and activating informal power networks can create significant momentum and surface untapped potential and highlight the 'key influencers' in your organisation. This conversation challenges traditional views of leadership and offers a fresh perspective on cultivating a resilient, adaptable culture.

Discover how to transform your approach to change by understanding the relational and emotional infrastructure that truly drives performance. Learn why acknowledging emotions and mapping your organisation’s real connections are non-negotiable for future success. Look at where and how you can unlock potential in your teams and organisations.

How can you use data differently to understand the potential of your organisation ?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

o  C-suite is under such immense pressure that people are overlooked and investment is made in technology, which becomes an efficiency tool that is quicker to implement and yield results than changing people’s habits.

o  We ignore previous failures and neglect to learn lessons, yet without an enthusiastic commitment of the culture to change, strategy will flounder and adoption will slow – the vital balancing act is to engage humans proactively: tech + humans, not tech v humans.

o  The invisible part of culture is where it has been made amorphous and ambiguous, so that it is seen as the ‘soft’, human-related aspect of change when it is actually the most challenging aspect – to motivate, entice and energise others.

o  How humans behave and make decisions within an organisation is important because of how we interact with each other across ecosystems – the many decisions that are made (or not made) on a daily basis must align with the strategy.

o  Culture can be defined as the worst behaviour tolerated by management - this is pivotal to sustainable transformation because of the importance of the relational and emotional infrastructure when building culture and performance.

o  Functioning informal power networks and humanly - not digitally - connected organisations are built on the basic tenets of humanity, i.e. trust, advocacy, commitment and energy, which in turn are reliant on relationships as the currency of systems.

o  In terms of influence, leadership impact involves many other parties on the edges who build communities, create momentum, and unlock hidden potential (cf. Innovisor’s rule that 3% of employees drive 90% of change in an organisation).

o  The inherently human approach of organisational network analysis to define the connectors in the organisation enables leaders to unlock potential by engaging those people who provide the ideas and the energy and invite trust.

o  Agency is diluted by a lack of clear accountability – a more informal structure is possible if leaders acknowledge human characteristics; are transparent and authentic; are explicit about latitude for failure; and encourage enthusiasm, curiosity and creativity.

o  Passive constraints make consequential management difficult as systems favour familiarity but ‘early warning radar’ humans are those who are (not obviously) the influences on others – this is the disconnect between sense-making at the top and what people experience on the ground.

o  Emotions drive decision-making but are not spoken about because they are messy, uncomfortable, and vulnerable – organisations that ignore emotions and how they play out in teams do so at their peril.

o  Emotionally literate leaders would bring about different outcomes by unlocking hidden potential at the edges of the organisation – the pressure on leaders to succeed is excessive and often comes at the expense of cultural sensitivity.

o  It takes confidence and courage for leaders to ride out the exciting, exhausting and unpredictable ripple effect when like-minded people find each other; it is a missed opportunity not to ‘dimensionalise’ emotions and secure – immediately and deliberately – the foundational elements to withstand today’s speed of change. 

Find out more about Hilton here :

Culture & Strategy - Building Your Competitive Advantage

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hiltonbarbour/

"The future won’t belong to humans or machines, but to those who master the hybrid skill set combining AI literacy and human literacy."

The future of work is not about humans versus machines. Instead, it belongs to those who master a unique hybrid skill set. This blend combines AI literacy with essential human capabilities. Literacy in today's world lies in the ability to learn, unlearn and relearn - this has never been more true as it is in today's partnership with Agentic AI.

Andréa and I delve into the what these combined forces could look like, and how to build the framework for operational implementation. Digital transformation requires a hybrid skill set that fulfils the three different facets of transformation (cognitive, behavioural and emotional), which in turn align with the aspects of workplace culture (how we think, act and interact).

We discuss how to build a culture of trust in AI, essential for successful collaboration and highlight a critical distinction : humans interpret data semantically, giving it meaning and purpose, while AI processes it syntactically, based on patterns and probabilities. This difference impacts decision-making and ethical considerations. 

Leaders of the future must be honest about and clearly see what tasks should be augmented using AI and how the time saved should be spent, i.e. what does AI do best now and, consequently, what should humans do better?

How are you ensuring that you, your teams & your organisation are developing the skills necessary to complement AI’s analytical power and drive results together.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

-      Democratising access to a hybrid skill set means defining how to navigate the ‘fear vs. opportunity’ narrative of human potential in a world of AI, harking back to ‘man vs. machine’ as opposed to embracing a ‘man with machine’ approach.

-      Digital transformation requires a hybrid skill set that fulfils the three different facets of transformation (cognitive, behavioural and emotional), which in turn align with the aspects of workplace culture (how we think, act and interact).

-      The cognitive transformation element, i.e. decision-making, is the most problematic for leaders as humans still believe in the old way of making decisions; leaders are most exposed to this risk due to their past successes.

-      In the words of Rasmus Hougaard, “ego is the worst enemy of leadership” and hampers effective decision-making - AI makes new things possible and humans are taken aback by the exponential rate at which we must learn and unlearn.

-      Prompting, data sense-making and re-perception mean that we need to craft better input for AI but also ask humans better questions - unexpected questions open our minds to novelty and creativity.

-      Our inherited educational model rewards good answers, not good questions, yet this stifles creativity and re-perception; the latter goes against the human (and educational) grain, but AI tools represent a good sparring partner.

-      Rather than a product-centric approach, we are now called upon to make sense of data, but AI and humans interpret data differently: humans interpret it semantically (adding their own perspective); AI interprets it syntactically (as tokens without understanding meaning).

-      The problem inherent to AI is that it does not understand or give meaning to its decisions and has no conscience about the action taken - humans must have responsibility for giving data meaning and not outsource this to AI.

-      AI learns on a binary basis without context; tasks that are too demanding generate bad outcomes due to a lack of adaptability and long-term perspective - AI requires a predictable environment to perform well.

-      Uncertain tasks result in hallucinations, generalisation and transparency problems (how conclusions are reached); hallucinations result from the need to provide an answer, and humans need to be able to recognise this.

-      AI does not fail often and boosts the need for humans to accept failure and fail more through smart failures – the value of learning is higher than the cost, but automation reduces the scope for failure.

-      Emotionally in terms of transformation, what does it mean to feel in the world of AI? AI’s empathy is code, not consciousness; it cannot prevent the uncanny valley effect of providing empathy but not reciprocating feeling.

-      Leaders must embody such reciprocation, blending efficiency with the HITL (human-in-the-loop) empathy touchpoint; the complexity of the human discernment process requires building a culture of trust in AI.

-      The cognitive dimension is about training people to understand how AI works and how to use it well to collaborate successfully: Do people feel reassured or scared? Do they feel that AI complements or substitutes them?

-      Leadership endorsement of the tool increases positive perception and builds trust as the lubricant for collaboration. Messaging and communication are also important, as is agency, both individually and collectively.

-      Outsourcing decisions to AI does not relieve us of responsibility - AI is not responsible legally, morally or technically, and our responsibility increases the more we outsource (risk of the ‘many hands’ problem).

-      Leaders of the future must be honest about and clearly see what tasks should be augmented using AI and how the time saved should be spent, i.e. what does AI do best now and, consequently, what should humans do better?

-      AI is not coming for humans - those humans who use AI well are coming for those who don’t; there must be an understanding of the sense of urgency as we cannot afford to miss the boat.

Find out more about Andrea and his work here

https://andreaiorio.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreaiorio/

https://betweenyouand.ai/

"Any AI you use today will be the worst AI you will use. You need to really learn how to challenge AI and learn how to have AI challenge you."

Rasmus and I delve into the research and questions of how leaders can embrace AI to become more human in their leadership, and how can this accompany them on the journey of navigating uncertainty and a more transactional workplace.

Currently less than 20% of leaders are ready for AI, despite it being a strategic necessity – it is an uncomfortable prospect that AI will take our jobs, but we can counter this by embracing AI and being better human leaders.

AI democratises knowledge, strategic thinking and decision-making - it will flatten organisations and leaders must embrace this, aiming to embody gratitude, humility and selflessness. This shift from ego to eco, and from doing to being is the key to leveraging what AI can enable in our humanity. Leaders must guard against cognitive laziness and human disconnection caused by AI, and actively challenge its outputs to ensure true human engagement.

AI surpasses humans in information access and processing speed, making it unwise for humans to compete in those areas. Instead, leaders should focus on what AI cannot replicate : Awareness involves understanding oneself, emotions, biases, and others. Wisdom is the ability to ask good discerning questions, distinct from AI’s knowledge. Compassion stems from a true intention to support & connect on a human level, which AI lacks despite its ability to process emotional data.

Rasmus shares his research and insights from his latest book 'more human' and from working with leaders and companies across the globe on how to create more human centred leadership in today's workplace.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

-      AI augmented leadership requires three core competencies of awareness, wisdom and compassion: AI will have more information and faster processing power than any human brain but cannot be completely human.

-      AI can help make us more aware if we use it as a sparring partner, providing it with everything there is to know about us to help us make decisions based on multiple different perspectives - context and mindset are vital here.

-      Our neuroanatomy is uniquely human in that we perceive, discern, then respond (sentience). In terms of leadership, this translates to awareness (of biases, emotions and systems), discernment (wisdom not knowledge) and compassion.

-      We are formatted to ‘do’, but AI requires us to react using our soft skills and human traits - being human at work is the blueprint for future leadership, driven moreover by purpose.

-      It is the choice of every individual leader to ask not just what AI can do for me, but also to me: AI makes us cognitively lazy given that it is confidently both wrong and right - we must not fall prey to accepting its output without question.

-      AI also has huge user bias – we must challenge it and have it challenge us, deploying mental hygiene when engaging with AI to make us more aware, wise and compassionate, fostering a mindset of equanimity.

-      Having an AI proxy carries the risk of putting information in the hands of a tech firm, but once it has all the requisite information, it can provide very helpful answers in the form of outside-in views with psychometrics, etc.

-      Asking AI for compassion-based responses highlights blind spots and gives actionable feedback to push us back into human compassion and awareness, e.g. asking for the worst possible outcomes of a potential decision.

-      The workplace is more humanly disconnected than ever – despite digital connection – and leaders can radically reimagine communication and collaboration by asking AI for inspiration.

-      We can use the speed of change to act intentionally but must decide whether we do it in humanly healthy or unhealthy ways, i.e. using some of the time we save to pursue human tasks like conversation, reflection, strategic long-term planning.

-      AI democratises knowledge, strategic thinking and decision-making - it will flatten organisations and leaders must embrace this, aiming to embody gratitude, humility and selflessness.

-      The hope is that AI will elevate humans to accomplish more creative work and elevate leaders to become beacons of humanity – we are called upon to reinvent ourselves, learning to toggle between human capacities and the AI algorithms.

Find out more about Rasmus and his work here :

https://www.potentialproject.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rasmushougaard/?originalSubdomain=dk

"Holistic transformation is not just how are you implementing a piece of software, AI is a really good opportunity for us to start to explore this"

Lindsay and I have a rich conversation diving deep into holistic transformation, the impact of AI, and how to navigate change in today’s rapidly evolving world. Organisational change management is often deployed too late, which speaks in favour of taking a holistic approach to transformation and asking from the outset: How do people change? How do they view themselves and their work?

Digital transformation is not just about implementing new software but also about how people change their thinking. AI is an excellent example. To get actual value from it, individuals need to rethink their roles and personal value. It’s about micro and macro changes happening together.

It is as ever, centred around the inner work we need to do as leaders to ensure that we are mastering what keeps us human, as well as looking at challenging the status quo constantly. AI is changing business models and the way we work, causing some organisations to dispense with this ‘inner work’ and hoping AI will do it for them. Curiosity is key! If people aren’t curious, they won’t help identify risks or roadblocks. 

We talked about how important it is to show up as ourselves, even in professional settings. We also discussed gender parity and how much more we need to do. Lindsey shared her strategy for dismantling stereotypes: present all facets and encourage others to do the same. The more people meet others who don’t fit their stereotypes, the more likely they are to abandon them.

How can we create the conditions for curiosity to be present, and for leaders to learn, unlearn and relearn to enable more holistic and sustainable change ?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

-      Change must be internal first of all, as well as holistic, and also on a micro and macro level; AI is changing business models and the way we work, causing some organisations to dispense with the ‘inner work’ and hoping AI will do it for them.

-      Yet 95% of AI pilots fail because it is not a plug n play solution – even companies that are taking an informed approach to AI have individual employees seeking their own tactical solutions.

-      AI means that we must all be good prompt engineers to succeed in the future, but many people underestimate the learning and effort this requires, and want to jump straight to the productive output, skipping the hard work.

-      It also demands organisational and individual buy-in, understanding how it changes people’s value proposition to the organisation and that they must redefine their inputs, outputs and added value, maybe redefining their identity.

-      It is crucial at the beginning of a transformation project to understand where authority sits and how decisions are made – decision-makers must lead the process – and how much curiosity there is.

-      A lack of curiosity is the biggest obstacle to change, and organisations must be open to different (external) perspectives and to pivoting mid-way through the project if necessary.

-      A ‘levels of agreement’ exercise with the people involved can help to determine the way forward, seeing failure as a point of learning that is painful but productive – but overidentifying with a job makes it very difficult to fail.

-      Particularly in the age of AI, we should try and separate ourselves from our jobs and find a working environment that suits us, where we can present multiple facets of ourselves to address bias and be authentic to elicit a positive response.

-      Anxiety about a project is generally informed by something, which must be understood to move forward, away from fear and stagnation, and winning over those who are resistant in order for them to be included and invested.

-      The onset of AI in the transformation sector saves time when researching companies and creating materials – this will change how work is priced, what the value proposition is and what the human value will be.

-      More affordable services will be opened up to those outside the corporate sector, such as charities, and AI will make things accessible, democratise access, and change the quality of conversations.

-      Context switching is a vital (consultant) skill that AI can help with, and we are all called upon to deepen our AI expertise as a tactical move, treating AI like a person and getting used to talking to it.

 Find out more about Lindsay and her work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-phillips-atx/

"What if the key to economic transformation lies not in bigger budgets or top-down directives, but in fostering community ownership and equitable systems?"

Alfredo and I discuss the need for more regenerative financial models and to start really working in small communities and joining together into a network of networks. Current models are very redistributive (e.g. taxing success, subsidisation for those with no access) but pre-distribution gives everyone a stake; if communities win, everyone wins and gains autonomy and agency.

We discuss the need for more diverse thinking and more equitable access to funding and business opportunities. Generating new ideas by combining what already exists and creating surplus value that can then move around is the key, but we need to do this better, faster and in collaboration. Building entrepreneur-led ecosystems requires prioritizing ownership, pre-distribution, and maintaining a human scale. It is easier to build from scratch, and this will be the challenge of transforming established institutions and organisations, but they will have to transition, whether they like it or not.

We know that innovation often stems from unconventional approaches and questioning established norms, where individuals without traditional backgrounds can bring fresh perspectives. Hitting “walls” in conventional paths can be a catalyst for divergent thinking, pushing beyond perceived limitations to realise that seemingly permanent constructs can be circumvented

Leaders need to step outside their echo chambers, we spend way too much time talking to people who look and think like us and we should be actively broadening horizons by reading, talking to people outside our immediate circle, and exploring new ideas.

This is not on one person or community, but is a generational effort to influence and impact the systems we seek to transform

Alfredo generously shares his intentional design principles, experiences and personal journey to setting up the world’s first shared prosperity community corporation (SPCC) operates at the intersection of workforce, education and entrepreneurship with a focus on equity, economic transformation and rethinking leadership.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

-      Innovation comes from the fringes: when pursuing a goal, hitting a wall makes you realise you have to find a different way to get round things – these walls serve as ‘flexion points’ rather than obstacles on the path to a breakthrough moment.

-      Community-based entrepreneurship makes innovation possible with few resources, as constrained resources force commitment, agency and risk-taking -asking for help from the right people creates something organically.

-      Process of identifying an issue/problem and finding the most transformative thing to move forward and grow; this is generational work, starting small and moving through systems to aspiration.

-      Design principles offer constraint, and the focus should be on ownership first (for ownership democracy and shared prosperity) for everyone to have an interest – distributed ownership is required for a regenerative economy.

-      Current models are very redistributive (e.g. taxing success, subsidisation for those with no access) but pre-distribution gives everyone a stake; if communities win, everyone wins and gains autonomy and agency.

-      Present VC models are designed around the founder and investors as opposed to everyone involved – a ‘winner takes all’ approach; pre-distribution means nobody does anything on their own, often building on others’ work and ideas.

-      Humans evolved in small groups and that’s where we work best, small groups connected to other small groups: an ideal community has 150 members, with multiple communities – nodes – forming a network.

-      Can bridging the economic divide be built into corporate transformation plans? It is easier to build from scratch than transform existing systems, but all institutions will ultimately have to transition whether they want to or not.

-      Radical reform on an institutional scale does not work as the institutions expect; they are too bureaucratic and unadaptable, not just to changing systems but also to changing mindsets and paradigms.

-      A contingency plan for possible implosion is to move away from institutions in order for humans to flourish in small communities, without the oppression of large institutions but also without the rejection of capital markets.

-      Empowerment and humanism are a force for good, but capital is not bad – it is a tool that needs to be used properly, with systems and structures that work better together and involve people (more).

-      Community-owned platforms in the age of AI need a niche to survive against catch-all LLMs, e.g. by creating a user interface for smaller communities, or accumulating local niche databases that have value, then federating with others.

-      Regeneration = generate then regenerate; generating new ideas by combining what already exists and creating surplus value that can then move around, but we need to do this better, faster and in collaboration.

-      Emerging challenges must be tackled using constant evolution. One example would be transforming the three biggest cost drivers in modern society –  housing, education and healthcare – into local income generators by making them community-based (decentralized).

-      A bold regeneration experiment for leaders would be to read, learn, talk to people outside their immediate circles, broaden their reach, seek diversity, explore new ideas, remain open-minded, flexible and adaptable, and pilot on a small scale.  

 Find out more about Alfredo and his work here

https://www.sharedprosperity.co/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alfredomathew/

https://www.alfredomathew.com/

“Everything we know, do, & think is already out of date because the world moves so quickly.”

Allister and I discuss what being future ready really means in today's workplace. Everything we know, do and think is already obsolete – whilst a scary concept, it is also an empowering way to look at the world and identify what we can improve, a paradigm shift from the old adage of ‘if it ain’t broke’ …

Curiosity is highlighted as one of the 3 leadership superpowers. It involves challenging and questioning the status quo, similar to a child constantly asking “why.” This can help uncover hidden assumptions and new possibilities. Leaders should create environments where employees feel safe to share ideas without fear of ridicule, as they go through the FROST ready already cycle. Scaling through small yet impactful changes to our systems and cycles to create sustainable change.

AI is discussed as a powerful tool. However, it has limitations and should be viewed as augmented intelligence rather than a replacement for human skills. It is important to stay focused on higher-level value-adding processes and uniquely human abilities such as critical thinking, creativity, and emotional intelligence. By developing these skills, individuals can remain indispensable in the workforce.

Allister shares his stories, models and experience of working in and accompanying organisations and leaders across the globe.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

-      Everything we know, do and think is already obsolete – whilst a scary concept, it is also an empowering way to look at the world and identify what we can improve, a paradigm shift from the old adage of ‘if it ain’t broke’ …

-      A Future-Ready Mindset builds on the growth mindset but adds ‘the fuel for your future’ – a heartfelt reason to do what you do in the service of others with a commitment and energy to bring about change.

-      Focusing on the downstream consequences of our work helps to reframe our personal mission - our job enables the company to grow but we also use the company as a vehicle for our own skills.

-      The FROST – Follow, React, Open, Surprise, Tell – growth model helps us change the way we think about ourselves and our mission; for companies to adopt this mindset at scale means embedding this new vocabulary.

-      The Open phase sees curiosity as a superpower – CEOs are often scared of employees having ideas, but all ideas are improved by exposing them to other people. And AI cannot do curiosity!

-      Like children who constantly ask why in order to feel safe and make sense of the world, we too must have the courage to question and challenge the status quo with a change already in mind.

-      Having ideas to address the ‘why’ is the next superpower, moving from knowing to learning, asking questions of ourselves before asking others, and sharing our own ideas.

-      The Tell phase is about using the brilliance of other people, designing the session to encourage the sharing of unfinished ideas and foster a culture of appreciating others’ input whilst being transformative in the process.

-      The ReadyAlready cycle can be used to identify where to deploy AI - pattern recognition at scale makes it brilliant but not without limitations; it is augmented intelligence alongside our value-adding superpowers.

-      Having a personal sense of direction is very important - repeating the ReadyAlready cycle will unlock something new every time and lead to either big or small improvements, but without expectations.

-      For scale-ups to be future-ready, the Follow phase is very relevant - focusing on one thing that could be done better and seeing it through to get results.

-      Treating ourselves to time to think and play allows us to have control over our own future and gives us permission to have ideas and pursue our personal mission with the vigour it deserves, constantly improving things along the way.

Find out more about Allister and his work here :

https://allisterspeaks.com/readyalready/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ReadyAlready-Future-Ready-Mindset-Stand-Shape-ebook/dp/B0FN9F6L59

https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisterspeaks/?originalSubdomain=uk

"Whatever we have achieved as a species has nothing to do with one person alone."

Why start a leadership book with a mammoth hunt?

Nicolas and I delve into the human dimension of leadership and what it brings to society.

Human behaviour is the most unmeasured risk in strategy implementation. To avoid pitfalls, be aware of evolutionary biases such as the false positive decision-making bias. Companies build echo chambers, where people raise a view that is not the same as their boss’s, and then avoid talking about it.

A crucial point: humans achieve greatness through collaboration. A lone human has little chance against a mammoth. Hunting one requires strategy, the right people, and a shared purpose. This highlights a fundamental truth: our collective efforts drive success.

Organisations should acknowledge the inherent tension between individualistic needs, collaboration, and competition among employees, fostering a culture where personal and company goals align.

Nicolas shares his insights, experience and stories of working and researching the human dimensions of leadership and what it means for today's workplace.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

-      The human dimension of leadership and what it brings to society is key – a failure to understand ourselves and the people we lead is a big problem that is borne out by history (as far back as the time of the mammoth).

-      Collaboration and strategy were needed to hunt the mammoth (cf. the big machine in modern times); nowadays we have lots of smaller, interconnected mammoths but we still need to know how to lead a herd of mammoths.

-      To progress in an organisation requires sharing our learning and leading a team towards a goal: leaders need people with the right expertise and people they trust – very similar to a mammoth hunt.

-      The human ego is problematic when it comes to achieving a common goal, with the apparent paradox between working for oneself and being wired for collaboration, i.e. the individual vs the collective.

-      Leaders in the transactional corporate world must learn to be humble, lead by example, be purpose-driven and role model a positive culture – they need their team more than their team needs them.

-      Leadership, followship and hierarchy counteract the vulnerability, slowness and weakness of the individual; leadership was originally task-related, with different leaders for different tasks, teaching how to lead and how to follow.   

-      Today, one person becomes CEO without the relevant skills/knowledge for all the different tasks and must therefore understand when to lead and when to follow, going against the grain of what it means to be a ‘strong leader’.

-      The ‘mammoth’ approach to leadership involves four levels of team performance - fight or flight, competitive, creative and flow – along with a leadership/ followship framework and a dynamic stability framework.

-      These are old ideas to avoid pitfalls, e.g. if you don’t evolve, you die as an individual and die out as a species – the same is true for companies, yet human behaviour remains the most unmeasured risk in business strategy.

-      Diversification is very risky – if the main aim is to survive and be sustainable, it is vital not to lose sight of the core business; what you do today is most important, otherwise there is no tomorrow.

-      We must understand that as humans we have evolutionary biases (false positive decision-making bias, confirmation bias, anchoring bias), are risk averse and prone to fail.

-      Leaders especially need to accept failure, be proud of it, learn from it and be open about it rather than cover it up, particularly in a corporate culture that is performative and does not reward failure.

-      Facing the ‘mammoth’ forces leaders to honestly ask: am I leading as I would like to be led? Understanding more about human behaviour is crucial as evolution isn’t just a scientific theory, it’s a leadership imperative.

Find out more about Nicolas and his work here :

https://mammothleadershipsciences.com/book/

https://mammothleadershipsciences.com/podcast/

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-mammoth-in-the-room/id1761401140

https://open.spotify.com/show/47QueVgXZ8HP6b0fKyNvB6

https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/the-mammoth-in-the-room/5253032

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolaspokorny/

"Transformation isn’t about control, its about letting go… teams that breathe together thrive together"

Anthony and I explore the power of stillness and breathing into the present moment.

The constant pressure to keep going and keep busy means we never find (the time to find) calm and we ignore the innate wisdom in our body. Bringing inner work to the outside world means being enough and understanding this.

How can cultivating inner calm help us to navigate uncertainty and ground ourselves and our teams in purpose, presence and ultimately allow us all to perform to the best of our abilities ?

How can we recognise the frame we live in and consciously build emotional resilience for the greater good in our teams, our organisations and our lives ?

Leadership is about becoming aware of our inherent value and the impact we have, fostering a culture of care and connection through practices like conscious breathing.

Anthony shares his richinsights from his personal journey and from accompanying leaders all over the globe on their journeys to transformation and serenity.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

-      Raising consciousness means appreciating how much power we have as human beings; being small is often easier but means we don’t understand the bigger frame of life.

-      Breathing is the very first thing we do naturally, yet conscious breathwork is difficult - the significance of breath becomes ‘normal’ but there is so much to it physiologically, metaphysically and spiritually.

-      The first breath of life is the only time we haven’t been hurt and we are filled with wonder and curiosity; the last breath of life is about letting go of everything, and we can be curious about that surrender.

-      We only ever pay attention when we lose our breath, but emotional resilience and intelligence are about being able to take a breath when we don’t want to - we lose our choices and processing power when we don’t breathe properly.

-      We tend to suppress trauma and panic and resort to fight, flight or freeze, which are not thinking processes; we can practise different types of breath for different states, e.g. anxiety, anger, etc., to have them at our disposal when necessary.

-      The fourth choice after fight, flight or freeze is breathe: we lose our breath due to abuse or trauma but it lives on in our body. We can create space by breathing and (re)connecting with our inner child to find boundlessness and freedom.

-      The BRIDGE technique is a way of saving the inner child without returning to the trauma, i.e. to repair our own wounds and become the agent of our own healing:

B = Breathe, R = Recognise, I = Investigate, D = Dialogue, G = Gather, E = Exercise.

-      All learning, including the somatic, is operationalised through discipline and consistency to leave the familiar and move forward - transformation isn’t about control, it’s about surrendering and being the architect of your own soul.

-      The moment we remove the masks we wear and become present is tender, private and individual; we need our will to breathe in and surrender to breathe out, and whilst we do it all the time, we live in a world where wilfulness prevails.

-      Being embedded in corporate life comes at enormous personal cost (burnout is increasing, immunity is decreasing), which leads to a lack of resilience; we associate surrender with weakness and only surrender as a very last resort.

-      The constant pressure to keep going means we never find (the time to find) calm and we ignore the innate wisdom in our body - bringing inner work to the outside world means being enough and understanding this.

-      We adopt personas that we identify with but must be willing to question the labels we’ve given ourselves - we are all walking miracles and can achieve quantum growth that is all about what we become, not what we do.

-      To bring breathwork into the boardroom is to have a team that breathes and thrives together: awareness brings about change and care, stillness and personal rituals are the ‘inner tech’ of being human.

-      Micro-practices help cultivate inner calm, particularly at C-suite level; the mid-life crisis is really a mid-life opportunity – the shell we build to protect ourselves becomes the prison we live in.

-      The process of becoming present uses the breath as the tool to help us to deal with the unknown; when we are unsure or confused is the moment of greatest possibility, but we are ashamed of it and create systems to deal with it.

-      The breath is our best friend and foundational to everything. We have the power to change it and learning about the calming breath when we don’t need it means we have it to hand when we do need it.

• -      Daily practice of 3 minutes of conscious breathing followed by 10 minutes of free writing stimulates flow. After 7 days, reading these writings allows us to see the ‘jewellery in the junk’, creativity that can be brought into other areas of our life.

Anthony Abbagnano is a pioneering breathwork expert and founder of Alchemy of Breath, the world's top-rated breathwork institute. He has helped thousands transform their lives through free weekly Breathe The World sessions, Facilitator Training, and BreathCamp retreats at ASHA in Tuscany, Italy.

Learn more about Anthony and his work here :

 www.alchemyofbreath.com 

Get Anthony's book at https://iam.alchemyofbreath.com/book-podcast