"imagine that your job is designed, not around roles & processes & competencies.. but around business - a business within a business"A rich and insightful conversation with Dean around his vision of a Market organisation : the design and engineering of an ecosystem in which we can all work and thrive. Dean walks us through the idea of a hierarchy that houses a network of entrepreneurs, using the science and engineering principles of organisational design, as well as the golden rules of empowerment to build high performance. How can we go about conceiving of this vision as well as the mechanics of implementing this vision successfully ? How can we help and support leaders to think more holistically - to design an organisational ecosystem in which everyone can prosper, even when they are no longer there ? Dean shares his research, insights and experience, as well as his definition of Organisational design as a science. Together we journey through the different structures within the system as well as his wider vision for high performing organisations, where leaders set time aside to work both 'in' and 'on' the system. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Organisational design is the ecosystem in which we work and interact and there are five organisational systems: three major ones (structure, resource governance, culture) and two minor ones (best practices, metrics and consequences).-       Mechanics/engineering and collaboration within the ecosystem are both human systems and a leader must have a system design in which everyone can prosper.-       Structure cannot follow strategy as strategy is no longer stable in a fast-moving world –organisations must be more dynamic in design and take a systems approach.-       Hierarchy must be used to provide the requisite competencies when they are needed, and the required performance management and coordination so as to leave nothing to chance.-       A different organisational paradigm looks at the engineering science of the ecosystem and change management:·      Vision: a job as a business within a business, job holder is empowered and accountable, teamwork ripples across the organisation and fosters collaboration not competition.·      Decision-making: consensus and the golden rule of empowerment apply - authorities and accountabilities match to prevent either an unconstrained tyrant or a helpless victim.·      Consensus: should only/aways be used when a decision impacts multiple stakeholders across an organisation – this requires clarity from a well-designed ecosystem.-       The approach seems to work regardless of industry although consensus is difficult in large organisations (1000+). It is universal given the human and interaction aspects.-       System mechanics and organisational design are a combination of art and science: applied science of engineering comprising firm constructs plus aesthetics.-       Organisations exist to allow specialisation and the group performs better than the individual because individuals have to be generalists and do not perform as well as specialists.-       The human mind has finite brain cycles, bandwidth and throughput, whereas the world has unthinkable variety: a T-shaped team therefore gives an organisation breadth and depth.-       Common truth, collective wisdom and implementation form the power of participation for...

"One of the top four drivers of happiness at work is the freedom to take opportunities .. happiness is what your heart needs, engagement is what your brain needs "A fun conversation with Matt about what happiness actually is, what it means for employee engagement and how we can intentionally leverage our own sense of happiness. Emotions are generally not spoken about in the workplace but wearing social masks and inhibiting emotions prevents flow and thus performance, and we sophisticatedly disguise/block our emotions using an emotional deflector field.How can business leaders use data/data science to shift organisational culture? How can technology enable a more human centred approach in organisations ?  The Happiness Index platform looks at the entire EX and allows the company to listen to the employees; it provides an unfiltered view for larger companies to visualise culture and interrogate data.What could this insight leverage for both employees, leaders and businesses if it was intentionally followed and used for understanding the flow of motivation, performance and well being? Matt shares his experience, stories and research from working with over a 100 countries and thousands of leaders across the globe. The main insights you will get from this episode are : -       Happiness consists of joy (fluctuating feeling) and eudaimonia (underlying feeling of how happy you are, spirit) and unlocks the freedom to be human and take opportunities, which is one of the top four drivers for happiness at work.-       Data backs up the neuroscience of happiness: happiness is what the heart needs and engagement is what the brain needs – when employee engagement and happiness are aligned, they achieve the right balance, e.g. happy at home/in life = happy at work.-       The analogy of a car is useful to illustrate the difference between engagement and happiness: engagement is the sat nav (direction, clarity, purpose of journey), and happiness depends on who is in the car with you (relationships).-       There are cultural differences in terms of the happiness index data, e.g. engagement is more westernised, whereas happiness is more global – a human emotion we all experience – and there are different interpretations of it and comfort levels in terms of talking about it.-       In both Canada and the US, the first driver of employee engagement is positive relationships, but the second driver differs: in the US it is clarity (engagement metric), and in Canada it is feelings of acknowledgement.-       In the US, a business case is required to discuss the happiness index, but this is not the case in Denmark, where there is a concept known as arbejdsglæde meaning ‘work happiness’ - in some cultures, the scientific question of ’what makes you happy?’ is perceived as too personal and a reluctance to have conversations can be a huge barrier.  -       There are three sources of happiness: flow, meanings and pleasure, all preceded by emotions, e.g. the difference between feeling anger and lashing out - we cannot ignore the emotion and positive relationships require sharing both positive and negative emotions.-       Emotions are generally not spoken about in the workplace but wearing social masks and inhibiting emotions prevents flow and thus performance - we sophisticatedly disguise/block our emotions using an emotional deflector field.-       Purpose and psychological safety feature in the top eight drivers of happiness but number one is positive relationships – this is more difficult remotely,...

"We can't have the benefits of a diverse & vibrant company without acknowledging when it gets hard...Everett and I delve into the leadership of global business and societal issues and the need to constantly navigate uncertainty, and solve complex problems creatively. This starts with leading from within first and foremost. How do we navigate when we don't know the answer ? How do we do 'sense making' in order to create the conditions for systems to thrive ? How do we create the system and emotional infrastructure to scale the new practices or products we want to adopt ? We often fail to solve complex problems because we have forgotten the human aspect...and not knowing what to say or do is an innately human reaction to uncertainty and it's sometimes hard.We need to master both interior and exterior practices to sustain and lead complex systems Everett shares his experience, personal stories and research from both building his own businesses and supporting businesses all over the globe to shift their mindset and move to their edge for more inclusive and sustainable businesses. The main insights you will get from this episode are : -       ‘Moving to the edge’ means navigating when not knowing the answer, an uncomfortable place to be but leaders should always do something, even if it’s saying ‘I don’t know’ - others are relieved to see leaders as human.-       ‘Declaring it center’ means understanding how to create a system to scale the new practice you want. Creating a transition giving rise to new skills and processes to prevent innovations dying on the vine due to a lack of infrastructure - we must create systems to scale, share and sustain them.-       Critical systems thinking is required for complex issues, but there is a difference between complex and complicated problems: complex problems involve unknown or unpredictable interactions; complicated problems involve well-known interactions.-       Interior and exterior practices are necessary to deal with complex problems: exterior practices involve different ways of dealing with problems, e.g. premortems; interior practices require internal alignment to apply frameworks correctly.-       We often fail to solve complex problems because we have forgotten the human aspect – we all have blind spots and the opinions of those closest to the problem must be factored into the decision-making process.-       When it comes to evolution in technology, we must take care not to code bias into AI and machines - with deep democracy, innovation is at the edges and those voices must be heard at meetings that are inclusive.-       There must be constant iteration to get better: as a pioneer of remote working, all-hands meetings at Truss are not in one room so it is important to have quick feedback loops - it is easy just not to get started, but the goal is to keep going.-       Originally from the agile world but applicable to many scenarios, regular retrospectives are a useful tool for learning - what went well? what didn’t go well? Both must be discussed in a blameless environment in order to learn.-       We should take a more systemic approach to problem-solving by starting with information gathering rather than an answer or a plan: optimization based on hypothesis enables rapid adaptation through curiosity and compassion instead of planning and linear thinking.-       Having experience of sport brings to leadership an understanding of losing, taking responsibility, having to carry on regardless, dealing with...

"We have an almost unlimited capacity to deny data that doesn't fit with our own view. It is therefore important to master the constant paradox of facts and feelings. "Why do we so often fail to lead and sustain transformational change ? All transformation is change, but not all change is transformational. Ian and I discuss the power of us : 200 voices in under 200 pages - how does this contribute to getting the right recipe for sustainable and transformational change ? There is wisdom in the collective, which allows leaders to scale change together with others who share the same purpose and passion. There is no need to necessarily change everything, as some leaders try to do, but it is about anticipating where possible and building ‘as you go’. The secret sauce is simple in ingredients and complex to implement because it is about constantly navigating human and business polarities and complexity. This is the capacity of a system to shape its future and nudge both people and processes towards a more innovative and agile culture. Ian shares his experience, thoughts and research from the Consortium For Change on working with leaders and businesses across the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Ingredients of the secret sauce:o  spirit of abundance: learn from and share with other people to create a wealth of information for the collective benefit with a huge spill over effect for leading transformational change – this is fundamental for success.o  from what to what: learn from life and experience (e.g. trauma, bereavement, life-changing events); it is the most important question to ask when driving large-scale change – what is the start and end point?o  the beauty of ‘and’: master paradoxes and reconcile polarities - facts and feelings, data and humans, speed and rhythm (of change), listen to what is and isn’t being said.-       There is wisdom in the collective, which allows leaders to scale change together with others who share the same purpose and passion. There is no need to necessarily change everything, as some leaders try to do, it is about anticipating where possible and building ‘as you go’.-       Leaders should demonstrate love and respect for those who influence and those who resist and not marginalise or ignore people. Covid shows that plans can be sent off course and we need the capacity to figure it out on the fly as part of managing uncertainty.-       The evolution of the workforce and the workplace sees future work as work without jobs - bite-sized, ‘nugget-ised’, not salaried, AI, robotics – and a smorgasbord for leaders to both select from and compile. Disruption brings new opportunities and up-/re-/new skilling should not have a negative connotation.-       Personal definition of transformational change is deriving a benefit from many different perspectives - completely rethinking the what, why, who, how, when and where. There should be a dramatic yet sustainable improvement in or the survival of something or something (at whatever level, i.e. personal, individual, company, societal).-       ‘Pizzanalogy’: a huge global industry from humble ancient beginnings with a multitude of shapes, sizes, toppings, crusts, cheeses, preparation styles, outlets, sauces - entails constant repositioning and reimagining to be relevant, despite being traditional. In a company setting, it prompts the question: what long-standing practices might be jeopardising the ability to see the need to rethink something? -       Do’s and don’ts for leaderso  don’t...

"..as with any technology, the question must always be: is the decision to be made good for humanity?"A fun conversation with @JeremyWilliams around the bridge between technology and human, as we explore the blockchain landscape. We journey through use cases and understanding of how blockchain will change business and the way humans do business in the future. The fact that blockchain is immutable brings with it in-built trust, accountability and a lever for more transparent governance and decision making. We explore the idea of blockchain as a lever for culture change, and the potential positive impact on human systems. Leaders must educate themselves, understand the basics of blockchain and look to leverage the technology in their organisation. How do companies, particularly hyper growth companies, decide what to focus on ?How can this technology help to create a more equitable and regenerative model for organisations and indeed society as a whole ? Jeremy shares his insights and experience from his own career and from supporting clients across the globe in bringing together blockchain technology and emotional intelligence. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Blockchain can disrupt the globalised world by decentralising governance and changing structures at both country and company level, moving into a world for the many governed by the many, not the few. -       Bitcoin (stemming from a white paper in 2008), a cryptocurrency, is the first successful use case of blockchain technology, which has 3 core elements: it is decentralised, transparent and immutable.-       There is no lack of trust as data and transaction records are permanent. Other blockchain use cases are for supply chain and financial purposes (e.g. to replace the SWIFT global banking system and send value across the world with no loss of currency). -       Blockchain furthermore offers security (hacks are only of centralised exchanges, not the blockchains themselves), advanced cryptography (allows the third party to be removed from a transaction), and accountability.-       Third parties such as banks must decide where they add value, given that users own the private keys to bitcoin wallets, and are now starting to offer storage for such private keys using advanced technology, thus pivoting their business model.-       For organisations, this private key technology means a private, efficient and secure blockchain to which users (stakeholders, suppliers, etc.) are invited, fostering trust in the ecosystem.-       Thus blockchain is a lever for culture change and has a positive impact on human systems as a relationship between the people and the technology - technology will be very different in years to come but not so people.-       Tech-savvy millennials are moving into positions of power, bringing with them a shift in mindset; some companies focus on emotional intelligence and human aspects, others – hypergrowth companies – on technology, and this is a difficult balance to strike.-       The complexity of systems is difficult to manage. For example, the metaverse – a great use case for blockchain technology - is yet to be defined but essentially merges the virtual gaming world with reality; we have ‘game-ified’ blockchain technology.-       Luxury brands are active in this space, creating virtual shops for their clients to experience personal shopping; training/onboarding in the metaverse too will be short, dynamic, engaging and interactive in the...

"nobody can "demand respect", because respect has to be earned, but everyone can demand to be treated with dignity.. "Great conversation with Donna as we explore the concept of dignity and how to put it into words and actions. Donna underlines the power of giving a label to profoundly emotional human reactions that are impossible to articulate in difficult/conflict situations. Using the right language legitimises suffering, opens doors for understanding and starts discussions.Leaders must understand that Dignity is our highest common denominator. We need to acknowledge that we are worthy no matter what, and we that need the emotional infrastructure to ensure that we can survive negative experiences, atone for mistakes and recover from violation and violating others' dignity. Humanity/dignity is a level playing field yet sadly shame and fear form the basis of much organisational culture, and there is not necessarily a place for emotions, vulnerability or compassion. Here dignity skills are required for building a safe environment and leaders need to understand how this can help to create a more inclusive workplace, and create a whole new paradigm of empowerment. Donna shares her insights, research and experience from working with Dignity and the dignity model with leaders across the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are :  This approach is applicable to and resonates in all arenas; dignity is the highest common denominator of humans, who all want to be treated as something of value - indeed, the ‘D’ in DE&I could just as well stand for dignity as we should all treat each other with dignity.Dignity, and the assaulting thereof, gives a label to profoundly emotional human reactions that are impossible to articulate in difficult/conflict situations - using the right language legitimises suffering, opens doors and starts discussions.Mandela consciousness – nobody can be stripped of their dignity, we are the guardians of our own dignity and it unifies us. The biggest dignity violators are those who have been violated the most.We must understand that we are worthy no matter what; we need the emotional infrastructure to ensure that we survive negative experiences, atone for mistakes and recover from violation and violating others.There is a fundamental difference between dignity and respect: we cannot ‘demand’ respect (it should be earned), but we can ‘demand’ to be treated as a human being (we can learn it).As dignity-conscious people, we require the 3 c’s: connection to our own dignity, connection to others’ dignity, connection to something greater than ourselves that gives life meaning.Leaders must frame these connections for employees for an organisation to have dignity too, but there is often a disconnect between these three connections in organisations - everyone should be able to connect regardless of their position in the organisation.There are ten elements of dignity: accepting identity, fairness, independence, recognition, acknowledgement, understanding, safety, accountability, inclusion, benefit of the doubt.-       80% of people said safety was the most violated element in the workplace – they don’t speak up when something bad happens, they ‘suck up’ dignity violations and can’t be their authentic selves.There are dignity skills required for a safe environment: being able to speak up and give / receive feedback skilfully – humans have a biological aversion to feedback and we must take the shame out of it by using disarming language and practicing delivery.We all have blind spots and feedback is a learning opportunity that should be seen as positive, not negative, to help leaders in a workplace move from self-reflection to self-correction.Humanity/dignity is a level playing field yet sadly...

"we always try to do everything, but we must let go, and look at how we occupy the present moment"Steve and I delve into his model of different depths of practice and the idea of unfoldment to learn to navigate complexity more effectively. Taking a more holistic and integrated ecology of coaching practice to open up channels of wisdom and looking at the different ways human beings have learnt to grow, individually and collectively. As we move into a more connected and digital world we see ourselves as humans in "technological terms", to be ‘upgraded’ or ‘fixed’ through self improvement. This however is often at the cost of our humanity. How can we shift from this to a different and more human centred paradigm. What if we didn't need to be 'fixed' but rather to 'let go' and let ourselves 'unfold' ?Improvement is often driven by assessment, evoking resistance and anxiety, and triggering emotions and defences as we are asked to fit in rather than belong; self-unfoldment helps us navigate complexity.Steve shares his experience, methodology and insights from working with clients and organisations across the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : A holistic coaching method to face unprecedented challenges, particularly post-Covid – an integrated ecology of coaching practice, next-generation coaching, and a variety of methodologies and philosophies to make it more accessible.Powerful coaching is like a great work of art - it reveals the profound wonder of being human, very important in a digital world – the Aletheia method is based on unfoldment and a curiosity to learn more.Attunement - of which there are two types, technical and poetic - is the key to shifting between self-improvement and self-unfoldment. Self-improvement prevails in our global culture: we want to feel competent but often start from a feeling of deficiency. Self-unfoldment is based on the premise that nothing is missing, we just need to find it.The philosopher Martin Heidegger saw how the view of technology was overtaking the view of being human - we see ourselves as humans in technological terms, to be ‘upgraded’ or ‘fixed’, but at the cost of our humanity.He suggested attuning to the world more poetically: what do we feel, in our body, in our life? This allows deeper self-discovery but is a huge shift, particularly in organisations as everything is based on performance. Improvement is often driven by assessment, evoking resistance and anxiety, and triggering emotions and defences as we are asked to fit in rather than belong; self-unfoldment helps us navigate complexity.We all operate at different depths. If we can find a way of moving fluidly between different depths, we can change the conversation and see powerful results. There are four depths:1. Depth of parts: everything is seen as separate, outwardly and inwardly; a partial view. The Aletheia method is about parts work: make the parts feel seen and understood, loved and valued as they are. This naturally leads to the next level of ….2. Depth of process: experiencing the fluid flow of felt experience; a more embodied depth; feeling relatedness. Relational intelligence is necessary for high performing leaders to be present with people (a felt sense of what’s happening between people).3. Depth of presence: a sense of wholeness; I am equal to what is happening in life; I can meet this moment as it is; I can navigate through it; I have the human virtues required, e.g. love, perseverance, compassion, inner strength, humility, patience.4. Depth of non-duality: non-separation; a sense of shared humanity in a spiritually profound way; if we relax our defences, we land more in relationship with each other - we often live on the surface of life.How does depth change inclusion? Group unfoldment is intricately linked to group

"There is no point in embracing agile unless you know what problem you’re trying to solve”We now live in a complex world and we’ve got to be able to operate in a different way to stay competitive, and every context is different but everyone is facing similar challenges. Natal and I delve into Agile HR and how it is evolving in the more hybrid workplace. Agility is inextricably linked to digital and transformation strategy and we need to modernise and enrich the employee experience, add value, demonstrate impact, and take a multiskilled approach to solving complex problems. Organisations need to unpick legacy (IT and human legacy) and build a more agile mindset and ways of working to be more constructively disruptive. Agile doesn’t need to be called “agile” but it does need to be anchored in understanding of the overall business purpose and create the environment and leadership for the system and the culture to adapt accordingly. Natal shares her insights and experience from working with businesses big and small across the globe on defining the best approach to stay competitive and constantly meet customer’s evolving needs. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Agile HR for the 21st century must ensure that a company is great place to work and enable business agility through people practices – understanding where business is at and dealing with complexity and constant change.-       Agility is inextricably linked to strategy in terms of transformation and digitisation and HR must lead by example – modernise and enrich the employee experience, add value, demonstrate impact, and take a multiskilled approach to solving complex problems.-       The Agile manifesto cites people before process – HR must follow best practice, transpose talent frameworks and understand the context: examples can be borrowed but each company must have its own system/approach that can adapt and evolve.-       Agile tools don’t work without an agile mindset/culture (cf. Simon Powers’ 3 beliefs: complexity, people, proactive) but this can be a chicken-or-egg scenario, e.g. if a company’s purpose requires agility with regard to reskilling the workforce or changing the supply chain.-       Everyone faces the same problems, such as disrupted markets and a drive towards business agility, but agility must be individualised: change management, project management and consulting (one size fits all, top-down) must be replaced by continuous evolution.-       Disruption is the reality, but measurement is still necessary although targets will change and may be wrong. Agile HR should use a tracking/understanding dashboard and data-driven decisions to see both the bigger picture and the crossover between HR and other functions.-       Job descriptions no longer define one particular skillset or role, and agile organisational design must bring people together in a multiskilled way to solve problems as they arise by scaling up and down within the network, understanding different capabilities and gaps.-       A T-shaped approach provides the general capability to navigate different business scenarios with specialisms where required; T-shaped teams can undertake multiple projects with a combined collection of specialised skills to provide more stability.-       Company-wide, there must be a good understanding of how to use skills, offer holistic career development and improve the employee experience. There should be no proprietary rights to team members; people should be helped to find their place in the new...

"it's not just about presence, it's about culture and intentionally looking at the full spectrum of the employee journey "Sam and I delve into the world of dynamic work and the different strategies available to organisations to create an equitable, inclusive and adaptable work policy as we come out of the pandemic and into a different world of work. What models do we nee d? How do we cater for everyone ? Dynamic work strategies must be anchored in trust and used to further empower employees and leaders to make the best decisions and create new rituals for optimised performance. Listening to and acting upon employee feedback is key, as the workplace, organisational culture and digital technology evolve. Sam shares her thoughts and experience from pioneering this topic both in OKTA and across other global businesses. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Dynamic work is a broad remit seeking to maintain choice and flexibility for employees while maximising opportunities for engagement. Hybrid/remote working offers a big opportunity for companies to consider what goes into building a workforce.-       It encompasses the full spectrum of the employee lifecycle and journey and focuses also on community, equity, benefits, engagement, D&I, and belonging. The culture must foster a holistic environment where ‘place’ is purposeful and intentional in a post-pandemic world.-       Employees have reacted well thus far to the opportunity to better manage their work-life balance; the framework for this is anchored in trust – for employees to get work done and the company to provide extra support when necessary.-       Companies need to track premises utilisation and on-site presence: people may choose to come together in an office or meet locally where there is no office. This new ecosystem also brings a competitive advantage over companies who enforce on-site work.-       Adaptive culture is enabled by forward-leaning digital technology, e.g. an employee app to give cross-team visibility, a variety of zoom products, digital whiteboards, cloud-based on-demand printing, space sensors for (re)design purposes, virtual neighbourhoods, etc.-       Personal choice sees leaders offering transparency around their own decisions to go into the office or not; Okta have a new L&D unit to address leading differently for distributed teams looking at inclusion when working remotely, and new/more resources for managers.-       People are empowered by a dynamic work environment that still offers career development opportunities, and feel engaged and incentivised whether they are working remotely or on-site, for very different personal reasons.-       A belonging strategy is important with distributed teams and relies mostly on technical operations, such as home working/3rd party environment mirroring the office environment with the same equipment and amenities.-       Change management tools: individual meetings with executives and direct reports to discuss the tactics of dynamic work, discussions with HR, individual roadshows at business unit level, management being open to questions, a social intranet platform for dynamic work.-       To drive the philosophy and practices of dynamic working requires a targeted push-and-pull approach: employee engagement survey data reveals where the gaps are, and management must interact constantly with employees to obtain their feedback.-       Leaders must also constantly listen and pay attention to what

"Building data driven industries is about transforming relationships : it's strategy in a digital world. "Digital transformation is a buzzword but is taken for granted, and therefore it can mean everything, or nothing. Marc and I have a great discussion about the art of turning traditional companies into data driven companies .. particularly focusing on unlocking the potential of data, and driving digital at scale. What are the challenges, opportunities and things to look out for when taking organisations on this journey ? How do we prepare for scale at the same time as we go from idea to Proof of concept ? Digital transformation is about technology, business outcomes, market experience and change management - a tapestry of unknown and known quantities that needs to be unpicked to be put back together differently. Marc shares his wealth of experience and insights on what digital can enable in organisations and how people & their organisations can leverage this. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : Digital transformation turns traditional companies into data-driven companies and, beyond that, creates data-driven industries – ‘transformation in a digital world’. Data is truly fundamental but there is room for improvement:  1.    Access the data that is available in a company: if only the company knew what the company knows - people underestimate the potential on their doorstep. 2.    Data follows processes across silos: process mining tools follow the data flow/end-to-end chain - data is a true indicator of business performance.Data is a powerful lever for change; being able to use data to track and explain soft actions (diversity, loyalty, empowerment) – the softer the problem, the more important the data. It is also relevant at individual operator level, not just at systemic level, as informed people require less intervention.All companies face the same challenges: being data-driven requires, courage, effort, risks, and far-reaching change, which can result in new business/business models. Digital transformation is the responsibility of the collective executive committee, not just the CIO; companies must increase their spending to kickstart a digital programme but there are no real incentives to do so – it requires governance. It is difficult to transform and perform at the same time, but the executive level can manage these two agendas by having one team to optimise performance and another team to build something new.It is very complex to innovate at the core and traditional companies see innovation as an outpost/satellite: a team that is freed from the constraints of the mother ship yet is working for the benefit of it. The foundations for scaling up must be laid before or at least alongside MVP/PoC - this requires modern, agile, iterative IT that is compatible with old systems, and the choice of tools is important to ensure technical solutions that permit scaling. Digital transformation is about technology, business outcomes and change management: the difficulty with ramping up change management is the human element, training, etc. HR and the digital team cannot do it alone - there are digital entrepreneurs within companies. Leaders must demonstrate awareness, take it seriously, recognise the gaps, offer support, get involved, be trained (by their teams), role model interest and lead as a supporter - data is about customers, products, employees and performance, not only systems and piping. There must be incentives to upskill and operationalise in the digital world: often the project is not clearly defined and the conditions for success not in place - there is more maturity around the subject, and good tools, but it is still not adopted to the appropriate...

"Sustainable inclusion is not successful overnight and requires patience and intentional development of the right conditions in the workplace"Lamé and I explore how to leverage inclusion to create sustainable transformation in the way organisations approach the topic of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Developing women and pioneering D&I along the entire industry value chain requires inclusive environments and unconscious bias training that goes as far as conscious inclusion, i.e. taking action in how we address the lack of inclusion in organisations. The traditional bottom line of shareholders’ value has now been joined by an organisation’s attitude towards people and community and creating more inclusive working environments is key to future growth and sustainable transformation of workplaces, organisational culture and of ways of working. Lamé shares her experience, thoughts and recommendations from working on this topic with businesses and communities across the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : ·      To develop women and pioneer D&I along the entire industry value chain requires inclusive environments and unconscious bias training that goes as far as conscious inclusion, i.e. taking action in how we address the lack of inclusion in organisations.·      Organisations must fundamentally change their approach; it may be uncomfortable and painful, but the decision must come from the top to inspire a new culture – the environment will cleanse itself as those who don’t like it will leave.·      They must move from reflection/intention to action, police the system for inherent bias and introduce equitable performance management - leadership with kindness and empathy creates an inclusive workforce by walking in peoples’ shoes: ‘if you build it, they will come.’·      There is a link between gender parity and sustainability: females represent 50% of the population and the right people must have input into decisions for the future otherwise we are only solving half the problem for half the population.·      Recruitment must be mindful and intentional with transparent opportunities for all, and leaders must influence their spaces by giving everyone a voice, inviting people into the conversation and role modelling a new way of working.·      The traditional bottom line of shareholders’ value has now been joined by an organisation’s attitude towards people and community – the S in ESG (environmental, social and governance) is becoming more amplified to take account of geopolitical challenges.·      UN sustainable development goal #8 calls on societies and economies to create programmes to provide access rather than hiring for qualification: we must open the door wider to give access to more people and signpost opportunities.·      Non-profit organisations rely on partnership and collaboration to unlock access to a wider pool of people, empower women, support leaders to lead women, create inclusive teams and amplify the messaging of not leaving women behind; we must create a network effect and leverage that to accelerate the pace of change.·      Once we have created democratised access, how do we measure inclusion and inclusive growth? In terms of a happier workforce, lower staff attrition, better customer service and ultimately more business; positive feedback is good for branding and brings about transformation.·      Leaders must design the culture of the future, be credible and build trust. We must all seek to call out bad behaviour but we need psychological safety to do so; we must nip things in

"Wellbeing must be applied throughout the entire organisation and have equal weight across functions"A great discussion with Andy about understanding the strategic approach and integrating wellbeing into the strategic objectives and measurement of an organisation. The more digital load increases, the more visible and important the qualities that keep us human. We need patience and deliberate design, as well as personal agency as this is not a 'quick win', but yet leaders need to bust myths and role model behaviour that creates these conditions - for humans to thrive in the post pandemic workplace. Andy generously shares his stories, insight and experience fro his career to date and from working with leaders and organisation across the world.The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       ‘C4human’ takes a strategic approach to human capacity and building and sustaining performance and is a single value chain underpinned by science, in which all factors are inextricably linked.-       It seeks to give wellbeing a seat at the top table along with other commercial metrics - if our wellbeing is under resourced, we lose the qualities of decision-making and self-awareness, both of which can impact business.-       Talented people still fail due to a lack of wellbeing and resource capacity to behave reasonably, make consistent decisions and act without bias. Wellbeing is an enabler rather than an obvious money-spinner, so it is hard for leaders to factor in.-       Messy human problems take time to resolve and commercial KPIs linked to wellbeing are long-term, low-penetration programmes with a low ROI – they should be seen as a sustainability metric, not an acute performance metric.-       Wellbeing must be applied throughout the entire organisation and have equal weight across functions. It is about individual agency and should not be mandated or disadvantaged by the wrong culture. ‘Millisecond lessons’ show the place of wellbeing within an organisation.-       The more digital load increases, the more visible and important the quality of the human; if wellbeing is compromised, our bias increases and we revert to type, stymying inclusive and synergetic behaviour.-       Mental health is a chronic issue, yet most information is targeted at those already struggling with acute symptoms. Mental energy would be a better label and have a less negative narrative, picking up problems before they become acute: prevention – optimisation - rather than cure.-       Good mental health affects the culture within an organisation and wellbeing should be integrated into daily operational and working practices with positive and authentic intent - humans sense, feel and experience everyday interactions.-       Sport involves dealing with intimidation, unfamiliarity and the psychology of experiencing changing situations. In the corporate world, negativity leads to recalcitrance, less inclusion and spikes of opinion, which will not yield innovation, open collaboration or performance.-       Sports psychology works because all team members understand it – does the same apply to the corporate world of comfort and threat? People are hyper-vigilant post-pandemic, and a lack of results often leads to impatience.-       The underlying biology informs what see in the workplace; we must increase understanding and education about wellbeing and the effects it can have and build comfort to allow senior leaders to see small but consistent progression in this...

"inclusion is about recognising everything that is inadequately connected with everything else and increasing the connectivity"A very insightful conversation with Graham on what inclusion is and how it can encourage ecosystem thinking. We discuss the structures and interactions in a process of constant flux as opposed to a more rigid model, and the fact that as the world changes, inclusion changes; culture will always be ‘catching up’ so we must build adaptable organisations and focus on the sweet spot of viability. We often try to shoehorn new methodologies into old systems, whereas what we really need are new, structured dialogue patterns to allow people to hear and understand their own stories and act on their self-identity accordingly. This is not about problems to fix, but rather mysteries to explore.. how can we constantly and curiously nudge the system ? Graham shares his insights, research and experience from working with businesses and leaders across the globe, from large corporates to start upsThe main insights you will get from this epsiode are : Stratum 1: personality - each individual is a complex ecosystem. Inclusion is already an issue here as we each reject some part of who we are, and we grow and change over time. We must learn how to be inclusive with ourselves and allow ourselves to evolve.Stratum 2: interpersonal - the next layer of complexity that includes all of stratum 1 plus new interactions/emerging connections. Every team member has a different reality, filter and view. Stratum 2 is also about culture - the consequence of all the different meaning-making stories of individuals, including ‘complementary pairs’ (seemingly mutually exclusive, but actually different sides of same coin).Stratum 3: abstract - systems and the interactions of roles, accountability and tasks. Our work structure and personality are deeply intertwined - we should aim for sociocracy and agency to define our identity.Stratum 4: ecosystem - all systems and interactions between stakeholders and the capitals they represent. Invested stakeholders with a share of wealth and power is not democratic - natural capital, built capital and personal capital give no voting rights, leading to a lack of inclusivity.Stratum 5: local economic ecosystemStratum 6: global economic ecosystem-       Inclusion at team level means exploring the mysteries of both the individual and collective interpretation of stories. People in the wrong role give rise to a dysfunctional system and results in an inverted pyramid where leaders feel a need to prove their worth whilst followers doubt themselves.-       For a community to exist, there must be a line between membership and non-membership, i.e. some exclusion is needed for an organisation to function. The role of culture is to establish this boundary and determine the requisite degree of inclusion for an organisation to be both functional and values-aligned.-       As the world changes, inclusion changes; culture will always be ‘catching up’ so we must build adaptable organisations and focus on the sweet spot of viability. We often try to shoehorn new methodologies into old systems, whereas what we really need are new, structured dialogue patterns to allow people to change their self-identity.-       Holocracy is when strata 1, 2 and 3 are aligned and highly inclusive. If stratum 4 is misaligned however, there is a lack of inclusion where power really sits and the business is destined for failure. We must build companies inclusively across all 4 strata.-       Inclusion in the natural world does not try to...

An insightful and rich conversation with Linda about understanding and speaking out about psychological harassment and bullying in the workplace. How can we change the conversation in organisations ? How can we move away from normalising this to creating awareness and action ? We must self-monitor, and have self-insight, be aware and respectful of our environment and peoples’ sensitivities, and learn what the triggers are for both ourselves and others. This deepened understanding of ourselves coupled with further access to understanding the topic itself can create allies as opposed to bystanders. Linda shares her stories, experience and insights from working with bullies and victims of bullying in organisations and communities across the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Anyone can be bullied, and it is often only once they become physically and mentally ill that they see it for what it is and ask for help – it is unfortunately very normalised in our society and the metaverse adds yet a further dimension.-       Bullying - usually aimed at race, background, gender, religion – can be one-time or repeated whereas harassment is never one-time, but is more insidious, passive aggressive and often behind closed doors.-       They involve a variety of negative behaviours, words or non-verbal actions over three months or more aimed at a group or individual with conscious or unconscious intent that cause harm, i.e. humiliation, embarrassment, diminished self-esteem. -       People must understand what is and is not banter/appropriate; we must self-monitor, self-understand, have self-insight, be aware and respectful of our environment and peoples’ sensitivities, and learn what the triggers are for both ourselves and others. -       There are different types of bully - psychopath, narcissist, sociopath - who come across attractively until they are called out, but most people are not hard-wired to be bullies and can change their ways. -       Authoritarian leaders who abuse their power, are mean, rude, sarcastic and not accountable for their behaviour set the wrong tone - bullying comes from the top and contaminates the environment.-       There can be female bullies in a female-dominant environment and male bullies in a male-dominant environment but also cross-contamination e.g. a female trying to behave like a male, and sexual harassment can be perpetrated by and towards both genders.-       Everyone should be given trauma-informed training to build awareness and prevent further injury – using (crisis) intervention and special resources - with leaders acting as role models. The issue is often not taken seriously due to fear, insecurity, disinterest, arrogance and ignorance, but avoiding it can impact reputation.-       It is not just an HR issue and should be standardised and professionalised (via an official association) – we need strong legislation against bullying to hold leaders to account; policies and procedures for zero tolerance and consequences for bad behaviour. -       Witnesses are critical if harassment/bullying is behind closed doors, but they are often reticent to speak up because they have seen the process fail before, and the damage it causes. They need a support system to feel safe and should document everything for credibility in an investigation. -       A large proportion of burnout is due to psychological bullying and is...

"Digital technology is great, but digital profiles also need to include human science to enable sustainable innovation." A great discussion with Geoff where we explore a myriad of different subjects from self discovery, to digital profiles, rubiks cubes and the myths of modern agile for sustainable innovation. We discuss how to constantly question the orthodoxy, and hold different perspectives simultaneously to create a space for enquiry, listening and dialogue. This curiosity in turn encourages sense-making, decision taking and action but not necessarily in the layers of the organisation where we would expect to see it - understanding our role in the system is key. Geoff shares his stories, insights and experience of working with leaders and businesses across the globe The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Organisations must create cultures of innovation by making sustainable change and becoming proactively agile - COVID has in part forced a culture of innovation, agility and adaptiveness.-       (Digital) technology is very good and works well, but how do we get people to do the same?! Human science should be included in digital profiles: in the words of Ian McGilchrist, innovation requires science, reason, intuition and imagination.-       The key to success is to commercialise good ideas, see beyond things and question the orthodoxy; it is a big ask for people to constantly question their assumptions so it must be made tangible for organisations and leaders.-       No one ever sees the whole of any situation. In an organisation, someone with influence declares that their perspective is the only one to follow, but (this) power does not mean wisdom - ego pushes other people, and their views, away.-       Only eco-leadership can facilitate real co-creation but moving away from pyramids and into networks is intangible unless we really understand our roles within systems - English doesn’t have many words to describe subtle aspects of consciousness because we focus too much on the external world.-       Psychological safety is essential and to understand an organisation’s culture, we must ask the people who work there what they would advise to thrive. Behaviours based on fixed perspectives will stifle and strangle adaptiveness.-       The 2D/3D mindset system is based on looking at a culture of innovation like a Rubik’s cube – some see orange, some see green, some see yellow, etc. – and in the absence of colours, you look at different shapes instead, e.g. circle vs square vs triangle…-       The 2D/3D shape metaphor provides an easy way to understand a difficult psychological concept - different people provide different pieces of the puzzle when they work together, and it is not necessarily right vs wrong; humility is knowing that you don’t know everything.-       Climbing the greasy pole of an organisation boils down to brutal debate (meaning ‘to beat down’) and discussion (from percussion, meaning ‘to smash to pieces’) rather than dialogue, a spirit of enquiry and listening.-       Curiosity helps create a balance between advocacy and enquiry to produce meaning, and it is enquiry that is normally the missing piece of the jigsaw in organisations. We must encourage people to be curious.-       This begins with a sponsoring executive and a few naturally curious internal people - key instigators to bring alive a mindset and create a ripple effect; in-housing human capacity to influence is preferable to hiring help that hinders,

Rahaf and I discuss hustle culture and why it is so harmful. We focus on the underlying belief systems of the "people" working in this culture because this isn't a new phenomenon - we were burning out before the pandemic, but COVID brought a rush to digitise and increased this 'scope creep' of "doing more with less", and presenteeism became digital (overload).We also discuss the big disconnect between what leaders want and what employees want, and how we can reprogram ourselves and reclaim intentional recovery as part of high performance. Neuroscience proves that our brains are not wired for permanent high cognitive/knowledge work and have a limited amount of time in ‘flow’. We now have powerful data to highlight opportunities for change and companies must look at their culture and ways of working, and how they use technology to enable a more human experience.  Rahaf shares her insights, experience and research from working with leaders and businesses around the globe.The main insights you'll get from this episode are :  Hustle culture: a set of beliefs/behaviours developed to prioritise being busy, glorifying and celebrating the process/effort of working hard rather than the end goal or result. Invisible - historical – forces stem from non-stop productivity due to the industrial revolution and its modern incarnation of the ‘American dream’ ideology.We do not look at effectiveness/efficiency; our systems seek solutions, but system users must ask fundamental questions; our expectations are flawed, and we try to ‘fix’ the system. The pandemic brought a rush to digitise and presenteeism became digital (overload); it amplified everything and highlighted different company cultures - companies that didn’t trust their employees used tech to control their staff instead of giving them flexibility.There is a resistance to moving away from hustle culture; we operate around assumptions of what success is and our internal operating systems are based on what we have been told. Our individual programming varies but we don’t stop to examine the narratives and can therefore inadvertently harm ourselves - we must make intentional choices and understand our own stories and beliefs surrounding success.To set ourselves up for success we must recharge and reset; we are addicted to our devices and live in a culture where everything is urgent and we must be constantly responsive. Teams should agree digital norms to provide safety and security; clarity reduces the need to be constantly connected and we put in place collective boundaries and commitment.Hybrid working models require these norms to ensure happy teams; communication is essential to understand peoples’ preferences to improve morale and performance and use tech to make the right decisions for people and create a more inclusive workplace.We must reprogram ourselves and reclaim intentional recovery as part of high performance; companies must look at policies and the use of technology. Neuroscience proves that our brains are not wired for permanent high cognitive/knowledge work and have a limited amount of time in ‘flow’. The high-performance cycle consists of ramp up, flow, ramp down, intentional recovery.-       The four stages of the cycle are the same for everybody but the times in each stage vary so that working days should ideally be structured differently for different individuals.National cultures determine work stories and these in turn affect our brains; executive functions diminish if we rely on fight or flight and compromised human functional capacities lead to burnout.The polarity of the pandemic was that we needed to connect but couldn’t - now we need time to regulate our nervous systems and listen to the signals our bodies...

"A lack of acknowledgement leads to people feeling under-appreciated and gives rise to hidden resentment, internalising suffering and has a huge impact at a human level”Kylee and I dive into the power of storytelling, and more compassionate authentic leadership. Storytelling brings about transformation and offers the biggest breakthroughs, allowing people to discover their potential and develop organically, regardless of job title. So much goes unseen and unrecognised in today's workplace, and suffering is internalised and continues - silently. The power of acknowledging the different patterns and reactions can lead to different, and more transformative leadership for both individuals and collectively. Kylee shares her stories, insights and experience form working with leaders and business owners around the world. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       It is time to disrupt the status quo of traditional leadership - a hierarchical system offers many roles at the bottom but few at the top, where there is little space to act and lead.-       Storytelling brings about transformation and offers the biggest breakthroughs, allowing people to discover their potential and develop organically, regardless of job title.-       It should not be about a set direction or ultimate goal, but rather the journey itself, to pursue passions, vision, values and purpose in order to be more productive and authentic.-       Coaching others helps us on our own journey of where to position ourselves and recognising what our priorities are. Others demonstrating what to do makes us ask ourselves what we want, e.g. the opportunity to make a real difference.  -       Clarity on values requires us to look back on our own lives and ask what we fight for or against - the indicators of our core values - but focus tends to be on company as opposed to personal values.-       We often feel a disconnect between our work self and home self; many of us stay in a place of fear for our entire career, climbing a vertical ladder - the turning point is to acknowledge that fear.-       We must use acknowledgement as a lever, the first step to dismantling a lack of freedom – to acknowledge and be truthful to ourselves about what is really going on, i.e. are we showing up but not being authentic?-       We must make changes inside to bring about changes outside - the challenge for leaders is how to make the difference: they are blamed when things go badly yet miss out on acknowledgement and praise when things go well as it is directed at their team.-       It is not a leader’s job to make others happy or give answers; they can be good at talking and advising, but not so good at listening (to help employees make discoveries for themselves).-       A coach is a good reference point for leaders by providing feedback as opposed to answers; stepping back, allowing others to come forward and making them feel safe.-       A lack of acknowledgement leads to people feeling underappreciated and gives rise to hidden resentment, internalising suffering and having a huge impact at a human level.-       Acknowledgement is an ongoing practice that requires a change in habits; power comes from our own acknowledgement of what is happening in our lives and what we want to be acknowledged for.     -       There is no difference between men and women on this point despite the...

"Just having data in your systems is not enough -its about how you intentionally make use of it." Sam & I have a great conversation about understanding data and navigating complexity in today's organisations. We look at the non-negotiables for leaders in a data driven world as well as the different skills that this requires. We also delve into what that means for organisational culture as we strive to build a more inclusive and collaborative workplace. Sam shares his thoughts and experience from working with organisations big and small on data and equipping organisations for more data driven ways of working. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : The role of data in organisations today is to provide visibility to facilitate informed/evidence-based decisions, i.e. data-driven decisions, by delivering the right data to the right person in the right context at the right time. This encompasses the entire organisation - HR, product development, operations, strategy – and provides new insights to bring about change at a strategic/operational level, which is now financially possible thanks to cheaper data storage and technology deskilling.Decision-making of old based on gut feelings, spreadsheets and personal experience was manual, inefficient and subject to human error. Now it can be delegated in trust-based organisations to allow those closest to the products, for example, to make decisions. Complexity is the change required in an organisation to relinquish control over the decision-making process. The three non-negotiables for this are:Data savvy leaders with a true understanding of what a data-driven decision is and is not. Many decisions tend to be ‘pseudo’ data-driven, i.e. made before evidence is found to back them up.A strong data foundation in the form of visualisation, algorithms, AI, machine learning, which in turn require good downstream data quality, collection, governance and engineering – good data is always better than good algorithms.A strong data culture beyond the data (science) team with curiosity at its core: investigating events, collecting information, integrating it, building a virtuous cycle, empowering employees to take action based on what they see.The biggest challenge for leaders is around the core technical skills of data and digital. The single profile of data scientist/engineer has been replaced with many different ones as a result of progression and specialisation.Deploying tech skills is a moving target as they develop and change all the time. Traditional classroom training is too slow, too late, too expensive and not scalable whereas online training is responsive, scalable and agile, but has lower retention and pass rates. A data-driven environment is by nature very inclusive but using data to become more inclusive can be problematic as data is biased by nature and algorithms are not robust enough to make ‘new’ decisions (because they are based on a pre-existing dataset). Data is a shadow of events that have happened, or a culture that existed, but should not be used for targets; metrics are the output of a culture and data points should be used for insight/audit purposes only, not input.Leaders must get to grips with AI and algorithms, move past the hype cycle and understand the true value of data by getting involved in their organisation’s data projects and learning from current examples.

“we need to bring a new set of assumptions to our field of work” Joan and I delve into the world of organisational ecology and reframing the hybrid workplace . Whilst some of the systemic assumptions have been around for some time, we haven’t really used them in organisations. How can we work in complexity and notice and influence the patterns and relationships within a system ? We discuss looking at systems through a new lens, being more humanistic, and embedding a sense of how do we improve the system and relational aspects of the system - listening more intently to what is happening at every level. The reductionist paradigm of 'fixing' systems or people leads to a world of opportunities for reinventing & rewiring the human systems of an organisation. Joan shares her research, experience and insights from using her methodology to work with businesses and leaders across the globe. to reinvent and reframe organisational systemsThe main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Organisational ecology: how organisations come together in a market sense, looking at internal and external engagement to view the whole. There are 2 dominant paradigms:·      Technical: improving or ’fixing’ organisations based on process improvement, restructuring, well-known models, etc. and·      Psychological: focussing on the people in organisations, on their strengths and weaknesses, personalities, changing/creating awareness.-       The ‘fixing’ paradigm is reductionist – we must understand how organisations function and cultures develop, and use new language to frame it and disrupt the field using organisational psychology and a humanistic approach to system/relational aspects.-       The new role of organisational ecologists in a shift towards ‘collective’ will close the intention/action gap between collective and individual and reframe the role of leaders and HR to focus on seeing systemic patterns and diagnose shortcomings.-       A change in a system/organisation/behaviour requires a change to a person’s role in the system - we must encourage different roles and think of organisations as networks of roles and role relations that have become embedded in patterns that we need to make sense of.-       Organisational ecology deals with the relations in and between ecosystems. We need to focus more on the system with a ‘me and the system’, not a ‘me in the system’ approach.-       Many organisations favour this new (reframed) approach of observing the system: systems thinking, systems dynamics/psychodynamics and human systems. Systems develop ‘muscle memory’ that must be countered by meeting the system where it is.-       The Orgonomix analogy of ‘trying on a new pair of glasses’ to see things differently and experiment is an adaptive toolkit, an invitation to practice and start small.-       Leaders are used to being sold solutions (best practice) by consultants and relations between consultants and leaders must be repatterned: how can consultants know how the system works? The aim should be to jointly discover the systemic constraints.-       Leaders have always been expected to ‘fix’ things based on ‘don’t bring me the problem, bring me the solution’, but good leaders should empower people and opt for the better mantra of ‘don’t bring me problems, bring me ideas’.-       This new type of system leadership requires a different skill set: managing the system, creating space for the...

“When reaching your limits, its only there where you’ll catch a glimpse of your true potential”Luke shares his story and experience of overcoming obstacles, and chasing extremes. We discuss resilience and performance management, and how to translate his learnings into actionable and simple tools for management . We particularly look at self talk and how we can use it to improve our performance - consciously choosing the conversations you're having with yourself. For organisations to create space for a ‘reset’ they must look at their performance from a humanistic standpoint and leaders must normalise the conversation around mental health. Lots of corporate cultures will be questioned post-pandemic, and people must have the chance to grow, and embrace change in this changing workplace dynamic. Luke shares with us his insights, and learnings that he has operationalised into everyday tools, looking at how we can build resilience and have genuinely vulnerable and courageous conversations with ourselves. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Being driven, curious and hard-working from a young age led to a career in professional sport travelling the world, but this took its toll on his mental and physical health, and he embarked on a new career as an adventurer, writer, documentary-maker and speaker.-       He was often asked how he pushes himself physically and mentally and how he views the world. To share his knowledge, he translated it into tools that can be used across the board to help people overcome obstacles and adapt to setbacks.-       Self-talk can help improve performance yet lots of people don’t admit to or realise they are doing it; it is good to talk out loud and consciously choose the conversation you have with yourself rather than let thoughts dictate the conversation you’re having.-       It is still perceived as weakness to ‘talk to yourself’ or talk at all, yet vulnerability is a superpower that no one can take from you. If we are positive with the truth and answer questions honestly, we eventually become more comfortable sharing our vulnerability.-       It is simple and effective but requires training and daily practice. As we become better at speaking (up), this skill can be applied anywhere in life.-       Sportspeople grow in their career because they are always practising different techniques. In an organisational setting, ‘corporate athletes‘ too must train their minds for physical performance and learn to pivot quickly.-       This requires companies to invest time and money in a cultural evolution to allow people to grow and develop resilience - many corporate performance management systems are outdated and based on wanting results too quickly.-       Mindset is about how we view, think and act on a daily basis. In organisations there is often lots of box-ticking but not much out-of-the-box doing; whilst they like the idea of change, they are resistant to it in practice because it is hard.-       In terms of performance mindset, we are all high performers, it just depends if we act on it. Everything is relative and an improvement is a high performance for the individual. We must consciously acknowledge the scenarios we face and apply tools to them. -       Post-pandemic, many are waiting for things to ‘return’ to pre-pandemic normal, but we have come too far to go back completely: we must let the dust settle and reassess; look forward and define what is important to us, take the opportunity to...

“Through proactive decision-making, we can turn unplanned moments into positive outcomes and cultivate serendipity”Is innovation the result of genius, and intentional design or rather the result of randomness, luck and being in the right place at the right time ?  Is inclusion and connecting people a random and unpredictable activity ? We have all experienced first-hand during the pandemic that life is full of chance encounters and serendipity and Christian and I have a fun and insightful conversation on #connectingthedots differently. We talk about what this process could mean for innovation and business success, as well as for the human systems of an organisation. Framing uncertainty and unpredictability as an advantage is clearly at opposites with what we have learnt in existing binary and linear learning & leadership models, yet this hold the key to enabling the process of serendipity, reframing our attention, our intention and our courage and equipping leaders for the future. Christian shares his research, experience, insights and evocative stories of connecting the dots in life, business and society. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : - We have all experienced first-hand during the pandemic that life is full of chance encounters and serendipity. The most inspiring and purpose-driven people cultivate this serendipity and intuitively see opportunity in the unexpected.-  It is turning this paradigm on its head that is so effective: we have to see and seize chance occurrences - they imbue meaning into unexpected events and often produce very positive outcomes.-  Being lucky should be seen as an art and skill - the art of connection – and the mindset of feeling lucky may well make us lucky. But is there a science-based framework for this process? When innovators and inventors create, they spot and connect dots, and we can all learn how to create more dots.-  So is this a skill or a mindset? Small behavioural shifts accelerate things, for example, the hook strategy to build relevant talking points into conversations to give others the inspiration or opportunity to find coincidences.-  Leaders particularly often feel the need to prove that they are in control but the best way to build confidence is to give an approximate strategy and invite ideas of how to implement it – this legitimises the unexpected, and there is no threat to the authority of ideas. But the culture has to be strong enough to enable people to speak up and invest.-  Old-school leadership with a rigid strategy does not allow for the unexpected and then change is seen as failure because the revision of a timeline makes a leader look weak. Informed leadership sets an ultimate goal with an approximate timeline that is adjusted to new information - learning builds trust for a leader and makes them look stronger.-  Constraints for a serendipity mindset in a fast-paced delivery environment include self-limiting beliefs, bias and a fear of rejection and judgement; keeping a serendipity journal to document potential opportunities is a useful tool here as we consistently underestimate how likely the unexpected is, yet if we expect it, we will see it.-  The collective memory of an organisation is critical: it has an idea of what is right or wrong but is often too entrenched or blinkered. Organisations should not brand themselves too narrowly but branch out - a flow of knowledge opens up new opportunities.-       Multiple smaller ecosystems are better than non-reactive behemoths; microenterprises within a bigger company become investable entities and turn the company into more of a market, with employees able to fully invest in it and take responsibility.-  We must exercise our

 "in order for us to understand the future we can't lose the connection to the past"Anna and I discuss evolution of humans and the workplace, the rise of the 'no collar' economy and how the pandemic has redefined our relationship to work. We look at the cycle of permanent reinvention around human systems, industrial systems and technology, and the factors driving the dramatic changes in the workplace : digitisation of work, distributed workplaces, organisational redesign and the changing workforce. The ethical point about technology serving the collective good of humanity means that empathy is critical in the workplace. How do we manage the ever evolving barriers of ethics and empathy ? Relationships used to be so well-defined, but post-pandemic we are set to be in a long-lasting state of flux. How do we make sure that we can remain human at work as technology evolves and enact empathy at scale?Anna shares her research, insights and learnings from her new book and continued work on this topic with leaders and businesses around the globe.The main insights you'll get from this episode are: The pandemic has redefined our relationship to work, and no relationship has changed more than that between employer and employees.  To understand the future of work, we must look to the past, and artisanal communities - how they worked at home, created, involved entire families, had a holistic experience of work – all this is now extremely relevant. We now have a ‘no-collar’ economy with work coming to the workers and one in which people are required to do jobs regardless of ‘collar’ - technology (together with the pandemic) has rendered collars superfluous.Technology is becoming increasingly integrated in and absorbed by humanity (e.g. invisible technology in smart sports clothes) and in the workplace, too, it will no longer be ‘the other’, but an integral part of how we work. Permanent reinvention speeds everything up and presents a challenge for humans: what does all this mean for the experience aspect (e.g. UX, DX, etc.)? The metaverse and VR make everything about the experience. Our enhanced understanding of how to ‘hijack’ human wiring makes us very aware of the ethics surrounding our choices regarding technology. The ethical point about technology serving the collective good of humanity means that empathy is critical. This was clearly visible in organisations during the pandemic (e.g. mass firings on Zoom); how companies treated their employees became pivotal and, moreover, a public display of empathy at scale.How do we deploy empathy in organisations? There were historically many detractors of empathy; it was considered negative and anti-capitalist as something that might take focus away from the bottom line, for example.Empathy will be the primary driver of economy because it is the gateway to inclusion, i.e. understanding the position of others. AI and VR allow us to better teach empathy by offering first-hand experiences of walking in the shoes of others, thereby making it tangible.We must transcend analytics and make work more experiential and emotional - the current frontier of technology. Robots will seek to involve humans when the level of uncertainty requires it, but how quickly will we know that we are interacting with a robot, not a person?This length of time is increasing as machines personalise responses through machine learning and natural language processing. But the emotional component of interacting with a human will be at a premium - empathy, creativity and creation will keep us relevant.How will we personalise machines? Should we create robots that look like humans? We will then start to relate to them as companions. If machines respond emotionally, what rights will they have? Will we develop protections towards these new members of our...

"catalysts must be intentional, clear & bold and accept that they can't help everyone all the time.."Tracey, Shannon and I delve into the world of innovators and change-makers who can't help but take in information, create a vision, connect the dots and make change for the better - even if no-one has asked them to ! How do we create systemic change and thriving as a catalyst ? How do we create visibility and understanding of what catalysts need to fulfil their quest to innovate, get stuff done and take others with them.. ? How do we equip catalysts with operational tools and approaches to translate their visions into operations and find other catalysts to create momentum ?We discuss the challenges facing catalysts as they strive to effect sustainable change :managing their speed and energy, recognising and naming their emotions, creating curiosity and the erosion of catalyst leadership trust. Tracey and Shannon share their journey, thoughts, research and experience from being catalysts and from working with catalysts around the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : Book inspired by a lack of information about and representation of the people behind innovation: fire-starters, troublemakers, disruptors and catalysts - who very often feel broken and alone. It aims to define and formalise the catalyst role, particularly post-covid. Catalysts are defined by their attributes of constantly synthesising information, recognising opportunities to improve the world around them, and forming visions, moving into action and having a design thinking mindset for iteration.They thrive in community with other catalysts and organisations must connect with and train their catalysts by providing psychological safety for them to speak up, inviting conversation and making them feel valued.Catalysts see things very clearly but may not have brought others along with them. It is difficult for them to slow down before ‘breadcrumbing’ the way for others to understand and acknowledge what they do or have achieved.Catalysts should keep spreadsheets of the data they have collected, the conversations they have had, etc.; practice mindful self-compassion and claim their power to bring compassion to and empathise with others.Cognitive is explicit but emotional is not. Catalysts must recognise that the change they want to bring about requires them to have a full tank and be self-regulated in order to do the hard work. Success means having this full tank, then making smart choices, like taking a break.Catalysts must be intentional, clear and accept that they can’t help everyone all the time. They must help themselves and prioritise for themselves to produce a ripple effect to achieve more and/or differently, rather than draining their own energy.3 (intuitive) superpowers of catalysts (that are often invisible to people): 1.    The ability to take in information – they must take a step back and reformulate to allow others to catch up; to understand the disconnect 2.    The ability to go outside the structure, build relationships, demonstrate empathy – people are needed to shift mindsets, ideas and behaviours 3.    The ability to get shit done and make possibilities a reality – they are not visionaries, who only see the picture, they operationalise the visionThe catalyst’s toolbox:prioritisation list: leaders must have clear objectives for the team and themselves; a ‘not-right-now’ list; and a list for self-care and rejuvenation to model for othersregular reflection: act as orchestra conductor to guide others from vision to execution; an orchestration calendar with thoughtful and realistic inputnetwork map: create influence by seeking out those with...

“We need to recognise that it is about how we work not where we work”Richard and I discuss leadership discourses, from digital taylorism to eco leadership, and what’s next for the leadership paradigm in organisations. We explore the effect of the pandemic on the employee experience - the “inbetween-ness” that provides the human glue in a workplace and how we can create or re-create moments that matter in a hybrid world. Richard takes us through his intelligence model that offers different ways to understand how intelligence manifests in an organisation and how we can use this understanding to navigate & lead organisational systems differently. We also touch on dialogic learning and intentionally redesigning workplaces for both individual, collective and connective work, and how this can create possibilities for a different type of ‘high potential’ leader to be seen and recognised. Richard shares his insights, research and thought leadership on redesigning the workspace from working with leaders and companies across the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : Simon Western’s eco-leadership discourse splits ego and eco, pitting control against enablement; ego would reinstate Taylorism; eco would embrace systemic challenges in the market and the world - digital Taylorism is technologically feasible but does not allow for adaptive behaviour.People are losing trust in leadership across the board, from government to managers; we need a democratic system and are now trying to simplify leadership and go back to old models for use in a digital age.According to Dave Snowden’s cynefin model, if the leader is the expert and everyone else is less qualified, then the leader must direct rather than coach. If there are many experts, or no experts, or in a crisis, action must be taken by the leader. A (collective) intelligence model offers 5 different ways to understand how intelligence manifests in an organisation: 1.    Foundational intelligence – fragmented; focused on resilience, wellbeing and survival with no capacity to contribute to anything else. Based on salutogenesis and coherence. 2.    Dramatic intelligence –almost all intellectual capacity is applied to progress, fit in, etc. Based on code switching and mask wearing. 3.    Individual intelligence – a classic predictor of promotion, life performance, ability to maximise potential. Purely cognitive. 4.    Collective intelligence – different perspectives, emotional/socio-intelligence, more creative, more productive, more future-orientated. Based on group emotional alignment. 5.    Extended intelligence – the pinnacle, extended networks bring insights that are otherwise unavailable, often resulting in breakthroughs. Interdisciplinary and ahead of the game.  It is possible but difficult for organisations to create a culture for leaders to reach extended intelligence. How do we bridge the strategy execution and operations gap? How do people become leaders? Need to have worked in the trenches before leading. Strategy is hard (requires a high IQ), operations are easy (can be done by anyone) and the human dimension is soft (but finding it is hard; current leaders are facing unfamiliar models). How do we create the digital space for change? Big players will suffer as smaller ones react. Digital monitoring during the pandemic has brutalised people by stripping away key human aspects, e.g. coffees, chats, etc. Hybridity must embrace such ‘inbetween-ness’ and create moments that matter.EQLab came about as a result of Covid. It took off immediately by experimenting with online organisational training based on connecting people using a live cohort and a cognitive gym...

"These are authentic human beings and I don't need to teach them.. they already want to grow and learn.." Babette and I have an insightful discussion about building trust based schools and how this can serve the more interconnected world where we need more human-centred and regenerative practices from primary school to the boardroom. We discuss sociocratic decision making models and the parallel with what we are seeing in organisations and organisational culture. How can we design a model that is fit for all, but not a 'one size fits all' ? How can we step away from measuring solely the cognitive layer of intelligence and include development based learning ? We discuss accountability, definitions of success, societal systems and conscious inclusion as building blocks for a more equitable and developmental school system, and what this would change in the leadership we are currently seeing in organisations. Babette shares her vision for building trust based schools, pulling on her personal conviction and on her work with organisations and leaders across the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Setting up a trust-based school was inspired by frustration rather than inspiration, seeking an alternative to the usual restrictive system of moulding children, teaching them to follow authority and learn or be taught the same as everyone else.-       Children (humans) are creative, self-motivated and authentic and simply need the space to be that without being forced to or controlled (however subtly). The result is convergent rather than divergent thinking - tackled with adults in the corporate world - and is not beneficial to them or future society.-       ‘We need unequal education for equal opportunities.’ The current one-size-fits-nobody-approach creates inequality in the education system and misses potential by basing it solely on cognitive intelligence, which is not a realistic view of the world.-       We assume that education legislation in today's world is based on thorough – albeit old – scientific research, but it is actually based on historical coincidences and built around bureaucratic efficiency rather than child development.-       Thanks to digital, thought is pivoting towards more human aspects, such as cultivating emotional intelligence. The development from a child into an adult is interrupted by schooling that often does not suit them, leaving many feeling unsuited to or uncomfortable in their workplaces.-       Educating based on individual needs is underpinned by 3 things: 1: Development-based learning: a holistic approach that allows children to follow their own trajectories; teachers observe and ensure that the child has the right input for the next zone of development; the teacher as coach holds a space for learning and provides broader instruction when required. Children therefore stall, but don’t fail, on their own personal journeys. 2: Sociocratic decision-making: the child is involved in their own development and understands more about the process of learning, which increases motivation. Shared decision-making at all levels ensures that power is with the expertise, i.e. teachers, and demonstrates the difference between consensus (majority voices are heard) and consent (minority/silent voices are heard). Such collective decisions, however, take longer to reach and are harder to manage in terms of output. 3: Flexible opening times: to maximise learning time, families decide when their children attend school; many aspects of a child’s life are integrated into the school day, e.g. cooking their own lunches, and other ‘extra-curricular’ options, including quiet time. To...

"94% of CEOs are dissatisfied with innovation in their organisation and COVID has accelerated the need for the executive layer to understand the nature of change."Greg and I delve into the world of challenging our own mental models and thinking differently about transformation. How can we equip ourselves and organisations for sustainable change and changing perspective on what’s possible. We discuss inclusion and the strength of different perspectives, as well as designing a more discovery driven process through curiosity, experimentation and continual learning.Design starts with curiosity, but how do you embed this way of thinking into an organisation’s culture ? We discuss the Minimum Viable Environment for sustaining innovation, as well as the different skills needed to scale such an approach post pandemic. Greg shares his structured methodology, his wealth of experience and insight from his Think Wrong methodology and from working with organisations big and small across the globe .The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Any approach to culture begins with human brains, using neural patterns to make the impossible possible and overcoming neurological, biological and cultural barriers. Once disrupted, organisations can establish solid foundations based on shared toolkit, languages and frameworks. -       We must equip entrepreneurs / innovators, train management and give the executive layer the tools to provide governance and oversight; alignment from executive to team level and excitement throughout the organisation are the prerequisite for successful execution. The challenges here can be encapsulated in the ‘super seven questions’:1.    Is there a strategic fit? (stated goals and strategies)2.    Is there a portfolio fit? (legal/compliance)3.    Is it wanted? (validated / appetite)4.    Is it doable? (technically, culturally, legally)5.    Is it worth it? (impact/value, desirability, human currency)6.    Does it represent an affordable loss? 7.    Is it creating option value for us as an organisation? (exit value)-       Designers are taught to focus on the user, understand the need, iterate, prototype and test, which has more in common with scientific than business thinking [cf. design thinking]. In this regard, preparing for the predictable is not as helpful as preparing for the unpredictable and so the metric (for training) must change. -       In discovery-driven development, design becomes part of strategic thinking. (Intuition-, heart-, eyes- and gut-driven!) designers must find a way of making money from creativity and use it to drive positive change. -       Having a mix of people is better than doing it yourself. What does it mean to be human? We connect through shared experiences, but our own experiences are woefully insufficient to design for others. -       We must be good observers and have empathy to understand what others are experiencing, and structure, rigor and discipline complement this creativity. Design starts with curiosity but how do we embed it into a culture? -       How do we transform a culture? Culture is an outcome, not an input. A culture of operation does not equal a culture of innovation, and very few organisations can articulate what the belief system is for governing to create what comes next.-       94% of CEOs are dissatisfied with innovation in their organisation and COVID has...

“All parts are welcome ! find space & places to connect with the experiences of Self”Wendy and I have a fun and insightful discussion on getting to know your inner leadership team, and how you can better understand the multiple parts of yourself to work on your ‘inner game of work’. We discuss the all-knowing, non-vulnerable leader and the transformational power of self enquiry. We delve into inner voices, parts of self and a discussion on how to expand our capacity for joy, creativity, connections and playfulness to create the heightened creativity of ‘flow’. As in any system or organisation, all voices must be heard and welcomed to allow for ‘group wisdom’ and different perspectives. Normalising conversations about ‘not being ok’ and intentionally building more regenerative practices are some of the ways we can create abundance and space in our systems to 'unformat' uncertainty and let the answers emerge. Wendy shares her wealth of experience, insight and wisdom from working with individuals and companies around the world. The main insights you will get from this episode are : -       The internal family systems (IFS) model is based on the premise that our normal healthy state is not a unified mind, but a multiplicity mind; we don’t experience ourselves as a single entity and are aware of multiple voices and sub-personalities.-       Seeing Self as a multiplicity of parts is transformative in terms of developing self-awareness. The concept of Self is unique, and we can all experience it and its qualities: courage, curiosity, connection, calm, confidence, creativity, compassion and clarity (the 8 Cs).-       A useful metaphor for self-leadership is to see ourselves as CEO and all other parts of us as willing team members. IFS says welcome them, listen to them, understand them and help them unburden, just as a good leader would for their team members.-       Compassion and curiosity go hand-in-hand to shout down our inner critic but it is reflection that is required: What do I need? Why am I in pain? Can I help myself? This then leads to a self-invitation to experience calm and create connections across the different circuits in the brain to create an opportunity for transformational change in the brain.-       Being the all-knowing, non-vulnerable leader is often the ultimate aim, but it is really a façade; self-awareness and self-management are the cornerstone of emotional intelligence and we must look at our vulnerable parts and our gut feelings and, like the conductor of an orchestra, tune in to the different ideas, sensations and emotions.-       We become blended with the experience of our parts and when we are triggered, one part of us has taken over. Triggers are trail heads that lead to a deeper understanding of ourselves and are an opportunity for transformation. Polarisations too are difficult to act upon, leading to procrastination, likewise an opportunity for self-leadership.-       When we feel ‘stuck’, we should try and tap into good experiences of Self, e.g. a calming walk, a piece of music, deep breathing. If we pay attention to what’s going on inside we can focus on what is drawing our attention: Why can’t I move forward? What is really going on? What am I afraid of? When did this start?-       An internal dialogue or conflict is often an attempt to keep ourselves safe and keep things under control, which then moves onto (internal) negotiation. We indulge in ‘busyness’ to avoid conversations, but really we should see it as an opportunity to invite curiosity.-       Unlike mindfulness...

"Emotions drive behaviour & yet we never talk about them in the workplace.. "Jeremy and I explore the place of emotions in the workplace and how we can make these conversations simpler and more accessible to create a different workplace environment. Daring to speak about emotions and having the vocabulary to do so is no simple feat. We delve into how to make the emotional layer of workplace culture explicit, and how to unlock the emotional potential of both individual leaders and of teams, through facing our own fears & assumptions, and those that are inherent to the system. Behaviours reinforce our emotions and shape our beliefs, and you cannot change behaviours until you change the way you think about them and the ensuing emotions. Jeremy shares his insights from working with globe organisations, communities and individuals on his ECD (Emotional Culture Deck) game and changing conversations on unlocking emotional potential in organisations and communities.The main insights you’ll get from this episode are : -   Post-covid, people are struggling with how they feel, and how they feel about work, and it is important to help people express themselves in the workplace. -  The Emotional Culture Deck (ECD) is a card game using emotion labels - some pleasant, some unpleasant – designed to help leaders express how they want their people to feel at work and help people manage their emotions, which ultimately govern their behaviour.  -       The ECD gave rise to the company name (from a metaphor from Jonathan Haidt) and the business was built around the success of the game, given away for free to encourage open discussion.-  There is no ROI on conversations about emotions at work; the cognitive layer eclipses the emotional layer and so giving it away is easier than trying to change people’s minds; people can try it themselves to remove cynicism and spread the word.-  A mindset of finite statements, such as ‘emotions don’t matter here’, is difficult to change but the game makes people realise change is possible. It was beta tested at individual level then at team level but still focused on leaders/individuals. -   The CX deck gave rise to the ECD focusing on ‘experience is the new brand’ (Brian Solis). What is an experience? What do we want our customers to feel? What do we need to do to achieve that? What do you want your people to feel and not feel at work?-  There is a large body of work about the power of emotion on the culture of a team. How can we look at behaviour without addressing emotions? Behaviours reinforce our emotions and shape our beliefs.-   The success of the ECD was daunting. It can be used to answer any questions the customer wants to ask and gathering feedback on the ways in which it has been used provides collective intelligence.-  National cultures vary as to whether people are open to having such conversations, but the gaming element breaks down barriers and allows people to not have to say what is written on the cards, giving them autonomy to choose the cards that resonate. Individuals attribute definitions themselves and sharing stories in those moments offers true connection.-  As a culture programme, the transformational element is that it works from the bottom up; each team can create their own culture, changing small parts for the collective good and working at a sub-cultural level of change (as opposed to top-down value setting).-  The ECD is also being used in schools. The gatekeepers to schools are adults, with inherent scepticism and cynicism, demonstrating that leaders’ discomfort influences others. The game helps them lean in to that fear and nudges vulnerability.-  One...

What does happiness at work actually mean ? Can we build it consciously ? . Kathryn and I discuss the much debated and often elusive subject of happiness at Work. We delve into the world of searching for the ‘dream job’ and what that actually means, how educational systems concentrate often on improving weaknesses rather than focusing on strengths. We explore the different elements of happiness and particularly post COVID the question of "what actually brings me joy ?"The shift from profit to purpose, and stop the busyness to create the time to 'be' as well as the time to 'do' at work are highlighted as Kathryn shares her insights, research and experience on this subject.The main insights you will get from this episode are : Wellbeing, fun and happiness need to be understood to offer practical support and help for people on their transformation journey; COVID made the topic more high-profile as people asked themselves: what brings me joy?Searching for and achieving a ‘dream job’ can be disillusioning after a while - is it the grand reward we long yearned for? It follows on from the conditioning of work hard = good results = job satisfaction = success = work harder.It is a relatively new phenomenon to challenge this, and it brings with it profound learning, often retrospective regrets, disappointment, fear, but also relief and the possibility of something better. Such an epiphany often instils a desire to share it and help others.Happiness (at work) is an elusive, multi-layered, aspirational and complex concept. Most commonly it is achieved through a sense of purpose, challenge and competence; patterns from research suggest men enjoy ‘mastering’ a challenge (action-based), whereas women enjoy competence more (reflective).There is a simple methodology for attaining happiness at work based essentially on the questions: What do I want? How do I make the change? Acknowledge ‘stuckness’ and be open to different possibilities, which is emotional, confrontational and scary. Keep going. Be positive. Reflect our core values. Enact straight away. Engage in deep learning.Craft the perfect job. Seek challenge/competence (inside or outside work). Explore our assumptions. Negotiate. Set boundaries. Break free of the cycle of self-limiting beliefs to gain power and control.Communicate at work. Face our fears. Look back at past goals to draw strength. Plan – where have we come from and how do we go forward? Feel more confident. Do what we do well, well! Feel good about ourselves. Make practical decisions about our own happiness.Mindfully put into practice what we learn and consolidate it; many educational systems focus on improving weaknesses rather than focusing on strengths.A lightbulb moment can make us impatient to bring about change but we must recognise the feelings, pause and think - society pushes us to constantly ‘do’ but in reality, less is more. We should all have a sense of hope, take small steps to improve things all the time and constantly come back to what’s important, step off the hamster wheel and ‘tweak things’.COVID has shown that change is possible, and quickly, so it is always worth pushing for it.

"Ai is just a powerful set of tools, what we really need is to understand human problems better.."A thought provoking and insightful discussion with Vivienne Ming on seeking to solve the world's messiest human problems using technology, in companies and in communities, by creating a more inclusive world. We discuss the power of AI and technological tools coupled with an understanding of just how ward it is to tackle human problems such as economic inequality, sexism or discrimination. How can we measure this untapped human potential and use it for philanthropic ends ? Messy problems have messy solutions - the answer is always more than a simple yes or no - as technology advances, nothing is that binary, and neither are humans. How to manage this increasing complexity and bring our best selves to our everyday lives ? How can we harness the potential of collective intelligence differently ? We discuss and explore these questions and more as Vivienne shares her stories, insights and research on this fascinating and complex subject. The main insights from this episode are : The world depicted by science fiction is not always so wonderful, but is some of it achievable? Whilst society has limitations, there is always the idea that something could be better. Also seeking to channel energy and expertise into philanthropic, profoundly human projects for the greater good (e.g. in the fields of education, public health) – why not build it so people can use it? But this could easily become dystopian…AI is a powerful set of tools, but we can’t do everything with it. There is a lack of understanding about just how hard it is to tackle human problems, such as economic inequality or sexism, for example. People do not always act rationally.There is no such thing as ‘AI dust’ – the current challenge is technology utopianists claiming problems will be solved vs. those advocating the wholesale banning of technology. We are both scared and excited by technology, so what do we do with it? We must make good choices and take responsibility; we must limit the negative impact and ensure that no one group suffers. Messy problems have messy solutions, and we must decide what is right and what is wrong. The answer is always more than a simple yes or no - as technology advances, nothing is that binary, and neither are humans.We must bring our best selves to our lives every day and create an environment that allows us to do so. We must realise that our best self is not perfect, but we still have to try. We should not aim too high nor feel like a failure - life is not perfect and that is not the purpose.Scientists conducting research hope to be ‘less wrong’ than their predecessors. Nothing is a shock - science is never right, and its dirty secret is that (simple) truisms are hardly ever 100% accurate but they generalise, look for patterns/clues and are based on heterogeneity.When it comes to collective intelligence, what makes a group smart? The biggest predictor is how diverse the group is. In developmental psychology, enriched, i.e. diverse, environments produced bigger brains - more thoughts, more emotional resilience, more cultural enrichment; (how) can these positive interactions be economically productive?Looking at peoples’ potential, what is their uniqueness that will make a difference? Most people will not have the opportunity in life to make a difference, but why is it so scary for those who do to share the good fortune they have and allow others to try?‘All of our lives would be better if all of our lives were better.’ There is an enormous amount of untapped human potential in the world, and this must change: it is not us vs. them, but us vs. nothing or us vs. ourselves: everyone can give back if they are given the chance to do so. We must deliberately find our world’s problems (in areas such as...

What does diversity really bring to business and how can we normalise this conversation?  Are we asking the right questions and do we measure it meaningfully ? Swati and I have a rich and insightful discussion on stepping out of being politically correct, and coming from a place of enquiry and curiosity. We need to ask the right questions, speak more boldly and really take on board the fundamental concepts of inclusion and diversity, and what they mean for today’s institutions, corporates and communities. We discuss the role of education, research and corporates to create a common platform and psychological safety for discussion – it will be full of opportunities but also beliefs, fears, assumptions and spiky conversations. We need big ideas to inspire curiosity; and we must all admit when we know we don’t know. The presence of diversity alone is not enough to create inclusion and performance - D & I needs to be CEO led and a core part of every business strategy and culture change roadmap. Swati shares the insights and experience from her work both in corporates and as an entrepreneur, and research from her recent book - Diversity beyond tokenism. The main insights from this episode are :  This is the first book on a complex topic that poses questions that are not readily asked and for which there are no easy answers. Diversity has many themes and moving parts and this book aims to bring everything together, highlight the paradox, be truthful, politically respectful and offer objective analysis of the problem. Does diversity help business? It is taken as a given, but how do we measure it? What kind of diversity is needed? Diversity for a start-up is different from diversity for a large company, for example, and this requires authentic and honest discussion. Gender equality is currently at odds with most organisations, which have male mindsets; we must invest aggressively in the female workforce.The issue of privilege is likewise important. What does/will privilege look like? What are its boundaries? Affirmative action requires an outcome and an end point and can become toxic if it is not transparent. There is often good intent, but it is couched in a hushed manner.Being ‘equal’ is not the same as understanding inclusion. Just as also absolute equality is not the same as equity. ‘Playing the diversity card’ is applied both correctly and incorrectly. Any type of ‘card’ is important and represents societal/historical wrongs that need to be rectified. This is not just a problem for corporations, but for society and government too.Where are the gaps? Where/why do people feel they need to ‘play the card’ (gender, race, etc.)? There are tools for reframing the issue. Fixing the minority (e.g. women) is not fixing the environment. And who is trying to fix what? Are men trying to fix women? Does anybody need fixing? It is often about stereotypes and the balance of power. The notion of sampann means ‘complete in all qualities’ and is applied to women in India. It asserts that women are more resilient, perfectionists, feel inadequate, don’t speak up, feel guilty, etc. We need a completely different balance that brings more equality to the workplace. (Returning) mothers are often the focus of any gender initiative but what about single women, for example? This overlooks an entire demographic group. The rhetoric for ‘equality’ is almost exclusively centred around women. We need to change the rules at home and at work and raise men differently, but the focus must shift to men too. We should look at human beings in general as a research base; not all women are the same and not all men are the same.Unconscious bias training takes up much of D&I spend. Can training correct deep-rooted bias? No. It’s bigger than leaders and companies but must be addressed, starting with teaching and...

"We are already living in the century of the brain" : What is the future of humanity and how do we learn in an increasingly digital world ? How do AI and neuroscience compliment each other ? Alexia and I have a conversation around bringing technology and neuro-cognition together : demystifying AI, neuroscience and what it brings to the learning landscape. AI is changing our world; the technological and neuro-revolution is transforming how we live and work, and our relationships with others. AI also plays a decisive role in the competitiveness of companies of all sizes and is revolutionising many sectors (e.g. marketing, CX, etc). All businesses are impacted, and companies must accept these new tools both to optimise tasks previously performed by humans and to constantly navigate change in an emerging environment. Alexia shares insights and experience from her research and work with companies both big and small. The main insights you will get from this episode are : Creating value through technology means bridging the gap between human value and technological value and promoting diversity in technology. Data and technology are ever more present and connect us in ways we never thought possible.Neuroscience brings AI and human intelligence together. AI dates back to 1956 when scientists dreamt of recreating human cognitive functions in machines and unravelling the mysteries of intelligence (the Latin ‘intelligere’ means ‘the ability to make connections’).Machine learning is based on statistical AI and data. Traditional programming uses computer data and is always accurate. ML on the other hand is not always accurate: it uses statistical information to create links, ‘learn’ and then make predictions (modelling).  Narrow AI currently only covers simple, repetitive, specialised tasks. In some cases, AI outperforms humans, but machines cannot generalise and cannot yet go from narrow AI to general AI. We are learning more about neuro-cognition: AI learns quickly, and so must we. Deep learning has led to major advances: artificial neural networks make simple calculations, with each layer deepening the level of understanding. This process is bio-inspired, analysing large amounts of data using computer science, mathematics and AI to gain a better understanding of how the human brain works. How is AI regulated from an ethical point of view? Will there be universal rules for AI? Do we need new legislation? It is difficult to define an international ethical framework because different factors mean different results in different countries. The ethics question has long been debated but we can start with robotics (cf. Asimov’s laws): those developing the systems must seek to answer questions during the design phase (ethics by design).  What is the future of humanity? Will AI destroy the human race? What changes are expected? We are already living in the century of the brain, which has given rise to many ‘neuro-disciplines’ such as neuro-education, neuro-economics, neuro-law.AI is changing our world; the technological and neuro-revolution is transforming how we live and work, and our relationships with others; it is also multidisciplinary, i.e. human, cultural and societal. AI is at the heart of other sciences, with a theoretical basis in statistics and mathematics but in combination with the human science of biology. It plays a decisive role in the competitiveness of companies of all sizes and is revolutionising many sectors (e.g. marketing, CX, etc). All businesses are impacted, and companies must accept these new tools both to optimize tasks previously performed by humans and to constantly navigate change in an emerging environment.We must all understand the important concepts of AI: what it is, what machines can do, what the AI use cases are, what its...

Overwhelmed by the need to rethink your organisational models , service models and capabilities in your organisation.. ? Struggling to keep up with the speed of change in the constantly emerging market environment ? Simone and I discuss the rapid shift to more platform based models and the interconnected thinking that goes with this shift. Designing new platforms, open business models and transitioning to interconnected thinking is vital for both businesses and society and brings with it a new and challenging landscape shaped by different ecosystems that are unpredictable and uncertain.This puts new demands on organisations, and we explore how this thinking can translate for leaders in the C suite, for middle management and for the employee experience more holistically. The shift from institution based governance to network based governance is also key to our discussion, and what it means for organisational design and culture going forward. Simone shares his models, research, and insights on this fast moving topic from working with corporates, start ups and institutions across the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Designing new platforms, open business models and transitioning to interconnected, i.e. boundaryless, thinking is vital for both businesses and society and brings with it a new and challenging landscape shaped by different ecosystems that are unpredictable and uncertain.-       This scenario places three essential demands on organisations:1.    To build literacy and capacity; understand a new language, network effects and the market; enable interactions; understand how the Internet and technology have changed the rules of the game2.    To see an organisation as a system of elements; understand the different ecosystems and how they are facilitated; examine the question of shared technology versus proprietary hardware; look at performance critically and develop a portfolio perspective3.    To have ‘skin in the game’: do away with bureaucracy and hierarchy and replace them with small units supported internally by platforms; offer employees incentives to become more entrepreneurial; diversify and move away from silos-       Tools and models for envisaging organisational evolution in three areas where change is required: technological innovation, ecological innovation and the culture of fear.1.    Macro changes in terms of new technology, such as AI and 5G, to enable new departments, new solutions, low-cost options, predictive services; and to empower users2.    Ecological changes, such as those embedded in the biosphere, new regulations and their impact on policies (e.g. zero carbon, circular economies), supply chains and business models (as we have seen with COVID)3.    Changing the culture of fear at geopolitical level; shifting from traditional governance to consensus, localism and regionalisation (e.g. vast differences between China, India, Russia, Brazil, US, Europe, etc.)-       An adequate response to these changes requires different organisational models - regenerative ones that move away from the ‘steady state’, shift power, enable local autonomy and focus on the importance of context.-       A digital market is well represented by ‘Cicero’s triangle’ of longtails (smaller players who can win big and fragment the fast-moving market for ‘big’ players); aggregators (such as Über, Airbnb, Amazon, etc., who allow the market to grow via third-party relationships); infrastructure (modular enablers,...

"We’re at a point where we have to ‘multi-solve' & understand the challenge from all possible perspectives"A rich and insightful discussion about the need to rebuild our systems differently using more regenerative models. We discuss how to actually make this a reality in society and organisations today. How can we use different lenses to understand the interconnectedness of the different layers of the ecosystem, and create leaders and an environment that is deliberately developmental ? Building capacity to thrive both at an individual and collective level is key and we dig deeper into how to consciously build emotional and business capacity to navigate uncertainty and the stories we tell ourselves to make meaning of the way forward whether as an individual leader or as a collective community. Graham shares his insights, research and experience in this field from working with corporations, start ups and institutions across the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : From a global perspective, we must rebuild to prevent further catastrophic consequences of our actions (e.g. humanitarian and environmental). There are two main elements of building: creating a fundamentally different system, rather than finetuning an existing one; and rebuilding: using the existing valuable elements we have to recreate rather than start from scratch.This difficult process is full of both complementarities and polarities, e.g. disagreement does not equal false and the opposite of truth is not necessarily false, but a different, equally valid, truth. Two fundamentally different concepts can co-exist in a relationship of tension, as is often the case in the  scientific world (such as the dynamic interplay between muscle and bones in legs to provide motion).Responding adequately to a changing situation requires a variety of responses and perspectives (cf. Elizabeth Sawin’s ‘multisolving’). We must see the interrelations between problems and between solutions. Opposites are not mutually exclusive, and a lot depends on the stories we tell ourselves, and how we view them. Systems are dynamic and balance is in a constant state of flux. ‘Multisolutions’ generally offer a far higher ROI.Different ecosystems – internal, interpersonal, organisational, company-level, local economic/social/environmental and global – all contain potential and we must understand all the different parts and how they interrelate. Uncomfortable truths and sensitivity to issues sometimes prevent us from recognising that we must accept and grow ‘the whole’, not diminish it by removing parts of it.We must harness – as opposed to manage - conflict and build the capacity to thrive, beginning with ourselves. Emotional capacity comes from our interpretation of the multiple stories available, leading to greater understanding. Rather than seeing problems that require solutions, why not see them as mysteries to explore and facts to discover.Organisations must choose a model that works for them - beware replication! There is strength in uniqueness. We must think more broadly to bring about change. We must see clearly what is hidden or assumed in order to shape possible and impossible actions in a safe, anti-fragile way.People are complex open systems too. Organisations must examine the interrelations between them and how they can have a knock-on effect. There must be a frame of reference for assessing what is good, bad, true or false, and comparison between data and the frame of reference when making a decision.Bringing the systemic binary approach and the human approach together is complex. For example, if the consumer is boss, this is not evident on an organisation’s orgchart and this particular stakeholder is ‘invisible’. Power is necessary - it ‘gets stuff done’ – but so too is hierarchy, but this must be functional, not ego-driven.The...

“Speaking to others is always a privilege….” How to empower voices and communicate with clarity ? Your voice is unique and offers the best way of being yourself…In this episode Murielle and I discuss the importance of rhetoric and its place in leadership today. We discuss silence and the complex history between women and public speaking. The hybrid working environment means that clarity of communication is even more important for leaders, and for empowering both individual and collective voices. How can organisations and leaders work to create an environment where all voices can be heard and help to shorten the complex ‘say gap’ women encounter in organisations. Empowering voices is even more important in a world where we can collaborate virtually, and can sit behind a screen to do so if we prefer. Murielle shares her story, insights, experience and expertise on rhetoric and creating an inclusive academy where learning this skill is open to everyone to find their own excellence. The main insights from this episode are : Speaking to others is always a privilege, yet in France, training in the art of oratory has not traditionally featured highly. Now, however, it is a very important skill: oral examinations carry great weight, and the lack of focus on it is strangely paradoxical.Oratory is the ancient art of speaking well and dates back to ancient Greece and the birth of (direct) democracy, in which individuals had to present and defend themselves publicly. Careful observation of successful outcomes gave rise to practical tools for speaking more efficiently. The art itself and the human reaction to it have not changed, and we still use the 5 canons of rhetoric today - invention, arrangement, style, memory, delivery.Each category needs to be mastered yet leaders tend to focus solely on delivery. Rhetoric shows the complexity and completeness of a skill that requires empathy, critical judgement, analysis, non-verbal and paraverbal skills.Clarity of communication is even more important in the hybrid environment. Many people never have a voice even if they have the skills to speak up. Everyone has the right to speak and be heard nowadays but not everyone has access to high-quality training.The Académie collaborates with different partners (e.g. charities, leaders, entrepreneurs, big companies) to give people a voice (e.g. women, deprived children, students, jobseekers) and aims to have social impact by bringing oratory to new territories.There is a complex history between women and public speaking. For 2000 years, speaking in public was about citizenship; women were denied this right and excluded from public life. Claire Mason’s ‘gender say gap’ addresses this issue of women still speaking less than men and being less confident in their ability to do so, in turn deepening the ‘confidence gap’.People must be informed about this history of silence – knowledge is power and can bring about change. But it is ingrained in national and international culture. Organisations are a male culture and leaders do not take on or are not aware of the complex ‘say gap’ problem. The issue needs flagging up at both individual and collective level. Too often when women speak up, they are not heard. Why is this? How do we hear what they say? Why do we hear differently what men and women say?Covid allowed the Toulouse-based Académie to broaden its reach on a national and international stage as it brought new and interesting changes that have led to faster development than anticipated, increasing the opportunities to create impact and empower voices through virtual working.Leaders wanting to empower people to speak up should start by listening - a prerequisite for talking to anyone. Asking a question and listening to the answer is a skill to be honed during a lifetime. Find your own excellence, amplify...

 “Create the space where people can ask the question “what works for me, what works for us… “An insightful and rich discussion with Julie Hodges around managing and leading organisational change in the post pandemic context. We look at the different elements of change for individuals and teams, how HR must fully engage through out process and how to scale and build capabilities for sustainable, human centred change. How do organisations react to unprecedented, emergent, daunting and unplanned change in the form of Covid? What have we learnt, and what needs to happen to transition to a more inclusive and psychologically safe environment ? Change has continued apace but is now plateauing, providing breathing space for organisations to think about what comes next and how to define the model that’s right for them. Julie shares insights from her research, experience and interactions with leaders and organisations across the globe. The main insights you will get from this episode are : How do organisations react to unprecedented, emergent, daunting and unplanned change in the form of Covid? Change has continued apace but is now plateauing, providing breathing space for organisations to think about what comes next.People must engage with change to make it sustainable and successful; they must be included in decisions and in implementation – what have we learnt? what has worked and what has not? what ideas to people have? will lessons learned be taken on board?The individual aspect of change is very important, the different views, experiences of and responses to change, as well as the team perspective, which is often neglected. Resistance to change is natural when people lack information and/or agency, but this opposition provides an opportunity to listen to concerns and identify areas for improvement.Change heightens sensitivity among employees: is it fair? is it just? how is it dealt with? The process must give managers the space to actively listen, break down an organisation into a team of teams, build capacities and skills and overcome assumptions and reticence. Change is on top of the daily job and is becoming continuous. People need space within their jobs to address, plan and implement change and build capability and skills, both individually and collectively for the benefit of the organisation.Its ongoing nature makes change a funding/resources issue that also requires the ability to lead and manage it, i.e. looking at its impact on front line staff, giving them time to learn, reflect on this learning and build on their skills at a time of uncertainty and complexity.Organisations are struggling as the role of leaders is affected by employees now used to more autonomy working from home. How do we manage people remotely? How does this impact on change? Culture plays a role here with innovative cultures more open to change moving faster to embrace new technology and different ways of working. It is easier to start small and change elements of a culture, e.g. by communicating up and across the organisation, creating space for dialogue and supporting multiple simultaneous (smaller) changes in the form of simple operationalisation for tangible testing. ZOUD (zone of uncomfortable debate) model for complex, hard-to-resolve issues brings them out into the open in a structured way: review the situation, listen and ask open questions, understand what needs to happen, be objective. This requires authenticity, honesty, compassion and empathy over a transactional approach.‘Hilltops’ model facilitates understanding of what people see from their own hilltops, i.e. standpoints. Both models provide a framework for and distance from emotions to address uncomfortable issues. Democratising access to soft(er) skills across the organisation will help change habits and...

"Are we ready to drop our masks and share our deeper selves ? "Antoinette and I have a rich and fun conversation on Trust, a much used term that everyone has their own definition of. This is clearly not a 'technical' challenge and we explore how to understand the mechanics of trust, inter-dependance & inclusion in organisations. We discuss the skills necessary for a more compassionate and emotional leadership style, and the power of the present moment. How could this play out in the different HR systems and processes if we deliberately designed systems for trust ? Can we use this to unlock potential as we move into a more interconnected workplace where care and compassion trump competition and individual performance? Antoinette shares her research, experience and wealth of insights on this complex subject and shares her thoughts and insights on the place of trust in the digital workplace. The main insights you will get from this episode are : Trust is key to creating a better working environment but is not easy to define. It has three components: how you show up, how others believe you show up, and the space between the two (i.e. the quality of the relationship).To trust is to take a leap of faith, seen as ‘touch-feely’ in the business world, which is problematic in the workplace given that feelings are not spoken about. It is these human aspects, however, that will keep us relevant in an increasingly technological world.Trust means demonstrating vulnerability, integrity, compassion and the ability to ask for help and allow intimacy; we must understand compassion and what it means and understand that we are not independent but interdependent.A company’s success is not down to the CEO but to everyone who shared ideas and created synergy. Individual leaders can work on their own vulnerability but how can this be scaled up? How do we operationalise the subject of trust?Existing HR/leadership systems are essentially based on distrust (e.g. competition, individual performance evaluations). Evidence shows that it is not possible to measure individual knowledge in an environment and that evaluations contain more biases than truths.We must work on learning to understand team performance, which requires leadership, accountability and courageous conversations. All instruments and crutches should be stripped away to allow trust to form; leadership training should not be about tools.HR should see everyone as ‘human’ and a ‘talent’, not simply a resource. Inclusive talent management will help provide what might be needed in the future. Everyday microlearning is not always obvious but leaders must ask questions and use strength-based approaches.COVID has provided a reason to be more radical and make changes to garner competitive advantage and retain talent. This mandates a humanist approach that fosters inclusion and diversity as a means to change systems and mindsets.The post-pandemic landscape leaves an unknown (work)space to be defined but trust must be created. The hybrid work model will hopefully make presenteeism and ‘toxic bosses’ a thing of the past as people will leave an organisation they do not trust.We must discuss technology and how we use it to serve the human good; it should not exploit humans or extract their knowledge. We must compensate for the challenges it presents by overinvesting in trust.It also raises ethical questions and makes leaders’ jobs more difficult as machines are not always right. Smart machines and AI highlight our failings when it comes to understanding trust at even the most basic level, which could have dystopian consequences.We must ask the right questions, experiment, measure outcomes, and try to find the right technical adaptive solution that allows connection on a human level and encourages us to sit with and cultivate our feelings (= mindfulness and...

“One of the greatest gifts we can give to another person is to listen, and not to respond, just to hear”Brid and I have an inspiring and rich conversation on mental health in the workplace. We discuss how this translates for individuals and for organisations: how can they stay connected on a human level, what reflexes and habits are being developed and how these conversations are being tackled by leaders. COVID brought this subject centre stage and forced us to look at our own responsibility in being well but also what culture is needed to sustain an open exchange in the workplace. Brid shares her wealth of experience and some tangible, simple techniques that we can use to develop our own reflexes and help the organisation develop a culture to normalise conversations around mental health and well being. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : We must build a culture of mental wellbeing and change the conversation in organisations to normalise discussion surrounding mental health by asking people what they need and offering help – even simple solutions such as stepping out of office for 10 minutes to regain perspective or slowing the pace down to allow people to just ‘be’. Wellbeing is about ‘being’ well, not ‘doing’ well but it is much easier to measure what we do than it is to measure how well we are. There should be a private and psychologically safe space in which to have conversations, display emotions and ask difficult questions. COVID brought the issue of ‘being well’ at work to the fore as a result of anxiety, fear, logistical problems, existential worries, stress, constant change and isolation. It has changed working models and working hours, which have become less rigid and more flexible due to complicated home lives, and this in turn has increased productivity overall. Staying well means staying connected (pre- and post-COVID). The current hybrid work model looks at how to avoid isolation, e.g. by rotating office time amongst all employees to have different people connecting on different days. The ‘new situation’ requires new ideas as well skills and techniques: we must learn, use and one these skills until they become second nature (like learning to drive) and part of our daily practice. Like our dental health, our mental health too requires a small amount of attention every day.The relentless working day calls for simple and effective techniques such as conscious breathing to calm the sympathetic nervous system, reduce the heart rate, relax muscles, etc. Other simple practices that can be helpful include mindfulness, talking therapies, speaking openly and honestly, expressing feelings and listening to understand not to respond. Practical advice includes taking exercise (to release endorphins), eating healthily, sleeping well, meditation (to rest the mind), offsetting stress with pleasure (finding small things that bring you joy every day), finding closeness (we are relational beings), achievement.We must develop our own individual reflexes; even in large organisations, everything is a choice and comes down to individual responsibility. How do we react to negative emotions at work? Managers can initiate and carefully frame a conversation with someone they might be concerned about to enable the person to feel safe enough to speak up and open up.

“We all need to manage our emotions and climb over the 2 biggest inhibitors of learning : ego and fear”A rich, fun and inspiring conversation with Ed where we discuss hyper-learning and how humans can stay relevant in today’s interconnected workplaces.  The digital age will not tolerate a lack of emotion, and as technology and AI will be ubiquitous, so the performance of humans (and their emotions) will be the differentiator. We must develop skills to add this value that technology cannot: thinking differently, creatively, imaginatively and critically, exploring, discovering and making moral judgements. Ed and I explore the need to replace the existing compare and compete with one of care & collaboration. All leaders need to have self-mastery of their inner peace to enable meaningful conversations and allow collective intelligence & flow to impact both the business and the people results. Ed shares his wealth of knowledge, experience, research and insights with us, particularly on hyper learning and how leaders all over the globe can master inner peace and collectively humanise the workplace. The main insights you'll get from this episode are: Hyper learning is about adapting to the speed of change with high-quality and consistent learning, unlearning and relearning. Technology is creating new knowledge increasingly quickly and humans must (try to!) keep up. It will change how we live and work and will require us to constantly update, presenting a major learning challenge.We must keep pace with digital change by embracing a new and different type of workplace to encourage learning by adding an emotional layer to organisational culture. We must develop skills to add the value that technology cannot: thinking differently, creatively, imaginatively and critically, exploring, discovering and making moral judgements.In the near future, our USP will be the ability to emotionally connect with other human beings and channel positive emotions to enable learning. Some jobs will remain human, such as those that involve problem-solving and hands-on dexterity, but automation will ultimately affect every profession.Leaders must believe and commit to cultural, behavioural and process change by giving a compelling answer to the question of ‘why?’. Digital transformation requires people transformation and leaders must role model new behaviours accordingly, such as mastery of self. To excel in the digital age means improving our ability to learn and collaborate. Teamwork is essential and a competitive workplace must become a trusting and caring workplace. The top strategic differentiator in the digital age will be the quality of conversations in the digital workplace to optimise the collective intelligence of the group. We are suboptimal learners and efficient thinkers who seek confirmation of what we believe. Instead, we should be open to the world, look for disconfirming information, defer judgement, ask questions, seek to understand each other and step away from our conscious minds to spark emergent thinking that can have transformative results. The move from ego to eco, from individual to collective is a lifelong learning journey. The notion of compare and compete must be replaced with one of collaboration, whereby we work towards an idea meritocracy that showcases human dignity and respect with no intentional harm or humiliation. Humanising the workplace involves collective flow and opens a gateway to the highest levels of creative and critical thinking. People must invest at an individual level: listen effectively, manage their emotions and remain openminded. Flow by definition is full immersion, and so collective flow is even more powerful. Scientific research on collective intelligence shows that the most effective collaborative teams are all-female,...

“Our thinking creates reality and the status quo continuously exerts a gravitational pull backwards”In this weeks episode of let's talk Mike and I discuss thinking differently and taking a more holistic approach to transformation. We discuss how thinking creates our reality and the importance of understanding our own mental models. Organisations must both 'learn' lessons from the pandemic and then 'unlearn' to take the opportunity to redefine leadership and culture. We must be prepared and be present: present to the organisational system, the human system and the market ecosystem to observe emerging trends and respond quickly to beat competitors. Listening to and empathising with the different pieces of your organisational and human system puzzle will empower people to think and work differently.Mike shares his wealth of experience and insight on this topic from working on breakthrough thinking with global leaders and organisations around the world.The main insights you will get from this episode are : A holistic approach to transformation requires breakthrough thinking to free the future from the shackles of the past. Thinking represents the human system within an organisation and getting into an organisation’s DNA helps to change the way people think by encouraging them to understand their mental models and think beyond them. The context is decisive, regardless of the brilliant systems and processes that may be in place. We must be able to see what is possible and nurture a human environment that allows us to create the next brilliant thing. Our thinking creates reality, and the status quo exerts a gravitational pull backwards.We must look to the future, not the past, and this is particularly relevant post-pandemic: what does the future look like and how will organisations navigate it? COVID required us to ‘enter’ each other’s homes and allowed us to laugh, show empathy, be more open and willing to show vulnerability.Organisations that are trying to be more innovative, to take risks, be agile, empowered, etc. must understand why they are doing it. We must reimagine work and leadership: ‘unboss’, so that everyone can understand their purpose (with the help of their leaders). The role of purpose is crucial, and the questions ‘why are we doing all this?’ and ‘what is it for?’ must be answered. This taps in to a rich vein given that the pandemic has made us more humanistic – it is time for the corporate world to embrace people’s full selves.Organisations must learn lessons from the pandemic: how to anticipate the future and not simply revert to type, which would be a waste of a huge opportunity. They must be prepared and be present: observe emerging trends and respond quickly to beat competitors. Leaders need the ability to unlearn and escape the gravitational pull of success or past experience. Likewise, the ego must be quietened in order to both learn from others and learn how to fail fast. New leadership models comprise planners, visionaries, architects, coaches and catalysts and rely not only on a bold and non-restrictive vision, but also on a system that evolves, challenges preconceptions, unlocks people’s potential and catalyses change.Storytelling is helpful in describing the many different facets of an organisation, e.g. using animal analogies – a wise owl, a resilient elephant, a curious monkey, a fiercely loyal lion –most organisations are a mixture of all of these. Storytelling is contextual, non-threatening and relatable. People are empowered but organisations often take their power away – we must remind them of their power and create the conditions for them to unleash it quickly if organisations are to survive for the long term.‘Baggage’ can be an obstacle to progress and buzzwords are off-putting. We must make themes understandable and listen to all system voices, not just the...

"Inclusive leadership is hard, and it's a journey..but one that is incredibly worthwhile"In this week's episode of let's talk Gianna and I have a fun and rich discussion on what inclusive leadership actually means, and how the pandemic has influenced this subject. We discuss how leaders can use inclusive leadership to create sustainable change and a more equitable and collaborative environment where all voices are heard. Such ‘deep democracy’ brings with it challenging growth and development work for leaders. We need to lean in to the discomfort, and forge ahead to achieve growth based on kindness and empathy for improved performance and well being. Gianna shares her wealth of experience and insight with us on the challenges and successes of translating inclusive leadership into an operational reality. The main insights you will get from this episode are : As the bridge between employees and employer, innovative HR leaders should foster collaboration and inclusion to create a more equitable workplace - inclusive leadership means leading everyone in the organisation, being aware of your own inclinations and biases and pursuing an active process of intentionally engaging people with different perspectives2020 was seismic in many regards (specifically in the US with racial injustices and political unrest) and these ‘multiple pandemics’ all served to accelerate inclusive leadership with consciousness, which can be a painful process The unfortunate ‘shecession’, whereby many women left the workforce, has made sustainable inclusion more important than ever; tangible initiatives in this regard include employee-led councils for diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging, and making an organisation accountable (through statistics and data on inclusion) An employee led council with regular meetings of employees from all across an organisation to discuss different topics to take stock of how the organisation is doing is key; they come up with suggestions, constantly revisit topics and have access to senior leadership to pitch their ideas Such ‘deep democracy’ brings with it challenging growth and development work for leaders; taking a stark look in the mirror can be both positive and negative but senior leaders must see where improvements are neededShortcomings can be tackled with actions and tangible results, such as internal and external workshops, creating a shared language and a safe space for unexpressed feelings, building the EQ muscle of the organisation HR’s role in this slow-paced, very intentional process is to help create an environment, an forum and a platform for dialogue and to champion continuous learning; employee-led models will vary but they must always begin by listening, identifying needs, empowering employees and acting on ideas and suggestionsHR must elevate the importance of inclusive leadership to increase the feeling of belonging in order for people to feel seen, heard and valued; it is important to give everyone the same foundation of education and understanding and to invest in people’s growth as humansThe biggest challenge is making the business case to senior leadership and creating engagement by providing KPIs to underpin D&I efforts; every organisation must define D&I for itself, lean in to the discomfort and forge ahead to achieve growth based on kindness and empathy Tools such as surveys, workgroups, etc. should be used to inform and be informed across the entire organisation: do not fear failure, be authentic and make ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I’m still learning’ part of everyone’s vocabulary

“Collective intelligence is about learning from each other and about listening intently to human needs, to create something more purposeful..”In this episode of let’s talk Sarah and I discuss female empowerment, and giving more volume to women’s voices . It is predominantly male voices that are heard and women are underrepresented at all levels of governance and decision-making; Sororistas, a movement set up during COVID to invite women to write about how they see themselves and the world in 2030, provides a platform for collaboration, visibility, collective intelligence, learning and sistership. We discuss the power of collective intelligence and the need for allyship in driving transformation and gender parity moving forward. We all have a duty to contribute to this cause and to the cause of a more purposeful humanity. Sarah shares her experience, learnings and insights from co-founding this movement for women to make their voice heard and to “write the future “. The main insights you will get from this episode are : Sororistas was set up at the start of the pandemic and invited French-speaking women to write about how they see themselves and the world in 2030; the aim was to empower women and give them a voice to express their ideas and ideals for the future(not only) during lockdown, it is predominantly male voices that are heard and women are underrepresented at all levels of governance and decision-making; Sororistas provides a platform for collaboration, visibility, collective intelligence, learning and sistership 600 texts from women all over the world were read by a committee of women from diverse backgrounds with different experiences and the overriding message was a universal one of love, peace, harmony and purposethe all-female committee, jury and other supporters, built relationships and trust online, took small steps forward and truly listened to each other in order to put in place the tools and structure needed to work together towards a bigger purpose of maximising potentialit raised questions around the notion of gender equality given that women don’t want the same as men - they want something different and new based on humanity, and increasing digital interconnection will bring about human-centred, systemic changeSororistas will use the valuable content already created (in the form of a book, podcast and author profiles) to evolve and extend beyond the French-speaking world to enable all women and girls to contribute to our common future, regardless of backgroundjust as there is a ‘special place in hell for women who don’t support other women’, so too is there for men who dominate women; allyship must cross the gender divide 

“Where are we vulnerable ? Where is my business model at risk ? ”An insightful and fun conversation with Aidan on the mindset of permanent reinvention, and why leaders and organisations alike must deliberately focus on the power of reinvention; life is a dynamic process and instead of being ‘surprised’ by what the future brings, we should embrace the need to strategically build capacity to stay relevant. We need to constantly be aware of our mental models, think differently, and embrace discomfort. Aidan takes us through his concepts of this reinvention ‘mindset’ though stories, mythology, visual metaphors and personal experience, and shows us how to make these complex concepts accessible to every leader and organisation looking to build capacity, to minimise the impact of disruption, and to survive periods of stagnation whilst successfully anticipating change. Aidan shares his rich insights and wealth of experience on the power of reinvention as a dynamic process to prepare for the future, from his work with authors, athletes, organisations and leaders across the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : in both our personal and professional lives, we must focus on the power of reinvention; life is a dynamic process and instead of being ‘surprised’ by what the future brings, we should be well prepared for it history can teach us many lessons about the risks of not anticipating what’s coming, with Nokia’s displacement by Apple a salient example - we ignore threats at our peril in a world of constant and fast-paced changedon’t be a victim of disruption and change, shore up your understanding of where things are going – there are always signs of future trajectories, we just have to heed themwe must reframe change and incorporate perceived failures as part of the journey, embrace attempts to do something new and acknowledge current discomfort to ensure future comfort, with no judgement the Japanese art of kintsugi (golden repair) celebrates imperfections and emphasises what is normally hidden; be bold enough to tell your story and see past ‘failures’ as milestones not millstonesthe ‘s curve’ reminds us that learning and development are cyclical, like the ouroborus symbol depicting an eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth – we can ride out periods of stagnation if we persevere and focus on future successin terms of executive coaching, leadership and organisational development, it takes humility and curiosity to look at and learn from others, factoring in a return on capability and harnessing the power of intrapreneursspot patterns, constantly build capability before you need it, improve incrementally (agile), (re)build for the future and innovate; invest in yourself - we are wired for safety and certainty, so must be selective about where to channel our cognitive energy leaders should engage with futurism and embrace the gainsayers not the naysayers: hear it all, know there will be stumbling blocks ahead and counter this by deliberately pinpointing vulnerabilities

“To really solve problems ask for input from all those involved and design the model together. Don’t design behind close doors..”In this week’s episode Alize and I discuss ‘being’ Agile and what it takes to build trust into organisations. All organisations are different and unique yet the same questions recur all the time; new practices and examples to experiment with are extremely valuable to learn from, and we should build deliberately inclusive organisations by determining the reason for change and ensuring all perspectives are covered. We dive into the different concepts and experiences around creating a learning organisation via community building, ecosystems and transformational leadership. A rich, fun and inspiring discussion with the common thread or deliberately developing inclusive practices and collective intelligence to co-create, experiment and iterate on building collective purpose. Alize shares her wealth of experience and insight from working with organisations across the globe to create sustainable business agility, as well as the experience and insights of other experts in her book Purpose Driven People. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -      purpose-driven people go hand in hand with sustainable business transformation; the human dimension aligns with purposeful business agility to bring about meaningful change-      agility means a different way of thinking and doing, working towards a shared goal, coming up with possibilities and alternative strategies, taking personal responsibility and having the courage to make different choices-      Agile is iterative: experiment, learn and continuously improve - old models are giving way to communities and collective intelligence as platforms for tapping in to others’ brains (thereby bridging human and digital)-      we should build deliberately inclusive organisations by determining the reason for change and ensuring all perspectives are covered, i.e. from an organisational, employee and leadership standpoint-      ask for input from all those involved and design the model together; this idea has taken root but is yet to come to full fruition as it often falls foul of cost-cutting, and transformation should not be aligned with costs-      when writing a book, never assume that what you write is common knowledge and concentrate on what is of value to and enriching for readers; combining fact and fiction / theory and practice offers scope for creative storytelling-      People Journey Circle is a methodology for a unique human-centred approach to transformation to close the gap between thinking and doing; the echo chamber notion applies when working long-term with the same people, creating blind spots and no new ideas-      leaders think they act but employees do not experience the action; collective intelligence closes the loop with real-time involvement to simultaneously close the mindset and perception gap through diversity and exploration-      transactional leadership is more of an old-fashioned managerial style whereas transformational leadership is actively geared towards changing the future and generating new ideas, and building relationships with employees to allow self-organising teams to lead themselves-      collective purpose is essential to connect people, imbue their work with meaning and moreover highlight its value – this in turn helps to create a wider focus on an ambitious purpose-      people are the beating heart of an organisation and this must be understood for successful...

“Digital is the context and then it is about ethics, capability, transformation and sustainability.” In this week’s episode of let’s talk Marco and I discuss how to create a digital and inclusive society in today’s complex world. The digitalisation of our world is a great opportunity to bring together design thinking, IT skills, technology, entrepreneurship and ethics, while asking: how can society benefit from developments in digital technology? How can companies effectively adapt to the digital society? We must teach integration, provide education and create solutions. Companies must create a culture that fosters ongoing learning, that builds and experiments with capabilities, that designs for true transformation and that invests in and implements creative solutions to avoid design knowledge waste.Listen to us exploring how to create a culture of experimentation & inclusion and scaling the leadership skills for life long learning across organisations. Spreading impact and scaling change sustainability is important to deliberately design for sustainable transformation whether this be in society or in organisations. We all need to be part of ‘team human’. Marco shares his thoughts, insights and wealth of experience from working with individuals, communities and organisations across the globe. The main insights you will get from this episode are : DSS hosts global goals jams in conjunction with the UN Development Programme to prevent design and process waste and work towards sustainable goals for the good of humanity - by incorporating collective intelligence, integrating technology, and pairing digital with planetary transformation, and design methodology with sustainable development The digitalisation of our world is a great opportunity to bring together design thinking, IT skills, technology, entrepreneurship and ethics, while asking: how can society benefit from developments in digital technology? How can companies effectively adapt to the digital society? We must teach integration, provide education and create solutionsHuman-centred design considers the digital context around humans; digital transformation affects everyone and buy-in is essential for its success – it is disruptive but positive lessons can be learned, e.g. how the ethics of technology can serve the digital talent gap and societal advancementWe must all learn to relearn, evolve and adapt as a truly global, inclusive and diverse society and tackle big issues like inequality, wellbeing and safety; as individual societies become more closed, migration decreases and there is less diffusion of both specialist knowledge and skills on the groundCompanies must create a culture that fosters ongoing learning, that builds and experiments with capabilities, that designs for true transformation and that invests in and implements creative solutions to avoid design knowledge wasteDesign thinking demystifies complex topics to produce tangible outcomes more quickly by interconnecting creative forces to focus on transforming the future as opposed to trying to change the past – embracing the risks of ‘what if?’ and daring to ‘think big’ The complexity of global challenges, such as migration and climate change, require multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural and multi-generational teams with a vision focused on the emotional human experience to transform global issues for the long termIt is vital to expand the learning community, retain talent, spread impact, scale change and authentically embrace diversity and inclusion; we are limited by what we think, how we act and what we do, but most particularly by how we interactSustainability requires a workforce with agency to make decisions, bringing with it representation and the essential feeling of belonging - connections and experiences matter more than tools; our overarching goal should be

“ You need to put inclusion at the heart of your business strategy to drive business transformation” In this weeks episode of let’s talk Amina and I discuss the role of inclusion in today’s workplace. From an HR, business and leadership perspective, people must be at the heart of any organisation’s diversity and inclusion strategy in order to truly understand what an inclusive culture looks like. We discuss 2 questions : how to build inclusion into your systems, your business & your people strategy, and how to ‘operationalise’ and measure inclusion so that it can become part of the company’s DNA. Organisations should be striving to be people-centric and engender allyship, but what does this mean for executives, leaders and employees in terms of skills and behaviours and how they can contribute to deliberately designing their system for inclusion ?Amina shares her wealth of experience as a global Hr professional, as a leader and as an employee, and her learnings and recommendations from driving inclusion through HR and business operations.The main insights you’ll get from this episode are : leaders must be absolutely committed to developing a more inclusive workplace because it is not easy - they must ask themselves difficult questions and answer honestly; they must educate themselves, listen to their people, develop high levels of understanding and empathy and foster constantly evolving two-way communicationorganisations should strive to be people-centric and engender allyship: this is crucial to creating a sense of belonging and to understanding issues surrounding both exclusion and inclusion because nobody should feel excluded in the quest for inclusivityCOVID has highlighted inequalities, and also the need for human beings to belong, be heard and be listened to so that we understand everyone’s different situation and challenges: how can the organisation be made more equitable? what barriers must be removed? how can we maintain connections and effective communication?ambassador and changemaker networks that meet regularly with senior leadership are an example of how to provide transparency across the organisation and offer all employees the opportunity to get involved in shaping future policy and feeding back invaluable information to leadersdata segmentation, trends and points all provide tangible resources to act upon and measure inclusion and diversity, but empowering and engaging employees, asking for their input and ultimately understanding their position is the most important factor for success 

“The scale and extent of the culture shift for HR will depend on the appetite for change of the organisation.”In this episode of let's talk John and I discuss how the pandemic has unlocked corporate thinking to think about different ways of working, networking and communication. We also look at the importance of balance in the different elements and what technology and human collaboration brings to the mix. The changing trends and expectations of the workplace from candidates and employees as we transition into newer, more hybrid workplace and operating models is a key driver of change and an organisation’s HR function must reflect the values and purpose of the organisation and act accordingly with a talent plan based on collaboration rather than competition. We finish by discussing what the ‘future normal’ will bring in terms of more inclusive ways of working and people centred HR moving forward. John shares his thoughts, insights and wealth of experience on HR transformation and the changing role of HR in today's post pandemic environment. The main insights you will get from this episode are : in terms of leadership, the changing role of HR and the employee experience, ideally the lessons learned and positive changes resulting from COVID will be sustained and built uponthe 'new normal' is actually 'abnormal', in that it prevents human interaction, but there will definitely be a 'future normal', which is all about evolution and striking a better balanceHR as a function must reflect the values and purpose of the organisation, both inwardly and outwardly, and seek to provide a fit-for-purpose talent plan that puts the employee experience at its heartan organisation's ethos will be evident in how it treats its employees who now have a more powerful voice thanks to social media; such 'activism' will mean that leaders must listen and respond quickly to retain talentrigid HR function and reward systems are outdated; the focus should shift to different models such as gain sharing, where everyone feels valued for the contribution they makegood leaders should foster collaboration rather than competition amongst their workforce, strive for diverse thinking and unlock talent by removing internal barriers and unnecessary processes post-COVID hybrid models of flexible working that offer a healthier balance will require the investment of time, money and effort, but will ultimately benefit the greater good -demonstrating inclusivity and an atmosphere of trust and safety for employees pays dividends in having a sound people strategy that underpins the company's businessit is vital to understand (new) technologies and garner them to provide more added value across the board - when leaders make changes they have impact, and it is in their power to shift company culture and demonstrate authenticity in all that they do 

"values-led project management is the way to solve complex problems" In this episode of let's talk David and I delve into his wealth of experience in dealing with uncertainty in times of crisis and look at the learnings that we can use for both leadership, and managing the current pandemic. We discuss building resilience, using cultural understanding as a lever for change and how we react to familiar structures and cultural codes in times of crisis. We look at the need for a more collective approach to changing for the better; focusing on values such as altruism, happiness, justice, empathy, compassion and honesty - qualities that authentic leaders embrace to 'tell it like it is' and make positive changes on the ground. As with any sustainable change initiative, starting small and amplifying throughout your given environment to create impact is the way forward. David shares his wealth of experience and insight from working with countries, organisations and communities both big and small from across the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : thinking differently and building resilience, both physically and mentally, requires a common framework and shared values; particularly in times of crisis and when facing difficult, complex problems, values-led project management is crucialit is likewise essential to understand other cultures and ask the question 'how' (e.g. how to bring about change?) rather than 'why' (e.g. why is it this way?)power is generally entrenched in systems that resist change and 'the new'; a shift in power dynamics or a change of role can trigger a wide-reaching toxic reaction digital / the Internet are tools for transferring ideas, communicating and mobilising people at grass roots level, empowering people to express themselves and have their voices heard - changing the structure means embracing both the formal and informal channels of communication and drilling down into how something workstimes of crisis undermine structures and tend to both expose and exacerbate their faults; capitalising on these opportunities for change should ideally influence policy to bring about improvements for the greater goodthere must be a more collective approach to changing for the better; focusing on values such as altruism, happiness, justice, empathy, compassion and honesty - qualities that good leaders embrace to 'tell it like it is' and make positive changes on the groundstarting small, doing things differently, listening to individual stories, caring for others and the planet, and amplifying change outward through personal interaction is where it all begins