Changing Conversations

How do you find comfort in the discomfort of uncertainty?

In this episode we are joined by Susan David, PHD, and will bring her research and perspective to life on this topic.  

Susan David (link: https://www.susandavid.com/) is a renowned psychologist and the author of the best-selling book "Emotional Agility". (link: https://www.susandavid.com/book/) Susan is a co-founder of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, and a frequent contributor to publications like the Harvard Business Review. Her groundbreaking work focuses on the role of emotions in psychological resilience, leadership, and personal growth.

As business leaders, most of us operate and lead in complex and uncertain environments – and emotional agility has an important role to play in how to find comfort in the discomfort of uncertainty. 

In this conversation, we discuss:

·        What it means to be emotionally agile

·        How emotions are data points in leading transformation 

·        How you can authentically be in your emotions without oversharing

We’d love to keep the conversation alive.
Reach out to Katrina and Stig to challenge us, ask a question, recommend a future guest and give us feedback. 

How can you build a stronger connection with others during conversation?

In this episode, we are joined by guest Charles Duhigg to explore this question and share several practical examples of things you can do to build a deeper connection with the people around you.

Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and best-selling author of the books The Power of Habit, Smarter Faster Better, and, most recently, Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Three categories of conversation: Practical (What’s this really about?), Emotional (How do we feel?), and Social (Who are we?)
• The importance of matching categories to build stronger connections
• The types of questions that can deepen our conversations and relationships with others

We would love to keep the conversation going, so feel free to reach out to Katrina and Stig to challenge us, ask a question, recommend a future guest, or provide feedback.

Adam Hede is an AI specialist at Implement Consulting Group. He helps organisations leverage artificial intelligence to improve operations and solve business problems. 

With expertise in machine learning and data analytics, Adam delivers practical AI solutions tailored to client needs. His mission is to encourage business leaders to dare to push the boundaries of the conversations we have about AI.

This conversation covers: 

• How to shape a bigger conversation – one that highlights the greatest potential AI can bring us 
• What it takes for us to engage in a more courageous conversation
• A reflection on the words "artificial intelligence" and how they might affect our trust in the technology

We would love to keep the conversation going, so feel free to reach out to Katrina and Stig to challenge us, ask a question, recommend a future guest, and give us feedback.

Professor Brian Cox is a physicist, musician, and a professor of particle physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester, and The Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science. 

In this conversation, we talk with Brian Cox about what the scientific community can teach us about dealing with the unknown, and how business leaders can learn to embrace complexity to successfully navigate an ever-evolving business landscape.

The key topics covered in this episode are:

• How holding contradictory ideas can be a strength in handling complexity
• What business leaders can learn from scientists to embrace complexity and reduce fear of the unknown
• How to handle discomfort with the unknown
• What characteristics and attitudes are crucial to future leadership when dealing with complex challenges
• Finding comfort and curiosity in the unknown

For references, links and other episodes, visit the podcast homepage here. 

Zafer Achi is an executive coach, a team coach and a designer and facilitator of leadership development interventions. He has 34 years of consulting experience, including 27 years as a partner with McKinsey & Company. We have invited Zafer Achi to talk to us about complexity. He will help us create a language on the different types of challenges we face to enable us to apply the right tools.

The key topics covered in this episode are: 

• The difference between technical and adaptive challenges, and when something is complicated or complex
• How to lead with curiosity and compassion
• How to address adaptive challenges
• Integrating perspectives to manage complexity better
• How to set a direction instead of a destination and lead towards it

For references, links and other episodes, visit the podcast homepage here. 

Jennifer Garvey Berger is the co-founder and CEO of Cultivating Leadership. She holds a  master’s degree and a doctorate from Harvard University and is a former associate professor at George Mason University. Jennifer believes that leadership is one of the single most important tools in these times of uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. We have invited Jennifer to introduce us to mindtraps and how they can hinder us when dealing with complexity. 

The key topics covered in this episode are: 

• The five instincts that are most prevailing in our conversations
• How our mindtraps lead to corporate theatre
• How awareness of our mindtraps can lead to an invitation
• How we can dissemble our mindtraps to thrive in complexity

For references, links, and other episodes, visit the podcast homepage here. 

Dr Laura Sicola is a leadership communication and influence expert and the author of “Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice”. We have invited Laura to talk to us about how you can establish your vocal executive presence through the three C’s: command, connect and close the deal. She also addresses how to remain invitational in conversations even if there is an experience of competing priorities and how to unlock the potential of seemingly opposing views. 
 

The key topics covered in this episode are: 

• The experts curse and not taking the perspective of the listener
• Conversations are not a zero-sum game
• People do not listen to process – they listen to respond
• The three C’s: command, connect and close the deal
• How to be intentional in the way you use your voice

For references, links and other episodes, visit the podcast homepage here. 

Eli Buren is an expert in embodied presence. Eli has taught workshops and retreats and has worked with clients internationally since 2005, working with thousands of people across the US, Europe and Asia. We have invited Eli to talk about how we can be more present in our conversations by working with embodiment. 

 The key topics covered in this episode are: 

• How to bring presence to your conversations 
• How to practise presence 
• How to honour the creation cycle
• Giving space in the conversation to be more effective
• Noticing how your body is reacting in a conversation
• Using the body as your anchor

 For references, links and other episodes, visit our podcast page here. 

Michele Zanini is the co-founder of the management lab and the co-author of the book “Humanocracy: Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them”. Michele helps organisations become more resilient, creative and engaging places to work by inventing new management practices. We have invited Michele to talk about how we can unleash people’s potential by introducing a more humanocratic organisational model. 

The key topics covered in this episode are: 

• How organisations can reach their full potential by introducing the right organisational model
• How conversations in post-bureaucratic companies are far more lateral than they are vertical
• How to transfer knowledge and problem-solving expertise in a very organic way
• How to create cross-pollination of expertise within an organisation
• The importance of opening up the conversation and giving people the tools to have interesting and productive conversations with each other. 

For references, links and other episodes, visit the podcast homepage here.  

Wendy Smith is a professor of management at the Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics, co-founder of the Women’s Leadership Initiative and author of the book Both/And Thinking. She is an advocate for bold leadership, and much of her work focuses on helping leaders and teams navigate paradoxes. We have invited Wendy Smith to talk about how we can get better at embracing paradoxes and go from either/or to both/and thinking.

The key topics covered in this episode are: 

• How we can embrace and invite tensions into the organisation 
• How paradox invites us to honour different points of view 
• How we can capitalise on friction 
• The importance of being transparent and vulnerable as a leader 
• Inviting ourselves to think about a different possibility space 
• How we can change questions from either/or to both/and 

 For references, links, and other episodes, visit the podcast homepage here.