Are we in a modern renaissance? Kevin welcomes Dr. Christie Smith to discuss the major shifts impacting leadership today, including distributed teams, AI, workforce expectations, and global uncertainties. Dr. Smith introduces the concept of gray-collar workers, a growing segment of the workforce that combines blue- and white-collar roles and explains why traditional leadership models are no longer adequate. She also breaks down the Essential Leadership Flywheel, which advances beyond emotional intelligence to emotional maturity. This focuses on suspending self-interest, fostering curiosity, and genuinely understanding the context in which employees operate.

Listen For

00:00 Introduction and Podcast Overview 01:01 Kevin’s Book Flexible Leadership 01:56 Meet Dr. Christie Smith 03:06 The Journey Behind the Book 04:24 Early Influences and Advocacy 05:24 Why Now The Timing of the Book 07:19 Framing Leadership in a Complex World 08:20 Leadership is Hard 10:23 The Challenge of Polarization 12:33 A Modern Renaissance Hope and Opportunity 14:27 Leadership and the Human Centered Workplace 15:31 Centering Humans in the Digital Age 16:55 Defining Gray Collar Workers 19:05 Empowerment and Gray Collar Jobs 20:28 Four Human Needs in the Workplace 21:00 The Power of Agency in Leadership 22:15 From Emotional Intelligence to Emotional Maturity 24:24 Essential Leadership Flywheel 25:21 Suspending Self Interest as a Leader 26:22 Why Leadership Trust is Declining 28:02 Investing in People Drives Results 29:09 Contextual Competence A Modern Imperative 30:53 Flexibility Empathy and Humanity at Work 32:18 Rapid Fire Fun and Reading 34:30 Learn More About Christie and the Book 35:57 The Final Question Now What 

Christie's Story: Dr. Christie Smith is the co-author of Essential: How Distributed Teams, Generative AI, and Global Shifts Are Creating a New Human-Powered Leadership with Kelly Monahan. She has over 35 years of experience advising the C-Suite of Fortune 500 companies. She is the founder of The Humanity Studio™, a research and advisory institute dedicated to improving the way we live by revolutionizing the way we work. She has held global leadership positions at Deloitte, Apple, and Accenture as a highly respected expert in leadership, talent management, organizational design, workforce management, change management, and executive team performance. She is a highly sought-after speaker on business strategy, leadership and culture, DEI, people analytics, and the impact of workforce technologies and AI. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, to name a few. Christie received her doctorate in Clinical Social Work with a focus on leadership and culture from New York University.

https://www.humanity.studio/

https://www.smith-monahan.com/

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

https://www.instagram.com/christiesmith.phd

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Flexible Leadership is every leader’s guide to greater success in a world of increasing complexity and chaos. 

Book Recommendations

• Essential: How Distributed Teams, Generative AI, and Global Shifts Are Creating a New Human-Powered Leadership by Christie Smith and Kelly Monahan
• The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can't Stop Talking About by Mel Robbins and Sawyer Robbins
• Winston Churchill Biography: Lessons from a Visionary Leader by Douglas Glenn Rohde
• Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant

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