We have two Dare to Lead favorites back with us today who are really important people to me in terms of my own personal and professional growth: Aiko Bethea and Ruchika Tulshyan. We are digging into the heart of what it means to belong. What are we getting right with DEIB work? What are we still not doing well? I think this work is actually the core of real leadership, of daring leadership. It’s not an add-on. It’s the heart, it’s the lifeblood, it’s the marrow.

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I think y’all know that I’m a fifth-generation Texan, and I have another Texan with me today: Beto O’Rourke. He is running for governor of Texas, and early voting starts next week on October 24th, with Election Day coming up on November 8th. But beyond the timeliness of voting, I wanted to connect on the timeliness of brave leadership — because we really need courageous, real, authentic, empathic leaders right now. So I wanted to have him on the podcast to learn a little bit more about his approach, his vision, and what he wants for us in our state. And, you know, if you’re not in Texas, there’s a saying, “As Texas goes, so goes the nation.” I think you’ll find this interesting. Whether you agree or disagree with Beto’s position on things, I think he’s a strong leader with a different approach — and I love the authenticity. I think you’ll find his story and his vision for politics and life in general compelling. We need to be talking to more and more leaders about what their vision is, what their concerns are, who they are as people. You know, we always say on Dare to Lead, who you are is how you lead, and I think we got a really good picture of that in this conversation.

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We’re back for Part 2 of my two-episode conversation with Adam Grant and Simon Sinek. If you haven’t listened to Part 1, I suggest doing that first, because it provides the framework for the three big topics we cover here: (1) quiet quitting — what it is, what it isn’t, what we think about it; (2) engagement — how you define it, how you foster it; and (3) boundaries — not just setting them, but also respecting them. We all come at things from different perspectives and different experiences, but I really consider both of these guys friends and mentors, and I respect and admire their work. I took so many notes — they challenged me to rethink some things, and I’m still processing others.

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What’s happening in the workplace right now? In this first of two episodes with Adam Grant and Simon Sinek, we talk about what we are seeing in organizations across the world — and there are definitely some trends that emerge. And so much learning. We talk about disconnects between what we know from data and what we’re seeing practiced. We also talk about what high performers actually look like and the most meaningful way to succeed. Connecting with these two is the regularly scheduled gut check that I need.

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We’re back with the second part of a two-part series with Erika James, PhD, and Lynn Perry Wooten, PhD, about their new book, The Prepared Leader: Emerge from Any Crisis More Resilient Than Before. In Part 1, we talked about what leaders can do today to prepare for what’s next, and in this episode, we dig into more tactical strategies. I have to say that I have lived this work, and this is real. It is not theoretical. This is about what it means to be human and look for grace and make very tough decisions while leading through a crisis.

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It’s the first of a two-part series with Erika James, PhD, and Lynn Perry Wooten, PhD, about their new book, The Prepared Leader: Emerge from Any Crisis More Resilient Than Before. It’s completely tactical and has taught me so much about leading in a crisis — and unfortunately, we have not seen our last crisis. We talk about what leaders can do today to prepare for what’s next, as they add a fourth “p” to the triple bottom line framework (people, planet, and profit) for measuring a business’s performance — and that’s “preparedness.”

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Three weeks ago, our whole company gathered together in our offices for the first time since early March 2020. In this episode, Barrett and I reflect on how it felt to be together, what surprised us, what shifted for us, and what we’ve learned so far as our team has begun to work in the same space again for the first time in more than two years.

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I’m talking with Kam Franklin, singer-songwriter, music producer, activist, writer, and lead singer of the Gulf Coast soul band The Suffers. You know their kick-ass song “Take Me to the Good Times” from the Dare to Lead podcast. Kam and I talk about what it means to lead a creative team and what it means to set audacious goals, to fall and fail, and the power of getting back up. Kam explains the daily conflict that bubbles up in the creative process and how normalizing that conflict helps us get to the creative magic. The joy, the expansiveness, and the soul of The Suffers are inextricably connected to the inclusivity, representation, and diversity of the band. Kam seems to never forget that joy as she leads, and it comes through in this conversation.

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If you come across Ruchika Tulshyan’s new book and find yourself dismissively thinking, “Another DEI book?” you do so at your own peril — and privilege. Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work is a transformative book. In it, Ruchika, a journalist and inclusion strategist, centers the experience of women of color and provides a framework of intentional actions — on both the individual and the organizational level — to neutralize workplace bias and foster environments that are diverse, equitable, and inclusive. As Ruchika says in her book, inclusion is the most important leadership trait today — and one that can be learned through awareness, intention, and regular practice.

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I am talking to Dr. Linda Hill, a researcher, professor of business administration, and chair of the Leadership Initiative at Harvard Business School. She is regarded as one of the top experts on leadership and innovation, and she has done a new study on how to lead in the digital era. We talk about her findings and what leaders are wrestling with today, the qualities of a digitally mature organization, and why digital transformation is less about technology and more about people. We also talk about leading for innovation rather than leading for change. Our organization is definitely experiencing so much of this transformation, and this conversation was so clarifying as we move forward and lead with purpose.

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