Welcome back to Leadership, Rewritten. In today’s episode I’m joined by Dr. Becky Andree, whose research on High-Quality Connections has had a profound impact on how we think about leadership and development in complex systems.

Becky’s work explores how brief, positive interactions—moments of presence, trust, and energy—can do more than improve relationships. They can become the foundation for systemic learning, adaptation, and collective growth. In the context of Maya’s journey, these insights ground the Simple Rules section of her exploration of adult and vertical development—showing how connection can serve as a practical anchor when complexity feels overwhelming.

A big thank you to Becky for sharing her wisdom, and for helping us see leadership not only as something we develop within ourselves, but as something we co-create with others.

This episode is also special for another reason: it’s the first non-AI generated podcast in the series. From here on, we’ll be weaving live conversations alongside the narrative essays, bringing both voices and stories into the mix.

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