Lancefield on the Line

Summary:

Organisations are crying out for more strategic leaders. These are the people who are brave enough to make a commitment to an extraordinary path, and skilful enough to make a multitude of choices to get there. They’re able to reframe complex problems as they shape brighter futures for those around them. In conversation they stretch and support, nourish and confront in equal measure.

In this podcast, Niko Canner, founder of Incandescent, speaks eloquently about their traits, mindsets, and practices of these strategic leaders. He describes how it feels t the beginning of a strategy process – the stimulation, the vulnerabilities, the mistakes, and ultimately progress towards a coherent set of choices that enables the organisation to get closer to that extraordinary path.

About Niko:

Niko Canner founded Incandescent in 2013. His work spans the firm’s three major areas of focus: serving as a thought partner to leaders of large enterprises on strategy, organization and innovation; advising founders on the development of their ventures; and partnering with foundations and non-profits engaged in systems change. Here’s his profile.

On Human Enterprise blog - highly recommended. Beautifully written, deep, and practical too. Full of wisdom.

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Making a career transition is hard at the best of times. And it’s likely that more of us will make them, either by our own making or by necessity as we live longer. It can be even harder when you’ve operated at an elite level. How do you take the best bits of your performance and use them in a new field? How do you reposition yourself, recreating your brand, and establish credibility in a new space when people know you for something else? And when you have a new career and you’ve established yourself with a strong brand, and following, how do you work out which opportunities to pursue, and which ones to turn down.

Matt Dawson MBE has faced these shifts in his career, and challenges. In this illuminating podcast he shares his own journey from being a Rugby World Cup winning player to a business career and media career after he retired from sport. He opens up about how it felt when making these transitions, and how he made wise decisions along the way.

More on Matt:

Matt Dawson MBE, is a TV and radio personality, Strategic Sales Consultant and former England Rugby Player.

His Profile.

My resources:

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How do you master the process of changing as a professional and as a person? How do you understand where you are on the S-curve of learning? And when you do, what will you do next? Dig into exploring the possibilities in front of you, shift gear and career, or disrupt yourself once you’ve reached mastery? How to avoid the distractions that impede your progress, and focus your attention wisely?

Whitney Johnson, CEO of Disruption Advisors, and the author of a brilliant book called Smart Growth: how to grow your people to grow your company, describes three phases on this S-curve of learning: launch, sweet spot, and mastery, and the six roles you play along the way: explorer, collector, accelerator, metamorph, anchor, mountaineer.

It's clear that our development, our learning is a strategic exercise. We need to make choices about where we go next, who we serve, and how we win. Whitney left me optimistic about the potential of humankind to do this, armed with her insights, stories, and tools

More about Whitney: 

Whitney Johnson is CEO of the tech-enabled talent development company Disruption Advisors. One of the top ten business thinkers in the world as named by Thinkers50, Whitney is an expert at smart growth leadership. 

• Book 'Smart Growth: how to grow your people to grow your company'
• S Curve Insight Platform.
• Whitney Johnson profile
• Disrupt Yourself podcast. 
• Grow through Disruption newsletter 

My resources:

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Summary:

Take a moment and ask yourself: what do you stand for, and how do you want to show up at work? These are the two critical questions to address when you think about your identity.

And if you feel a sense of belonging, a concept far richer and deeper than just inclusion, you’re going to feel that you can express your identity fully and openly. Creating the conditions for this requires deep listening to what people say, don’t say, how they express themselves, as well as the curation of great questions. Great conversations require people to leave their egos behind, and be courageous in addressing what really matters.

In this discussion, Saiyyidah Zaidi, author, researcher, and coach, describes these concepts clearly and vividly, explaining why they matter so much. She draws on her experience in her own career, family life, and as a coach, and doctoratal student. This is a thoughtful, reflective conversation that left me feeling clearer about these concepts, and in awe of Saiyyidah’s drive to foster a greater sense of belonging of all people at work.

More on Sayyidah:

Saiyyidah Zaidi (pronounced say-ee-dah, meaning female leader) is an experienced coach, facilitator, and supervisor working internationally and across sectors. This is her:

• Profile.
• Podcast.
• Coaching services.

My resources:

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Summary:

The world of business is packed full of terminology, jargon, buzzwords. I’ve probably used too much of it myself. But what do we mean by innovation, customer centricity, agility? Too often we’re not clear so we have parallel conversations, or simply people disengage leaving the important decisions to a clique or the dominant few. 

My guest in this podcast, Prof. Costas Markides of the LBS, is a stickler for clarity – he thinks that a lack of clarity is one of the biggest problems we have in management. We talk about the critical ‘who, what, how’ questions of strategy, what it takes to win over peoples’ hearts and minds when you’re looking to effect organisational change – he also talks how distributed, autonomous organisations really work. And, importantly, how leaders can turn their intent, their thoughts and words, into action. He concludes by sharing how we measures his own success, and impact, in his research and teaching. 

More on Costas:

Professor Costas Markides is recognised as one of the world’s foremost experts on strategy and innovation. An internationally acclaimed teacher and conference speaker, Professor Markides has researched the topics of strategic innovation, business model innovation, diversification and international acquisitions.

• His book "Organizing for the New Normal: Prepare Your Company for the Journey of Continuous Disruption".
• Costas' profile.

My resources:

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Being competent, solid, committed isn't enough in extraordinary times - of ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty. Impact players do far more than these typical contributors. They:

1.     Do the job that’s needed
2.     Step up, step back
3.     Finish stronger
4.     Ask and adjust
5.     Make work light

They have a healthy disregard for rules, although are savvy enough on how to garner support. Focusing their attention on what truly matters means they don't need to over-work. And they find ways to solve complex problems whilst others get flustered or ask for help. They're open to guidance, happy to share the limelight, and committed to serving others. They're remarkable people. 

Liz Wiseman has studied these impact players from a wide range of organisations, understanding their mindests, habits, and practices. She shares the highlights of the book she's written on the subject, along with some fascinating stories of inspirational people.

More about Liz:

Her Bio

Impact Players book.

Impact Players resources (practices, guide).

Diagnostics.

My resources:

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Summary:

Look around you in the worlds of business and politics. Think of leaders and organisations you admire. Or those that disappoint you. How honest are they in their intentions, and actions? How purposeful are they?

In his book 'To Be Honest: Lead with the power of purpose, truth, and justice' Ron Carucci argues that these three elements are fundamental to an organisation's performance and positioning.  He  tackles how to eliminate the cultural conditions that prompt otherwise honest people to distort the truth and behave unfairly.

He shows that "When these factors are absent or ineffective, the organizational conditions compel employees to choose dishonesty and self-interest. But when done well, the organization is 16 times more likely to have people tell the truth, behave fairly and serve a greater good."

The book is based on fifteen years of research, and more than 3,000 interviews, mined for insights using IBM Watson. And it's packed full of riveting and remarkable stories from the world of business and beyond, including FARC terrorists in Columbia, the cave rescue in Thailand, the leadership of New Zealand during the pandemic, restorative justice from tribal rituals in the Congo, and how two companies – Patagonia and DuPont – took different approaches when they realized their products were poisoning people. 

 More on Ron:

Ron has a thirty-year track record helping executives tackle challenges of strategy, organization, and leadership — from start-ups to Fortune 10s, non-profits to heads-of-state, turn-arounds to new markets and strategies, overhauling leadership and culture to re-designing for growth. With experience in more than 25 countries on 4 continents, he helps organizations articulate strategies that lead to accelerated growth, and then designs programs to execute those strategies.

LinkedIn profile.

Navalent bio.

To Be Honest book.

HBR articles.

My resources:

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For too long, strategy has been conceived and designed behind closed doors, at the top table. For leaders to invite others to contribute is often seen as a sign of weakness, diminishing the leaders’ stature, authority, and control. However, the reality is that leaders often find it difficult to develop imaginative ideas on their own, shackled as they are by their conventional wisdom and groupthink. It's no wonder that many fail. 

Opening up the strategy process through contests, crowdsourcing, communities generates better ideas, more realistic plans, and more effective execution than a traditional, closed approach. We shouldn’t confuse an open strategy process with a free-for-all. There are important nuances of when, how and by how much to open-up the process. Leaders must act forcefully (sometimes unilaterally) to frame the strategic question, choose whom to involve, establish the rules and incentives of engagement, select the platform for participation, and, ultimately, take the decisions.

Professors Christian Stadler and Julia Hautz, two of the four authors of the book ‘Open Strategy: Mastering Disruption outside the C-suite’, describe how to do open strategy skilfully and why it matters.

More about Christian and Julia:

Their book, and resources.
Their profiles - Christian, Julia.

My resources:

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Think of your favourite role model, superstar, elite professional. It may be somebody who’s won a Nobel Prize, won an Olympic gold, or flown to the moon. What can you, we, learn from them? Surely they’re out of league, in a different stratosphere, literally in some cases? Not so, we can actually learn a lot. They share similar mindsets and practices that helped get them there. 

When you hear the four elements you might think they’re common sense. And they are. But doing them, all of them, consistently, day in day out takes real dedication, and skill.

My guest, Dr. Ruth Gotian, has been studying these superstars for decades now, and has been taking her own medicine, becoming a recognised expert speaker, coach, educator, and now author of the book ‘Success Factor: developing the mindset and skillset for peak business performance’. 

This episode is packed full of tips, lessons and anecdotes from Ruth. She’s an inspirational professional and person. 

More about Ruth:

• Her roles, work and background here. 
• Success Factor book.
• Mentor show.
• Articles.

My resources:

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What do inspirational leaders do? How do they think? And how do they look after themselves?

They certainly have to be able to learn, and reinvent themselves. Build trust with others. They have to see the bigger picture whilst mastering the fine detail of their business. They have to be clear on what they stand for, and and take care of themselves so that they can perform at their best at critical moments.

The model of top-down, command-and-control leadership - still prevalent in many large organisations - doesn't work for employees, and stakeholders who want more empowerment, flexibility and care.

These are the themes I explore with Paolo Gallo, the author of the book the Compass and the Radar, an executive coach, speaker and Adjunct Professor.

More about Paolo:

His work and profile here.

His book 'Compass and the Radar'.

My resources:

Sign up to my Flashes+Sparks for stimuli, ideas, guidance and tips on how to lead your team, organisation or self more effectively, delivered straight to your inbox:

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