Life, Leadership and Change with Kara Hawkins

Can there be multiple truths? Is truth only something only science can establish? Do postmodern and critical social justice worldviews represent more advanced stages of adult development? And when leaders struggle to stay clear under uncertainty, are they hitting a complexity ceiling, or is something else at play?

In our first Q&A episode, Dr Aiden Thornton and I tackled the practical questions. Now, we go deeper to unpack some of the assumptions, ideas, and evidence that sit beneath complexity leadership practice.

You will come away with:

• A clearer understanding of what we mean when we talk about "truth" and why it matters for leadership in complex environments
• New ways to think about the relationship between truth, evidence, science, and lived experience
• Greater insight into the debate around postmodernism, critical social justice, and adult development
• Practical perspectives on what may be happening when people struggle to communicate clearly under uncertainty
• A deeper appreciation of how complexity leadership can help us navigate difficult questions without rushing to simple answers

From philosophy and leadership to adult development and communication, this episode explores some of the deeper questions that shape how we understand complexity and make sense of the world around us.

You can connect with Aiden here: https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton

You asked, we answered! This is the first of two bonus Q&A episodes following our four-part complexity leadership mini-series. Here, Dr. Aiden Thornton responds to your practical questions about leading in a complex world, addressing:

• The five issues Aiden has his eye on as the most complex challenges facing leaders today, from the future of AI and work to the role of truth
• A practical three-step framework for developing complexity leadership skills, and why daily practice often matters most
• How to start untangling complexity when everything feels complex at once, including what to look for and where to begin
• Why collective leadership is not automatically the best answer to complexity, and what the evidence actually suggests
• How to navigate conversations about the culture wars without shutting them down or causing unnecessary offence

Whether you are new to the series or have been following along from the beginning, this episode brings the concepts to life with concrete, actionable insights you can start applying today.

This is Bonus Episode 1 of 2. Next up: your conceptual questions answered.

You can connect with Aiden here: https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton

We talk about truth constantly, be it directly or indirectly. We invoke it in arguments, base decisions on it, and build entire worldviews around it. But how often do we stop to ask what truth actually is, why it matters, and how we can reliably identify it?

In Part 4 of our complexity leadership mini-series, Dr. Aiden Thornton and I dig into exactly that. Working through four core questions, we unpack what truth actually means, why it matters for how we lead and live, how to identify or at least approximate it, and why the question of who gets to decide what is true might be based on a flawed premise entirely.

We cover:
- The crucial difference between truth, belief and meaning, and why conflating them can cause more harm than we realise
- Why the truth of our beliefs is what allows us to interact with both our internal and external world
- How to match the right method to the right claim when trying to identify or approximate truth
- Why "who gets to decide what's true" is actually the wrong question entirely
- Why a mature understanding of truth may be a necessary condition for the survival of our species in the 21st century

Episode 4 of 4. Thank you for joining us for the Rising to the Occasion mini-series! Stay tuned for our bonus Q&A episode, we would love to hear your questions.

Submit your questions here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/rQdcvQadga

You can connect with Aiden here: https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton

Something has shifted in society. Most of us can feel it, but few of us have the language to explain it.

In Episode 3 of my mini-series with complexity leadership scholar Dr. Aiden Thornton, we explore the topic of the culture wars, why our conversations across difference so often go nowhere, and what we can do about it as individuals and leaders.

You will come away with:

- Why people with different worldviews are not just disagreeing, but operating from entirely different realities

- Some of the major worldviews shaping today's culture wars and how to recognise them

- Why acknowledging diverse perspectives and pursuing true ones are not the same thing

- Practical tools for having more constructive conversations across deep disagreement

If you have ever felt frustrated, confused or exhausted by the state of public discourse, this episode will give you a clearer picture of why things feel the way they do, and a more grounded place to stand within it.

Episode 3 of 4.

Next up: truth, why it matters, and what it has to do with leading in a complex world.

You can connect with Aiden here: https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton

BONUS Ask Aiden Anything Q&A session: Submit your questions here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/rQdcvQadga

In Episode 1 we established that complexity is increasing. Now we go one step further to ask: are we as humans actually built to handle this level of complexity? And what skills do leaders need to navigate it moving forward?

In Episode 2 of this mini-series, Dr. Aiden M. A. Thornton shares eye-opening research on the gap between what leadership roles demand and what most leaders are cognitively equipped to handle.

Then we go beyond the problem to explore the emerging leadership skills needed to thrive amid increasing complexity in today's hyper-connected, unpredictable world.

We cover:
- What 700 leaders revealed about the relationship between cognitive capacity and role complexity
- The key skills leaders need to navigate complexity effectively
- What regulating your own nervous system has to do with navigating organisational complexity

Whether you lead a team, drive change, or simply want to show up more effectively in an increasingly complex world, this episode will shift how you think about what leadership actually requires of us.

This was Episode 2 of 4.

Next up: leading through colliding worldviews and the culture wars.

You can connect with Aiden here: https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton

Link to Aiden's research on the complexity gap here: https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/facing-the-complexity-gap-developing-leaders-reasoning-skills-to-/

BONUS Ask Aiden Anything Q&A session: Submit your questions here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/rQdcvQadga

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Aiden Thornton to unpack what complexity actually is, why it's been increasing for thousands of years (in some ways- but not all!), and what it really means for how we lead.

In the first episode of our four-part mini-series, complexity leadership scholar and management consultant Dr. Aiden Thornton joins us to explore one of the most important and most misunderstood topics in leadership today.

Together we dig into the crucial difference between complexity and difficulty, why our instinct to simplify everything might be doing us more harm than good, and what leadership really is (hint: it's not a role or a title). Aiden also shares his definition of leadership as a process of influence that fosters systemic health, a reframe that might just change how you think about your own role, whatever level you're operating at.

Whether you're a seasoned leader, an emerging one, or someone trying to make sense of an increasingly complex world, this conversation is a powerful place to start.

This is Episode 1 of 4. Next episode: the skills leaders need to keep up with a complex world.

You can connect with Aiden here: https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton

BONUS Ask Aiden Anything Q&A session: Submit your questions here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/rQdcvQadga

What if the reason your message isn't landing has nothing to do with your evidence, and everything to do with your framing?

In this episode, communications and messaging specialist Gemma Pitcher breaks down the science of values-based messaging and why most advocates, nonprofits, and changemakers are accidentally undermining their own cause.

We cover:

• Why facts alone rarely change minds (and what actually does)
• How to frame your message around shared values that no one can argue against
• The common mistake that hands your opponents control of the conversation
• Why repeating a lie to debunk it only makes it stickier
• How to respond to misinformation without reinforcing it (the "Truth Sandwich")

Whether you work in advocacy, communications, HR, change or leadership, this episode will change how you think about persuasion and influence.

What does it mean to be human in an age of AI, algorithms, and endless optimization? 

In this conversation, Dara Simkin—Australia's leading voice on play at work and founder of Culture Hero—shares insights from her upcoming book "Full Stack Human: The Mindset Upgrade You Need to Stay Human in a World Ruled by Technology" (co-authored with data scientist and futurist Tane Hunter). 

In this episode, we explore: 
✨ Why productivity hacks and wellness apps only treat symptoms, not root causes 
🧠 The "backend programming" of our brains—cognitive biases, evolutionary hangovers, and our addiction to achievement 
🎮 The five-layer stack: serious play, strategic hope, intelligent optimism, radical curiosity, and embodied adaptability 
💭 A fresh take on mental health that prioritizes community over isolation 
How play is actually training for adaptability and the unexpected 
🌍 How to curate your "information diet" to escape doom-scrolling and find stories of progress 
🎨 Why analogue, handmade, human experiences will become priceless as technology advances 
🔄 The power of living life with friends, not just debriefing about it 

About Dara: Dara Simkin is the founder of Culture Hero, a consultancy driving cultural change and experience design. She has worked with organisations worldwide and came to Australia after winning a video competition to travel Tasmania in a campervan for six weeks... never left! 

Order the book: "Full Stack Human: The Mindset Upgrade: You Need to Stay Human in a World Ruled by Technology" (releases February 2025) https://www.culturehero.co/full-stack-human-book 

Connect with Dara:
Website: culturehero.co 
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/dara-simkin-culture-hero

Discover how to develop a deeper, more grounded sense of presence that helps you lead, perform, and navigate change with calm clarity.

In this conversation, professional drummer and leadership coach Mark Poiesz shares insights from performing for millions and coaching leaders at Google, Warner Bros, and beyond. 

You’ll learn:
- How to build genuine presence (stage, leadership and otherwise) that connects and inspires.
- The power of deep listening, to others, to energy, and to yourself.
- How cultivating an “I AM” sense of self creates resilience in uncertainty.
- A simple cue to help you cultivate presence in the moment, and navigate uncertainty, change, and conflict with grace.

Enjoy!

You can find Mark at:
Website: https://www.markpoiesz.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/markpoiesz_
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/markpoiesz
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-poiesz/

If you’ve been feeling powerless or thrown off course by constant change, this is for you. This video explores how to find a stable sense of power that no one can take away, no matter what’s happening around you.

You’ll learn how to shift from chasing control to building lasting inner strength, and why true power starts within.

Guided Visualisation: https://youtu.be/v6gSh5cGCms