Subject Matter

Leading executive Mellody Hobson does not stray away from hardship. She sees fear as helping her future self by pursuing discomfort and hard things now instead of later. She has achieved consistent success by being a warrior against adverse circumstances while growing up, and as a woman of colour. Whether we're having difficult conversations in the boardroom about race, or in the bedroom with ourselves, leaving your comfort zone is never a bad long term decision.

The more you say, the less people remember. American novelist Ernest Hemingway made sure every word counted. In this episode, we'll extract lessons from Hemingway's expertise, showing why empathetic leaders often need less words than they think to create connection.

Most people undervalue how powerful sharing their ideas can be. B2B International Co-Founder Nick Hague realised that sharing his ideas publicly was a risk worth taking. On today's episode, we're learning from Nick's example by breaking down the process of becoming a thought leader into 3 phases—theories, methods and tools—that you can use to build your personal brand as a leader.

Sounding boards can help us build powerful relationships. They help us better understand ourselves, which helps us better understand others. Today we're examining the team behind the popular game Linkee, and how they launched a successful product thanks to the integral role of sounding boards.

Effective teams are powered by strong communication. But it's often hard to juggle expectations of whether everyone understands the task at hand, and can perform at their potential. To be productive in today's remote world, Astutely has developed a communication framework you can use to make your team even more effective, focused around 3 pillars: co-creation, guidance, and feedback.

Having a company purpose is one thing. But knowing the philosophy behind it makes you uniquely powerful. Too many companies have superficial missions based on shallow, profit-driven missions. Digging into your personal philosophy is an opportunity to form a deep connection with customers, as they buy into your business based on your unique storybook of experiences.

Satya Nadella's empathetic leadership increased Microsoft's stock value by nearly 6x. How did he do it? Today we're unpacking how Microsoft transformed their cut-throat culture into a thriving workplace, and sharing lessons from the book Nadella gave all his executives during his first meeting as CEO: "Nonviolent Communication" by Marshall Rosenberg.

Meg Jay shows us why weak ties are the strongest relationships. Strong ties got you to where you are, but not where you need to go. It's often the people you know least well who create growth for your future self. And as we'll explore, these weak ties offer a unique opportunity to improve how you communicate as a leader.

ConvertKit Founder Nathan Barry's overcame his fear of leaving the comfort zone creating significant early success for his company. The comfort zone is where great potential comes to die. Sticking with what feels comfortable eliminates the possibility of building truly remarkable relationships. Why? Empathy is uncomfortable. We unlock its potential when we're willing to step outside our comfort zones.

Prolific podcast host Guy Raz teaches us how he creates safe spaces to turn his superhuman guests into relatable humans. His example shows us that the more your relationships feel understood, the more your impact as a leader can leap from good to great. In this episode, we explore how compelling communicators can train their muscle of becoming intentionally empathetic.