In this episode, I speak with Jamie Bristow, a leading voice in the global movement to place inner development at the heart of societal transformation. As the Policy Director of the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) initiative, Jamie has been deeply involved the effort to grow the IDG movement around the wold. Prior to working at the IDGs, Jamie was focused on bringing mindfulness into the halls of power in the UK. Jamie has advised governments, led impactful research, and become a key advocate for integrating contemplative practice into public life.

Together, we explore why mindfulness matters right now, what he has learned by doing this work in the political space, and how narrative has played a key role in the growth of the IDG movement over the years.

It's a substantive discussion with a global leader in the fields of mindfulness and inner development.

Learn more about Jamie here:

www.jamiebristow.com

Jamie on LinkedIn

Jamie on the IDG website

Daniel Hires currently serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for the Inner Development Goals organization. He is a lifelong activist, social entrepreneur, and innovator.  His LinkedIn page lists 19 different professional roles, including working for the UN, being a university professor, working as a coach and consultant, and founding a youth civic leadership movement before stepping into his current role focused on marketing the IDGs.

In our conversation, we experiment with some silence, explore the relationship between inner ways of being and the world around us, and explore Daniel's fascinating journey of experimenting around creating positive social change.

Learn more about Daniel at the following links:

ImpactCalling

Inner Development Goals

 Jen is an experienced advocate and activist-turned therapist and consultant. After spending years leading major organizing initiatives for national unions like the AFL-CIO and SEIU, she made a career shift and became clinical social worker. Today, she is the Founder of the Center for Grounded Action, an organization focused on bringing inner development to some of the most difficult challenges we face in the world today.

Jen's life embodies the shift from a focus on outer change to a dual focus on both outer and inner change. She brings a wealth of experience and expertise to both domains, and is doing groundbreaking work around bringing inner development skills and tools some of our most challenging public problems.

Learn more about Jen here:

LinkedIn

Jen's Website

Meet Matthew Lee, one of the eleven Senior Scientific Advisors to the Inner Development Goals Foundation. Matt is an accomplished scholar, researcher and author who has been focused on studying human flourishing for many years. In particular, his focus has been on the cultivation of love. He has a very big mind, a very deep soul, and a very open heart, and he is one of a small group of thought leaders actively shaping the IDG movement.

In this conversation, we explore the science of love, the importance of inner development, and the work of human flourishing.

Learn more about Matt here:

LinkedIn

Matthew Lee on the IDG website

Meet Hina Ambareen: She's a certified Health and Wellness coach as well as a social media influencer based in India. She is passionate in her commitment to guiding others through a journey of inner transformation, and after meeting her and learning her story I'm excited to lift up her voice and experience.

After sinking into a deep depression after the death of her mother, Hina emerged with a powerful sense of calling to be of service to others. In this conversation, she talks about her journey from pain to purpose, why she cares about inner development, and how her faith informs her coaching.

To learn more about Hina:

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/ambareenhina/?hl=en

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hinaambareen/

To learn more about the Inner Development Goals

https://innerdevelopmentgoals.org/

Surabhi Lal is an adjunct professor of Public Service at the Wagner School of Public Service at NYU, has her own consulting company, and is a certified leadership coach.  She is also pursuing her doctorate in Leadership and Change at Antioch University, with a focus on understanding how we can cultivate a sense of belonging in the workplace.  

In this conversation, we discuss the challenges of dealing with the imposter syndrome, how to balance humility and ambition, and why inner development is important.  I appreciate the skillful way that Surabhi weaves together her professional expertise with stories about her own life experiences. 

Learn more about Surabhi here:

https://www.surabhilal.com

Ora Grodsky is the founder of Just Works Consulting and the author of a forthcoming book entitled Justice, Love, and Organizational Healing: A Guide to Transformational Consulting (available on Feb. 25th, 2025).

She began her career as an acupuncturist, and has spent decades refining an approach to organizational consulting that brings the wisdom of traditional chinese medicine to the work of organizational transformation.

Ora is a master practitioner, and her new book provides both a deep dive into her philosophy of transformational consulting and a collection of practical tools that are surely to be useful to anyone engaged in the work of organizational consulting.

Learn more about Ora's consulting work at ⁠Just Works Consulting.⁠

Order Ora's new book ⁠here on Bookshop.org.⁠

What is the Noosphere? And what does it have to do with Inner Development?

On this episode, we chat with Sheila Hassell Hughes, the Chief Operating Officer of a nonprofit called Human Energy that was founded to introduce the science of the Noosphere as a source of meaning for future generations in our globalizing world.

Expect a thought-provoking conversation that moves from some very big ideas about the story of human existence to some very practical implications for understanding our own personal inner development.

Learn more about Human Energy here.

For more info about Sheila Hassell Hughes, click here.

Interdependence is at the heart of the work of the IDGs. Recognizing that this word came up all the time in our discussions about the Boston IDG Hub, we decided to record a conversation that explored the concept of interdependence in depth.

Brad, Toby and Max explore this concept through the different lenses that they all bring to this work. Brad is an expert on regenerative leadership and sustainability; his perspective on interdependence is grounded in a deep understanding of the natural world and living systems.  Toby’s background is in journalism, civic engagement, and community building.  And Max's background is in the fields of developmental psychology and leadership. 

In this episode, we explore how all of these perspectives illuminate the concept of interdependence.  We explore what we might learn about this phenomena from mycelia networks in the forest, what theories of human development have to say about interdependence, and how national service could play a role of helping citizens work skillfully with interdependence.

We hope you enjoy listening to the conversation as much as we enjoyed having it!

This episode lifts up the voice and expertise of Dr. Donna Hicks, one of the remarkable thought leaders based here in Boston who is helping to shape the IDG framework. She is an internationally renowned expert on the concept of dignity. She began her career in the field of conflict resolution, where she came to realize that dignity played an powerful but overlooked role in healing or perpetuating conflict. She went on to develop a model of dignity that is both theoretically rigorous and highly practical, and her work has grown to have a global impact.

In this conversation, she discusses her remarkable journey to developing her approach to dignity, what impact it has had in the world, and how it relates to the inner development goals.

For those looking for more information, here are a few links:

⁠Harvard Kennedy School Website⁠

⁠Dignity: It's Essential Role is Resolving Conflict⁠

⁠Leading with Dignity: How to Create a Culture that Brings out the Best in People⁠

⁠Facing the Truth Episode #1 one Youtube⁠

Inner Development Goals