The Mind Takeaway Podcast

What happens when you prepare for opportunity instead of worrying about the future?

In the second of our micro episodes, we explore uncertainty, what to do about it and how you can prepare for the future.

*Episode art image was taken at Leise Park, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin

In this episode, we speak to Csaba Toth who is a British/Hungarian entrepreneur, researcher and speaker based in the UK. He is the founder of ICQ Global, a people development organisation with licensed partners in 35 countries.

Csaba is the developer of the multi-award-winning Global DISC model and the best-selling author of the Uncommon Sense in Unusual Times hybrid book published with Marshall Goldsmith.

Csaba has 15 years of experience in setting up start-ups, working with Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, entrepreneurs and certifying over 60 coaches and consultants globally.

Connect with Csaba here:

https://www.ICQ.global

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

https://www.facebook.com/icq.global

https://twitter.com/icq_global?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/icq.global/?hl=en

Book on Amazon

Timestamps:

02:36 The cultural differences that go beyond skin colour, race, gender, generations, religion and that every conversation is a cross-cultural dialogue.

04:16 What does homophilic diversity mean? How we like and trust people who are like us.

05:30 The benefits of cognitive diversity when it comes to high performing teams.

08:19 How you can see the real person behind the mask, the person without putting on a show.

09:25 What is the No.1 trait of high performing teams?

09:57 How to create the right conditions for people to feel safe and be able to do their best work

12:14 How discomfort and fear come from a lack of understanding of any given situation, especially one that might be new to us.

14:40 Did you know that every behaviour is purposeful and when we talk about people under stress that behaviour has a purpose of protection and they will not stop doing it until it is not required anymore or they find a better option.

16:15 Leadership is about having the awareness to explore getting uncomfortable for yourself, being curious and addressing your challenges and unconscious biases.

17:21 Csaba’s beautiful metaphor for why people do not usually change until it hurts enough, why is that?

18:21 Why giving people managers and leaders more techniques, tools and things to do is not always the best way to develop them.

21:05 The missing link before mindset is to have the right state of mind, which is clarity of mind.

23:49 The disconnect between how employees understand a company's vision and mission versus how the top leaders see it.

31:43 How the biggest distance between two people is a misunderstanding

36:10 The missing link to resolving most challenges in the workplace is to treat people like individual human beings.

38:15 How companies should consider fostering leadership skills to all employees, so when they are given the role of a leader they hit the ground running.

40:38 An important question for leaders to ponder, do you want to be right or do you want to the results?

In the first of our micro episodes, we explore fear, how it can show up in our lives and what to do about it. 

What would you do if you knew that fear wasn't an obstacle?

Takeaways

In this episode with speak to Eleanor Snare (they/them), an artist, writer and educator. Their art forms combine narrative structures with ink, paint, pen and digital mediums and their writing explore the connections between earth, emotions and society, including our experience of the numinous and faith.

Eleanor specialises in looking at contemporary social and business issues through an artistic, critical, anti-capitalist, pro-connection lens. Since 2012 Eleanor has taught in higher education and currently teaches at Leeds Arts University in Fashion Marketing, MA Creative Practice and MA Graphic Design.

Previous to this career they worked as a copywriter, marketer and communications specialist full time in marketing agencies and then in their own business, with clients such as NatWest, TSB, ASDA, New Look, Marks & Spencer, Unilever, EDF, Redcats, Shop Direct and independent photographers, stylists, textile designers, artists, massage therapists and writers.

Connect with Eleanor here:

Website: www.eleanorsnare.com

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/eleanorsnare

Instagram: www.instagram.com/eleanorsnare

Timestamps

01:37 Elenor describes the bridge between the creative and business worlds in the work that they do, as previously, they felt torn between two seemingly separate worlds.

04:28 The challenges of thinking you have to separate business and creativity.

06:42 Eleanor had a realisation that every professional decision was made from intuition alone.

08:41 How Businesses tapping into their intuitive side allows them to talk about feelings because they impact every decision made and affect your leadership.

10:06 Successful businesses need creatives and people with humanities degrees because they have strong critical thinking skills.

14:16 Every person can be creative and inside every person is an artist, that is our child.

15:42 Innovation and creativity requires the freedom not to have an output because if we have strict rules in place, you suddenly limit yourself.

17:42 One of Eleanor’s favourite hobbies is looking out of the window because it allows your mind to wander.

20:28 The importance of having the right balance between control and enough freedom and space to be innovative.

22:51 How entrepreneurial literature can encourage a template style approach which claims that if you do these things, you will be successful, which isn’t the case.

24:14 control is an aspect that many people struggle with how you can use it effectively.

27:16 Many artists try to fit their art into the rest of their life, rather than building a life around their art.

28:53 Our economy loves the results of creativity, but it hates the process, and because of it, young artists often think they are not valuable.

30:13 The importance of getting people who never saw themselves as creative or artistic picking up a pen or a paintbrush and making art because it gives them a respect for the process and also how transformative it is in many ways.

32:18 The inseparable nature of art and science

36:11 It’s essential for artists to trust their process and not justify it.

39:10 Lots of the famous artists that we celebrate just saw something we did not see and that reflects in their work.

43:23 What it would be like for you if you believed that creativity was an innate quality that you have within you?

43:50 Life and work is more about the journey than achieving your goals.

52:52 The more comfortable you are with yourself the better the world that is when we create a better world.

In this episode, we speak with Joshua Haynes, a Founder + Managing Partner at Masawa, the mental wellness impact fund. After a long journey learning to approach his own issues of depression, anxiety, and addiction, Joshua founded Masawa to help address mental illness, a silent epidemic that is the leading cause of disability worldwide and costs, in the EU alone, €600 billion a year. Joshua believes that after society is more mentally well by focusing on the internal first, it can overcome the seemingly intractable problems like climate change, poverty, and injustice.

Over the past 20 years, Joshua has focused on the intersection of innovation, technology, and social impact. He has worked for both the US and Swedish governments, managing a portfolio of $190 million in innovative grant funding in emerging and frontier market countries targeting poverty alleviation, civil society, human rights, and technology. Joshua holds degrees from Boston University and The Fletcher School, Tufts University. He has worked in 35 countries, speaks 7 languages well (pretends in many more), and lives in Berlin with his husband and two children.

Connect with Joshua here:

Website: https://masawa.fund

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/masawafund/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/masawafund/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/masawafund

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/masawafund

Timestamps

03:55 In the startup scene, the goal should be to about using the wealth we have as a vehicle to ensure that more people become themselves, in whatever shape or form that may take.

04:30 Pre COVID the No1 cause of disability was depression, and it still is, the prediction is that the total loss in productivity will be 30 trillion worldwide by 2030.

04:58 Mental wellness is not about human optimisation, it's about giving everyone an equal playing field, and there's where the name of Joshua's impact fund comes from the Arabic word Al Masawa.

06:53 It looked like the perfect life, until one day he crashed and burned, due to not dealing with his issues from the past;  he had to learn how to deal with the emotions and take the time for himself.

09:23 Having worked in finance on projects in Africa and worked on innovation and social enterprises and startups in Cambodia, he was curious about who was funding these innovations that were happening in Mental wellness. He found that there were not impact funds that cared equally about maximising that social impact as well maximising the financial aspects, so he decided to do it himself.

13:28 The underlying issues of the existential problems in the world, such as poverty, climate change, inequality and injustice, are happening because we are not ok with ourselves.

15:54 The best thing that leaders in organisations can start doing is being ok with being vulnerable.

17:18 In most work cultures, people never really talk about their home life and don't bring their full selves to work.

18:04 On the subject of diversity and how Joshua is only now starting to understand the privilege he had as a white male. We need to use the benefits we have to channel them for the greater good.

21:04 The Masawa advisory board it is nine women and one man, and you might say they are a contrarian, but if you look at the range of experiences they have, it is because they identified holes where they needed help and these are the best people we knew and found to be able to fill those holes

If there was ever a time when we needed to show compassion and put our differences aside, that time is now.

In this episode, we speak with Cheryl Hanson, a thought leader, teacher and conversation facilitator. In partnership with the international organization, Preemptive Love she developed a program in her city called “Gatherings” where people from different cultures, races, faiths, and politics are able to come together in an environment where everyone has a voice, a safe place to be heard and valued.

You can connect with Cheryl here:

Email [email protected]

Instagram - @cherylhansonspeaks

Facebook - @cherylhansonspeaks 

Time Stamps:

02:55 Cheryl explains what radical compassion is and how can we develop it.

05:26 Building bridges with people who are different from us starts with awareness of who we are first.

07:51 Are younger people more open to change than older generations?

11:04 Sheryl explains how her grandchildren have the opportunity to grow up in a diverse neighbourhood because their parents purposely chose to move from an affluent area where everyone was like them to the place where they can learn from different cultures.

12:14 It is our responsibility to respect humanity, and when we don't, it permits us to hurt people, and it makes it easier to disassociate with a particular demographic.

13:36 She was growing up in a cultural bubble to being exposed to diverse groups in her work in the non-profit sector.

14:57 Cheryl recounts a man who seemed selfish, but when she heard the story that informed his behaviour, she realised that we could go further into connecting with people if we just listen to each other.

17:10 It is essential to know people on a human level before you can make any assumptions about their behaviour.

19:05 The importance of taking the time to build relationships and open the door to the conversation as it shows the other person that they are seen and heard and you care enough to take the time to understand them.

20:53 The transformative power of allowing someone to be seen and heard and respecting their humanity.

22:07 Cheryl's tip for listening is when someone is telling you something, don't be in your mind thinking how are you going to respond but truly hear them out.

24:13 How her group gatherings work and the power of having the co-host/ facilitator who is very different from Cheryl. but has the same goal to create a safe space for people to listen to each other.

30:30 Healing in communities comes from hearing each other's experiences and discussing how we can move forward together instead of focusing on our differences.

34:48 Cheryl explains the term "Love Anyway" and the power of choosing to love people who are different from us and even caused us pain.

37:12 When you provide settings where people can share their stories, you can see the change happen in front of you both physically and psychologically.

38:29 When it comes down to the basics we all want safety, opportunity, family, love and relationships

42:24 Not everyone has to take massive action to make a change, it can be a minimal change;  Having a change of heart about a topic, learning and listening. Allow people who are different from you in your inner circle, get to know your neighbour and that alone will lead to bringing more love and understanding into your life.

We speak to Jonathan Miller, a high-performance coach who helps impact-driven entrepreneurs optimize their business and their life. His programs draw heavily from his extensive experience in several communication systems, including Nonviolent Communication, the Harvard Negotiation Project, Landmark Worldwide, and more. His methodology is also heavily influenced by his Vipassana meditation practice, of which he has spent over 2,000 hours practising.

You can connect with Jonathan here:

Website: https://www.mindfulcommunication.me

Tough Talks Made Easy: https://bit.ly/ToughTalksMadeEasy

Mindful Communication Podcast: https://anchor.fm/podcast-863ccb8

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/millerdjonathan/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulcommunication/

Time Stamps:

02:29 How 9 out of 10 issues Jonathan deals with are related to communication and handle difficult conversations.

It isn’t so essential to observe someone’s body language and words for communication is more important to be present with another person.

04:49 What does Jonathan look at when he supports a client who is experiencing lots of conflict in their work.

06:29 What is the Fundamental Attribution Error and how it affects our ability to communicate effectively.

08:30 We all agree psychological safety is a key to high performance

12:07 How vulnerability may seem like a weakness to us but to others, it looks like courage.

13:43 Society has become used to being inappropriately comfortable when we should be experiencing inappropriate discomfort.

14:44 It’s not difficult to be a human being, but when in a work context we think that we have to show up with this massive mask on and pretend to be someone that we ware not.

17:05 How to start addressing social injustice and racism in the workplace?

21:34 If you got an open culture in your company, then conflict is going to happen quite often because people feel safe to express how they feel. And our job as leaders is to facilitate those conversations without judgement.

22:10 Behind every communication problem is a sweaty ten-minute conversation you don’t want to have. - Psychologist, Gay Hendricks

22:25 Avoiding conflict is not the path of least resistance.

24:09 How silence in itself is a way of communication, it is better to have an uncomfortable dialogue than silence within a team.

25:33 Peter shares an example of a culture gone wrong in the company and how not to communicate with employees.

28:53 When we don’t address conflicts, it gets more complicated because new events add on and it becomes more challenging to pick it apart.

30:26 Leaders often display a lack of creativity when they do not allow conflict to happen. They often miss the opportunity of creative solutions that can come from both sides of the table, which naturally comes from having an open and human to human dialogue.

30:54 Jonathan explains that conflict is going to happen because it is an inevitable part of our life, and the idea that we can avoid something inevitable is insane.

31:57 Jonathan shares a personal story on how he creatively resolved the conflict between him and his partner when they moved to Capetown in South Africa.

This is the 40th episode of the Mind Takeaway Podcast!

We speak to Vivian Acquah a workplace wellness advocate and we explore the holistic way of sustainable employability, called workplace wellness.

For her, this is the way to work on a healthy culture at work. Vivian advises managers and companies on how to keep their team members healthy, happy, and safe.

Becoming a mother inspired Vivian to shift from being a Finance/ IT consultant to becoming a workplace wellness advocate.

She made a promise to her son to help make the world a sustainable place by advocating for a healthy workplace where people can thrive.

Vivian is also a founder of Amplify DEI Summit, where you can learn all about Diversity, Equity & Inclusion from 60+ international experts. And, we have three 16 days all-access tickets to give away.

The first three people to send us the answer to Mira's question which you can hear when listening to the podcast will receive a ticket.

Send your answer to [email protected]

You can connect with Vivian here:

Website: https://vivalavive.com/workplace-wellness-blog/

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivianacquah/

Twitter https://twitter.com/VivalaViveNL

Let’s Humanize The Workplace videos: https://bit.ly/htwlive

Let’s Humanize The Workplace podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-humanize-the-workplace-real-talk/id1505138189

Time Stamps:

02:30 How her personal experience of harassment and micro-management became the reason for Vivian to start her career as a workplace wellness consultant.

08:25 The importance of speaking up and communicating what we see wrong in the workplace and learning to support each other during challenging times.

10:13 Why do we need to actively humanise workspaces.

12:50 What is the role of self-judgement and our own unconscious biases in how we communicate and manage others.

15:30 How to effectively facilitate change.

23:04 Vivian suggests that looking at your numbers can be a strong indicator your company needs to take action to improve the culture, when a high volume of people are leaving it affects your revenue.

25:50 Vivian says the workplace isn’t Disneyland and explains how can we start addressing uncomfortable topics like racism and gender bias.

30:37 The role of inclusion and authenticity in creating psychologically safe work environments.

35:37 Team building isn’t a one night stand but a long term relationship-building process.

40:50 Vivian highlights the importance of having a mentor who will support and believe in you and finding your tribe of like-minded people so you would not feel alone.

If you are a startup founder, community leader or interested in professional growth then this episode may be of interest to you.

We speak to Lana Jelenjev, a community alchemist and learning design specialist with a solid background in training and education. She is the author of Community Builder: Designing Communities for Change and The 90 Day Action Planner, a Kickstarter backed planner for creative entrepreneurs. Lana provides support in various areas related to the ideation, curriculum design, community building and personal development.

Lana is also the Director for Learning Design and Community for Dream See Do, an online learning and community building platform for transformational leaders, NGOs and community cultivators. She is also active in non-profit work, spearheading the educational campaigns for Neurodiversity Foundation, Shift Foundation and She Dares.

You can connect with Lana here:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lanajelenjev/

Competition time!

Lana is also the co-founder of BASE, an exclusive boutique online conference dedicated to scale-ups. 2020 theme: Humanizing Businesses Beyond Profit.

We have two tickets to give away worth over 200 euros.

The first two people to answer Mira's question within this episode will receive a ticket.

Send your answer to [email protected]

Time Stamps:

04:30 Lana explains the idea of the BASE conference and this years theme, Humanising businesses beyond profit

09:04 The importance of people, planet and purpose in business

10:32 How building relationships is a foundation for business growth

11:14 Increasing employee satisfaction doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult. Lana shares an example of a businessman who listened to his people and made simple tweaks to deepen human connection, improve relationships and increase employee satisfaction.

16:22 It is the perfect moment for leaders to take the time to pause and reflect on what makes businesses thrive, who are the ones driving this change and who is benefiting.

19:37 What is the first step to making meaningful and impactful changes in your business that will benefit future generations rather than sustaining Status Quo.

24:03 Why do we need to think of the impact our decisions have for future generations.

35:06: This is a time for everyone to reflect on: Am I adding to the problem? Is my lack of awareness increasing the pain that people are feeling? And from there make decisions for the future.

For the end, Lana shares a quote from one of her favourite thought leaders. “May our roads be rough enough to disturb us into new paradigms of becoming”

If you are interested in entrepreneurship, leadership and professional growth then this episode may be of interest to you.

We speak to Sean Sheppard, a serial entrepreneur, VC and co-founder of GrowthX and GrowthX Academy, with three successful exits, who has successfully grown dozens of early-stage companies across a wide variety of products and markets. He was recently named the #2 Online Sales Influencer and contributor at The Huffington Post. He’s now committed to working with countries, companies, entrepreneurs and those who want to work with them on building startup ecosystems and developing the next generation of leaders for the innovation economy.

You can connect with Sean here:

Twitter/IG @seanasheppard

Timestamps:

02:10 Feedback vs Failure explained by one of the most successful people in the startup and tech industry.

05:25 It's not a failure if you learn from it as it creates the opportunity to learn faster, iterate more quickly and provide something of real value

06:35 Practical advice on how to find what you want to do next and figure out if you have a viable product

11:10 It has never been more difficult and expensive to get traction for products due to too much noise and competition

14:40 What it actually means having a growth mindset

15:21 Why we need to create psychologically safe environments where people can tell us the truth in order to increase our success rate in everything we do

19:55 What wins in the information economy? Insights created by data and the importance of having a good relationship with someone who is willing to give it to you.

If you want to stay relevant you need to make those changes quickly.

22:07 What do people with high potential have in common? How it is important to trust your gut when looking for talent

25:56 Sean’s professional career growth tips

30:49 Why in the GrowthX academy everyone has to present a lot which is very uncomfortable for most people however Sean explains how it's amazing to see them transform within weeks into very solid presenters

31:06 How it's important to have a supportive community of peers, plus a safe place where you get to try things and screw up and keep trying

31:33 Sean explains how to return from a fixed mindset back to a growth mindset we all had as kids - Think learning to walk...

35:36 The most dangerous thing is how we talk to ourselves, negative self-talk and self-doubt are the most destructive forms of human behaviour to oneself.

42:14 Every new interaction is an opportunity to learn something

42:28 What are the 5 skills that can help anybody in the innovation economy

47:56 Sean talks about Authentic Intelligence: be different, be collaborative, be creative and do it all with good intention and build a community around yourself.