Where Genius Grows

"That divide should not exist in healthcare right now. Why? Because we're too far along. We're too innovative. We have too much technology. There should never be a gap."

— Courtney Lang

Inequity in healthcare actively harms people in every area of society. Courtney Lang is the founder and principal of Lang Co and Partners, a public affairs firm focused on healthcare. In this episode we discuss the tangible healthcare consequences of how we view ourselves, how we communicate, and what steps each of us can take to redress healthcare inequity.

"Part of the way out is extending the circle of care and the circle of who you feel entwined with, interdependent to, responsible for wider and wider. So if each of us would say, 'I'm responsible for listening to where the pain is that needs me,' rather than 'I'm just responsible to my nuclear family or my immediate environment,' and everybody was making that choice to serve life in that way, we would collectively do something to create a cushion underneath the traumatic potential of this time."

— Amy Elizabeth Fox

Amy Elizabeth Fox is a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mobius Executive Leadership, a premier transformational leadership firm headquartered in Boston and Geneva. Amy is a senior practitioner in the field of personal and organizational transformation. In this conversation, Amy and Gideon grapple with the tension we may feel between being vulnerable and compassionate, on the one hand, and leading inspiring, visionary change, on the other.

There's a part of me that's like shouting, "Of course [we're friends]!" And there's another part that's like, "I want to be. I don't know?" And that part of me is alive. And this is gonna sound a bit contradictory, but that part of me is also alive in most other white friendships that I have. You know, it's like, "Is this possible?"

— Akasha

Akasha and I have known each other for seven years. We had wanted to have a conversation that would address racism. But how to get beyond punditry and make an actual difference? I invited Akasha to hold me accountable for racism I had perpetrated against him, promising that I would neither defend nor explain.

"Oftentimes when we're talking about polarities, there's a false assumption that we have to let go of what we value the most. In actuality, when you're moving from operating from your preferred pole to the third way, it's not about letting go or losing, it's about loosening up your grip enough that you can make enough room to bring more in."

— Kelly Lewis

We've all faced problems that won't go away. The worst part is when we do everything in our power to correct course and then just create a whole new slew of problems. Problems like these are not uncommon. But there's a really good chance they're not even problems; they might be polarities. In this episode I speak to Kelly Lewis, who with Brian Emerson, has published the book Navigating Polarities to help us identify and nimbly find our way through polarities.

"From very early, we are taught to see the world in certain ways. And one of the first ways that we're taught to see the world is through either/or. 'Either the stove is hot or the stove is cold. And I touch it or I don't touch it.' That it is possible to expand our thinking into understanding the world as also being made up of both/and scenarios, and simply holding that at the front of our mind, is the best place to start"

— Brian Emerson

We've all faced problems that won't go away. The worst part is when we do everything in our power to correct course and then just create a whole new slew of problems. Problems like these are not uncommon. But there's a really good chance they're not even problems; they might be polarities. In this episode I speak to Brian Emerson, who with Kelly Lewis, has published the book Navigating Polarities to help us identify and nimbly find our way through polarities.

"Choose to do something that supports what you care about and will help us all sustain life on this planet. Every day you make that choice and we all make those choices. The hope is that millions of people will be making the difference every day."

— Wendy Moomaw

Wendy Moomaw is the executive director of Conscious Capitalism of Central Maryland. In this conversation we discuss the power that businesses and consumers wield to direct profit to nurture the things most important to us.

How does life change when we leave behind the initial fascination of reading about theories of adult development to learning how to actually assess stage development in conversations with the people around us? Cultivating Leadership partners Jennifer Garvey Berger and Carolyn Coughlin interview Where Genius Grows host Gideon Culman about his experience undergoing their Growth Edge Coaching certification program.

"I'd much rather look at the reality rather than the opinions people carry."

— Tony Quinlan

When we face intractable problems — wanting to change the trajectory of our lives and stalling, wanting to change the direction of our community and failing — an important area that we often don't examine are the stories we tell ourselves and others. In this conversation I speak with Narrate CEO Tony Quinlan. We discuss how bringing into focus the stories that underlie our lives can open up previously unnoticed avenues for action that were always there.

"One of the things that we know from complexity theory — especially used in leadership — is that we can't figure it out. There is no plan that can work, necessarily. But what we can do is we can pay attention to the patterns of behavior and we can just try stuff, experiment."

— Carolyn Coughlin

Occasionally we find ourselves doing the same thing over and over again — at work, at home, with friends — and whatever we're doing just isn't working. When we try to control or outsmart or charm our way through this challenge, we only make matters worse. And if we do find a new approach that actually does work, we don't have the wherewithal to sustain our efforts. Cultivating Leadership partner Carolyn Coughlin sheds light on this dynamic and offers for our consideration an approach that links complexity theory to the ideas we hold about our identity as well as the ways in which we experience our bodies.

If you were intrigued by what Carolyn has to say, you'll love this conversation in episode 56 with Carolyn's partner Jennifer Garvey Berger on adult development theory.

Readings Carolyn recommends:Doug Silsbee, "Presence-Based Leadership" Jennifer Garvey Berger & Keith Johnston, "Simple Habits for Complex Times" Jennifer Garvey Berger, "Changing on the Job" Carolyn Coughlin, "A New Resource for Cultivating Whole Leaders for Complexity" Carolyn Coughlin, "Nine Panes, Nine Perspectives for Cultivating a Complexity-Adapted Self" Carolyn Coughlin, "What the Mountain Taught Me about Complexity Fitness" Carolyn Coughlin, "Three Ways to Cultivate Complexity Fitness"