Innovating Leadership: Co-Creating Our Future

Featured Guest: Jeff DeGraff Everyone can be creative in their own way. Creativity skills can be learned and developed. The creative process is iterative: we typically fail many times before we succeed. We learn from those failures and approach the next experiment with new information and an improved understanding. Yet it can be different in the workplace; particularly in large organizations, the innovative leader is often pushed down by stagnant thinking up the chain. Jeff DeGraff joins Maureen to share how you can tap your individual creativity…and how to deal with the realities of how true innovation is received in the workplace.

Featured Guest: Jonathan Reitz Coaching skills are not just for the life coach or the executive coach, they are every leader’s secret weapon. Managers can become the leaders that are needed when they understand how to use coaching skills that put the development of their team as the top priority and multiply their impact. Want to move from managing your team to leading your team? Coaching skills are the key. Jonathan Reitz joins Maureen to share how managers can move toward leading by learning some simple coaching behaviors.

Featured Guest: Liane Davey Business today is more competitive than ever; staying ahead requires you to make tough calls, face hard choices, and work through conflict. But productive conflict is so rare. Why? Because productive conflict requires a different mindset, new skills, and repeatable processes -- none of which come naturally. Liane Davey joins Maureen to discuss building a productive conflict culture.

Featured Guests: Rich Fernandez and Peter Weng Even before Covid-19, employees reported record rates of burnout and stress; Gallup studies show only 15% of employees are fully engaged at work. Organizations need well-being development for their employees. It is essential for today’s workplaces to provide well-being support, every bit as much as traditional professional development. Supporting the long-term mental health of your team can mean the difference between an engaged, collaborative and productive organization, or one riddled with toxicity and turnover. With 71% of U.S. office workers either curious about or already practicing meditation, now is the time to signal your long-term support for employees, and bring in the neuroscientifically proven benefits of contemplative practices, such as meditation. Peter Weng and Rich Fernandez discuss mindfulness and employee well-being with Maureen.

Featured Guests: Amanda Ellis & Augusto Lopez-Claros Gender inequality around the world has many facets: archaic laws that codify sexism, male control of joint income and household assets, exclusion from governance, trafficking and violence against women, denial of education and adequate health care, and gender segregation in the work force, to name a few. The Gender Equality and Governance Index (GEGI) taps into some of the world’s best datasets to analyze gender discrimination on a global scale, using five critical “pillars”: governance, education, work, entrepreneurship, and violence. The Index covers 158 countries and provides a compelling perspective on the status of gender inequality across the planet. It allows policymakers, the business community and civil society to pinpoint specific areas for improvement and to learn from best international practices. Amanda Ellis and Augusto Lopez-Claros join Maureen to discuss the index results for 2020 and how we as leaders can implement changes for the good of all.

Featured Guest: Dr. Mary Jo Burchard As a society, we're facing a growing lack of trust. We're losing trust in each other, and in our institutions. The impacts ripple through our personal lives and through the nation -- reflected in how difficult it is for both parties to come together in Congress for the greater good. It's also led to an increase in mental illness and suicide. Dr. Mary Jo Burchard shares her personal experiences with this lack of trust to demonstrate how important building trust is in our lives: at home, at school, and at work.

Featured Guest: Neil Grunberg Universities and medical schools do a wonderful job preparing their students for medical procedures, but the often-missed crucial element for great health care is leadership training. Neil Grunberg joins host Maureen Metcalf to share his experiences, and how the leadership framework he developed with Maureen can build the leadership skills needed by medical staff to make our healthcare system stronger. Neil has seen the gaps firsthand; he's a professor at the Uniformed Services University, training physicians, nurses, and psychologists for military and public health service.

Featured Guest: Valerie Biden Owens, First Female Presidential Campaign Manager It’s said that leaders are made, not born. That’s certainly true of the Biden family. Although Joe Biden is in the spotlight as the 46th President of the United States, his three siblings are all leaders in their own right, too. And Joe’s sister Valerie Biden Owens says that forging of strong leadership began in childhood with deep family values. Valerie joins host Maureen Metcalf to discuss her book, Growing Up Biden. She shares the challenges she faced breaking gender barriers, the importance (and elusiveness) of confidence, and growing women as leaders. She'll also dive into the ingrained lessons and expectations that have been the guiding principles of the Bidens’ close-knit, Irish American, Catholic family. These stories and insights speak deeply to the impact of family and generational leadership on political and personal ethos. It's a revealing conversation unfolding the many ways our parents’ guidance shapes us as leaders of our own families, organizations…and nations. For daily wisdom from Valerie and our other guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovativeleadershipinsitute/ . We’re also on Facebook, Mastodon, and Twitter. --------------------------- RESOURCES: You can purchase Growing Up Biden: https://amzn.to/3Vr5yDf Information about Valerie Biden Owens: https://www.valeriebidenowens.com/ Learn about the International Leadership Association at: https://ilaglobalnetwork.org/ ---------------------------- OUR PODCAST TEAM: Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko Video Editor: Devon Mushalko Our Website: InnovativeLeadership.com Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@InnovatingLeadership ---------------------------- ABOUT OUR GUEST: Valerie Biden Owens is the first woman in U.S. history to have run a presidential campaign — that of her brother, Joseph R. Biden, Jr. She also led his seven straight U.S. Senate victories and has been his principal surrogate on the campaign trail. Valerie is Chair of the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware and a partner at Owens Patrick Leadership Seminars. Valerie sits on the Advisory Board of the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children. For 20 years, when Valerie was not managing or advising President Biden’s campaigns, she served as Executive Vice President of Joe Slade White & Co., a media consulting firm. She has worked extensively with Women’s Campaign International, teaching women how to organize and develop communication and political skills. Valerie has also served on the National Board of the Women’s Leadership Forum of the Democratic National Committee and has served for 35 years on the board of The Ministry of Caring. In 2015, Valerie delivered the keynote address for Harvard Law School’s International Women’s Day celebration and was one of 50 women presented with the law school’s international “Women Inspiring Change” award. In 2021, she was named to the Forbes 50 Over 50 Women Who Are Leading the Way in Impact list. She is a graduate of the University of Delaware. She is married to Jack Owens, an attorney and businessman. They have three children.

Featured Guest: Pat Dambe De Beers Vice President Pat Dambe takes a case study approach to the private and public sector partnership between De Beers and the government of Botswana on sustainability and corporate citizenship. She discusses her personal and corporate story and the courage required to contribute responsibly to the communities in which she works and resides. Pat’s story offers a model for a company and a country to create an interconnection that transcends the challenges both face to ensure a vibrant global company and a vibrant company “forever”. She shows that diamonds aren't the only gems De Beers exports; they serve as an example of how a company can change how it operates even after a century of old-school practices. ---------------------- About Our Guest: Pat has over 20 years executive leadership experience working for a variety of Fortune 500 companies and luxury brands including Coca Cola South Africa, Draft FCB, Thebe Investments, Bentley etc. Educated in Botswana, USA and Canada, she holds a BA Honours from Queens University from Ontario, Canada. Pat is currently the Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Government Relations at De Beers Global Sightholder Sales (DBGSS) and is responsible for Government Relations, External Communications, Sustainability and Social Investment. Her primary role is to protect and promote the brand and reputation of the DBGSS and diamonds as a category and support the commercial interests of the business with external and internal stakeholders. The role also entails managing DBGSS’s relationships with Government and non-Government stakeholders.

Featured Guest: Christoph Hinske Can you survive in the new economy? As the supply chain disruptions have shown, our current economic model is very linear. One kink in the chain can cascade through our whole system, nationally and globally. And our linear economy assumes unlimited resources to keep production going to start the chain. But unless we start mining asteroids soon, Earth has finite resources…and climate change is reducing even those (for example, where do we get wood as forests continue to die off?). One solution is the circular economy, but its proponents are seeing it as an ideal. Christoph Hinske of Saxion University joins us to point out the “impossibilities” of the circular economy system, and the problems those can create. It’s a necessary process to strengthen the circular economy’s possibility while we face the inevitable transition to something new in the ways we conduct business. Christoph is the co-editor of a new book, The Impossibilities of the Circular Economy: Separating Expectations from Reality, with experts from 12 different countries weighing in on why our current economic system will fail -- and what it will take for a circular economy to replace it. For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovativeleadershipinsitute/ . We're on Mastodon, Facebook, and Twitter, too! ---------------------- RESOURCES: Here are the links to Christoph's book, The Impossibilities of the Circular Economy: Separating Expectations from Reality: Regular Narrative Edition = https://www.routledge.com/The-Impossibilities-of-the-Circular-Economy-Separating-aspirations-from/Lehmann-Hinske-Margerie-Nikolova/p/book/9781032154435 Graphic Novel Style Edition = https://360dialogues.com/360portfolios/ce-impossibilities ----------------------- Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko Our Website: www.InnovativeLeadership.com ----------------------- About Our Guest: Mr. Christoph Hinske is an associate professor at the School of Finance and Accounting at SAXION University of Applied Sciences, covering Systems Leadership and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems. In his work, Christoph observed that our rapidly transforming economies force leaders to be systemic since they need to act in complex, ambiguous ecosystems. Consequently, his research focuses on empowering leaders to change their strategic and operational models from linear to circular to ecosystemic. He observed that 80 of organizations, intending to transform their models to be more systemic, continue doing the old stuff, using new fancy words. They still apply the same tools, mindsets, and frameworks developed to build linear success.

Featured Guests: Ren Washington and Laura Gibson Though we rarely think of it, there are strong connections between art and leadership. Art sets the environment and tone of the workplace; in your business or home office, it sets the tone of any conversation -- and sends a strong message of who you are, as a person and as a leader. The type of art around your team also shapes the kind of creativity and problem-solving they'll generate. The Center for Creative Leadership has used and studied art as a critical component of leadership development for decades; Ren Washington and Laura Gibson of the Center join us to explore the many ways art and leadership interconnect. ------------------------ Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko Website: InnovativeLeadership.com Join us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovativeleadershipinsitute/ -------------------------- About Our Guests: Ren Washington is a Leadership Solutions Partner at the Center for Creative Leadership. In his role, Ren is committed to helping clients address their most challenging and complex issues around organizational change and innovation, equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), executive presence and image, influence, and resilience. Laura Gibson is the Art Curator at the Center for Creative Leadership, having taken over the program in 2005. In her role, Laura secures artists for rotating exhibits and receptions open to the public, as well as managing CCL’s permanent art collection. She is passionate about the impact the art has on staff, participants, and the community. Center for Creative Leadership website: ccl.org

Featured Guest: Diane Rosenfeld People like to think humanity is at the top of cultural achievement, the pinnacle of evolution’s craftwork. But one glance at the daily headlines proves we have problems. Lots of problems. Across all nations, there’s one glaring problem that hits hard over half our population: sexism. From subtle misogyny to outright violent abuse, women continue to be left on the outside of patriarchies…of a man’s world. That’s not the case with bonobos. They’re our close evolutionary relatives: apes with whom we share 98.7% of our DNA. And their society is very equal. They share parenting duties and food amongst the entire group. And the females defend each other when needed, banding together like sisters regardless of status, age, or friendship. It’s the Bonobo Sisterhood, and guest Diane Rosenfeld tells us there’s a lot our political and corporate leaders can learn from these primates who show just how primitive people can be in comparison! For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on Mastodon: @InnoLeader . -------------- Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko Web Site: InnovativeLeadership.com -------------- For More Information on The Bonobo Sisterhood: www.BonoboSisterhood.com You can purchase The Bonobo Sisterhood at https://amzn.to/3VqHArV . Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can follow her there at https://www.linkedin.com/in/maureenmetcalf/ . She’s also written several award-winning books on leadership development. Your can peruse and purchase them here: https://amzn.to/3C4eSX0 . About Our Guest: Diane L. Rosenfeld, J.D., LL.M., is Founding Director of the Gender Violence Program and Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School. Her breakthrough legal work, research, and arguments have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Glamour, and more. Her op-eds have been featured in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, cnn.com, and the Harvard Crimson. She served as the first Senior Counsel to the Office on Violence Against Women at the U.S. Department of Justice and as an Executive Assistant Attorney General in Illinois. In 2007, she created and taught the first legal seminar on Title IX in the country, which continues to this day at Harvard Law School. She also advised the Obama Administration on the prevention of campus sexual assault and contributed to the Presidential Task Force on Protecting Students from Sexual Assault.

Featured Guest: John Reid Adulthood is kryptonite. We’re all born with superpowers. Curiosity is the most easily recognizable. As children, we’re flooded with it. But as adults, instead of being rewarded for having a million questions, we’re expected to have the answers. Leaders, in particular, believe they should have all the answers. Your superpowers are still there, and truly great leaders know how to unlock them. John Reid will help you rediscover yours, too! Author of The Five Lost Superpowers, Reid joins host Maureen Metcalf to identify the powers we’re all born with…and to provide some basic tools to reactivate them so you can achieve your full potential, personally and as a leader. And when you do that, you’ll help the people around you achieve their potential, too! -------------- Other episodes you'll enjoy: The Power of Praise: Making People's Performance Positive with Ben Marcovitz Facing Uncertainty: It’s VUCA with Christopher Nolan The Bonobo Sisterhood: Ape Society's Lessons for Leaders - with Diane Rosenfeld For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovativeleadershipinsitute. We're on Mastodon, Facebook, and Twitter, too! ---------------------- RESOURCES: Information on John's firm, the J.M. Reid Group, is at www.JMReidGroup.com. His book, The Five Lost Superpowers, is available on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3GnM4eL. Maureen Metcalf posts a leadership newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can follow her there at https://www.linkedin.com/in/maureenmetcalf. She’s also written several award-winning books on leadership development. Your can peruse and purchase them here: https://amzn.to/3C4eSX0. ----------------------- OUR PODCAST TEAM: Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko Video & Graphics Editor: Devon Mushalko Podbean Guru: Luigi Morelli CONNECT WITH US: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Innovativeleadership YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership Twitter: @IL_Institute Mastodon: @InnoLeader LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovativeleadershipinsitute Website: InnovativeLeadership.com Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! -------------- About Our Guest: John Reid is the Founder, President and Lead Designer of JMReid Group, a global behavior change organization specializing in leadership, development, sales effectiveness and skill enhancement. After John survived three bouts of cancer, he decided to pursue his passion for learning and development. John pursued this passion with a belief that people want to get better and can get better, but it is often the manner in which traditional training is designed and delivered that makes this desire for growth difficult. As the lead designer for JMReid Group, John shifts the design emphasis from models and intellectual property to a learning experience that is relevant to the learner’s real world, taps into participants’ wisdom and is engaging and sustainable. His is a clearly learner-centric approach.

Featured Guest: Dr. Ciela Hartanov When you face uncertainty, how do you react? We’re biologically wired to meet uncertainty with concern, even panic or anxiety: it triggers our fight-or-flight response. But behind that veil of the unknown lies tremendous opportunity, and we can rewire our brains to look forward to it…to welcome uncertainty as fun and exciting. As Dr. Ciela Hartanov explains to host Maureen Metcalf, the key is to hack our own mindset to create a new mental framework. In the process, we may just find ourselves in more humane workplaces. For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on Twitter: @IL_Institute . RESOURCE: Information on Dr. Hartanov’s reference to Patagonia is here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timabansal/2022/09/20/chouinards-donation-of-patagonia-is-big-and-bold-but-not-new/?sh=55ae26163ecf. Maureen’s general insights on leadership are also available at Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/people/maureenmetcalf/?sh=de4f1fa1e7d8. ----------------------- About Our Guest: Dr. Ciela Hartanov is a futurist, organizational psychologist, human behavior expert, writer, and thinker dedicated to reinventing work. She helps leaders create a revolution inside the modern workplace, one aimed at breaking a system that promotes work practices that have existed since the industrial era. She was part of the founding team of The Google School for Leaders and Head of Next Practice Innovation and Strategy at Google, where she developed projects designed to shape the future of leadership and work. She currently runs humcollective, a boutique strategy and innovation firm that helps companies, executives, and teams make sense of the forces shaping the future and prepare strategically. ---------------------- Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko Website: www.InnovativeLeadership.com

Featured Guest: George Limbert The pace of change in the world is rapidly increasing, and there’s no slowing it down. VUCA – a program developed by the U.S. military – is a way of identifying the disruptions of change…and, more importantly, of being ready for them. We’ve talked about the theory of VUCA before (see our interview with Chris Nolan posted September 6, 2022). In this episode, George Limbert talks about VUCA and its antidotes practiced in the real world. George is the head of Red Roof Inns. The COVID pandemic presented a sudden onslaught of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity for the entire travel and hospitality industry worldwide. Yet Red Roof emerged from the pandemic with some of their best financials ever. How? George and his team were VUCA-ready. He shares his experience and business-tested VUCA antidotes in this episode so you can prepare for the uncertainties to come, too! For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on Twitter: @IL_Institute. ------------------ Host and Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf Producer and Editor: Dan Mushalko Guest: George Limbert, President of Red Roof Inns Learn more at InnovativeLeadership.com and www.RedRoof.com.

Featured Guest: Amer Kaissi A major myth in politics and business is that arrogant, over-confident people are better leaders. But reality reveals the opposite: humility combined with ambition drives the best leadership performance – and that, in turn, improves the entire organization. Author and Trinity University professor Amer Kaissi discusses the details with host Maureen Metcalf. His new book, Humbitious, digs deep into the reasons the humble-yet-ambitious leader delivers the best results…for everyone from front line staff to the board of directors. This isn’t academic theory; Kaissi studied real-world leaders from Napoleon Bonaparte to New Zealand’s acclaimed Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. While narcissists sometimes do make it to the top, they’re the exception, and their actual performance (as opposed to their PR) tends to be less than stellar. Fortune favors not simply the bold, but the humbitious! ---------------------- Other episodes you'll enjoy: - Mental Toughness: How to Embrace Stress for Greater Success - Career Sponsorship - And Being Sponsor-Ready - Informed Leadership: The Power of Trauma For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovativeleadershipinsitute/ . We're on Mastodon, Facebook, and Twitter, too! ---------------------- RESOURCES: - Amer's new book, Humbitious, is available here . - His earlier book, Intangibles: The Unexpected Traits of High-Performing Healthcare Leaders, is here. - And his specialty tome, Flipping Health Care through Retail Clinics and Convenient Care Models, is here. Amer's website is www.AmerKaissi.com . ----------------------- OUR PODCAST TEAM: Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko Video & Graphics Editor: Devon Mushalko Podbean Guru: Luigi Morelli CONNECT WITH US: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Innovativeleadership YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership Twitter: @InnoLeader LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovativeleadershipinsitute/ Website: InnovativeLeadership.com Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! ----------------------- About Our Guest: Amer Kaissi is an award-winning professor of health-care administration at Trinity University, a Top-15 program. His previous book, Intangibles: The Unexpected Traits of High-Performing Healthcare Leaders, won the 2019 American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Book of the Year Award. He is a national speaker with Huron/Studer Group and a faculty member with ACHE, the University of Colorado Denver, and Boston College. Kaissi is the director of the Executive Program at Trinity University, where he teaches courses in leadership, professional development, and public speaking. Kaissi works with MEDI—a division of Navvis—and with the Leadership Development (TLD) Group as an executive coach, and consults with hospitals and other organizations in their strategic planning efforts. Kaissi is also a certified executive and physician coach. He lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife and their two teenagers. Learn more at www.amerkaissi.com

Featured Guest: Bob DeKoch and Phil Clampitt Only 15% of workers in the U.S. feel engaged with their jobs. That's just one job ill poor leadership spawns; bad leaders also cause turnover, absenteeism, and more. What is going wrong? Some leaders have the right beliefs and sentiments. Others may possess the right skills. Yet world-class leaders need BOTH the right beliefs and practices to address the current employee and organizational challenges. That ideal combination produces a leader who goes beyond servant leadership to truly caring leadership – and the results on employee engagement are profound. In their new book, Leading With Care in a Tough World: Beyond Servant Leadership, authors Bob DeKoch and Phil Clampitt detail the transformation to caring leadership – and the reasons it’s so deeply needed by so many organizations. They share those reasons in this episode. For daily leadership musings, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter (we're @IL_Institute). -------------------- Host: Maureen Metcalf Producer: Dan Mushalko About our guests: Bob DeKoch has devoted his entire career to leadership roles, refining his own skills, and mentoring hundreds of aspiring leaders. His passion for people and for extraordinary outcomes is what drives him. Rising to senior executive roles in numerous organizations, Bob has developed and put into practice the many teachings in his books. He has over four decades of experience across major market sectors: the construction services industry and real estate development business, the pulp and paper industry, the beverage industry, and the chemical industry. He has served on boards of US organizations—for-profit and nonprofit—including a major international corporation. This diverse experience has helped him develop unique insight into inspired leadership. Bob is currently the founder of the leadership consulting firm, Limitless, whose services are described at www.lmtlss.biz. Phillip G. Clampitt (PhD, University of Kansas) is the Blair Endowed Chair of Communication at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. He was previously designated the Hendrickson Named Professor of Business. Phil has won numerous awards for his teaching and scholarship. His students started calling him “Dr. So What” because he asked, “So what?” so often, as a prod to encourage them to think about the implications of their ideas (see www.DrSoWhat.com). The Wall Street Journal and MIT Sloan Management Review highlighted his work on decision downloading, which details how companies can effectively communicate decisions to those not involved in the decision-making process. Phil has consulted on leadership, communication, and strategic planning with organizations such as Nokia, PepsiCo, The US Army War College, Schneider National, and Dental City. DeKoch and Clampitt have worked in a partnership for over thirty years. They have coauthored Transforming Leaders into Progress Makers: Leadership for the 21st Century (see www.progressmakers.net) and Embracing Uncertainty: The Essence of Leadership (see www.imetacomm.com/eu). They have a passionate interest in helping others become successful leaders. Their research, writing, and mentoring have helped thousands of people become better leaders.

Featured Guest: Roxanne Brown and Edward Cook 85% of employees worldwide are not engaged in their workplaces. That takes an obvious toll on morale…and productivity. What can you do? Roxanne Brown and Edward Cook have some compelling answers. They cofounded The Change Decision, a change and culture consultancy focused on growing Joy at Work. Their mission sounds simple, but after decades of disengagement, there is both art and science in boosting your staff. They’ll explore insightful change leadership tips, including strategies for managing ongoing changes; what to do when facing change resistance; how to inspire teams and managers; and navigating deeply personal, complex feelings that come with being a change leader.

Featured Guest: Paul Smith Paul discusses the power of stories for leaders. He shares his insights about what works, why it works, and how you will be more effective as a leader if you master the use of stories. Paul recounts a compelling story told by Bob McDonald, CEO of Proctor and Gamble, and connects it to a primary leadership and parenting lesson for him. Paul illustrates: 1. What a great leadership story is. 2. The primary elements of a story. 3. Why you should use stories to lead and sell. 4. The most common mistakes when using storytelling. You will walk away with a foundation for using story in your role as a leader. Learn more about using story in leadership by reading Paul's book Lead with Story.

Featured Guest: Erica Dhawan In a world of work-from-home and so much of our personal interaction being digital, we need to understand what we are conveying by digital body language. Today, Erica Dhawan joins the show to share findings from her newest book – Digital Body Language – which decodes the new signals and cues of effective collaboration and teamwork in a digital-first human workplace. Listeners will learn to investigate and improve their own digital body language so that they can support a silo-breaking, trust-filled environment at their places of work. Listeners will understand that the language and punctuation we use across all mediums requires that we be careful, conscious and considerate, and always mindful of how our recipients might respond.

Featured Guest: Brian Ferguson The greatest story of the 21st century is not technology, but how technology will be used as a tool for deepening the levels of human potential. Brian talks about his work leveraging the most proven performers, time-honored principles and cutting-edge technology to develop unique performance solutions for a wide range of “arenas” – from medicine to agriculture. He will discuss the following questions? 1. Why has "innovation" become such a buzzword in recent years? 2. What trends are you focusing on and how do they impact organizations and leaders? 3. What is the archetype of a leader who is effective in a world of dramatic change and dynamism? 4. Why is "human potential" such a powerful concept in today's global environment? 5. What challenges do all modern leaders face? 6. What is the most important trait of today's leaders? 7. What are "The First Principles of High Performance" 8. How does technology serve leaders and make for more high performing teams? What is singularity?

Featured Guest: Jean Brittain Leslie Organizations and the people working in them find themselves in environments that are increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA). Under these conditions, tensions that are ongoing, and seemingly overwhelming can be difficult to understand, much less easy to address. These tensions show up in all facets of organizational life including leadership (control vs. empowerment), teamwork (task vs. relationships), strategy (competition vs. collaboration), structure (centralize vs. decentralize), and in the individual (work vs. home). These conflicting demands, when pursued jointly, are often referred to as paradoxes. Reframing these tensions beyond either/or problems in need of a single solution enables us to produce an outcome that is superior to tackling one demand at a time. Jean explains how to work with paradox and apply these tools to improving virtual team success. She draws on the rich research she conducted to provide solutions.

Featured Guest: Jesse W. Newton We are in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution, yet have not realized the significant productivity gains that previous revolutions delivered. Author and Global Management Consultant Jesse Newton believes this to be in part because of the debilitating complexity that organizations have created over their existence. He’s spent years specializing in unburdening organizations from paralyzing complexity. Growing complexity has traditionally been met with added structures, processes, committees and systems. As a result, organizations often become a complicated mess, clouding strategic focus, slowing innovation and breeding complacency. In his new book, Simplify Work: Crushing Complexity to Liberate Innovation, Productivity, and Engagement, Newton delivers a newfound clarity on the case for simplification and the steps organizations and individuals need to take to unleash their potential.

Featured Guest: David White As an IT Leader and someone who works in technology, David talks about why the soft side of what we do is a significant contributor to success. As technology leaders, we need a diverse set of skills including a heavy dose of soft skills to be a highly successful business leaders beyond our technical skills. These skills range from awareness and management or our mood, an ability to be present and focused and skills in establishing and managing a positive culture where a broad range of perspectives can be explored and synthesized. This is a new type of management and requires new skills. Battelle is working to ensure their culture and their leaders are prepared with the soft skills and culture to thrive and maintain agility as they lead in integrating new technology into companies and the US government. David also shares his perspective on his career path and the importance of seeking mentoring and being a mentor.