Zoë Routh Leadership Podcast

Podcasts

 

 

226 Leadership principles for second chance hiring with Jeff Korzenik

In his role as Chief Investment Strategist for a leading US bank, Jeff Korzenik is used to finding solutions to complex challenges but none are more complex than his work in creating opportunities for the re-employment of people with criminal records. Jeff believes second chance hiring is good for society and good for business. His leadership approach to helping organisations open hearts and minds is firmly rooted in reality and the systems and processes that support success.

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223 Author and entrepreneur Paul Hargreaves’ leadership principles for purpose before profit

Malaria-induced bed rest gave Paul Hargreaves, author of The Fourth Bottom Line, food industry entrepreneur and B Corp advocate, a chance to really think about his purpose and impact on the world. Now he wants other businesses to do the same, through compassionate leadership that doesn’t sacrifice people or the planet in the name of profit.

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220 Futurist Christina Gerakiteys’ leadership strategies for nurturing humanity

Do you have an agile leadership mindset? Are you expanding your perspectives, increasing your capacity for inclusion and considering the social impact of what you do? As a futurist who studied ancient history, Christina Gerakiteys perfectly combines humanity and technology to get to the heart of vertical development and why this is the leadership framework we need right now.

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163 The best leadership principles work anywhere with Barnie Van Wyk

Every business has a particular context that requires a different approach to leadership. But there are principles that are true for all. Barnie Van Wyck has led businesses in South Africa, the UK, and Australia and has an enormous treasure trove of experiences from which to draw useful insights. Through it all he is sustained by his commitment to others and community. In this uplifting interview discover his secrets to doing leadership well, in the toughest of circumstances.

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162 Leadership attributes needed for calm under pressure with Jenny Kitchin

Working in government and the social services sector, CEO of Woden Community Service Jenny Kitchin has seen a lot when it comes to people stuff. Then, just when she thought she had seen it all, something horrendous happened. How does a leader deal with surprising behaviour? How do we deal with generational gaps? How do we stay calm and composed when our staff want to see us raw and vulnerable? Jenny shares wonderful insights on how to tread in these interesting lines.

Why you should listen:

  • What to do in a crisis that helps us to stay calm and centered, and our teams too

  • How to share vulnerability without losing control or respect

  • How to balance material business outcomes with values of care and compassion

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159 Top leadership principles learnt from recruitment with Sarah Rajic

80% of people leave their jobs because of a poor manager. So says recruitment specialist, Sarah Rajic, co-founder of Capital Recruit and Staff Check, who has spoken to thousands of employers and candidates. She has seen when it goes right, and when it goes wrong. How do we make it better and unwind that terrible statistic?

Why you should listen:

  • How to set up team members for accountability and ownership of their own targets

  • Why communication and expectation management is the secret ingredient to sorting out issues before they escalate

  • How to keep developing as a business leader through expanding perspective

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Canberra based leadership expert Zoe Routh on leadership through COVID

Uncertainty, fear, and unprecedented circumstances. What can we do? There are things we can do right now to lead ourselves and help others. We can also start to navigate the ship through uncharted waters - we can craft a better future, now. We look at how to frame our challenge, how to look after ourselves, how to deal with amygdala hijack responses, confront the brutal truth of the pandemic, and then start to shape what’s next.

Why you should listen:

  • Tips to look after yourself: increase (or introduce) meditation, get fresh air and sunshine, stop doing stuff that affects your immune system, create connection and build interactions.

  • Be mindful of the uncertainty effect: survival mode and panic buying, distraction, short term memory suppression, irritability, adrenaline and getting hyped up.

  • How to look after your people: online collaboration tools, instigate virtual social interactions like online scrabble or virtual happy hour, support those who live alone the most - think plants and pets, share stories of generosity and appreciation, set up regular daily and weekly routines for remote teams

  • Confront the brutal truth: the future progress of the pandemic effect

  • Start creating a new normal: we aren’t going back to the way things were

  • Make a stand and a declaration: what kind of future do you want to create?

  • Lead with questions: Share interesting questions (not answers) to spark possibilities!

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144 Why your leadership toolkit needs to include digital strategies with Mel Kettle

Want to be seen as the best candidate for your next CEO role? Want your brand to stand out? Want to build trust with your consumers? Want to build engagement with your staff? The magic solution is Connected Leadership - how to create connections through a personal communication plan. Connected Leadership expert Mel Kettle walks us through key components of building a digital presence that builds trust and credibility.

Why you should listen:

  • If you need help with where to start in building your personal communication plan

  • If you need help with how to systemise listening to help build a stronger connection with a broad cohort of stakeholders

  • If you need help with how to build interesting content and stories no matter how boring the topic may seem at first glance

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143 Productivity and leadership effectiveness with Ishan Galapahty

Do you have too much on your plate? Looking for ways to cut costs and boost productivity? Do you have 26 projects going at once? Ishan Galapathy shares his approach to solving these chronic workplace stressors.

Why you should listen:

  • Learn how to qualify your problems before you set about solving them

  • Learn how to identify the four types of problems and how to resolve them

  • Learn how to ask better questions to solve complex problems

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142 Corporate culture as a key leadership responsibility with Chris Dyer

Culture is a fluid thing, one simple act can send it in a new direction - for better, or worse. Author and entrepreneur Chris Dyer shares his research on what can turn a good culture bad (and it’s a simple fix), along with some simple distinctions that can make a big difference in your culture strategy.

Why you should listen:

  • Avoid making the mistake that Disney made that could send your culture into a spin

  • How to reward self-motivated sales people in a way that does not turn them into dog-eat-dog lone wolves

  • 3 key tips for effective listening

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Canberra based leadership expert Zoe Routh on playing games

How do you approach your work and life? Is it a serious endeavour? Or is it a game? I think we can choose really fun games to help us evolve as humans and leaders. There are games like Achieving, games like Freedom, games like Happiness. In this Thought Nugget we take a look at what kinds of games you can play, and some ideas to get started.

Why you should listen:

  • How to avoid the pitfalls of the Achiever game

  • Some fun games you can play to help focus your world for a more rewarding experience

  • Three questions to ask to make sure your game doesn’t derail you

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141 Could you be a Changemaker? With leadership expert Digby Scott

Is there something that really gets your goat? Something that you can’t stop thinking about? Something you are longing to see different in the world? Then you might be a Changemaker. Find out what you can do to satisfy that itch.

Why you should listen:

  • Learn what a Changemaker actually is and if you’ve got the goods to be one (I hope so! We need you)

  • How to find your Big Question as a Changemaker, and how to wrestle it to the ground

  • How to design your world for inspiration - for those Big Ideas

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140 The four archetypes of disruptive leadership with author Charlene Li

Want to be the next Uber and shake up your industry? Chances are you are doing it all wrong. Thinking a disruptive idea will create exponential change is missing the boat. Author, researcher and speaker Charlene Li says focus obsessively on your future customer and burn the boats to serve them best. This kind of commitment creates growth that is disruptive. Join us for some awesome and inspiring insights from her latest book, The Disruption Mindset - why some organisations transform while others fail.

Why you should listen:

  • Why you need to redefine growth as impact for more sustained and meaningful change

  • The most disruptive organisations are the ones that are the most structured - and what you can do to emulate their success

  • How to identify your future customer - and why you need to obsess about that

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Canberra based leadership expert Zoë Routh on feedback

Do you do annual anonymous culture reviews? Do you subject people to anonymous 360s? Should you do any of this? Here’s the better approach than letting people hide behind surveys (and also when they might be good).

Why you should listen:

  • What needing anonymous surveys says about your culture

  • 4 things you should look at instead

  • Two situations when you SHOULD use anonymous feedback

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139 Leadership is a journey, not a destination with Nick Gross

Did you scope a career, focus on getting the skills, and hoped the lifestyle would work out? That’s how we were taught, back in the day. Gung-ho drummer extraordinaire Nick Gross is upending what it means to build a career, by helping students (and older folk like me) determine what lifestyle they want, what strengths they have, and THEN what career might work. Welcome to a new way of thinking about your passion and your work.

Why you should listen:

  • How to check if your lifestyle, strengths, and careers are aligned (or how they could become so)

  • Why the future belongs to the misfits, and why you want to be one

  • How to create communities that go beyond geographical location to a global bridge based on interests

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138 Corporate culture is a leadership responsibility with Colin Ellis

I met Colin Ellis a few years ago when he first arrived in Australia from Liverpool. He makes dapper cool again with his sensational dress sense and million dollar smile. He loves the people stuff as much as I do, and in this podcast episode we geek out on all things culture.

Why you should listen:

  • Why culture change IS NOT HARD (like consultants say it is) and takes 9-18 months (not 3-5 years)

  • How to (and how not to) measure culture

  • Where to start in dealing with toxic cultures

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137 Strategic thinking is a must have leadership skill with Jo Metcalfe

I was intrigued by Jo Metcalfe: as the Global Strategy Development Lead at GHD, I  wanted to know what it took to take on strategy for a global consulting firm for engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services. When I first spoke to her, I asked about the people stuff - what she found hard. She said, ‘nothing! I love the people stuff!” First time ever I heard that response. She’s a leader we need to listen to.

Why you should listen:

  • How to back yourself as a learner is the key to advancing your career and changing jobs

  • How to access collective wisdom and stop being a hero leader - you get better strategy this way

  • Why you should create feedback loops, and not just give feedback

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