Wendy Nash has confronted many beliefs about herself in her leadership journey from corporate life to meditation coach. From considering herself an effective and empathetic communicator to convincing herself that a job was just about paying the bills, no stone has gone unturned in Wendy’s pursuit of balance and self-awareness. Having done the emotional work required to change entrenched habits, Wendy now helps others to do the same in life and leadership. In this episode she shares her mindfulness insights, provides examples of behaviours and biases to watch out for and reminds us that while it’s great to press play it’s also important to press pause and savour the kindness in our lives.
Read MoreZoë Routh Leadership Podcast
Podcasts
289: Unsolvable problems and the real future of leadership with Phillip Ralph
There’s no going back to the old ways or days for leadership coach Phillip Ralph - in fact he’s impatient for the changes we need to see that will spearhead the future of leadership. For Phillip that progress includes embedding emotional intelligence early and broadly in organisations - no more waiting until someone is in a leadership position before they are developed.
It means leadership from anyone, anywhere - empowering people to take action where they are, to nudge the system instead of trying to dismantle it overnight. Phillip shares his leadership perspective on where we are going wrong, how not every problem needs a solution, the simple power of human connection and his ultimate vision for the future - organisations that are as smart as the people in them!
Read More288 David Mattin’s powerful questions to shape the future of leadership
What is universally human? What changes and what never changes? How does technology meet our human needs and what are the implications for businesses? These are the huge questions that occupy the mind and keyboard of David Mattin - founder of the New World, Same Humans newsletter that is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of our planet, ways of living and working.
Reluctant to call himself a futurist, David writes, speaks and consults on the trends that are reshaping the human experience. He does this by balancing perspectives of the past, the present and possible futures to plot a way forward that is sustainable and equitable. David shares his thinking on the future of leadership, the decisions organisations need to be making and suggests a radical solution for reinvigorating democracies.
Read More287 Workforce changes need these two leadership skills
In this week’s solosode, we look at workforce trends that are shaping opportunities and threats for us as humans. The new workforce is networked creators! We will need these new leadership skills and perspectives to engage in this environment.
Read More286 Five shifts to make for leadership of the future
In this week’s solosode, we consider the shifts we need to make for leadership of the future. Changes are happening rapidly in the workforce, the workplace, and the world. These trends are causing us to reconsider fundamental values. These trends are causing us to EXPAND. Opportunities abound!
Read More285 Author and lecturer Alex Budak’s leadership principles for being a changemaker
Alex Budak believes we are all capable of leading positive change - no matter sector, seniority or stage of life. With an infectiously positive yet pragmatic outlook, Alex lectures, teaches, speaks and writes about the concept of ‘Changemakers’ - the people who not only identify pressing challenges but are willing to step up and take action. Recognising that we all have the potential for positive impact but face barriers along the way, Alex co-founded StartSomeGood.com - a platform to help people start projects that matter with partnerships, programs and early stage funding.
With his new book, Becoming a Changemaker, and his work with executives and organisations to embed 21st Century leadership principles, Alex shares his vision of what modern, inspiring leadership looks like and how we can all be part of a movement to make changes for the better.
Read More284 How to create an award-winning culture with Kapitol Group’s Alice Hanna
Alice Hanna is the People and Culture Manager at Melbourne based Kapitol Group, recent winner of a 2022 Best Place to Work award - the first time a construction company has ever topped the list. Kapitol’s award winning culture is no accident and Alice has leveraged her people, culture and psychology background to evolve a feedback rich workplace that is challenging industry norms. Driven to leave places better than she found them, throughout her career Alice has gravitated towards traditionally male-dominated industries where she has championed diversity, normalised the conversation around mental health and leveled-up leadership skills around self-awareness and emotional intelligence. Alice shares how she approaches the challenges of male dominated industries with optimism, making small changes that have a big impact.
Read More283 Sailing into the hurricane - Manley Hopkinson’s unique leadership journey
Compassion is what motivates Manley Hopkinson. He sailed a crew into a hurricane and not only lived to tell the tale but emerged with his team of amateur sailors stronger, more confident and more determined than ever. A born adventurer, Manley has served in the British Navy and the Hong Kong Police, skippered a crew in the world’s toughest yacht race and won the first skiing race to the Magnetic North Pole. But he is not drawn to these experiences for the accolades. Manley is compelled to create teams capable of achieving great things - turning those first time sailors into fearsome mariners for example - and does this through first understanding each individual and their motivations. Manley is the author of Compassionate Leadership: How to Create and Maintain Engaged, Committed and High-Performing Teams and in this episode, shares why leadership starts with self-compassion, gaining commitment and aligning interests.
Read More282 Three insights for leading change and creativity
In this week’s solosode, we address three big questions: What stops us from bringing our full selves to life and being more creative? How much is enough? And what kind of world are we facing? There are social conditions and leadership mindsets that hamper us that we can address. I share big ideas for everyday leadership.
Read More281 What is the future of food? A leadership challenge with Food Futurist Tony Hunter
Tony Hunter is a Food Futurist and Strategic Foresight consultant grappling with one of humanity's most pressing problems: how to sustainably and equitably feed our growing global population (projected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050). This is also a major theme in my new novel The Olympus Project so I was especially excited to hear Tony’s worldview. Through his work Tony has become convinced about the potential of agrifood tech to be part of the solution - leveraging both technology and changing food habits to reduce the reliance on land and water in food production and to support widespread food self-sufficiency. Tony has seen firsthand what the technology is capable of achieving and believes the future of food lies in dissolving the divide between traditional and technological food production, opening minds, hearts (and mouths!) to a reimagining of where our food comes from and why. This points to some fascinating leadership challenges from rethinking relationships with traditional competitors to truly tapping into next generation customer desires.
Read More280 Three big ideas for everyday leadership
In this week’s solosode, we address three big questions: What stops us from bringing our full selves to life and being more creative? How much is enough? And what kind of world are we facing? There are social conditions and leadership mindsets that hamper us that we can address. I share big ideas for everyday leadership.
Read More279 Stop inequity by changing the systems with Olanike Ayomide-Mensah
Olanike Ayomide-Mensah is the founder of Mosaic Consulting which works with organisations to achieve greater workplace equity through diversity and inclusion strategies that nurture a true mosaic of talent. Having grown up between Nigeria and America, and now living in Ghana, West Africa, Olanike has lived and worked at the intersection of difference herself and experienced first hand how power drives the human impulse to fear what is different or unknown. Her heightened awareness of unfairness means she was often the first person to start the conversation around equity and formulated an approach to DEI that starts by looking at how workplace systems are contributing to inequity. In this episode she shares what organisations and leaders can do to create more equity - from recruitment to belonging and career development.
Read More278 Nina Simons shares a leadership mindset that challenges the system
What do you care about most deeply? That’s a question Nina Simons has asked and answered of herself and the leaders and organisations she works with. A passionate believer in the interconnectedness of life, Nina’s background spans art, nature and science with a whole of system approach to leadership thinking. Motivated by protecting the future of the planet, Nina is an advocate for self-responsibility and respecting the experiences and perspectives of others to forge greater understanding. She explains how we can do this on an individual, team, organisation and societal level and it starts with being willing to listen and learn, while taking a not-too-critical look in the mirror. If we are the system, then we can change the system.
Read More277 Mykel Dixon: lead fully self-expressed
Mykel Dixon is a creative catalyst - bringing his energy and insights to people and organisations who are trying to escape the quagmire of the quotidien! His award-winning book Everyday Creative is a call to arms for anyone who wants to bring creativity back to how they live and work. If this sounds like a tall order, it is. Mykel is on a mission to get leaders to recognise the rules and constraints that no longer serve them and to move beyond them, one barefoot step on the grass at a time. If this all sounds a bit too woo-woo, Mykel succinctly connects the dots between nature, science and leadership practices to remind us that the wisdom we are seeking to make the next move is all around us.
Read More276 Is controlled freedom possible?
How much autonomy is enough? How can we encourage teams to be independent without losing control of quality and outcomes? These are the tensions leaders need to manage. As we wrap up our season on holacracy and reducing hierarchy, what are some leadership tips to build more autonomous teams without losing control of the ship?
Read More275 Power and Politics: Leaders beware!
How much power is too much? How do we share power? How do we ensure power is not seized? These are the leadership questions that came up when news broke about the former Prime Minister’s secret ministries. There are important tips for all leaders about how we wield power. Beware!
Read More274 Leadership tips for great culture with author Mick Spiers
Mick Spiers is the founder of The Leadership Project and the author of You’re a Leader: Now What? where Mick brings to fruition his passion for modern leadership that is a match for our fast-paced world. From a first career in aerospace defence where he learnt the good, the bad and the ugly of leadership and culture, Mick moved into urban mobility and had a life changing epiphany: it didn’t matter how stress free the commute was if most people were spending most of their time in jobs they didn’t love for leaders they didn’t believe in. How had we got it so wrong and how could we do it better? These were questions Mick sought to answer with his research, writing, coaching and training in human-centred leadership. In this episode Mick shares the experiences that have contributed to his leadership philosophy and offers strategies for flipping our traditional notions of organisational design on its head.
Read More273 Empathy is the master leadership skill with work futurist Sophie Wade
Empathy is the master leadership skill. Throughout her career, Sophie Wade has been confronted with cultural norms, beliefs and behaviours that have literally caused her to stop and think. From rigid European workdays to Asian social habits and the American can-do spirit, she became an expert assimilator and realised that empathy was the key to unlocking understanding of all these different ways of working and living. Sophie now uses that empathy-based approach to help organisations evolve their leadership and workforces to be fit and flexible for the future. In this episode Sophie shares why empathy is vital in multi-generational teams and how curiosity can help with navigating complexity.
Read More272 Author Luke Mathers' habit-challenging leadership perspectives
Great leadership and great lives come down to habits. Tapping out at the top of his profession aged just 31 should have seen Luke Mathers sitting back and enjoying his success. Instead he quickly realised that without the structures of work he was questioning his self-worth and coming up wanting. Identifying self-destructive habits and a negative internal narrator (we’ve all got one!) led Luke down a new path exploring how and why humans approach change from a place of negativity and self-criticism, backed up with habits that simply do not serve us. He works with leaders and teams to help them get curious about their habits and make lasting changes with reframing, self-compassion and small but effective steps. In this episode Luke explains why we are all a work in progress - and that’s OK.
Read More271 Fear and conflict: leadership insights on the Larapinta Trail
I went to the desert for a pilgrimage. My intention was to reflect, and to evaluate who I am at this point in time as a leader, and as a human. I got more than I bargained for! More hills, rocks, and amazing views than I anticipated. And sore feet. What surprised me most were the leadership insights: on fear, conflict, status, and purpose.
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