"The secret to great EQ is you is follow the platinum rule, not the golden rule."

A fun conversation with Faris about leadership, life and sustainable impact. What is the magic formula to success and does it look the same for everyone ?

Whilst EQ may be where all attention lies, FQ can be just as important and impactful. To achieve success, balance a strong strategy (IQ) with emotional intelligence (EQ) for team buy-in, and focused prioritization (FQ) to avoid spreading resources too thin.

To be successful, it’s critical to have a balance of three components: a great strategy (IQ), emotional intelligence to bring others along (EQ), and focus through prioritization (FQ). Many companies only have one or two of these in harmony. A good strategy involves having a well-thought-out plan. Emotional intelligence is needed to excite others about the idea. Focus is about prioritizing and removing barriers to success.

We also look at what AI brings to this formula - it is most helpful in IQ by coming up with hundreds of ideas; for FQ it can help categorise competing priorities; it is less helpful in EQ as empathetic communication and human connection are still key to creating meaningful relationships, and ideas still have to be sold to other human beings.

Listen as Faris sparkles his gold dust into our ears and eyes from working with leaders and organisations around the globe on this formula for success.

The main insights you'll get from this epsiode are :

- Experience of teaching children around the world helps in a business context to solve problems through people – it brings emotional intelligence to decision-making, which in turn makes delivering a strategy more likely.

- Shiageto means to sharpen a tool but is applied to human beings in this context: we can always be sharper, and the same techniques can be used as to teach, such as making things entertaining, simple, etc.

- Three components are required for success: a) IQ, a great idea/strategy/plan, b) EQ, to take everyone with you on the journey, and c) FQ, to focus, prioritise and remove anticipated barriers; of these, FQ is often the missing piece.

- Deployment as a consultant is often more for EQ than FQ, but the three are interlinked. Cultural differences across the IQ/EQ/FQ formula sit within EQ and questions must be asked to understand/overcome them.

- Teaching IQ across the globe requires adapting delivery of the content to take account of culture by using different tools and approaches – time must be invested in meeting every individual at multinational board meetings, for instance, in order to create a more level playing field.

- Small businesses looking to have more impact must define what this means for them. Consider maximum impact by asking, for example: What is a 15% better idea? What would my nemesis do? How will I measure it? What are my assumptions?

- Advice that is applicable to all organisations is to team up and get to know each other by creating random meet-ups, lunch/job swaps – this opens up conversations and increases success by creating connections.

- The effect of (gen)AI on the formula: it is most helpful in IQ by coming up with hundreds of ideas; for FQ it can help categorise competing priorities; it is less helpful in EQ as ideas still have to be sold to other human beings.

- The disadvantage is the weakening of the EQ muscle, e.g. young people are often reticent to speak on the phone - asynchronous is easy but synchronous requires real EQ; having both difficult and casual conversations is good for collaboration, but a tool (AI) is...

"In Digital transformation the disconnect that exists across teams, frameworks and deliverables is always very clear."

Michael and I discuss this trio and what it means for successful transformation. Digital transformation initiatives often suffer from disconnects across teams, frameworks, and deliverables, and many organisations face complexities arising from disparate people, technologies, and data that have evolved without a unified plan. This confusion inhibits effective collaboration and knowledge sharing among teams, with employees often lacking a comprehensive understanding of the broader organisational landscape.

We discuss Michael’s Process Inventory Framework which ensures that even seemingly non-core processes are accounted for, as they can significantly impact how the organisation operates. By building a complete inventory of processes and validating it across all levels of the organisation, businesses can create a common language and understanding that promotes alignment and drives effective transformation. We discuss measuring the success of digital transformation initiatives as well as managing data driven decision making and the need for accountability & empowerment.

Digital transformation is not just about tech, it is about value and creating value differently. The integration of AI will bring with it other opportunities to integrate processes and data and to create value differently also.

Michael shares his insights and experience from creating and implementing his framework and from working with leaders across the globe.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

- Most organisations have a clear disconnect across teams, frameworks and deliverables and the same patterns: complexity, evolving situations, unforeseen/unplanned outcomes, and a high degree of confusion.

- Teams working in silos have little understanding of what other teams do, inhibiting collaboration and knowledge – there is no unifying thread, which is essential for successful transformation.

- The book focuses on this unifying thread by seeking to establish what the business does and codify it (at both strategic and detail level) in one framework for common understanding and vertical/horizontal alignment purposes.

- The process inventory framework covers every single core and non-core process, starting at the top and working down through the organisational hierarchy to the process level (also increasingly with the help of AI to integrate operational data).

- Employees formally attest to the inventory, working upwards from the bottom of the hierarchy, to create an accurate basis and semantic structure for planning transformations and driving programmes.

- The requisite clarity comes from an exhaustive list of processes, followed by a digital initiative – transformation entails profound change and digital integrates new technologies to fuel efficiency.

- A clear roadmap with an environment analysis (external – trade, economic, competition; and internal – strengths and weaknesses) optimises the change budget and permits precision to flow down through the rest of the programme.

- Data-driven ways of working come with enormous volumes of data and the challenge of data lineage with a lack of traceability and documentation - data must always be in a proper business context.

- Operational leaders can use data analytics to empower people and create workflows, cascading goals down to individual processes from the overriding strategic imperative and providing clear accountability.

- Operational...

"Great leadership is about extracting the potential from others"

A brilliant dive into playfuness and leadership and how they can together help us to grow scalable and impactful businesses. Tracy and I have fun exploring how leaders can unlock untapped potential within themselves and their teams. A general lack of understanding of the impact leadership has influences performance - multipliers in the ecosystem and (accidental) diminishers in the ‘egosystem’, with huge blind spots. After all, leadership is about leading yourself first.

Discovering the power of playfulness, self-awareness, and challenging limiting beliefs to drive growth can create a multiplier effect in leadership. Tracy and I go through actionable insights for founders and leaders seeking to transform their approach and scale their businesses effectively.

Tracy shares her experience, insights and stories from working with founders and leaders across the world.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

- After successfully scaling an international business – involving enormous highs and lows and major challenges – the realisation that insufficient attention had been paid to the people was a pivotal moment.

- Subsequent ‘treasure hunt’ in the world of coaching was based on asking: what helps people move to the next level and unlock latent potential? Settled on the field of leadership after reading about Liz Wiseman’s multipliers and diminishers.

- General lack of understanding of the impact leadership has - multipliers in the ecosystem and (accidental) diminishers in the ‘egosystem’, with huge blind spots. After all, leadership is about leading yourself first.

- Leadership of self is crucial, and at different levels, e.g. self-awareness of what we do and think. Like a tree: the trunk is the strategy and actions; the invisible roots are the mindset and thinking, giving rise to the concept you hold of yourself (that influences your actions).

- The multiplier mindset is about extracting, expanding and leaning into possibility. Tracy has distilled six indicators of success:

· deep-rooted clarity

· conviction as the rocket fuel for challenges

· commitment to deepen resourcefulness

· trust as the invisible ingredient for belonging, productivity and momentum

· courage to look inwards

· playfulness (intense curiosity, radical open-mindedness, proactive experimentation) to dissolve fear and amplify the multiplier mindset.

- While developing the leadership scorecard, it was vital to intuitively include playfulness and get others to lean into it; to foster courage to overcome negative stories and a fear of failure; to look for alignment with vision and values (i.e. authenticity).

- The scorecard process is a continuum as opposed to a journey and the model works at different levels, starting with looking in the leadership mirror and understanding the feedback, also from others.

- Leaders must take ownership of the type of leader they want to be (as opposed to the vision) and also seek to bring out the best in others, often by staying quiet, asking questions and listening to the answers.

- Effective leaders give people space to reveal their (hidden) treasures and create psychological safety to permit playfulness. The ‘zone of genius’ is not static

"All meaningful connection starts in the same way, with a meaningful conversation"

Andrew and I delve into the world of purposeful, open conversation and the transformative role it can have in the way we communicate.

We delve into his early experience volunteering with young people with disabilities, which led him to establish Dreams for Kids in 2009, enriching lives through sports. This journey, coupled with personal challenges like social anxiety and racial discrimination, fuelled his growth and adoption of Gestalt communication principles focusing on presence and authenticity.

We explore the current global epidemic of loneliness and how to embrace social anxiety successfully for connection and more meaningful communication. Creating value based communities and building genuine connection through self reflection, intentionality and coming from a place of curiosity is key to enabling this transformation.

Understanding these concepts can help us unlock purpose and counter bias and ingrained stereotypes. We focus on Andrew’s initiative to redefine masculinity - modern masculinity - and create a more balanced, open dialogue on emotions and the necessity for purpose and deeper work to create conditions where people can thrive. Constructive communication must detail agreements and define how they are practiced within an organisation.

Andrew generously shares his experience and methodologies to foster deeper connections through meaningful conversations and reflection. By utilising resources for relational leadership and community-building activities, we can build intimacy and genuine connections within our teams, communities and families.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

- Human communication, connection and purpose are everything: purpose is a commitment to the service of something greater than the self (as distinct from a calling, which is a unique lived experience used to serve the greater good).

- Based on the gestalt communication three pillars of awareness (authenticity, curiosity and presence), we must listen to our emotions and feelings - we can only expect other people to be themselves if we are ourselves.

- Healing = feeling, not suppressing our ‘broken’ or ‘incorrect’ parts and hiding them from others; being objective about authenticity means we can be ourselves wherever we are and whoever we are with.

- Social anxiety is a healthy response to life - anxiety often remains, but our response to it can change. We don’t control our first thought, but we do control our second.

- IICAN five-part framework for mastering (social) anxiety in high-pressure environments with a practical system to engineer a constructive response and social flow (flow state with people):

· Intentionality (intentional, conscious response to how do I want to be, what do I want to achieve)

· Introspection (quality of conversation determined more by context than content, consciously welcome our emotions, cognitive emotive loop)

· Curiosity (hyperawareness of self-consciousness giving way to being conscious about others, what do I want to know in the world)

· Authenticity (earn trust by telling the truth, objectivity with positive intent)

· Now (constructive existence in the present moment, understanding, listening)

- Flow triggers require equal levels of skill and difficulty, full presence, and intrinsic motivation as opposed to external factors outside our...

“Academics and experience should go hand in hand for better experience : when you can feel, you can bring that feeling for that customer, and empathise much better.”

A fun conversation with Vaishali as we explore the intersection of technology and human experience through a customer experience and collective intelligence lens. We discuss how to create meaningful customer experiences, by integrating emotions into CX using design thinking, and other tools to help forge deeper connections with customers.

We explore the necessity to design tailored customer experiences through introspection, curiosity and empathy, and the importance of having diverse personas and perspectives to build relevant and inclusive experiences to adapt to the relevant business needs and goals. The foundations of self awareness and the power of visualisation are key to cultivating adaptability which is essential, and focuses primarily on understanding internal systems to manage external factors and experiences effectively.

The value of collective intelligence and emotional connections in enhancing customer and employee experiences is a main pillar of our discussion. How can we intentionally create forums for support, care and learning to navigate & visualise challenges together, maintain neutrality, share perspectives and manage self-criticism for effective design & communication. Engaging with professional networks provides encouragement and reinforces growth & transformation in CX processes, methods and results

Vaishali shares her insights from her book CX5, her journey and her experience as she highlights the significance of emotions in customer experience desig and the importance of authenticity and empathy in understanding customer emotions.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

- Career began at a startup early in life, with the opportunity to embrace chaos, build resilience and learn everything - subsequently combining academic study with hands-on experience resulted in excellent life/leadership skills. Found customer engagement attractive and after working on UX projects during COVID, moved into CX.

- It is important to integrate emotions into CX and the world of technology and be authentic – if you can feel what the customer feels, this facilitates empathy and thus more alignment with the ever-evolving experience (of design).

- It is good to mirror your design in the way you help clients as CX practitioners rarely have the opportunity to see the design first-hand in practice and the emotional validation is not face-to-face.

- To intentionally design DX, EX, CX, etc. requires tweaking the frameworks to suit both the people, the project and the business goals. The starting point is to sit with yourself, think it through and create/embody the persona(s), followed by a research/discovery phase to be curious and ask the right questions.

- The conscious inclusion required for CX means catering for all audiences by putting yourself in others’ shoes, and 360-degree thinking starts with knowing yourself. Consider the aim of the project and create a hierarchy based on business objectives.

- Set the right course by building a structure for your own thought processes so as to be able to design well; mix and match possibilities (for quick wins); be adaptable; and juggle the different yet equally weighted CX disciplines.

- We must stay neutral in ourselves and for operationalisation - when constantly designing, the default thought process is to refer back to previous projects, but this limits capacity for creative thinking. A clean slate is required to be able to leave our comfort zone for

Are you ready to transform your career journey with science-based strategies? What if it wasn’t about power but about status ?

A fun & candid conversation with Alison about how as women we can move out of frustration and into personal agency and results in today’s workplace. Navigating the complexities of the workplace can often feel like an intricate dance, especially for women striving to make their mark and navigating status and the use of status can be useful here. Alison & I discuss facing these challenges by understanding the dynamics of status, power, negotiation, and influence, and understanding what it means for us as individuals.

We particularly explore the importance of status—rooted in both titles and personal qualities—for success and well-being, as well as fostering genuine networking and the concept of “assertive warmth” to gain respect through a blend of care and competence - being a likeable badass ! But how ?

Authenticity and strategy can coexist harmoniously : Imagine having a playbook that teaches you how to be both kind and assertive right from the beginning of your career - without compromising who you are, what you think or your intrinsic value base.

Likeable Badass is full of actionable strategies for building and communicating your authentic self more strategically and more effectively. These strategies work across different contexts and scenarios and give you the flexibility to adapt to every situation - you may find you are already doing some of them without realising !

Alison shares her stories, research and insights into how to intentionally craft being assertive and likeable and how to recognise your contributions without waiting for formal acknowledgment. I loved this book, an absolute must read for all women leaders !

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

- Applying the science of human beings to work applications within the framework of organisational psychology and behaviour, in particular to help women, given that the workplace for women is not the same as it is for men.

- Success depends on influencing people and fundamental to this is the importance of status, a label that affects everyone but without us necessarily understanding what it is and knowing how to manage it strategically.

- Status is the respect and regard others have for you and can derive from many channels other than category, title, position or power - we must understand the science of respect and then act with authentic intention.

- Status is a non-negotiable basic human need as life is better when you feel respected; status decisions are not random and we must convince others that we are caring and capable and demonstrate this with authenticity.

- Assertive warmth is crucial: Are you good at what you do? Organised? In control of your environment? Confident? But are you also other-oriented and warm? Both are needed to convince people and earn respect, and women often feel that they can’t be both.

- Dual promotion is about celebrating your successes while shining a light on others at the same time – the concept of ‘other promoters’ is backed up by science and is particularly relevant for women in terms of caring and connecting.

- Science gives us a label for what women are already doing and provides women with a space to dial it up and help others; one effective way is via fractal mentoring, involving a diverse group of different mentors.

- Women...

"More than 95% of the strategies that comes across my desk are highly dependent on cross functional work. The ability to execute cross functional things will be a question of competitive advantage"

Johan and I delve into the world of strategy and execution and how to obtain aligned results. How do we ensure alignement when executing strategy in the digital business landscape ? What effect is AI having on these strategies and operations ?

We discuss the need for simplified methodologies inspired by Agile practices and the fact that despite technological advancements, current strategic processes remain manual, necessitating better use of data, A/B testing, and AI for automated reporting and enhanced strategy execution. Executing strategy effectively is about refocusing on what matters – strategy must be simplified for busy managers to aid implementation, given that the CEO/strategic process is far less digitised than other parts of organisations.

Digital tools enable frequent monitoring and adjustments, moving away from infrequent reviews, while transparency in communication aids progress tracking and alignment. Storytelling is crucial for connecting strategy formation with execution during digital transformation and successful execution requires stepping out of the overwhelm, narrowing initiatives and effective resource allocation.

‘Future’ trends in strategy execution are happening now thanks to AI. We discuss how AI helps leaders focus on strategic activities, identify key initiatives and analyse unstructured data. AI also offers help for reactive leaders by providing meta data to suggest activities and support priorities and by creating space for senior leaders to make quality decisions, keep across operations and empower their teams.

We explore the critical role of proactive leadership in connecting operational practices with strategic discussions. By translating concepts like digitalisation and sustainability into actionable projects, organisations can achieve clarity and accountability in their initiatives. Think about how your organisation is adapting to these challenges and where the pitfalls are for you.

The main insights you'll get from this episode :

- Executing strategy effectively is about refocusing on what matters – strategy must be simplified for busy managers to aid implementation, given that the CEO/strategic process is far less digitised than other parts of organisations.

- Moving from strategy to execution requires a good methodology and the model is shifting due to behavioural responses and the inability of the C-suite to give strategy meaning and make it actionable.

- The fast-moving external environment requires agility, but agile has become too binary for the complexity of the topic, which involves two major phases: strategy formation and strategy execution.

- Strategy formation tends to be overambitious, and management consider engagement with strategy execution too low, but from an external point of view, it starts at the top with a failure to prioritise and take a cross-functional view.

- A good strategy formation process is both top-down and bottom-up – good ideas combined with management responsibility – but digital acceleration can be a distraction and dilute strategy.

- The real value of digitalisation is the ability to aggregate deviations to a higher level where they can be resolved quickly and enable faster follow-up – simply ‘beautifying’ the process does not help.

- AI offers help for reactive leaders by providing meta data to suggest activities and support priorities and by creating space for senior leaders to make quality decisions, keep across...

“Empathy flows both ways and it’s not just the leader’s job or the organization’s job to show empathy.”

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, one quality stands out as both a humane virtue and a strategic advantage: empathy. Maria and I delve into the dilemmas surrounding empathy and empathy in leadership, which are powerful tools for fostering engagement, innovation, and customer loyalty while simultaneously boosting retention and revenue.

We discuss the multifaceted nature of empathy by distinguishing between cognitive empathy—understanding another’s thoughts—and emotional empathy—connecting with their feelings. We also discuss common misconceptions about empathy, which can lead to burnout and ineffective leadership. We go back to the necessity for human connection to create meaningful relationships and workplaces. Empathy is about connection - understanding other people’s thinking better can result in compromise and fruitful discussions – and can leverage healthy challenge. both these things are necessary for innovation, productivity and ultimately competitive advantage.

Both employees and leaders share the responsibility of navigating workplace challenges with empathy, especially in hybrid settings. Personal agency, self-awareness, and decisiveness are vital, and as automation increases, the relationship between empathy and AI becomes more pertinent. Leaders must continue to develop human skills like emotional intelligence to remain relevant.

Maria shares her insights, models and experience of leading with heart and head—because empathy isn’t just about understanding; it’s about building a brighter, more connected future !

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

- What is empathy? At work, an accessible definition is the ability to see, understand, and, where appropriate, feel another person’s perspective and use that information to act with compassion.

- Compassion is empathy in action: it is not always necessary to feel, we can use cognitive empathy to imagine what others are feeling. This can then lead to emotional empathy, i.e. experiencing an increased heart rate when feeling someone else’ anger.

- Empathy at work should be seen as a means to gather information – to understand the context and move forward with the right step, e.g. making an informed decision by listening.

- The common misconceptions for leaders are that ‘doing empathy wrong’ means that it goes astray and there are no benefits – it is not about being nice or caving in to unreasonable demands but about balancing decision-making and supporting other people.

- Empathy is about connection not conversion - understanding other people’s thinking better can result in compromise and fruitful discussions – and can leverage healthy challenge.

- There are five pillars of effective and empathetic leadership: self-awareness, self-care, clarity, decisiveness, and joy. Leaders must recognise their blind spots, emotional triggers and patterns and understand the difference between self-care and self-maintenance to resource themselves and react well.

- Empathy centres on balance, but the work/life balance is a myth – it is more of a work/life integration, constantly adjusting on different levels: ‘either or’ leadership in terms of efficiency vs. empathy is also a myth as it is not a binary phenomenon.

- Clarity paves the way to empathy in that leaving a team in limbo, unsure what they are doing and where they are going, is unempathetic; things must be clearly defined; candour must be kind; and feedback constructive.

- Covid proved...