One of the most traumatic experiences we can have in the workplace is being made redundant. From one day to the next, your life drastically changes and you don’t have a say. Being made redundant raises all kinds of questions, as well as feelings like shock, anger and shame. Sometimes leaders handle redundancies well. More often, they don’t, making the process immeasurably harder for those on the receiving end.Redundancies are also complex for those who are left behind: you might feel survivors guilt – or the dread of not knowing if you’ll be next.If you’ve been made redundant you’re not alone. millions of people around the globe experience it every year, and rates have grown over the past 12 months in many countries.So, what can leaders do to minimise pain for those who leave? How can you ensure culture continuity for those who stay? And for the person who’s been made redundant, what steps can you take to heal, recover and get back into the drivers seat of you career?In this conversation we explore this with Leanne Elliott who is a Certified Business Psychologist, Consultant and Coach who builds workplaces that empower teams and enable performance. She is also Co-host of the award-winning psychology podcast, Truth, Lies & Work and Co-Founder of people and culture consultancy, Oblong. Leanne shares practical tips and best practices for all of us to better understand more about the best ways to navigate one of the worst workplace experiences. Find more information about the episode and Leanne Elliott on our show notes: https://www.wearehumanleaders.com/podcast/layoff-redundancies-leanne-elliott Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you translate your ideas into meaningful, maximum impact?This week on the We Are Human Leaders podcast, we speak with the incredible Michael Sheldrick, cofounder of Global Citizen and author of the upcoming From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World. With 12 million members around the world, Global Citizen has raised more than USD 40 billion to help improve lives, making Michael a leader in the field. We’re sure this conversation will empower and inspire you to translate YOUR ideas into impact, too.During this inspiring and insight-packed episode of We are Human Leaders, we examine the common pitfalls people make. In particular, Michael shares the importance of being clear your own authentic contribution and capabilities so you can engage the right support for maximum impact. We also explore the importance of being clear both on the exact issue you are looking to solve, and the one solution you are looking to implement.With a career that spans the world of pop and policy, Michael has worked with an impressive roster of international artists such as Beyoncé, Coldplay, Idris and Sabrina Elba, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Priyanka Chopra, Rihanna and Usher, as well as prominent political leaders including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and former Australian Prime Ministers Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.Find out more about Michael Sheldrick, including where to find his book in our show notes at https://www.wearehumanleaders.com/podcast/idea-to-impact-michael-sheldrick Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leadership is one of the most hyped topics in business today. But are the historical archetypes of Leadership really the inspiration we should be drawing on? In this episode we’re unpacking the recent book of Martin Gutmann Ph.D., The Unseen Leader which is an exploration of leadership through the lens of historical scholarship, offering a less sensationalized and stereotypical protagonist's tale of leadership. Martin’s research focuses on leaders who largely remained unseen and unwritten about through the pages of history. Not because their impact and influence wasn’t substantial, but because they don’t comply with the compelling heroes' tale, and offer us an opportunity to redefine what  true leadership is. Martin Gutmann Ph.D., is a Swiss-American historian, author, and professor at the Lucerne School of Business, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Switzerland. He has published three books, most recently (as co-editor with Dan Gorman) Before the UN Sustainable Development Goals: A Historical Companion (Oxford University Press). He lives in Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany, with his wife and their three children.Find the full show notes about the episode, and where to find Martin's book at www.wearehumanleaders.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s no denying that vulnerability has been a buzzword in leadership for some time now. But what exactly does vulnerability look like in the workplace, and how do we use it effectively in leadership?In today’s conversation we explore the concept of with vulnerability with Jacob Morgan author of Leading with Vulnerability. He details how leaders can effectively use vulnerability to connect, motivate and engage teams.Jacob Morgan is a trained futurist and one of the world’s leading authorities on leadership, the future of work, and employee experience, He speaks in front of tens of thousands of people each year and his content is seen over a million times a year. Jacob is the best-selling author of five books: Leading With Vulnerability (Wiley 2024), The Future Leader (Wiley 2020) The Employee Experience Advantage (Wiley, 2017), The Future of Work (Wiley, 2014), and The Collaborative Organization (McGraw Hill, 2012). He speaks at over 50 conferences a year including TED Academy which is one of the largest TED events in the world. In addition Jacob provides advisory and thought leadership services to various organizations around the world.To learn more about Jacob Morgan and find his latest book, check out our show notes at www.wearehumanleaders.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our societies are permeated with bias. Many people are subject to multiple biases without even being aware. At the same time, AI is everywhere in our everyday lives. So, what are the implications when bias is built into AI? The answer is potentially dangerous, with implications for our leadership, our workplaces and beyond. And yet, there is hope.In this conversation we are talking to Tracey Spicer about her new book Man Made: How the bias of the past is being built into the future. She unpacks the shocking forms of bias she discovered in the 7 years of research for the book, the implications of AI for work and leadership, and practical steps leaders can take now to harness AI for positive impacts in the workplace of the future.Tracey Spicer is a multiple award winning author, journalist and broadcaster. She has also been awarded for her extensive charity and social enterprise work. Tracey is a sought after keynote speaker and thought leader and you’re about to find out why – she’s articulate, compelling and a great storyteller.Tracey is a glass half full kind of person – and this shines through in her solution-oriented thinking around what can be a daunting topic: AI, and the future of work.Find more information about Tracey Spicer and the full show notes at www.wearehumanleaders.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is your organisation future fit?How can you navigate the uncharted waves of change and emerge stronger than before?In this conversation we had a conversation with highly acclaimed change management expert Friska Wirya. In her new book ‘The Future Fit Organisation’ she tackles the burning questions that keep forward-looking leaders awake at night, with unique insights that pave the way for change to galvanise. Real-world case studies and thought-provoking analysis equip you to shape a resilient organisation poised for sustained success:Level up your ability to catalyse enterprise-wide change.Harness the right headspace to guide with acuity and nimbleness.Foster creativity in problem solving to stay head and shoulders above the rest.Drive acceptance and adoption to fuel expansion and unlock step-change performance.Forge a vibrant organisational culture that acts as the calm among the chaos.Perfect your transformative leadership savvy to motivate your organisation to embrace change - be it in the boardroom or on the shop floor.The Future Fit Organisation is your compass for steering through change, providing practical strategies to successfully guide and evolve your organisation's transformation.Are you ready to get future fit? Dive into the conversation and find out!Friksa is a Change Management Thought Leader, and author of her bestselling new book the Future Fit Organisation: a leaders guide to transformation.She has led change at global organizations driving hundreds of millions in annual savings and is now Chief Change Officer at Fresh by Friska. Friska is lifelong learner and self-confessed geek, and she’s a born communicator – which we’ll sure you’ll agree with after listening to this warm and wide ranging conversation.Find out more about Friska Wirya and where to find her book at our shownotes on www.wearehumanleaders.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this conversation we unpack workplace Friction with Hayagreeva 'Huggy' Rao. Friction can be both good and bad in a workplace, knowing how to use it and how to eliminate it when it's doing harm is critical.The Friction Project is the latest book by Huggy Rao and Bob Sutton and is The definitive guide to eliminating the forces that make it harder, more complicated, or downright impossible to get things done in organizations.THE FRICTION PROJECT: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder is written by bestselling authors and Stanford professors Robert I. Sutton and Hayagreeva “Huggy” Rao. It presents a decade’s worth of research on what ought to be easy and what ought to be hard in organizations, and how to change things for the better. Based on their research, case studies, and hundreds of engagements with top companies, the authors reveal just how widespread this affliction is, and provide a roadmap for readers to take up the mantle and blaze a path out of the muck. Our episode today with Huggy Rao unpacks this book and the incredible research conducted to help you discern between good and bad friction, and what to do about it.Huggy Rao is the Atholl McBean professor of Organizational Behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Science, the Sociological Research Association, and the Academy of Management. He has written for Harvard Business Review, Business Week, and the Wall Street Journal. He is the author of Market Rebels and coauthor of the bestselling Scaling Up Excellence.Praise for The Friction Project:“Sutton and Rao have given us a thousand gems, each an invaluable insight on its own, reinventing management as the art of ensuring that things get done as they should without unnecessary struggle. Marshalling the crucial insights from classic works, as well as from the very latest studies, they make a convincing case for friction as a vital focus and offer countless practical suggestions that you can apply in your work. I guarantee that their profoundly humane arguments will win your hearts, change your behavior, and transform your companies.”—Amy C. Edmondson, Professor, Harvard Business School, Author, Right kind of wrong: The science of failing well (Atria, 2023)“I have found every place I’ve been to be filled with people who REALLY CARE about doing the right thing for the company. Sutton and Rao show how leaders who pay attention to friction - which kinds arehelpful and which are not—can equip these people with the right tools, build their trust, and make incredible progress as a result.”— Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, former President of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios, and author of Creativity INC: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Life consists only of moments, nothing more than that. So if you make the moment matter, it all mattersWhat does it mean to truly be mindful? In today’s conversation we explore the mind-body connection through decades of powerful, trailblazing research with Harvard University Professor and the ‘Mother of Mindfulness’ Ellen Langer.This conversation will radically shift your perception around what it means to be mindful, and mindless. From reversing the signs of aging, to healing from dire medial prognosis, through to the illusion of control and how Leaders can better engage workplaces to be more present and mindful - this conversation with Professor Langer covers it all.Ellen J Langer was the first tenured female in the Harvard Psychology Department, and has since lead decades of ground-breaking research into mindfulness human behaviour, and it’s opposite, earning her the title of ‘Mother of Mindfulness’.Ellen J. Langer is the author of eleven books, including the international bestseller Mindfulness, which has been translated into fifteen languages, and more than two hundred research articles. She is the recipient of, among other numerous awards and honors, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest from the American Psychological Association, the Award for Distinguished Contributions of Basic Science to the Application of Psychology from the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology, and the Adult Development and Aging Distinguished Research Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association. Langer’s trailblazing experiments in social psychology have earned her inclusion in The New York Times Magazine’s “Year in Ideas” issue and will soon be the subject of a major motion picture. A member of the psychology department at Harvard University and a painter, she lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.This conversation is nothing short of mind-altering, let’s dive in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every now and then, we have one of those special conversations that we can tell at the time will have a profound life-changing impact. They shift how we see that person, how we see ourselves and our perspective on the world at large. This is one of those pivotal conversations for us– today, we are speaking to Craig Foster. Former captain of the Australian Men’s national soccer team, the Socceroos, with an impressive ongoing career in sports broadcast, Craig holds a masters in sports and a law degree, and is now well known for his incredible work as a human rights and social justice advocate and an antiracism activist. He’s won numerous awards and accolades but that’s not really what Craig is about – and its certainly not what motivates him. In this conversation Craig shares about his lessons from professional sports, his journey to becoming a leading human rights activist, where morality fits into the discussion around leadership and humanitarian issues – and the responsibility those of us with privilege have to level the playing field for everyone. Craig Foster was the 419th Australian football international (Socceroo) and 40th Captain, Oceania Player of the Year and Australian Team of the Century nominee with decades of experience in broadcasting, government and diplomacy and social justice. Formerly a Director of COALAR (DFAT) and currently the Australian Multicultural Council (Dept Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs) played various sports diplomacy roles including Chef de Mission NSW Govt to Brazil and bilateral meetings, MERCOSUR. Heavily involved in indigenous football and rights, refugee children and refugee rights and homelessness, through sport programs. Ambassador for Amnesty, Australia Committee Human Rights Watch, UNSW Australian Human Rights Institute. Three Logies as part of the SBS FIFA World Cup team, named an Australian Financial Review (AFR) BOSS True Leader 2019 for the #SaveHakeem campaign, ChangeMaker 2019 by Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Human Rights Commission Human Rights Medal Finalist, author and columnist, Bachelor of Laws, Masters in International Sport Management. Life Member, former CEO and Chair of Professional Footballers Australia (PFA). Named one of Australia’s Best Dressed Men, though heavily disputes this dubious honourLearn more about Craig at www.wearehumanleaders.com  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to We Are Human Leaders, today we’re hosting a very lively and colorful conversation with Future of Wellbeing Leader Ryan Hopkins.Ryan comes at Well Being from a very unique perspective. Through his own lived experience with mental illness, Ryan supports organizations globally to shift how they work for the betterment of their employees wellbeing. We deep dive into the leading and lagging metrics of wellbeing, and what organizations can be doing better to support their people.Ryan Hopkins is on a mission to engage 1 billion people in the betterment of wellbeing. He is the Future of Wellbeing Leader at one of the Big 4, Linkedin Top Voice for Work Life Balance, TEDx Speaker, Host of the Audacious Goals Club and  Author of - '52 Weeks of Wellbeing: a no nonsense guide to a fulfilling work life' - January 2024.Ryan’s work has positively influenced the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. He shares his personal story of bulimia, depression, anxiety openly and has reached over 8 million on social media, recently being announced Global Emerging Wellbeing Leader of the Year.This episode comes with a trigger warning. We discuss sensitive topics such as mental illness, eating disorders and suicide. If you, or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please reach out, help is always available to you. Additionally, this episode comes with a language warning, coarse language was used during this conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we’re talking to someone who truly embodies human leadership, translating the theory of human leadership into everyday lived practice. With huge impact.Nina Pollard is an Australian-based Head of People and Culture who has been leading teams of HR practitioners for over 15 years. Learn through her experience about bringing more human into corporate workplaces.Nina has been working in HR and leading teams of HR practitioners for over 15 years. A graduate from The University of Melbourne in undergraduate and postgraduate studies, Nina has continued her professional development through studies and taking on new and challenging work experiences. Having worked across industries including Telcommunications, oil and gas, banking and finance and currently Retail, Nina has enjoyed the diversity an HR career can bring. Outside of work, Nina is a busy mum, dog lover and does volunteering work in her local community. Nina recently joined her local surf lifesaving club Board and has previously serviced on the Her Place Women’s Museum board; celebrating and promoting the achievements and contributions of Australian women.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is the greatest predictor of employees leaving your company?Research tells us, toxic culture is TEN times more important than compensation in predicting turnover.Toxic Culture is something we all know about, perhaps you feel you’ve even worked in one. But how exactly do we diagnose a toxic workplace culture, and what do we do about it?We learn how to detox a toxic culture with Expert and Researcher Charlie Sull of CultureX in this conversation.Charlie Sull is the Co-Founder of Culture X along with his father Donald Sull. The two have been responsible for what is probably the most important research around workplace culture in recent years, analysing over 1.3 million anonymous employee reviews of their companies via glassdoor. Their research has converted big data into a comprehensible picture of the leading causes of toxic culture in the workplace, giving us the five key indicators of toxic culture, and actionable insights into how we can detoxify our workplaces.Charlie Sull and Donald Sull’s research has been published regularly in the MIT Sloan Management Review, Harvard Business Review, New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, just to name a few.Charlie and Donald and the team at Culture X are now pioneering cultural measurement in workplaces using AI and big data to give a more accurate and timely understanding of how employees experience culture at work.This conversation is a must listen for any Leader serious about creating a thriving workplace culture, and ridding toxicity from their workplace. It’s a big one, let’s dive in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you know what it feels like to be unheard? Most of us know the frustration of feeling unheard and unvalued at work. And many of us don’t stick around for long.Active listening is the doorway to increased belonging, loyalty, profitability, innovation, and so much more. In this conversation we explore Active Listening with Heather Younger. She shares with us the five key steps in the Active Listening cycle and how we can create organizational cultures of engagement as a result.Striving to give a voice to the voiceless, Heather is teaching people at work and in life, how to feel heard, valued, and understood while simultaneously decoding the big picture to expose the important signals and insights to communication. It is the difference between thinking we understand what people want and knowing what they want. Heather R. Younger is an international keynote speaker, best-selling author, and the CEO and Founder of Employee Fanatix, a leading employee engagement, leadership development, and DEI consulting firm, where she is on a mission to help leaders understand the power they possess to ensure people feel valued at work. Heather is the author of three books including her newest, The Art of Active Listening: How People at Work Feel Heard, Valued, and Understood, that is fast becoming a go-to source for HR professionals and organizational leaders seeking insight into their organization’s dynamics, to become better communicators, and to ensure everyone feels valued, heard, and understood.This conversation is absolutely jam-packed with wisdom, let’s dive in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Failure – something all of us are familiar with, and something humans are notoriously not great at dealing with. Failure is often a sensitive topic – in our conversation, Amy Edmondson makes failure relatable and fascinating. You’ll probably leave wanting to fail intelligently more often. You’ll definitely get insight into how to create an environment for intelligent failure in your workplace. And you’ll learn which sport Amy likes to use as her own playground for experimenting with failure. This episode is proudly sponsored by Neurocapability.Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, renowned for her research on psychological safety over twenty years. Her award-winning work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Psychology Today, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, and more. Named by Thinkers50 in 2021 as the #1 Management Thinker in the world, Edmondson is the author of Right Kind of Wrong, The Fearless Organization, and Teaming.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to We Are Human Leaders podcast. After our recent episode on the 4 Day Work Week with Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, we’ve been flooded with questions and held space for robust debates around how this might look and if it could work for different businesses around the world. Almost unanimously you asked us if we could give a tangible example of a company who’s been through the process.In this episode we’re speaking with Banks Benitez. Former CEO of Uncharted where he led the organization through the process of transitioning to a 4 Day Work Week in the height of the pandemic in 2020. At the time, the conversation around work was focused on the transition of hybrid and remote work, yet Banks had the foresight to use this catalyst for change to implement the 4 Day Week simultaneously, a shift he tells us was less challenging than the swift and forced remote work we faced during the pandemic.Banks was incredibly gracious in this conversation, sharing both his personal journey as a Leader and entrepreneur through navigating change like the 4 Day Week, and gave us some very real and tangible insights to what this looks like from within an organization.Since taking a sabbatical after the merger of Uncharted, Banks is now the Founder of Smart Workweek and Head of Venture Development at Ezra Climate - he passion for creating workplaces where humans can thrive is palpable in this conversation. We can’t wait for you to hear it, let’s dive in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is there space for compassion in the justice system? How does a public defender and a leader find the courage to care, and to fight for justice at an individual and systemic level?In today's episode we speak with Robin Steinberg who is having a huge impact in creating access to justice for thousands of people. Robin Steinberg is founder of the Bail Project, the Bronx Defenders, the Bronx Freedom Fund, and Still She Rises. She has taught at leading law schools across the US, and received multiple awards for her work. She’s also author of the brand new book, The Courage of Compassion: A Journey from Judgment to Connection, published by Simon Sinek’s Optimism Press. In this conversation we cover her journey as a public defender, how to break down fear as a leader, and the steps we can all take to turn judgment into compassion, even and especially when it’s hardest to do so. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you think of when you think of rituals? And how can rituals form a part of how we lead, work and connect? Today we dive deep on the meaning and impact of rituals at work and beyond with Ezra Bookman. Ezra Bookman is an internationally recognized ritual designer, artist, and founder of Ritualist, the first ever creative studio specializing in the design of secular ritual. He’s worked with numerous organizations and thought leaders and his insights into the scope for ritual to create connection and meaning in our lives will change how you view everything from your morning coffee, to facilitating a company-wide meeting. Ezra Bookman is a nationally recognized ritual designer, artist, facilitator, and Founder of Ritualist, the first ever creative studio specializing in the design of secular ritual. His work has been featured in the NYTimes, The Atlantic, VICE, and ABC News, and he has collaborated with an eclectic variety of organizations and thought-leaders including Esther Perel, Priya Parker, The Esalen Institute, Accenture, Intuit, The NYC Mayor’s Office, House of Yes, and The Dream Bigger Foundation.You can learn more about Ezra’s work including his course, the Ritual Lab, at www.ritualist.life or check the show notes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it comes to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, often our intentions don’t always have the level of impact we truly want or need.In this conversation with Lily Zheng we deep dive into DEI to explore how to drive impactful, systematic change in our organizations and as individuals.Regarded as one of the foremost specialists within the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) vertical, Lily has defined a crystal clear boundary between practice and preach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rest is so much more than just getting enough sleep. In this episode we explore the seven types of rest we all need, and how to get them with Medical Doctor and Author of 'Sacred Rest' Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith.Rest is critical for all human beings to how replenish and restore our energy to perform at our best. Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is a Board-Certified internal medicine physician, speaker, and award-winning author. She is an international well-being thought-leader featured in numerous media outlets including Prevention, MSNBC, Women’s Day, FOX, Fast Company, Psychology Today, INC, CNN Health, and TED.com. She is the author of numerous books including her bestseller Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, including insight on the seven types of rest needed to optimize your productivity, increase your overall happiness, overcome burnout, and live your best life. Over 250,000 people have discovered their personal rest deficits using her free assessment at RestQuiz.com. Learn more about Dr. Saundra at DrDaltonSmith.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.