Caroline Stokes: Leading in a world of systemic shocks

When the world is breaking apart what kind of leader do you need to be?

With the environmental, technological and societal challenges we face our systems and playbooks can no longer be fit for purpose. So, who must we become to tackle the most pressing problems we are facing?

My guest in this episode, Caroline Stokes, author of AfterShock to 2030 is trying to answer these questions. Her book is a wakeup call for leaders, arguing that if we want to thrive in the next five years, we must rewrite, not just tinker with the operating system of leadership.

We explore how CEOs can use AI as an enhancement, as a multiplier, rather than a mask, and why neuroplasticity might just be able to help us with the meaning of life.

There couldn’t be a more prescient, deeply personal conversation that is essential for leaders of today and tomorrow.

So, what kind of leader are you going to be?

“Hope is the first step.” – Caroline Stokes

You'll hear about:

• Why leading in systemic shocks requires a new operating system.
 • How hope becomes an antidote to global complexity and despair.
 • Why radical listening can transform organisational awareness and action.
 • The role of AI as a leadership multiplier, not a mask.
 • How to regulate your nervous system to lead under pressure.
 • Why pattern recognition is essential for navigating uncertainty.
 • The importance of extreme accountability in leadership teams.
 • How to leave behind outdated mindsets and legacy systems.

About Caroline Stokes:

A global leadership strategist for the 5th Industrial Revolution, Caroline Stokes is the author of AfterShock to 2030: A CEO’s Guide to Reinvention in the Age of AI, Climate, and Societal Collapse, a radical roadmap for leaders navigating our disruptive new reality.

A Sony alum who contributed to the launch of PlayStation, and a PCC-level, EQ 2.0–certified coach, Caroline has evolved from executive headhunter to one of the few global authorities on psychological and strategic leadership reinvention. She works with founders, boards, and executive teams to build intelligent, sovereign, and trust-based systems aligned with the complexity of our time.

She is also the author of Elephants Before Unicorns: Emotionally Intelligent HR Strategies to Save Your Company (Entrepreneur Press, 2019), a co-author in the HBR Guide to Navigating the Toxic Workplace (2024), and contributor to Coach Me! (Wiley, 2022). Her insights have been featured in Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Forbes, Entrepreneur, and The Globe and Mail.

Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ocarolinestokes/

Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FB5BKFGL

My resources:

Try my High-stakes meetings toolkit (https://bit.ly/43cnhnQ)

Take my Becoming a Strategic Leader course (https://bit.ly/3KJYDTj)

Sign up to my Every Day is a Strategy Day newsletter (http://bit.ly/36WRpri) for modern mindsets and practices to help you get ahead.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/3cFGk1k) where you can watch the conversation.

For more details about me:

●      Services (https://rb.gy/ahlcuy) to CEOs, entrepreneurs and professionals.

●      About me (https://rb.gy/dvmg9n) - my background, experience and philosophy.

●      Examples of my writing https://rb.gy/jlbdds)

●      Follow me and engage with me on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/