The Evolving Leader
Jean Gomes and Scott Allender
The Evolving Leader Podcast is a show set in the context of the world’s ‘great transition’ – technological, environmental and societal upheaval – that requires deeper, more committed leadership to confront the world’s biggest challenges. Hosts, Jean Gomes (a New York Times best selling author) and Scott Allender (an award winning leadership development specialist working in the creative industries) approach complex topics with an urgency that matches the speed of change. This show will give insights about how today’s leaders can grow their capacity for leading tomorrow’s rapidly evolving world. With accomplished guests from business, neuroscience, psychology, and more, the Evolving Leader Podcast is a call to action for deep personal reflection, and conscious evolution. The world is evolving, are you?A little more about the hosts:New York Times best selling author, Jean Gomes, has more than 30 years experience working with leaders and their teams to help them face their organisation’s most challenging issues. His clients span industries and include Google, BMW, Toyota, eBay, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Warner Music, Sony Electronics, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, the UK Olympic system and many others.Award winning leadership development specialist, Scott Allender has over 20 years experience working with leaders across various businesses, including his current role heading up global leadership development at Warner Music. An expert practitioner in emotional intelligence and psychometric tools, Scott has worked to help teams around the world develop radical self-awareness and build high performing cultures.The Evolving Leader podcast is produced by Phil Kerby at Outside © 2024The Evolving Leader music is a Ron Robinson composition, © 2022
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 17, 2021 • 47min
Rethinking Winning with Cath Bishop
During this episode, co-hosts Scott Allender and Jean Gomes talk to Cath Bishop, former world champion and Olympic silver medal winning rower, and conflict diplomat who worked in some of the world’s most challenging regions including Bosnia and Iraq. In October 2020, Cath's first book "The Long Win: The Search for a Better Way to Succeed" was published and listed by the Financial Times as one of the best business books of 2020. Social: Instagram @evolvingleader LinkedIn The Evolving Leader Podcast Twitter @Evolving_LeaderSend a message to The Evolving Leader team After more than 5 years of hosting The Evolving Leader, Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are launching their new show The Mindset Economy in January 2026. The new show will explore how to live better, work smarter and be connected in a more uncertain world where machines can think. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
Mar 10, 2021 • 41min
How to Future with Scott Smith
In this episode of the Evolving Leader podcast, Jean and Scott talk to futurist, strategist, and author Scott Smith. Scott flips some of the notions of prediction, pushing back at the idea of the future that we can describe as some shiny idea, to how we think about, eliminate and quantify risk. He gives us many fascinating takeaways about how to rethink how we plan for and prepare for what comes next – as he puts it – he shows us how to future.Scott Smith is the founder and managing partner of Changeist, a futures research and consulting partnership and co-wrote How to Future, Leading and sense-making in an age of hyperchange, published by Kogan Page in 2020.Also mentioned during this episode: If Then: How One Data Company Invented the Future by Jill Lepore Social: Instagram @evolvingleader LinkedIn The Evolving Leader Podcast Twitter @Evolving_LeaderSend a message to The Evolving Leader team After more than 5 years of hosting The Evolving Leader, Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are launching their new show The Mindset Economy in January 2026. The new show will explore how to live better, work smarter and be connected in a more uncertain world where machines can think. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
Mar 3, 2021 • 34min
What does 10x leadership look like? Ed Lu. Astronaut, Entrepreneur, Protector of Planet Earth
In this episode of the Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are joined by Ed Lu, astronaut, pioneer engineer and potentially future saviour of planet Earth. Ed tells us about his experiences on two space shuttle missions, his time on the international space station following the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia, his time at Google and his work as co-founder of the B612 Foundation where the mission is to save Earth from an asteroid collision. Ed embodies leadership to his core in the most inspiring way. Social: Instagram @evolvingleader LinkedIn The Evolving Leader Podcast Twitter @Evolving_LeaderSend a message to The Evolving Leader team After more than 5 years of hosting The Evolving Leader, Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are launching their new show The Mindset Economy in January 2026. The new show will explore how to live better, work smarter and be connected in a more uncertain world where machines can think. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
Feb 24, 2021 • 33min
Heritage and Innovation at Wimbledon with CEO Sally Bolton
In this episode of the Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender talk to Wimbledon CEO, Sally Bolton. Sally shares some of the leadership challenges that she has faced during her first 12 months as CEO of one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events, a year in which she had to take the decision to cancel the tournament for the first time since WWII due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Social: Instagram @evolvingleader LinkedIn The Evolving Leader Podcast Twitter @Evolving_LeaderSend a message to The Evolving Leader team After more than 5 years of hosting The Evolving Leader, Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are launching their new show The Mindset Economy in January 2026. The new show will explore how to live better, work smarter and be connected in a more uncertain world where machines can think. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
Feb 17, 2021 • 43min
Owning the world's number 1 leadership challenge with Ben Osborn, Pfizer UK
What would it be like to be thrust, in a matter of days, from the relative anonymity of being an executive in a large organisation, to being on the front line of solving the world’s No1 health, social and economic crisis? In this episode of the Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Scott Allender and Jean Gomes talk to Ben Osborn, MD of Pfizer UK, who led the roll-out of the world’s first vaccine programme across the UK. What were the leadership challenges of accelerating a process that typically takes 5-15 years to 9 months? Let’s find out… Social: Instagram @evolvingleader LinkedIn The Evolving Leader Podcast Twitter @Evolving_LeaderSend a message to The Evolving Leader team After more than 5 years of hosting The Evolving Leader, Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are launching their new show The Mindset Economy in January 2026. The new show will explore how to live better, work smarter and be connected in a more uncertain world where machines can think. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
Feb 10, 2021 • 41min
The Power of Creative Purpose with Jeremy Cowart
In this episode of the Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Scott Allender and Jean Gomes talk to Jeremy Cowart, a distinctive artist whose work you’ve likely seen either online or in some glossy magazine. Jeremy Cowart is an award winning photographer, artist and entrepreneur, and in 2014 was named as the most influential photographer on the internet. So what can a photographic artist tell us about leadership? This conversation explores creatives being idea leaders, how to build a creative career, the power of purpose and adapting to market changes. https://www.jeremycowart.com/https://www.thepurposehotel.com/Social:Instagram @evolvingleaderLinkedIn The Evolving Leader PodcastTwitter @Evolving_LeaderSend a message to The Evolving Leader team After more than 5 years of hosting The Evolving Leader, Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are launching their new show The Mindset Economy in January 2026. The new show will explore how to live better, work smarter and be connected in a more uncertain world where machines can think. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
Feb 3, 2021 • 48min
Vollebak: why the world needs products from the future, now
In this episode of the Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender talk to Vollebak co-founder Steve Tidball. Since 2015, Steve and his (co-founder) brother Nick have been “using science and technology to create clothing that no-one else can or will”, they create (award winning) clothes from the future. So, what might a collection of clothes from the future include? Taking just two examples from the Vollebak collection, consider the indestructible puffer (made from Dyneema which is the strongest fibre known to man today), or the deep sleep cocoon which was built ahead of the first missions to Mars, with a design based on the protective exoskeleton of the woodlouse.If you’re interested in the mindset of an entrepreneur, sit back and enjoy.Social: Instagram @evolvingleader LinkedIn The Evolving Leader Podcast Twitter @Evolving_LeaderSend a message to The Evolving Leader team After more than 5 years of hosting The Evolving Leader, Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are launching their new show The Mindset Economy in January 2026. The new show will explore how to live better, work smarter and be connected in a more uncertain world where machines can think. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
Feb 1, 2021 • 12min
Bonus Episode: The knowing/doing gap
Where do you plan to become more radically self aware in 2021? How are you going to close the knowing/doing gap? In this short bonus episode of the Evolving Leader podcast, Scott Allender addresses these questions and reveals that the for him, the answer lies in his own mindset. Social:Instagram @evolvingleaderLinkedIn The Evolving Leader PodcastTwitter @Evolving_LeaderSend a message to The Evolving Leader team After more than 5 years of hosting The Evolving Leader, Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are launching their new show The Mindset Economy in January 2026. The new show will explore how to live better, work smarter and be connected in a more uncertain world where machines can think. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
Jan 27, 2021 • 46min
Can we stop talking about digital?
In this episode of the Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender bring together three very different digitally focussed leaders. Annemie Ress, Finbarr Joy and Carlos Nasillo join us to discuss the leadership challenges of embracing technology to unlock business model innovation. Social: Instagram @evolvingleader LinkedIn The Evolving Leader Podcast Twitter @Evolving_LeaderSend a message to The Evolving Leader team After more than 5 years of hosting The Evolving Leader, Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are launching their new show The Mindset Economy in January 2026. The new show will explore how to live better, work smarter and be connected in a more uncertain world where machines can think. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
Jan 20, 2021 • 43min
Unpredicting with Stuart Firestein
In this first episode of season two, Scott and Jean talk to neuroscientist Stuart Firestein, about his counter-intuitive thinking on ignorance and failure as propelling forces in problem solving and innovation. Stuart is the Chair of Columbia University’s Department of Biological Sciences, and is dedicated to promoting the accessibility of science to a public audience. Author of ‘Ignorance: How it Drives Science’, and ‘Failure: Why Science Is So Successful’ (Oxford University Press), both written to present the workings of science to a general audience, Stuart’s commitment to engaging the public in science can also be seen in his TED Talk entitled “The pursuit of ignorance”, which at the time of writing has garnered over 2.1 million views. Social:Instagram @evolvingleaderLinkedIn The Evolving Leader PodcastTwitter @Evolving_LeaderSend a message to The Evolving Leader team After more than 5 years of hosting The Evolving Leader, Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are launching their new show The Mindset Economy in January 2026. The new show will explore how to live better, work smarter and be connected in a more uncertain world where machines can think. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
