We Are Human Leaders

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.

Have you ever experienced  work with a true sense purpose and meaning? Knowing that what you’re contributing has an impact on outcomes greater than yourself?How did that make you feel? If you’ve never experienced this, you’re not alone. Many of us struggle to find meaning in the work we do everyday, it may not be your fault.Welcome to We are Human Leaders.  In this conversation with Zach Mercurio we explore how meaningfulness at work can transform our lives and workplaces.In this episode we explore how organizations who drives cultures where employees experience meaningful work can not only find profitability and success, but can positively contribute to the lives of their employees.Zach Mercurio, Ph.D. is an author, researcher, speaker, and consultant specializing in purposeful leadership, meaningful work, and positive organizational psychology. He wrote "The Invisible Leader: Transform Your Life, Work, and Organization with the Power of Authentic Purpose," which was praised by Arianna Huffington as "a compelling book filled with powerful stories, cutting-edge research, and practical tools that show us how to lead with purpose."Zach works with hundreds of companies, governments, and schools around the world to forge purposeful leaders and cultivate positive cultures that enable more meaning, mattering, motivation, well-being, and performance.Zach earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Learning, Performance, and Change from Colorado State University where he serves as an Honorary Fellow in the Department of Psychology's Center for Meaning and Purpose and as an Instructor in the Organizational Learning, Performance, and Change program.This conversation will elevate your thinking around work, and powerful opportunity we have as Leaders to create a meaningful experiences for the human beings we lead. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.