The Leadership Enigma

Steve Krupp is an academic, author, entrepreneur and Partner at Heidrick & Struggles based in the US offices. Steve has a PhD in organisational behaviour and has always been fascinated with what distinguishes the best performers. Much of Steve’s research has shown that Agility is the single biggest differentiator for high performers in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex & Ambiguous) world. Many organisations are still tackling the challenge of shifting from slow to fast, bureaucratic to nimble, hindsight to foresight, rigid to adaptive and knowing to learning. Covid with all the disruption and need to rethink ways of working and customer relationships put the Agility emphasis on steroids. Steve’s research showed that 93% of leaders said Agility is the key to success. Steve describes Agility as the ability to pivot in order to adapt to changing circumstances. He also explains that Agility has four key components 1.     Foresight: The ability to anticipate where the future might be going or at least have thoughts of the different possible options and scenario plan accordingly. Leaders must be able to test their own assumptions and be ready to admit when they are wrong, and Steve’s research suggests that this area is the biggest agility gap for most leaders as they are used to being successful and knowing the answers. Foresight failure comes from arrogance and not challenging self or having a culture whereby the leaders can be constructively challenged. 2.     Adapt: Being Devil’s Advocate and seeking out the contrarians. It is uncomfortable for leaders to change what has worked previously. Adapt is the ability to flex and shift direction by embracing the skill set of challenge. Leader’s embarking on a plan, must make sure they have someone to take on the counterpoint and pressure test the alternatives. This in turn allows a leader to embrace diversity of thought and generate better decision making. Getting curious and searching out a different point of view will enrich thinking. 3.     Learn: A leader’s ability to learn may be their single biggest competitive advantage in a VUCA environment. We all need to move from know it all to learn it all. In a world that changes constantly, what we know becomes irrelevant almost immediately and so a learning culture is an absolute necessity. We have to learn from success and failure and know how to leverage the wisdom going forward. The military has understood for many years the power of an After-Action Review. 4.     Resilience: This starts with having a sense of purpose that can carry a leader forward during tough times and bounce back from adversity. We all face sets backs and future ready leaders will utilise the power of their purpose to bind their people through the challenge. Steve talks about the importance of a strong sense of purpose contributing to A World Better Led with more inclusion, more humanity with increased agility. Don’t miss this great episode.    Watch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Terence is the Director of Organisational Effectiveness in technology for META (Facebook). Terence is a great example of a ‘squiggly career’. He was born in Sierra Leone after his mother had an 11-month pregnancy and describes himself as just a small boy from Freetown who left for the US at the age of 9 and realised he had a great opportunity. That opportunity allowed him to attend Albert Einstein High School and later Brown University (Ivy League). Terence fondly remembers his time at Brown University where he studied the third world transition programme to learn about the history, heritage and purpose of Brown University. He learned tolerance at Brown as their ethos that everyone has the right to be themselves and each should celebrate the differences. As a young black male, he found himself working on Wall Street and experiencing racial injustice and having to balance being authentic with the ability to switch his behaviour to fit in and ‘code switch’ to ensure the comfort of others.Terence has learned to balance the privilege he experiences with the injustice that surrounds him and yet still focus on the comfort of others and not be defined by the way others act towards him. Terence is totally in control of how he sees himself and his value internally. The Sum of the Parts is an inspiring episode especially poignant for young leaders. Stay open minded, allow opportunities to identify themselves to you and be open to the challenge as tomorrow is not guaranteed or promised. Touch, change and empower people. In summary:1.     Leadership is collective sport. You don’t have to be the hero leader in the current ever-changing environment. 2.     Create cultures and environments that unleash the talents of others. 3.     If you don’t make sure your personal life is excelling and intact, all your business aspirations and dreams will simply not be worth it. Here is a link to a Vigro Deep sampler https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/vigro-deep-sampler/pl.u-2aoqX6aHGDYqdKAAnd here is a link to an Amapiano Samplerhttps://music.apple.com/us/playlist/amapiano-sampler/pl.u-kv9lbVLsJAGebglWatch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lesego Holzapfel is the founder of Bokomoso Impact Investments who dedicates her life to empowering communities and promoting diversity and inclusion emanating from a deep place of gratitude. Ezanne Gouws grew up in wine industry in South Africa and is a trainedwine maker and serial entrepreneur.Lesego and Ezanne met only a year ago on a course they attended virtually and immediately realised that they shared a passion for servant leadership.They started Kai Wine together as an amalgamation of two unique cultures refined with the diversity of their life experiences and infused with their deep passion for people. They are both very proud of South Africa and helping the rest of the world understand its true capabilities.Lesego’s charity (founded with her husband) called ‘Raise the Children’ offers scholarships for high performing orphans, as she too was an orphan. The charity assists those from the townships with their education and social mobility in the workplace. Lesego also talks about her struggles as an orphan and her incredible passion for promoting the indigenous beekeeping capabilities as an important commodity whereby South Africa can play its part in saving the honeybee population while promoting education through agriculture and sustainability by aiming to have 1 million beehives locally owned and operated in the poorest regions by 2025.This is a deeply personal and inspiring episode of two very different social entrepreneurs who want to be a force for good within the communities in South Africa and beyond.Watch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Spencer is the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies and a 25-year veteran of the US military having served two combat tours. He is also the author of ‘Connected Soldiers.’ John joined the US military at age of 17 as a Private, working his way through to the senior ranks which allowed him to explore the ‘burden of command.’When the bullets were flying, instinct and training kicked in. However, it’s during the downtime and when the mission is not clear that leadership skills became even more important to inspire, communicate and create an environment of trust, sacrifice and true connection. John remembers taking over a dysfunctional team of soldiers where he realised that the WHY was even more important than the WHAT of any mission or task as he slowly crafted them into an elite team. War requires a group response made up of complex individuals and leaders must set the standard and communicate clearly to all. John reinforces that shared understanding is at the foundation for success for all teams. For John the highest form of power was not rank but reverent power where he had the respect of the team, based on his ability to speak from a position of strength of having risen through the ranks himself. No one starts as the CEO, we move from individual contributor to team player to leader of others. John understands the power of connection for all teams. The bonds between individuals is a powerful mechanism for high performance. How well do you actually know the people on your team? As the world changes, new connections now exist that did not exist in the past, for example the digital social connections and tribe that most people have. Leaders must understand what connective functions or activities need to be done organisationally that complement the countless connective mechanisms that people have and require on a personal level. John talks about the importance of his team eating together as an important function of simply creating connections that were leveraged when the bullets started to fly. Everyone wants a leader that they WANT to follow. Your leader’s shadow has a ripple impact and is representative of your entire team and organisation. John also outlines a powerful story of how some recruits found Covid restrictions disastrous for their ability to bond and connect. This is an inspiring episode full of humility, courage, human centred focus, and deep insight created from operating in life and death combat missions. www.johnspenceronline.comWatch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alice Dyson is the COO of One Media IP a business listed on the London Stock Exchange operating within the music industry. Alice also sits on the Board of BPI, responsible for amongst other things, The Brits.  On a personal note, Alice has had two near death experiences and in her spare time plays hockey for Great Britain. Alice explains she is from a family of musicians. Her father a classical composer and her mother a music teacher and so her career has an element of inevitability in her exploration of the business of music. There are few senior female leaders within the music industry and Alice understands the lessons from her childhood have stood her in good stead for her professional journey.Alice has always recognised when she is surrounded by talented people from whom she can learn and role model. Her focus and resilience have always been critical foundations for her success, and her personal resilience has been tested more than most. Alice was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis that almost crippled her initially. Her medical treatment plan meant that her immune system has been compromised in fighting infection. She caught sepsis (blood poisoning) on one occasion and more recently and perhaps inevitably caught Covid having isolated for over a year. Both experiences could have proved fatal. One of Alice’s most personal lessons was that you always need people to be able to advocate for you and speak for you when you can’t, in her case because she was too ill. However, you must also be able to advocate for yourself, especially when young and passionate in crafting a creating a future. We are all leaders, even as children and we must always be able to attribute skills and capabilities to yourself when appropriate and recognise how we can develop and be brave enough to tell people when you good at something. To that end, Alice is passionate about more woman finding their voice within the profession and as a leader she is always looking for people with the best skills and capabilities to do the work she can’t. Alice talks about having a 360 view and acute listening systems all the time to sense make with laser focus on the music consumer in order to keep learning and adapt to market shifts using the team with the right skills and complementary capabilities. Alice is an inspirational leader who will continue to learn in all that she does.  Watch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Samsa is a positive psychologist and one of the founding directors of The Neuro Leadership Institute and has personally worked with Carol Dweck in the arena of Growth Mindset and Psychological Safety. A Positive Psychologist focuses on your strengths and what is ‘right’ with you as opposed to just developmental areas. Chris advises that all of us must find out we are naturally good at and do more of it. Through neuroplasticity of the brain we are a collection of habits and behaviours; thinking habits, emotional habits and physical habits. Chris explains that all of us move continually between a growth and a fixed mindset. Nearly all of us have a bias for a fixed mindset due to our experiences growing up. Language is the key to how we travel between Growth and Fixed Mindset including how we deal with ‘Radio Me’ or the Inner Critic. The most powerful word that we can deploy is the word ‘YET’ as it transforms a fixed mindset statement into a growth mindset statement. Chris outlines the 5 F’s of how our minds deal with threat: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Flock and Fawn and the issue of cut-throat competitiveness. We discuss the Psychological Safety Index which is a tool to measure Psychological Safety in organisations. The 4 key pillars are:1.     Inclusion and diversity. You can have a diverse organisation but not have inclusion. Diversity is having a seat at the table, inclusion is having a voice at the table. When you have true inclusion and diversity, team members feel able to speak up and they can contribute to the group.  2.     Attitude to risk and failure. Research discovered that the more successful teams made mistakes with a view to owning those mistakes and identifying the learning as opposed to apportioning blame. Poor performing teams spend too much time and energy covering up mistakes. 3.     Willingness to help: Pro social behaviours are exhibited and increased when Psychological Safety is in place. 4.     Open conversation (equal turn taking) this is all about people having the sense their voice matters and will be heard. Watch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carol Kauffman is Harvard Faculty, author, global speaker, leadership advisor and coach, who Marshall Goldsmith has described as the world’s Number 1 Leadership Coach. This episode is an amazing insight into the life and work of Carol as we explore who Carol is and what drives her day to day in her work with some of the most senior and influential leaders in the world. Carol is committed to bringing the best out of people including herself. Her strong personal purpose is to be ‘a conduit for joy, the sword of truth to care for and challenge the powerful, galvanise their goodness so that they can change the world.’ Carol gives an incredibly candid insight into her family life with a genius for a sister, a mother with strong values and a father who was a sociopath and CEO of his own company who tried with all of his might to corrupt Carol’s thinking and approach to life. Thankfully Carol realised that this advice was not to be her path of truth, focus and impact in the world.  Carol describes herself as an average student and her role as coach allows her massive permission to tell the truth to power and coach the fearful into achieving incredible results. Carol during her childhood was exposed to a rich variety of people from the rich and powerful of Monte Carlo to the Head of the Mob! She realised that the more you are in the spotlight, the less it is about you. Her role as coach is never to shame but to bring joy into the experience and care deeply before challenging someone to help improve their personal development. Human Centred Leadership capabilities are absolutely core for any leader to be a Force for Good. This is one of the reasons that Carol always asks her clients “who do you want to be right now?’ as who you are will ripple out through your organisation. Carol explains the importance for all leaders to be coaches as it will allow them to establish positive relationships and be their best. This kind of interaction creates high profit and engagement and an environment of autonomy and psychological safety which changes how an entire organisation can run and meet challenges when being disrupted.  Carol also gives me coach training 101. A good coach must be able to do the following: 1.     Be a view to the future2.     Focus on the skills of the other person3.     Help navigate the person forward with questions (Carol shares her key questions in this episode) and positive confrontation Carol is set to launch her new book ‘Real Time Leadership – Find Your Winning Moves When the Stakes Are High’ available from February 2023. In the book and episode, she outlines her M.O.V.E. approach to winning and the three dimensions of leadership.  I even asked Carol for advice to play a tennis final, which I won. Thank you, Carol. Don’t miss this incredible episode. Visit www.carolkauffman.com for a sneak peak of the book. Watch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clarke Murphy is a CEO and Board Advisor and author of ‘Sustainable Leadership’. He hosts The Redefiners podcast. Leaders are faced with global growth, changing demographics of the workforce, constant change, digital transformation, automation, globalisation and more, and therefore lead in the transformation as opposed to the replacement business. Clarke explains that sustainability is the broad umbrella for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals decided in 1998-1999 and not just climate change.Sustainable leaders are essential for all organisations and Clarkes research has identified four key elements: 1.    Multi-Level Systems Thinking - which allows a leader to think conceptually about the depth of complexity they operate in. 2.    Stakeholder Inclusion – will you include your competitors. Regulators and employees into the conversation to solve a sustainable issue. This takes guts and followership.3.    Disruptive Innovation – questioning own beliefs and learning from failure with humility and listening skills in abundance 4.    Long Term Activation – when hit with failure, can you keep moving long beyond the moment. Clarke also introduces us to LQ: The ability for a leader to always learn especially from the younger generations within the organisation.Sustainability is a non-negotiable for all leaders and not just a compliance or tick box exercise. Leaders must look at their organisations and identify what are their commitments to sustainability and understand how they measure their actions over multiple years. The journey starts with one step. Clarke provides numerous examples of companies getting this right and the value they are creating both internally and externally. You will also have to decide if you are a 100%er, a Moon Shooter or a Fence Sitter. Creating a better world is an obligation for every leader and every organisation. Take the first step. Sustainable Leadership – Lessons of Vision, Courage, and Grit from the CEOs Who Dared to Build a Better World is available from Amazon. Watch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Traci Fenton is the CEO of WorldBlu with a personal purpose and passion to help 1 billion people live, lead and work in freedom rather than fear. We have never lived in a time with so much fear and Traci has dedicated the last 25 years of her professional life in service of helping leaders and organisations in over 100 countries. WorldBlu has certified organisations across the world for 17 years who embrace freedom centred leadership principles. Those organisations have experienced an average of 700% greater revenue growth over a three-year period compared to S&P 500 indexed companies. Traci was raised in a spiritual family, both parents were teachers and Traci realised as a young 10-year-old girl that her purpose was about helping other people which later developed into giving power to people so that they can be free and live their full potential and infinite worth. Organisations across the world have a responsibility to be a force for good and create the conditions for everyone to be their best. When companies operate democratically it ripples out to increase the level of peace, economic prosperity and civil engagement for that organisation.The bedrock for Freedom at Work is based on Mindset. Leaders must handle fear day to day.  Traci explains we have approx. 60,000 thoughts per day. 80% of those thoughts are the same thoughts that we had the day before and 95% of those thoughts are negative and fear based. Traci helps leaders with her five-step process to recognise their fears and overcome them. The 5 questions are:1.    What are you afraid of?2.    Why are you afraid? 3.    So what would you do if you were not afraid?4.    How would you feel without that fear?5.    Why is it ok to let the fear go?In this episode Traci also outlines the 3 pillars of Freedom Centred Leadership. Power, Love and the powerful concept of Ubuntu. Listen to the full episode for more details. www.worldblu.com‘Freedom at Work’ is available on Amazon. Watch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laurie Sudbrink is the author of GRIT and CEO of Unlimited Coaching. Her work is her passion based on being a middle child with 13 siblings from a blended family. Grit was something she was taught at a young age and now she works on a daily basis with leaders across multiple organisations helping people work better together. Laurie’s passion to help others is partly based on the loss of two of her brothers to suicide leaving her questioning and seeking her personal purpose. Laurie decided her response was not just about being ‘gritty’ it was about living her purpose and giving authentically. Laurie realised life would never be the same after these tragedies and so her journey started to define GRIT for herself and others and to always learn and grow from every situation in life. When the going gets tough, the tough get going, which is unsustainable. G.R.I.T.Generosity – the ability to give and receive with a feeling of abundance and a focus on servant leadership. Respect – When we know and accept ourselves we align our behaviours on a daily basis and practice our ability to self-respect. Also, we must respect others whilst challenging our own thoughts and beliefs that drive our actions. Integrity – Aligning to your truth and being authentic to your personal purpose. All leaders cast a shadow and we must also consider our congruence. Truth – It all starts inside us, knowing yourself and accepting ourselves with objectivity. The DISC tool is a useful resource for all leaders to uncover their truth. Be curious about yourself. For your free GRIT assessment: www.lauriesudbrink.comWatch & Subscribe: 👀 https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videosListen & Subscribe: 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5NSnRyHzPmyY5OWhGzKU5Pwww.leadersenigma.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.