The Leadership Enigma

Jay Goldman is the co-founder and CEO of Sensei Labs, a New York Times best-selling author of ’The Decoded Company', HBR contributor and TedX Speaker. Jay chats to me about the need for speed in our organisations and in our leadership especially as the global pandemic was a ‘forcing function’ that delivered 10 years of digital transformation in just 2 years.A successful company exists within a virtuous cycle of being able to find and attract the best people which creates an environment that allows them to do their best work, which delivers products and services that are loved by customers, which leads to more revenues and funding to attract more talent.  We also talk about Minimal Loveable Products and how behaviours of both employees and customers have changed which therefore requires leaders to continue to challenge and rewire norms in the workplace and beyond. Jay also provides some great advice as to how a leader can approach decision making in ambiguity by separating decisions that are ‘one way’ doors from those that have ‘two way’ doors.  Don’t miss this 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.

Howard Tiersky is the CEO of From The Digital Transformation Agency and Wall Street Journal best selling author of "Winning Digital Customers The Antidote to Irrelevance."In this episode we discuss how leaders and organisations have navigated the accelerated digital environment in order to understand changing customer needs and behaviours in order to avoid becoming irrelevant. Howard explains to me how organisations that are not digital natives such as Starbucks and Taco Bell have thrived and embraced technology and changing customer behaviours. We also chat about evolutionary psychology as a primary reason for people being resistant to change and the digital leader super powers such as 'Super Vision' and an ability to 'Speak All Languages" as critical components for success. Don't miss this 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.

Scott O’Neil was the CEO of the Philadelphia 76’s (NBA) and the New Jersey Devils (NHL) and former President of Maddison Square Garden, the venue that has hosted some of the most iconic sporting and entertainment events. Scott is also the author of “Be Where Your Feet Are” which he wrote as a purposeful mechanism to heal after tragically losing a close friend. Scott grew up in a strong family unit with four siblings and both parents working in the leadership advisory field. Positive role models were all around him from an early age.The pandemic has provided a moment in time, magnifying the need for all leaders to be a force for good in a constantly chaotic environment. Each of us must now decide what are we willing to celebrate and what are we willing to tolerate going forward with a ‘palms up’ approach to life. Scott has a simple mantra: Do something for your mind, something for your body and something for your soul every day. Work life balance is a concept Scott doesn’t believe in as he finds it impossible to disentangle the two. It is all about our ability to be present in the moment. As a CEO Scott has hired hundreds of people and has noticed that successful people tend to have 3 characteristics that stand out. Firstly, they work unreasonable hard, secondly their intellectual curiosity in an ever-changing world and thirdly, being an extraordinary teammate. Don’t miss this 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.

Dan Lewindon is the current Head of Performance, Science & Medicine for the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) and former physio for the England Rugby Team. We chat about the personal journey we are all on in the pursuit of high performance and how progress requires the need to courageously jettison a reliance on our technical and expert capabilities and leverage more of our innate human centred leadership capabilities. We all chat about the different mindsets and levels of resilience that Dan experienced in the elite environments of team sport (Rugby) to the individual gladiatorial battle of singles tennis. Don't miss this 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.

Peter Sursi is an experienced people manager at the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation). All leaders continue to grapple with the ability to live and lead themselves and others through constant change. Law enforcement provides an environment where the scope and requirement to change can literally mean the difference between life and death. Peter discusses a number of projects that he has been involved in where critical lessons have been learned. These include addressing peoples' fear of loss of control or even feelings of grief. How to combine the best of the old with the best of the new so that people feel valued and part of the iterative or even transformational change process. We chat about a leader's ability to focus and prioritise as critical for success and to ensure change initiatives are about evolution not revolution. This episode is essential for all leaders in all size organisations as the world constantly changes around us and we have to adapt or become irrelevant. 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.

Dustin Seale is the Regional Managing Partner EMEA, Hedrick Consulting, part of Heidrick & Struggles. Dustin is passionate about taking responsibility for working with as many leaders and organisations as possible in order to foster a world better led and to create positive and sustainable change. This episode is an absolute must for all leaders as we discuss the importance of culture in a post pandemic environment and how leaders must consider meaning, flexibility and focus. Dustin draws insights from Heidrick's global research and highlights one of the biggest detailers for leaders has been an inability to prioritise. This is a packed episode full of great learning, wisdom and storytelling from leader who walks the walk as well as talks the talk. Join the conversation and enjoy this 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.

Elliot Evans (aka Elliot the Coach) was a typical teenager trying to impress, achieve, understand life and attract validation. When the going got tough he felt the need to throw himself even further into work and radical self development techniques. This was until he suffered a breakdown at the age of 25 following a series of set backs and failed attempts at finding his authentic self. Mental health is and must be at the centre of all leaders thinking as we navigate our way out of a global pandemic into a world of constant change. This is a courageous, authentic and moving episode from someone who came to understand that being kind to yourself and knowing your personal why is an important first step to finding your authentic self. 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.

Tom Lyas is the Talent Acquisition Manager for the law firm Browne Jacobson. He is passionate about inclusivity and has championed social mobility in a number of organisations culminating in Browne Jacobson being voted the No.1 Social Mobility Employer in the UK. Would you consider scrapping the academic criteria from your hiring process? Tom did. The results were staggering. The firm moved from having 100% of trainee lawyers from Russell Group Universities and 7% BAME candidates to now having 50/50 Russell Group with other institutions and 45% BAME hires. Tom is passionate about their F.A.I.R.E. system (Fairer Access into Real Experiences) as the firm continues to break boundaries and push for increased inclusively into the legal profession. This is an inspirational episode and all leaders are responsible for driving a culture of inclusivity and seeking to be a force for good. 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.

Richard Newman is the founder and CEO of Body Talk, award winning writer and keynote speaker. He has featured on TV and radio and assisted one client generate an additional $1bn in revenues using his communication techniques. Richard is passionate about the subject of communication. He is an introvert and high functioning autistic whereby much of his early life was spent trying to discover why he struggled to connect with people. He even decided to live with Tibetan monks at the age of 18 in order to further his thinking. This episode is all about a leader's ability to 'lift' their audience by focusing on being the mentor and not the hero. By focusing on human centred leadership and not tried and tested technical skills. Listen to Richard's three point plan for any leader that requires you to prime your mind, intrinsically validate and lastly always focus outwards. Don't miss this high paced episode packed full of learning. 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.

Reg Rix is the co-founder and co-CEO of Car Finance 24/7 with his brother Louis. He was passionate, driven and determined to have his own business from the age of 17. Failure, administration, a credit crunch and a pandemic could not stop the brothers building a business that is disrupting the market place and now has over 600 people employed. This is a no nonsense episode from a CEO who is young, straight talking, robust and passionate about his people. He closed the entire business for a month when an employee fell seriously ill with Covid and ended up in a coma simply because it was the right thing to do. It was a demonstration of his human centred approach to leadership and the 'stillness' of not trading provided him a unique insight into the future of his business. People buy people and Reg has worked hard to create and live a culture that supports all those who work within Car Finance and all those customers who benefit from its services. Don't miss this 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.