The Leadership Enigma

Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is the author of 10 books and over 150 scientific papers. He is the Chief Innovation Officer for Manpower Group and and international authority in people analysts, talent management, leadership development and the Human AI Interface. This is the first episode of the New Year and we tackle questions such as 'Why are so many incompetent men made leaders?' and 'Why we should be more sexist!' as Tomas is a data driven feminist. However, the primary focus of this episode is based on Tomas' latest book 'I-Human' and the need for us all to dial up our human centred leadership capabilities. Tomas was born and brought up in Buenos Aires and became fascinated in leadership from an early age after seeing and experiencing years of national leadership crises. His Phd allowed him to specialise in investigating the data behind numerous people analytic assumptions and biases. Tomas quickly began to uncover the realities of how important EQ was compared to IQ and how many misconceptions have hindered how we identify talent. From an evolutionary perspective humans have always over focused on confidence than competence on the basis that if we BS ourselves it is much easier to BS other people! Leaders must be self aware enough to balance their self confidence with the realities of their capabilities. Confidence and drive remain critically important but with moderation applied to also avoid pathological insecurity. Tomas has recently focused on the role and impact of AI on the talent market. AI get a lot of criticism for augmenting biases but AI has the capability to unlearn faster than humans and make organisations more data driven in their people operations. In an age when so much ion our thinking and creativity could be outsourced to machines, leaders must be alive to the necessity to humanise their organisations and the work that they do in the world. AI will continue to upgrade and evolve but will we? Tomas' research indicates that AI is increasing and developing some of our worst traits such as bias and narcissism. Many of us blame AI for simply uncovering the bias that we have created and embedded into the various systems that we operate with. Algorithms used in AI often track and solidify our focus on what we already like, believe or subscribe to, which in turn may be the basis for such a polarised world. Digital narcissism is the norm and at the heart of many becoming global influencers, however the same behaviour repeated in the office would probably involve HR! We are thinking less, optimising and outsourcing more and becoming less and less patient with having to wait even a few seconds for what we want. In this environment we have to double down on curiosity, empathy and our human centred 'power' skills. Historically we promoted people for their technical skills and with AI these have been become disrupted and out of date. The Human Being is now the most powerful asset we have in a Digital world. Leaders with strong human centred skills will rise and AI has commoditised, crowd sourced and synthesised our access to vast amounts of information that it is akin to a Microwave Meal in that it is not very nutritional, healthy or nourishing but it's easy, fast, lazy and even free option that gives us the quick fix. Our ability to 'slow cook' ideas with real wisdom and experience and unleash our deep curiosity regardless of our status, experience level or age. www.drtomas.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.

Errol Gardner is the Global Vice Chair (Consulting) for Ernst & Young. He is a member of the Executive Team and leads the consulting practice  globally of over 125,000 people.  EY has over 400,000 employees in 154 countries and in 2022 they received over 2 million job applications. Errol's job incudes defining the strategy for consulting and making sure they are clear on their market proposition for clients and ensuring his people are thriving. I ask Errol about the responsibility of being part of a broader global executive team leading over 400,000 as a leader of leaders and how he tries to cascade the human centred approach through all levels of the organisation. Errol's role requires him to travel for 60% of the year as he meets people within the organisation who help him sense-check and sense-make  what unites them and what is important at the local level. Errol understands that as he travels around the various EY global offices, he is a role model to many people that he does not personally know, however his leadership shadow is cast far and wide.  Errol recounts the George Floyd incident during the pandemic and the ripple impact it had on people who became much more vocal within their own organisations as regards injustice and for Errol it became a catalyst to become a voice for those who needed advocacy and so the Global Social Equity Task Force was born. EY has a fundamental role within many global businesses (financial integrity) but also sees itself as a Force for Good in the world's challenge areas such as sustainability, equity and social justice which Errol explains is brought to life though the very purpose of the business. 'EY Ripples' is just one example of such an internal initiative. Errol was born and bred in Leeds attending the local comprehensive and knew immediately the difficulties of being a black child in a predominantly white area, which in turn provided him the resilience and mechanisms to thrive. He started his professional career in 1990 leaving University to work in audit. He quickly took the opportunity to go to Jamaica (his parents are Jamaican, his father was on board one of the original Windrush ships) and after 5-6 months he was luckily offered a consultancy role and never looked back, this was in Errol's words his 'sliding door moment.'  Jamaica provided Errol the unique opportunity to grow his confidence working within a predominantly black environment and understand the dynamics of prejudice, inclusivity and the power of diversity of thought. He returned to the UK knowing that there were no excuses for him other than to show up and make a difference. Today Errol reflects on his incredible career and feels an obligation to help others to achieve their dreams. He loves working in a people business and providing opportunities for others to learn and thrive. Leading a global business requires a constant awareness of trends and critical geo political issues in an ever changing world and having a presence in 154 countries means that EY can remain a force for positive change. Errol is a human centred leader of leaders who uses his experiences and interactions as a constant reminder that people are at the heart of all success. All leaders create a lived experience for those around them, let 2024 be the year for creating the conditions for all to thrive and succeed. Enjoy this wonderful 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.

L Vaughan Spencer is a leadership and motivational guru with a unique mantra of 'Don't be Needy, Be Succeedy." L-Vo to his friends has the unenviable background of having attended the University of the Isle of White studying table tennis with intermediate French. He is wise, vocal and motivates people by shouting at them! We was delighted to help me understand that I am not a failure.......just a non achiever. The Sunday Time describes L-Vo as Borat meets The Office. What could possibly go wrong with this episode. Merry Xmas everyone! https://succeedy.com/https://neilmullarkey.com/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.

Tim Creswick is the CEO of Vorboss. After his studio episode on The Leadership Enigma Podcast, he decided to invite me to his 'Better Connection' event held at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool Street, London. In front of a live audience Tim became the interviewer as we chatted about the podcast, the learning and insight from almost 180 episodes and also about the origins of the show born from the pandemic lockdown. This episode also provides some powerful insights from Tim as to what is takes to be a human centred leader day in and day out. 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 and Ed Manfre are both partners at Heidrick & Struggles and the authors of 'Lead Through Anything.' Dustin has focused his career on helping leaders get better results through culture and leadership regardless of the challenges they may be facing. Ed shares the same passion and explains how his career was 'accidental' after starting professional life in a family owned boutique and how some very specific events catapulted him towards wanting to understand the dynamics of leadership.  The impact of both good and bad leaders is widespread as they create a lived experience for those around them. The essence of 'Lead Through Anything' is one of hope and application for leaders to successfully navigate the chaos. The average leader is 10 years into their career before they are offered any form of leadership training. Why? This book is a springboard for any leader. The book focuses on three key principles that will make a difference in creating a world better led. Purpose, Vitality & Agility. The magic is when all three are in play at the same time! Purpose: This is about leaders creating the right environment for success and who are ambitious for impact not self.  Vitality: At the self level it is to marshall, create and sustain your energy and to connect yourself to others and connect others as a team in order to create something greater than the  sum of its parts. Agility: Willingness to never be done and always learn. They explain the analogy of a rocket traveling through space, appearing to travel in a straight line but actually its constantly calibrating itself and course correcting.  The same is true for leaders, always adjusting and adapting  to the circumstances.  Dustin explains 'outside - in' and the leaders ability to think like a scientist to analyse and adjust to data. The 'inside - out' is all about vulnerability. Ed also explains in this episode the importance and role of simplicity. The book uniquely explains how we can understand our 'home base', a centre of gravity that we can come back to again and again as individuals and organisations as we explore and experiment how we can unleash the three principles of Purpose, Vitality & Agility to thrive.  http://www.leadthroughanything.com/bookhttp://www.leadthroughanything.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.

Jenifer Rosenberg OBE has enjoyed a life of incredible opportunity and hard fought success. She was the founder of the UK's largest privately owned clothing manufacturer after a career at Marks & Spencer during the roaring 60's. She voted Veuve Clicquot Woman of the Year and today is the Chair of the Board of The Heart Cells Foundation. This episode focuses on three key stages of Jenifer's life. By her own admission she was never an academic but excited to leave school and seek opportunity within the creative field. Marks & Spencer offered her a job in the post room which whilst not very exciting, it provided Jenifer the chance to prove herself even at the tender age of 16. Jenifer found the simple administrative task of collecting senior leader signatures on cheques as a way to increase her personal brand within the organisation. Once Jenifer found herself a role within the buying department of M&S when the swinging 60's started to take shape with the likes of The Beatles, Twiggy, Mary Quant and Vidal Sassoon as London proved to be the epicentre of it all.  Jenifer, when moved to the skirts department, she suggested the trial of the mini skirt and before she knew it her career exploded as the mini skirt became synonymous with the era. Jenifer always appreciated the interaction, communication and humility of the M&S senior leaders combined with their ability to embrace risk and opportunity.  Jenifer left M&S in 1973 following a series of personal life decisions which led to her start J & J in Newcastle when Ted Heath was Prime Minister and the three day week was imposed during to the strikes. J & J was to become the UK's largest privately owned women's clothing manufacturer . During Christmas 1975, Jenifer lost her second husband having already lost her father. This had a huge impact on Jenifer who was now responsible for the leadership and growth of J & J.  Jenifer met her third husband who ended up merging with J & J which in turn led to a business with 3,000 people and 12 factories across the UK. That business was sold in 1992. Jenifer was on the receiving end of many accolades and offers of appointments at this point and she realised that life was for living as opposed to sitting back on past successes. Today, Jenifer is passionate about the Heart Cells Foundation founded in 2004 with her third husband (Ian) who later died from heart failure, however his life had been extended for three years after stem cell therapy treatment originally located out of Germany. Heart failure is currently the number 1 killer in the UK and one person dies every three minutes.  The charity focuses on the ability to use a person’s own Stem Cells to repair their heart and it is revolutionising the practice of medicine. Their goal is to make this treatment readily available to everyone. Jenifer is responsible for raising millions of pounds for the Foundation and her passion for helping others is insatiable. www.heartcellsfoundation.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.

Dr Mark Goulston was a professor of psychiatry at UCLA for over 25 years. He is the author of multiple books including 'Just Listen' which has been translated into 28 languages and has become the world's leading book on listening. He is currently one of Marshall Goldsmith's 100 coaches and recently discovered that he is suffering from a terminal illness. This episode is deeply personal, powerful and inspiring. Mark contemplates his own mortality in this episode as he reflects, hopes and inspires. Mark outlines the extent of his current condition, medical treatment and desire to share with the world some of his most powerful life lessons. Mark's specialist area during his professional career was death and dying and that gave him a front row seat of what makes a good death and what makes a bad death. He used to do house calls to help people, especially those with suicidal tendencies. Mark remembers a very powerful conversation with a patient who had seen great success in his life and who said to him 'I have all the love money can buy, however everything I thought was important isn't and everything I thought wasn't important is and i've run out of time to fix and I don't like that.' Mark himself is at peace because he has lived his entire life to his core values of kindness, generosity, service and curiosity. Too many people climb a ladder all their life only to discover it's on the wrong wall. Mark's criteria for a good death is to avoid pain and suffering but surround himself with a good team of both family and medical experts. Mark wants to be with the right people not necessarily the smartest people. He wants to consider the human being not just the human doing. Mark's condition has required him to be emotionally honest with those he loves the most. These conversations has taught Mark the power of connection, authenticity, humility and compassion. True vulnerability is not a sign of helplessness but a sign of courage and absolute human connection. The reality is that we have very few 'raw' emotional conversations with those that we love. Mark urges all leaders to emotionally know the people that they love and really connect with the people that they lead. It is an honour and not a burden to really care. Mark explains that if you can identify a feeling you are having and you just allow yourself to feel it, it dissipates in 90 seconds. However 99% of people will get emotional and run from those feelings. Mark's model for coaching leaders is for them to engender trust, confidence, respect, safety, admiration and inspiration, it also helps to be liked by those you lead! Three areas where leaders need to make good judgement calls are strategy, people and crisis. Visionary leaders do not see the unknown as a danger to be avoided and feared but an adventure to be dived into and lived. They define reality, declare their intentions to make it so and decide on a strategy to make it happen. Please enjoy on the most powerful episodes to date. Mark has created a series of 'I'm dying to tell you' videos on YouTubewww.youtube.com/@ImdyingtotellyoudrmarkWatch & 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.

Iain Sinnott is Head of International Carrier Sales for Enreach. Iain was an audience member during our recent live event with Tim Creswick (CEO of Vorboss) at The Everyman Theatre in central London. He was the winner of the raffle to randomly pick a guest and uncover that each and every one of us has a leadership propose and story to share with the world.  Iain was born and grew up in a small village in Scotland and has always been passionate about investing in others. He remembers fondly how he had three very powerful and supportive role models in his life, all of whom were former WW2 soldiers and their guidance helped  frame his outlook on life. As Iain has become more established, successful and influential in life, so he has turned his attention to how he can support others to thrive. Iain leads people with a heightened sense of care and is genuinely interested in people which for many of the younger generation is exactly what they want as part of the personal leadership they seek. Iain is focused on trying to help a very specific group of people, those who leave the UK care system, which is actually how Iain connected with Vorboss after seeing the good work they are doing within the London area.Iain passionately focuses on being the best adventurer he can be for his granddaughter Millie who suffers from upper limb difference and lives the motto "don't focus on what people can't do, focus on that they can do."This is a deeply personal and human episode which requires all of us how we can make a difference in the world. https://reach.org.uk/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.

Adam Kingl is a global educator, keynote speaker and author of 'Sparking Success -  Why every leader needs to develop a creative mindset.'Adam highlights that as technology evolves exponentially, management and leadership has been fairly stagnant for decades.  People require their leaders to be a force for good in the world and all leaders are work in progress. About 5 years ago Adam saw 2 independent pieces of research. One (from BCG) which stated that CEO's of top 200 global companies listed the need for innovation and creativity as one of their top 3 priorities 79% of the time. However, another piece of research (McKinsey) studied the rank and file and asked how good their organisations were at innovation and creativity and 94% stated that they were awful at it. As a result, Adam asked himself a question. 'Is there a larger gap in corporate life today between aspiration and reality? This began the birth of 'Sparking Success!Adam's research began by exploring neuroscience in order to understand behaviour change. The brain is the most energy using component of our body and has different brain states from deep sleep to hyper focus and each of those states are measured in hertz and so Adam explains what it means for us to be 'in flow.' In order for us to be creative and innovative we have to train the brain and practice the skillset on a regular basis, just as we would train our muscles. Sparking Success focuses predominantly on a number of creative industries which reflects Adam's original career and passion for theatre. He explored Jazz and quotes Thelonious Monk who said 'there are no wrong notes' which is an excellent metaphor for our historic fear of failure in organisations. Leaders who are good at creativity explained to Adam that all their original ideas  originated from bad ideas which as they explored and developed it became the good idea. Adam also discovered that Jazz musicians biochemically tended to shut down  two parts of their brain whilst performing; self judging and social judging so they were in a complete state of acceptance and exploration. This is also why improv teams use 'Yes,And' instead of 'Yes, But.'Adam also explores the realm of writing and he spoke to the writers of 'Friends.' In the US, a typical sitcom season is 24 episodes and the writers only write a few episodes and then rely on writing simultaneously as the previous episode is aired. One of the Executive producers of 'Friends' ran a team of 12 writers and said that they need 20 mediocre ideas for one good idea to make it into an episode of Friends. His goal was therefore not to pressure the team for a singe good idea but encourage everyone to come up with ideas whatever the quality. He also let others go first to avoid the HiPPO (Highest Paid Person's Opinion) syndrome. Another area explored was culinary arts as Adam collects cook books. He looked at highly successful chefs who are always trying to create the highest quality but also create the latest and newest culinary innovation. Here is where Adam describes the three C's which corresponds to the investment of time and energy to invent. Another area of focus for Adam was art and imagery in which the ability to explore new realities is an incredible transferable skills for the corporate leader. It's time for all leaders to uncover and rediscover humility and curiosity.  When working with your teams for new ideas remember to separate out the three tasks of Ideation, Evaluation and Selection. This episode is packed full of incredible research, insight and learning. www.adamkingl.comwww.amazon.co.uk/Sparking-Success-Develop-Creative-Mindset/dp/1398609587/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.

Atif Sheikh and Darren Ashby are co-founders of Business Four Zero (a Heidrick & Struggles company) and authors of 'Every Team Actually Doing Business Better' We explore the sweet spot between Culture, Purpose and Strategy and how these are more than just buzz words but essential components for any business to align their people around something important  as a force for good in a chaotic world. Atif Sheikh is a family man, raised as the son of an entrepreneur who started with corner shops which led to the creation of the retail and wholesale empire known as 'BestWay'. Growing up he explored studying sociology and psychology which is perhaps a clue as to why he started Business Four Zero. One of Atif's greatest challenges was being asked to advise his father's business empire (which at the time was a multi billion pound organisation) and suggesting his father (Truth to Power) step down as CEO and become the Chairman. Darren Ashby describes himself as 'not a business man.' He was always interested in how and why people came together to drive change and thought he would be an academic, however his career moved into consulting when he met Atif and they immediately bonded around their passion for businesses to drive transformational change through people. Business Four Zero was created to help big businesses to become a force for good and challenge mainstream consulting models in helping these businesses understand their resources, their influence and their obligation to positively impact people lives beyond their products and services. As Darren explains, his excitement is helping business find the sweet spot in "societal, environmental impact and commercial growth, as we can't have businesses failing, we are reliant on them for what they create.....otherwise our whole social infrastructure crumbles." Their book and day to day focus is helping leadership teams truly understand how to deliver a great product or service but also actually make things better. People want their work to matter and they want to make themselves and their families financially secure, yet with a stark appreciation that not all are equal in both opportunity and outcome. The integration of Purpose (your impact on the world, how you are unique), Strategy (the plan for doing it) and Culture (how we need to behave) are essential. For many businesses these components are isolated, complex and detached. Atif and Darren strive to help those organisations create their 'Blueprint' and not simply try and tell or sell their plans through a comms cascade. This is a high energy, authentic, progressive, thoughtful and highly entertaining episode that will challenge your thinking and consider questions such as........ What is the role of the role model? What conversations do you need to have within your business? What is collective leadership? What is Purpose? How is your plan supporting your Purpose? What culture do you need for success? What is the true power of brining people together? The power of the Agora? What is emotional commitment? Leaders lead businesses and it's what businesses do in the world that really matters.  Actually Doing Business Better is available from Amazon: www.businessfourzero.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.