Leading Transformational Change with Tobias Sturesson

In this episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast, your host Tobias Sturesson brings back a conversation that many new listeners may not have heard. In this insightful interview with ethics professor and author Ann Tenbrunsel, from almost two years ago (November 2020), they discuss whether we truly are as values-driven as we think, and why we make bad decisions even when we might have good intentions. Ann Tenbrunsel is the David E. Gallo Professor of Business Ethics at the University of Notre Dame. Her research focuses on the psychology of ethical decision making and examining why we behave unethically, despite our best intentions. Ann is the author, co-author, or co-editor of six books on this topic including Blind Spots (with Max Bazerman), Behavioral Ethics: Shaping an Emerging Field (with David De Cremer), and Codes of Conduct: Behavioral Research into Business Ethics (with David Messick). Her research has been featured on NPR, Harvard Business Review, New York Times, and many other major publications. Duration: 42:04

Join your host Tobias Sturesson and his guest, Sandra J. Sucher, on this fascinating and timely episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this conversation, Sandra discusses the foundation of a healthy organizational culture - trust, and how trust can be built, lost, and regained. Sandra J. Sucher is a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School and an internationally recognized trust researcher. The Power of Trust: How Companies Earn It, Lose It, Regain It, is her third book. It is based on two decades of research on global companies’ best practices and in the gray areas of business—where responsibilities to investors, customers, employees, and society pull companies and their leaders in different directions. Sandra is on the Edelman Trust Institute advisory board and has collaborated with Deloitte on TrustIQ™, a proprietary tool that measures key elements of trust in major corporations and public sector organizations. Duration: 59:52

Join your host Tobias Sturesson and his guest, Maria Hemberg, on this informative and helpful episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this conversation, Maria shares what it means to live one's values, how Volvo Cars think about ethics, and how they are meeting the radical shifts in the car industry. Maria Hemberg has more than 25 years of experience from practicing business law both in private practice and as in-house counsel. Before joining Volvo Car Group in 2012, Maria served as legal counsel at AB SKF with focus on M&A and was a member of the Automotive Divisions management team. Maria is heading Group Legal & Corporate Governance, a global function providing support and services to the Volvo Car Group covering the areas legal, intellectual property, compliance & ethics, as well as corporate governance. Duration: 42:40

Join your host Tobias Sturesson and his guest, Dan Cable, on this inspiring episode of the Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this conversation, Dan shares profound insights into how you can bring more meaning to your organization. With a focus on experimentation and purpose, Dan unpacks a remarkable example of the power of servant leadership and how redesigning your rituals can contribute to a healthier culture. Dan Cable is Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School. His research and teaching focus on employee engagement, change, organisational culture, leadership mindset and the linkage between brands and employee behaviors. He is the author of Exceptional, Alive at Work, and Change to Strange. His most recent research was published in Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Academy of Management Journal and Administrative Science Quarterly. This research has been featured in The Economist, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, The New York Times and Business Week. Dan's recent clients include Carlsberg, Coca Cola, Estée Lauder, EY, HSBC, IKEA, McDonalds, MS Amlin, Prudential, PwC, Rabobank, Roche, Sanofi, Siemens and Twitter. Duration: 57:04

As we are now taking steps into a new post-pandemic normal in many parts of the world, it seems like many organizations are struggling with how to have trusting and constructive internal conversations about how and where they do their best work. As a result, internal trust in leadership seems to be shaken. An essential foundation for a healthy culture is an organization’s ability to have hard and important conversations that can move the organization forward. Fred Dust, the author of "Making Conversation: Seven Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication", is passionate about designing creative conversations to solve big problems. In this engaging episode, your host Tobias and Fred discuss how our ability to have these types of conversations matters immensely. Giovanni Leoni is the Global Head of Algorithmic and AI Ethics at Inter IKEA Group. In addition, he is also an Advisory Board Member for the Ethical AI Governance Group in California, U.S.A. Giovanni's vision is a future where technology will be created and used with ethics in mind. Duration: 52:37

Many organizations struggle with a culture of silence in which critical concerns are neither welcomed nor raised, essential feedback is unshared, and vital ideas are left unsaid. But how do you measure a lack of something? How do you deal with something that isn’t there? What strategies and habits need to be implemented to deal with silence? This final episode of Season 5 is a recording of an online live Healthy Culture Initiative event with Megan Reitz and Mary Inman. Listen in on this critical conversation between your host, Tobias, and these guests as they explore how to deal with a culture of silence. Megan Reitz is a facilitator, teacher, speaker, executive coach, researcher, and author dedicated to exploring and finding ways to improve the way people interact with one another in the workplace. She is Professor of Leadership and Dialogue at Ashridge Executive Education – part of Hult International Business School. She is ranked as one of the top 50 management thinkers in the world by Thinkers50 and is on the 2021 HR Most Influential List of Thinkers by HR Magazine. Megan is the co-author of "Speak Up: Say what needs to be said and hear what needs to be heard". Mary Inman is a lawyer and partner in Constantine Cannon’s London Office. She launched the firm's international whistleblower practice and specializes in representing whistleblowers worldwide under American reward programs. Mary is a recognized expert and frequent author and speaker on areas related to the application of the American whistleblower laws internationally and the use of whistleblower laws worldwide. Duration: 01:22:03

As we are now taking steps into a new post-pandemic normal in many parts of the world, it seems like many organizations are struggling with how to have trusting and constructive internal conversations about how and where they do their best work. As a result, internal trust in leadership seems to be shaken. An essential foundation for a healthy culture is an organization’s ability to have hard and important conversations that can move the organization forward. Fred Dust, the author of "Making Conversation: Seven Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication", is passionate about designing creative conversations to solve big problems. In this engaging episode, your host Tobias and Fred discuss how our ability to have these types of conversations matters immensely. Fred Dust is a former senior partner and global managing director at the international design firm IDEO. A leading voice and practitioner of human-centered design and networked innovation, he helps organizations in media, finance, retail, and health confront disruption stemming from shifts in consumer behavior, social trends, economic pressures, and new technology. Prior to IDEO, Dust trained as an architect and spent eight years working with independent artists and major art organizations. He chairs the board of Parsons School of Design and sits on the boards of the New School, NPR, and the Sundance Institute. He lives in New York City. Fred is the author of "Making Conversations: Seven Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication". Duration - 1:01:18

We live in times in which circumstances change rapidly, decisions are rarely black and white, and it's hard to know what is right, true, and most important. With our current political climate, polarization, and media culture, there are considerable risks involved in decision-making. How do we build a healthy organizational culture with an ethical compass in turbulent times?  Professor and ethics expert, Alison Taylor, is currently writing a book for Harvard Business Review Press on how companies can do the right thing in a turbulent world. In this insightful episode, your host Tobias and Alison discuss her key learnings on what it takes to lead with values in the midst of crisis and uncertainty. Alison Taylor is the Executive Director at Ethical Systems, a collaboration between leading academics in the fields of behavioral science, systems thinking, and organizational psychology. She holds an M.A. in International Relations and Organizational Psychology with her fields of expertise being ethics, management, and social responsibility. Alison has spent the last two decades working with MNCs on issues such as culture and behaviour, ethics and compliance, human rights, and risk. She has been Managing Director at non-profit business network Business for Social Responsibility, and a Senior Managing Director at Control Risks. She teaches professional responsibility and leadership to MBA and undergraduate students at NYU Stern and offers guest lectures on matters of business, public policy, sustainability, and political science. Duration: 58:35

A culture of speaking up and listening up does not happen by default. Leaders need to build it with intentionality and an awareness of their blindspots. Researcher and author Megan Reitz is passionate about helping people flourish in their workplaces through the way they speak with, listen to, learn from, and care for each other. In this engaging and helpful episode, your host Tobias and Megan discuss building cultures of listening, understanding positions of power and its impact, and a framework for fostering psychological safety. Megan Reitz is a facilitator, teacher, speaker, executive coach, researcher, and author dedicated to exploring and finding ways to improve the way people interact with one another in the workplace. She is Professor of Leadership and Dialogue at Ashridge Executive Education – part of Hult International Business School. She is ranked as one of the top 50 management thinkers in the world by Thinkers50 and is on the 2021 HR Most Influential List of Thinkers by HR Magazine. Megan is the co-author of "Speak Up: Say what needs to be said and hear what needs to be heard".   Duration: 50:38

Values that don’t cost us something aren’t worth anything. In the struggle between upholding the principles we say we believe in and a possible loss of prestige or financial gain, our values get tested and are often found lacking. Sweden's leading political scientist, Bo Rothstein, gave up a coveted professorship because he couldn’t teach political ethics with good conscience in a role funded by a financier who supported a cause Bo believed conflicted with the values that the role represented. In this insightful episode, your host Tobias and Bo discuss the role of trust in building strong institutions and healthy organizations. Bo Rothstein held the August Röhss Chair in Political Science at the University of Gothenburg from December 1994 to June 2021. His long and illustrious career includes roles as visiting scholar and professor at distinguished universities including Harvard, Cornell, and Stanford. Bo is the author of "Just Institutions Matter: The Moral and Political Logic of the Universal Welfare" and "Social Traps and the Problem of Trust", both with Cambridge University Press. His latest book is "Making Sense of Corruption" (together with Aiysha Varraich) published by Cambridge University Press in 2017.  Duration: 42:24