Welcome to a new season of the Leading Transformational Change podcast!  A healthy culture is a culture in which ethics and values are central to the decision-making process.  While laws and regulations can offer us some guidance, Dr. Susan Liautaud makes the case that the ethics edge - the areas in which we can’t rely on rules but need our ethical compass and clear guiding principles - is growing. In this fascinating and helpful episode, your host, Tobias, and Susan discuss culture, ethics, decision-making, technology, and leadership.   Dr. Susan Liautaud is Founder and Managing Director of Susan Liautaud & Associates Limited, an ethics advisory firm supporting global organisations and leaders in business, government, and the non-profit sector. She is also founder of The Ethics Incubator, a non-profit platform for broadening debate about ethics issues. She teaches at Stanford University; is Vice Chair of the Court of Governors of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE); Chair of the LSE’s ethics policy committee and its Remuneration committee; and is an Advisory Board Member of LSE’s Marshall Institute. Susan currently serves on several non-profit boards and is the author of The Power of Ethics.  Duration: 55:20

As season four of the Leading Transformational Change podcast draws to a close, your host, Tobias Sturesson, takes this opportunity to encourage you and your organization to continue pursuing a healthy culture. Together, we can make organizations that live their purpose, succeed in their mission, and have a positive impact on all stakeholders, the norm and not the exception. Wishing you a peaceful Christmas and a prosperous 2022. Duration: 08:40

What makes people prejudiced and what makes them fight in conflicts? While the "Us vs Them" mentality is a common organizational culture challenge experienced by HR professionals and leaders, there is in-depth research that reveals something more pervasive that needs greater attention: collective narcissism. Dr Agnieszka Golec de Zavala, a distinguished professor who heads up PrejudiceLab, defines this as “a belief that the exaggerated greatness of one’s group is not sufficiently recognized by others”, which leads to resentment, hindering respectful and productive conversations between groups. In this fascinating episode, Agnieszka explains how collective narcissism fuels the conflict we see in the world today - even within our own organizations. Dr Agnieszka Golec de Zavala is a Reader at Goldsmiths, Univeristy of London and a Professor at University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Poznan, Poland. She has contributed to several diverse research areas, including psychological predictors of political conservatism, the role of motivated cognition in intergroup conflict, social identity, narcissism and collective narcissisms. The breadth of her work is not only seen in scientific contributions, but also in her engagement to use psychological science to address social problems such as social inequalities and prejudice. She is a recipient of several prestigious scholarships including Fulbright Scholarship and Marie Sklodowska-Curie Scholarship. Agnieszka frequently works as an independent expert evaluating proposals submitted to Research Executive Agency (REA) at the European Commission. Duration: 30:53

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) concluded in mid-November. It can be difficult to discern between quantifiable achievements and empty promises. Parul Sharma, a distinguished human rights lawyer, contends that many companies spend more resources on communication around their sustainability initiatives than on the initiatives themselves. In this comprehensive and informative episode, Parul discusses what we can learn from COP26, the interconnectedness of issues such as human rights, climate justice, and corruption, and how to avoid greenwashing. Parul Sharma has many years of experience in the areas of sustainability, human rights, and anti-corruption in high-risk markets. Parul is the President of Amnesty Sweden, and the CEO of The Academy for Human Rights in Business. She has been the Vice President of Global Responsibility at Stora Enso, the Head of CSR Compliance at a leading law firm, the Chair of the Swedish Government’s Agenda 2030 delegation, and the executive director of Greenpeace Sweden. The author of three books on Agenda 30, Parul is one of the most influential sustainability experts in Sweden, and is regularly interviewed by media and news channels. Duration: 57:58

Professor Mats Alvesson discusses the concept of 'functional stupidity' in organizations, highlighting the dangers of mindlessly following values. He delves into the impact on decision-making, organizational culture, and the discrepancy between stated values and actual practices. Alvesson advocates for critical thinking, independent analysis, and qualitative approaches to address complex issues within organizations.

In this exciting and insightful episode, Tonia Ries, responsible for the Edelman Trust Barometer and the leader of the firm's global knowledge agenda, discusses the importance and role of trust within an organization, what it means to be trustworthy, and how to build trust with stakeholders. Indeed, it's not just enough to be seen as competent; we also need to be seen as ethical. Tonia Ries is Executive Director of Intellectual Property for the Edelman Trust Institute, Edelman’s center for the study of trust and a learning laboratory for trust building between companies, institutions, brands and people. Her role includes stewardship of the Edelman Trust Barometer, the largest global survey and foremost authority on trust in institutions and brands. Now in its 21st year, the Trust Barometer surveys more than 34,000 people in 28 countries. Its cross-cultural insights are widely cited in media outlets such as The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist, Fortune, Forbes and others. With more than 30 years of experience in marketing, research, strategy and media, Tonia regularly speaks at industry events and has been quoted on the business impact of media transformation by news outlets such as The New York Times and NPR. Duration: 50:47

In this engaging and eye-opening episode, Kevin Oakes, the CEO and co-founder of i4cp (the leading authority on next practices in human capital), and the author of the recently published book, Culture Renovation™, unpacks the strategies and actions that i4cp, through extensive research, has learned are key to successfully renovating culture. As CEO and co-founder of i4cp, Kevin Oakes provides strategic direction and vision, and is responsible for the overall operations of the organization. Kevin is a frequent author and international keynote speaker on next practices in human capital and works with business and HR executives on people practices that drive high performance. Kevin is the author of Culture Renovation™, which was published in January 2021. The book acts as a blueprint for senior leaders to positively change organizational culture and details 18 action steps that companies such as Microsoft, 3M and T-Mobile have followed to successfully renovate their cultures. 

In this informative and helpful episode, Guido Palazzo, a business ethics professor with a passion for examining and understanding unethical decision making, provides profound observations about the current state of society, and how to embrace uncertainty, fear, and irrationality with a sense of hope.  In addition, he shares ways that leaders and HR professionals can create an organizational culture that mitigates ethical tunnel vision.   Guido Palazzo is Professor of Business Ethics at HEC Lausanne, University of Lausanne. In his research, he is passionate about the dark side of the force and examines unethical decision making from various angles. He is mainly known for his studies in globalization, in particular on human rights violations in global value chains, but he also studies the reasons for unethical behavior in organization and the impact of organized crime on business and society. Currently, he is examining the illegal toxic waste business of the Italian Mafia. He studied business administration and has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Marburg in Germany. 

"Think about how you can incorporate the things we do in our daily lives that we enjoy into your training programs - that is how you appeal to my emotional side and then you're more likely to get a change in behavior." Join your host, Tobias Sturesson, and his guest, Kelly Richmond Pope, for this episode on The Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this candid and insightful conversation, Kelly Richmond Pope, a recognized expert in Forensic Accounting and the filmmaker who documented the largest municipal fraud in U.S. history, shares about why people often overlook "red flags" for too long, and how implicit trust in a leader might make us disregard the need for control and accountability systems. In addition, she explains why a compliance mentality doesn’t create an emotional connection to the values of an organization and why we need to tell stories that speak to people’s hearts. Kelly Richmond Pope is an Associate Professor in the School of Accountancy and MIS at DePaul University in Chicago, IL. She received her doctorate in accounting from Virginia Tech and worked in the forensic practice at KPMG. Kelly is a recognized expert in the forensic accounting field and has conducted forensic accounting seminars around the world for universities, corporations and governmental entities. In addition to her academic career, Kelly is a published author and the documentary filmmaker of All the Queens Horses, which chronicles the largest municipal fraud in U.S. history. Duration: 47:04

"We need to invite in the critics. We need to open our doors. We need to listen to them." Join your host, Tobias Sturesson, and his guest, Bob Langert, for this episode on The Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this fascinating and helpful conversation, you will learn how Bob Langert, former VP of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability at McDonald's, shifted from fighting the company's critics to a posture of listening and even collaborating with organizations like Greenpeace and the Environmental Defense Fund to bring change to the company and to the food industry at large. A practice that could be vital to building a culture of trust, purpose and integrity, but that Bob believes is seldom utilized. Bob Langert led McDonald's Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability efforts for more than twenty-five years before retiring in 2015. Currently, he is a columnist and editor-at-large for the GreenBiz Group and Senior Sustainability Advisor for The Context Network, the premier global and agribusiness consulting firm in advancing agriculture. He has been engaged in social responsibility issues at a global level since the late 1980s, leading environmental affairs, animal welfare, and Ronald McDonald Children's Charities' grants. He was appointed McDonald's first vice president to lead sustainability in 2006. In 2007, Langert was named as one of the 100 Most Influential in Business Ethics by Ethisphere. His first book, The Battle To Do Good: Inside McDonald's Sustainability Journey, was published in January 2019. Duration: 50:02