The Leadership Enigma
Adam Pacifico
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Top 10 The Leadership Enigma Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Leadership Enigma episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Leadership Enigma for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Leadership Enigma episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
138: Think Fast, Talk Smart | Matt Abrahams
The Leadership Enigma
02/22/23 • 31 min
Matt Abrahams is the host of the globally ranked Podcast 'Think Fast, Talk Smart' and lecturer at the world famous Stanford University Graduate School of Business in California. Matt is passionate about helping people hone and develop their communication skills. Think Fast, Talk Smart started many years ago where Matt began helping students at Stanford to be able to deal with questions from faculty and it has since grown into a global powerhouse of learning fuelled by the rise of podcast consumption during the pandemic.
As fellow podcasters we investigate how the process of humble enquiry and listening has allowed us both to create very real, powerful and intimate connections with our guests.
Public speaking is a ubiquitous fear for many as we risk our status being eroded in a social hierarchy by a poor performance. However the importance of a leaders ability to communicate effectively is clear and we all need to invest the time and effort to practice and hone our communication style for maximum impact.
Matt is full of top tips including helping people deal with the anxiety associated with public speaking using his two pronged approach to managing 'Sources' and 'Symptoms'. Sources are what generate, initiate and exacerbate our anxiety and symptoms are the things we experience. The basis for many nerves if our fear of a potential negative outcome in the future so by being more present and in the moment we can mitigate that fear.
We also discuss how leaders can prepare to speak 'off the cuff' and deal with questions and interventions. Matt's methodology is (1) get out of your own way, don't judge and evaluate yourself all the time. What we need to do is utilise the improvisation technique of 'Dare to be Dull'. As Matt explains, just get it done as opposed to heaping pressure on yourself. This will actually reduce the cognitive load by striving for mediocrity so you can achieve greatness. (2) Structure your content (approach) so you can simply slot your answer or response into a pre determined structure. A good structure to deal with questions Matt uses is A.D.D. as opposed to discovering the answer as you ramble!
Answer the question
Detailed and concrete example must then be provided
Describe relevance or value
Think Fast, Talk Smart is available on all major podcast platforms
www.nofreakingspeaking.com
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139: The Voices of Future Leaders
The Leadership Enigma
03/01/23 • 64 min
This episode was created in collaboration with Heidrick & Struggles. I chat to a panel of young leaders to discover what they want from their leadership and culture and what kinds of leaders they aspire to become in order to shape a World Better Led.
The panel includes Sarah Sage, Floris Hondmann, Lea Evers and Jacob Vincent with huge thanks to TA Mitchell and Luisa Muse. This is an important episode for all leaders in a multigenerational working environment.
All of these young leaders are passionate about a ‘World Better Led’ and how their work can create clarity, purpose, meaning and opportunities for growth and development. Human Centred Leadership has taken pole position and profit now becomes a far more complex and contextualised question for organisational leaders to answer and provide a compelling narrative to those they seek to recruit.
Young talent has an expectation for their leaders to be authentic but not perfect and to take the time to understand, respect, communicate and lead in a personalised way.
Empathy is important to them all, they care. They have a strong bond and sense of collaboration between themselves, and they know more about each other's lives than perhaps was common in early careers just a few decades ago.
The pandemic allowed all of us to reassess priorities and identify our own non-negotiables and the way we work will never be the same. We discuss the idea that working from the office is actually the time that we need to switch on our ‘out of office’ notifications. They want the office to be productive and focus on celebration, connection and education rather than endless meetings, reports and zoom calls which can be done at home.
Watch this episode: https://www.youtube.com/@theleadersenigma/videos
Articles
Empathetic leadership: Taking it to the next level
Walking the Talk: How leaders can have a greater impact on the S in ESG through supply chains
Hybrid Work: Finding the Perfect Balance
Cost of living crisis: It’s time to address financial wellbeing
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167: The Multigenerational Glue | Rachele Focardi
The Leadership Enigma
08/25/23 • 53 min
Rachele Focardi is a leading expert on the multi generational workforce, author and LinkedIn Top Voice. One of the main questions in this episode is whether 'purpose' remains the great divide or the great connector post pandemic?
A quick guide to the Generations:
The Silent Generation: Born before 1946
Baby Boomers 1946 - 1964
Gen X: 1965 - 1980
Millennials: 1981 - 1995
Gen Z: 1996 - 2010
A leader who can harness diversity of thought and multi generational working across their workforce will see an enhanced competitive advantage.
Rachele describes Purpose as something that is inherently owned by the younger generations who strive for change and want to experience the workplace as an enabler for positive change. We saw Millennials rise up especially after incidents such as 9/11 and the financial crisis and they drove the debate for change as they had seen their parents struggle with work being a pay check as opposed to a meaningful individual and collective sport. They also took a huge amount of criticism for this rising up and Rachele saw an opportunity to start to study these dynamics.
Resilience is a big cause of generational conflict, the reason being a lack of understanding of the others experiences and the difference in parenting styles we were exposed to. Cultural differences have exacerbated these feelings and Rachele describes the differences between hardship and psychological safety.
Rachele carried out the post pandemic workplace study and discovered that the four main ingredients for people feeling purposeful at work were
1. Helping others
2. Making impact
3. Growing and feeling fulfilled
4. Being recognised and appreciated by your colleagues.
42% of employees feel that the only way for them to feel enabled to experience purpose in their job is to change employers.
To view a copy of the results and its impact on purpose visit: www.xyzatwork.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rfocardi/
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160: Leadership Reflections | Carol Day & Mitchell Feldman
The Leadership Enigma
07/24/23 • 57 min
Carol Day is the Business Operations Manager for Stuart Pearce (former England Captain) and also spent over 14 years with the Football Association working with the England Men's Teams throughout a number of European and World Cup Competitions including Team GB during the London Olympics.
Mitchell Feldman is the co-founder and CMO of the award winning technology company Xrai Glass who are continuing to improve the lives of those with impaired hearing by subtitling life!
This episode is a wonderful example of how The Leadership Enigma can combine guests and contributors to enhance and pressure test the leadership lessons we experience throughout life.
Carol outlines how she has been involved in elite football for years, including personally communicating with the England players when they were selected for international duties. Carol is married to Stuart Pearce and works with him on a daily basis combining his experiences on the pitch with her own personal business experiences to create a compelling perspective on the leadership challenges of those working within a corporate environment.
Mitchell continues to strive to be a force for good for the hearing impaired community by leveraging a technology enabled product to subtitle life. He has also been working with England's deaf football team to try and improve their ability to prepare and train for competition as they are not allowed any use of technology on the field of play.
The connection between my guests is based not only on sport but on the fact that Carol has suffered hearing difficulties including tinnitus since birth and volunteers within the deaf community herself.
This is a wonderful episode of two leaders from two very different sectors reflecting on what leadership means to them, their teams and the very personal lessons they have benefited from.
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140: The Power of Kindness | Giovanni Masala
The Leadership Enigma
03/11/23 • 38 min
Giovanni Masala is a senior leader and DE&I lead for VMware based in Italy. His leadership approach and passion is all about kindness and this was pulled into sharp focus when he suffered a coma for 2 months following a road traffic accident on his motorbike. He vividly remembers when he woke up from the coma that those he was expecting to see were not there but surprisingly others he had not expected were waiting for him with great concern and love. He had a long period of recovery and during that time realised that the accident was a gift of reflection, self awareness coupled with an understanding of what and who was important in life.
Giovanni is living his commitment to kindness as he realises that leaders lead people not companies. Giovanni dedicates time and energy to his people (leadership is the promise of a lived experience for others) which we know from previous episodes is something that is non-negotiable for younger generations in organisations.
Giovanni is reverse mentored by a Millennial and he finds the feedback refreshing and powerful in allowing him to realise that the younger generations are the future and it is his responsibility to create the environment for them to thrive.
His passion continues in his role as a coach for an amazing charity focused on those struggling in a ghetto in Italy. He teamed up with a former police officer to create a social football environment for kids in the ghetto to use the power of sport to foster inclusivity and hope. They don't just play football, they talk, they brainstorm, they eat together as the power of connection and kindness offers these kids real opportunity for a different way of life.
Giovanni believes that people are the mirror for ourselves and senior leaders need the courage and authenticity to allow themselves to become more self aware.
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193: An African Tale | Paul Russo CEO of KCB
The Leadership Enigma
04/12/24 • 32 min
Paul Russo is the CEO of Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB). This episode was recorded in Nairobi on the site of KCB's Leadership Centre. KCB is part of the critical financial infrastructure for 33 million people. They are present in 7 East African countries running over 300 branch networks, over 4000 agency outlets with 12,000 staff and a strong legacy as KCB is over 120 years old.
Paul is a deeply committed CEO who believes passionately that 'people are everything' Paul is a also a very humble leader from humble beginnings which has crafted the human leader he has become. He is from a family of 6 siblings, his parents were nomads from the north and he was the only one to go to school due to the efforts of the Catholic Church and local community and the NGO Indigenous Information Network. Paul is incredibly grateful to the community who ensured he was able to get an education, he therefore uses his role as CEO to lift as many people as possible.
Paul has committed time to continually engage staff across the business as he understands that his leadership must be 'energy expensive.' As the CEO Paul understands that he must absorb the difficulties of the business in order to allow his people the space and time to create the value necessary for success. He is the role model to thousands inside the business and is well known across the country so his actions matter to millions.
The new purpose of KCB if 'For People, For Better' and Paul is committed this will be the North Star for the financial success that the bank must also attain and sustain.
People technology and partnerships are Paul's primary focus yet people remain the paramount consideration. Paul's background is human capital and he leverages that experience to focus and understand his own human centred leadership style.
Paul remembers his late parents and the resilience instilled in him as a child dealing with drought, bandits, disease and disadvantage. He leverages these experiences to harness his own ability to overcome challenge combined with his burning desire to never go back to his old way of life.
Paul is an outstanding example of a Human Centred Leader driving his business as a Force for Good. Paul explains he is paid to care and the results will come and he works tirelessly to provide all of his people the reason to believe.
Additional Heidrick & Struggles article with Paul Russo https://www.heidrick.com/en/insights/leadership-assessment/people-dont-just-matter-they-are-everything_an-interview-with-paul-russo-group-ceo-of-kcb-group
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094: Riding Unicorns | James Pringle
The Leadership Enigma
03/17/22 • 44 min
James Pringle runs a venture capital fund and heads up one of the UK’s largest angel investor networks (over 500 members) proactively looking for ambitious and disruptive entrepreneurs to invest in. The reality is that without entrepreneurial founders, investors have nothing.
The start-up environment may lack resources, but it has an abundance of resourcefulness and large established organisations are always seeking employees with an entrepreneurial spirit and founder’s mindset.
James talks about the energy, passion, commitment, vision and resilience demonstrated by the start up community. Failure means data, learning, adventure and progress to a founder as opposed to a setback. He explains ‘Founder Market Fit’ which refers to an acute ability to understand the problem that is being solved by someone who has the experience and understanding in the space they are operating. This is combined with oodles of curiosity and great ‘listening systems’ to understand the customer needs in an ever-changing landscape. Bloom and Wild are a great example after their research of red roses for Valentine’s Day boosted sales, by not selling them! James also explains ‘Product Market Fit’ which is when the product or service is working efficiently and now the world needs to know about it.
The 4th Industrial Revolution has been described as ‘change at the speed of thought’ and modern-day founders understand they can become global in the blink of an eye. As organisations grow, their walls become thicker and so their listening abilities diminish.
Founders take time to create momentum and confidence so that those around them truly believe that anything is possible. Don’t miss this episode.
215: To Infinity & Beyond | Kelly Latimer
The Leadership Enigma
02/23/25 • 47 min
202: A Culture of Simplicity: Lisa Bodell
The Leadership Enigma
07/21/24 • 44 min
Lisa Bodell is the CEO of Future Think, award wining author and one of the world's Top 50 Keynote speakers on issues such as creating simplicity and killing complexity. This episode was filmed in New York City during the 'Future of Everything' Festival.
Lisa always thought of herself as a helper and was naturally creative from an early age. She grew up in Michigan, studied business and wanted to go into marketing and advertising. However, she wanted to find a path where her ideas would be heard and mattered. At this point, the entrepreneur emerged and Lisa decided to do her own thing, start her own business and create a platform for ideas and collaboration.
Lisa's books became a global calling card for her thought leadership and ability to help others learn and master new skills and capabilities. Time is a non renewable resource that we never get back and this became the catalyst for Lisa's focus on simplification. In a society fixated with more, Lisa is intent we also see the value in less. This requires focus and an ability to get rid of things. What will you stop doing is a wonderfully powerful question for all leaders although fear is something that holds all of us back.
Stopping and saying 'no' is a critical ingredient for innovation. Simplicity is not about being more productive, its the front end of innovation and gives people the space to do what matters. It's also not about getting rid of everything, it's about getting rid of unnecessary complexity, the invisible waste, the work without the benefits. This is all about getting to the work that matters and not being more productive. As a leader, are you defining what meaningful work is?
Grooves and ruts look and feel the same. Grooves are productive, ruts are a waste of time.
Lisa speaks all over the world and I asked her in this episode what she wanted to talk about that she doesn't usually talk about in order to make this episode truly memorable. She decided to connect simplicity to wellbeing so we can feel that we are doing what we were born to do.
Lisa explains that much of our daily workload is based around meetings and emails, therefore within our control to change, yet most will not. As Lisa says during her keynotes, many of us 'survive another meeting that should have been an email.'
Technology has amplified the issue of complexity and the ease to create meeting after meeting. If you could kill off any 2 rules at work, what would they be? Many of the answers she hears are not even rules, they are just historical methods of working.
Lisa's top tips include (1) for leaders to mandate the right for people to get rid of things that they feel are unnecessary, and (2) model the behaviour.
All businesses fear becoming irrelevant, especially during great technological change. To be relevant we must change, we must innovate and people need time to think. People want to leave a legacy, not shareholder value. Simplicity is not a productivity exercise it's a about helping people to get to the work that they were hired to do in the first place and be their best self.
Simplicity is also a foundation for a high performing culture. In an age of Generative AI, time is something to harness and allow people to think more. As Lisa explains. 'thinking is a daring act'. Perhaps now, we have more time to be human which is actually the basis of our leadership capability.
www.futurethink.com
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187: Shifting our Focus | Dr Graham Curtis
The Leadership Enigma
03/11/24 • 47 min
Dr Graham Curtis is Director of learning and research at Roffey Park Institute and leads their Masters programme. Roffey Park was first established in the 1940's by the UK Government and a number of sponsoring companies focused on the rehabilitation of workers after the war. Today, Roffey Park is established on a multi acre site in Horsham helping to deliver educations and research to aid the health and well being of the workforce (they are validated by the University of Sussex).
Roffey Park specialises in carrying out research to try and help leaders make better decisions based on evidence as opposed to mere hunches or biases. They are also passionate to help organisations identify and recognise talent from all levels to ensure that talent is maximised and where you were born or what school you went to is not a disadvantage.
Graham explains that every single organisational context is different and those in senior leadership must remain attached to what is happening at the lower levels which means spending time on the 'shop floor' in order to pressure test assumptions, listen and learn from those closest to the customers and problems and being open and vulnerable to pivoting and changing direction.
Graham talks passionately about coming from Sunderland and growing up on a tough estate and attending a comprehensive school but was always alive to opportunity as and when it came knocking. He remembers an incident when he was 7 years old and hospitalised through ill health yet he became the centre of attention through the love he received from family, teachers and medical staff. This helped him understand that he was worthy of investment, something that continues to motivate Graham in seeking to always help others.
www.roffeypark.ac.uk to access multiple research papers including their important post pandemic research.
www.linkedin.com/in/dr-graham-curtis-6b931911
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Leadership Enigma have?
The Leadership Enigma currently has 221 episodes available.
What topics does The Leadership Enigma cover?
The podcast is about Success, Society & Culture, Management, Leadership, Entrepreneur, Growth, Podcasts, Self-Improvement, Education, Leader and Business.
What is the most popular episode on The Leadership Enigma?
The episode title '138: Think Fast, Talk Smart | Matt Abrahams' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Leadership Enigma?
The average episode length on The Leadership Enigma is 40 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Leadership Enigma released?
Episodes of The Leadership Enigma are typically released every 6 days, 23 hours.
When was the first episode of The Leadership Enigma?
The first episode of The Leadership Enigma was released on May 23, 2020.
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