140: The Power of Kindness | Giovanni Masala

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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Previous Episode

139: The Voices of Future Leaders

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.
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Empathetic leadership: Taking it to the next level

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Hybrid Work: Finding the Perfect Balance

Cost of living crisis: It’s time to address financial wellbeing

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Next Episode

141: Solving Messy Leadership Problems | Dr Katie Best

Dr Katie Best is an author, academic, leadership coach and consultant working with leaders on their messiest problems. Her passion for leadership stems from the role leaders have in creating a world better led for humanity as a whole. Leaders need to find the balance between the here and now with the need to have great foresight and vision. We all have the ability to lead, regardless of role and experience, we all role model and we are all work in progress.
This episode focuses on how leaders can solve their own messy leadership problems. Katie's research for her new book over two decades has identified the most common set of problems for leaders. They are;
1. Problems with ......personal effectiveness (achieving what you set out to achieve)
2. Problems with ......making good decisions (use of data, evidence, managing bias)
3. Problems with.....influence (gravitas, personal power)
4. Problems with.....culture and values (fit, alignment, role modelling)
5. Problems with......performance (measure, improve, what does good look like)
6. Problems with......engagement (motivation, buy in, purpose)
7. Problems with......team performance (working together, managing conflict)
8. Problems with......leading strategy (debunking strategy, messaging, execution)
9. Problems with......leading change (making it stick, commitment)
10. Problems with.....Katie is in the process of crowd sourcing No.10 with YOU!
www.katiebest.com/tenthproblem
Katie has also created a framework for problems solving these issues (The 5E Model)
ESTABLISH: Identifying the problem initially and using the evidence to support and corroborate. Stopping yourself rushing to solving the wrong problem.
EXPLORE: Going deeper into the problem and getting to the root causes through rigorous research
ENVISION: Finding the solution that is going to work and challenging your own assumptions.
EXECUTE: The action plan. Who and what do you need to support you?
ELEVATE: Using your knowledge and research, turn your analysis and thinking to become strong on this area of challenge and pay it forward to others.
www.katiebest.com/sign-up

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