Being Human

#220 You’re a Leader, Now What? - with Mick Spiers

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This week, I sit down with Mick Spiers, long-time executive in the world of urban mobility and author of the new book You're a Leader, Now What? We know that only 16% of people genuinely love their job and like their boss. People spend up to 1/3 of their lives in jobs and workplaces where they struggle to find meaning and purpose.  Mick sees the way to change this as being through building competent, inspiring leaders. He's focused on helping leaders early in their careers. If you're a new leader, this episode could be the one for you.
We talk:
Building your own leadership model
The five factors humans need to thrive
The perils of using "actually"
Going beyond active listening
Leader as the architect of rituals
Links:Mick's Website

#219 Well-being: born or made? - with Professor Meike Bartels

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This week, I sit down with Meike Bartels, Professor in Genetics and Wellbeing at the Department of Biological Psychology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She's also the president of the International Positive Psychology Association.Professor Bartels is one of the world's leading scholars of the science of well-being. She looks at what aspects of well-being are innate, what we can train and what's outside our control. We talk:
What we mean by well-being
The top external factors affecting our happiness
Habits for well-being
What we get wrong with well-being programmes
Bringing well-being awareness to your leadership
Links:International Positive Psychology Association

#218 The Paper Tiger Syndrome - with Rebecca Ward

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This week, I sit down with Rebecca Ward, author of The Paper Tiger Syndrome.
Can you remember a time when you felt genuinely fearless? When you knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that your world was safe? For the average person, consistently experiencing that kind of freedom sounds like wishful thinking. But what if that weren't the case? What if most fears and anxieties were just paper tigers?
Rebecca and I discuss how to deal with our pager tigers, including:
Why we hide our emotional pain
Grieving past injuries
Connecting to our Vegas nerve
The soul in the body
A new 'voo'
Links:The Paper Tiger Syndrome - The BookRebecca's Website

#217 The Tao Of Inner Peace - with Diane Dreher

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This week, I sit down with Diane Dreher, author of The Tao of Inner Peace.
Translated more often than any other book except the Bible, the Tao Te Ching has been a spiritual guide for centuries, helping millions find peace within themselves, with each other, and with the natural world around them.Diane's The Tao of Inner Peace adapts the principles of Tao to today's world, showing us how to integrate the many facets of our everyday lives to create a balanced, dynamic, harmonious whole.
We talk:
The power of savouring
Healing society's divisions
Overcoming chronic stress
The abundance of nature
15 minutes in the forest
Links:Diane's Website

#216 The Power of Ritual - with Kath Blackham

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This week, I sit down with Kath Blackham, CEO of the revolutionary Australian digital transformation agency VERSA.
She has used VERSA as a platform to move the needle on the things she's most passionate about—mental health in the workplace, diversity, flexibility and using technology for good. She famously instituted a four-day week, anathema within the crazy-hours digital agency sector. By creating a swathe of people-first rituals in her business, retention has gone up, sick days and mental health issues are down, and profit has spiked.
We talk:
The experiments that failed
Happiness first
Mindful check-ins
Three o'clock walkies
Building culture remote-first
Links:VERSA

#215 Citizens Not Leaders - with Federico Zuppa & Jorge Silva

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This week, I sit down with Federico Zuppa and Jorge Silva, the founders of the Argentinian self-managing software company 10Pines.
10Pines is a company with a horizontal organisational structure, where nobody is above anyone else. They make decisions based on consent, not consensus or voting, making for a dynamic, highly adaptive culture..
We talk:
Developing citizens, not leaders
Choosing your own salary 
Getting things done when all work is voluntary
The hard parts of being self-managed 
The temptations of being a boss
Links:10Pines' culture page

#214 The Uneducated Economist

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This week, I sit down with fellow podcaster and YouTuber The Uneducated Economist.
Four years ago, whilst selling lumber during the day, he spent hours researching economics in his free time. He tried to share his insights with his colleagues until one day; a colleague confessed that it was all going over their heads and that perhaps he should start a blog. The blog became a YouTube channel that now has ninety thousand subscribers.
 
Although he left formal education at high school, he takes complex economic issues and breaks them down so anyone can understand and have a conversation about them.
We talk:
Economics 101
Debt as an addiction
Prospects for the dollar
What's happening with inflation
Quitting alcohol and climbing out of debt
Links:Simon's WebsiteSimon's YouTube Channel

#213 Leadership in Complexity and Change - with Dr Sharon Varney

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This week, I sit down with leadership and change consultant Dr Sharon Varney. She recently published 'Leadership in Complexity and Change: For a World in Constant Motion.'Sharon is adept at making complexity science accessible and has a wealth of experience applying it in business.
We talk:
How starlings demonstrate complexity
Increasing your 'complexity aperture'
Change management vs managing in change
The importance of slowness
Ethics in a complex world 
Links:Sharon's Website - space for learning

#212 Overcome And Get It Done – with Jamie Dixon

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This week, I sit down with Shanghai-based coach and author Jamie Dixon. As well as being a great storyteller himself, Jamie is also someone who helps others share their own stories. Our conversation is one of two halves: at first, we look at productivity and how he managed to write his latest book in 24 hours flat. In the second, we explore the habits of great storytelling and how you can use them to engage and influence others. 
We talk:- Getting things done without willpower- How to say no to the boss- How experiments fuel productivity- The art of relating- How to use story habits to influence others
 
Links:Jamie's WebsiteJamie's Books

#211 The Still Point – with Kevin Krenitsky, MD

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This week's guest is former medical doctor, corporate retiree, and spiritual adept Kevin Krenitsky. Seven years ago, he left life as a successful executive to devote himself entirely to going within. He recently released The Still Point: The Simplicity of Spiritual Enlightenment.
According to Kevin, we are amidst the most significant wave of awakening or self-realisation this planet has ever seen. Our unconscious living has not only created stress, anxiety, wars, and famine; our choices have brought us to the edge of mass destruction. He believes there's a better way, one in which we can live our lives in alignment with our true selves. 
We talk:- Following the Direct Path- Our addiction to experience- How we can't solve the mind with the mind- Decoupling thoughts and feelings- The 'journey' trap
 
Links:The Still Point - The BookKevin's Website