Zoë Routh Leadership Podcast

WARNING: This solocast is a bit of a rant. A call to action. To do more. To do better. To have a bigger impact. There’s a lot going on. There’s more work to do than ever before. There are more problems to solve. We need to work BETTER. We also need to avoid the traps of Achiever: achiever disease and overwork, goal sickness and sacrificing our values at the altar of results.

‘You don’t know how good you have it until it changes’. This was a CEO talking about his culture after a new Chairman is on the scene. A change at the top can certainly spell doom (or boom!) for culture. There are other aspects at play too: systems and shadow. We go through two recent articles - one on Facebook and how its culture is slipping, and one from the Navy SEALs - a Special Operations Chief is arrested for war crimes. Culture is your operating system for people. Know and set the code. Systems drive behaviour - review yours. Every strength has a shadow - are you aware of your own culture shadow?

Leadership can be a volatile experience. There are some seriously difficult situations - and people - to contend with. Cockups are what we fear most: failing and letting people down. Mistakes that are costly. Hurting people inadvertently. Perspective is the gateway to compassion: just because you cock things up, doesn’t make you a c*ck - at least not permanently! Crackpots are a bigger concern. The biggest challenges is dealing with PSYCHOPATHS. Not all psychopaths are violent! Many are successful players in the corporate world. We need to know how to spot them, and how to deal with them. Conniptions are a surprise when they happen. When a crackpot pushes our buttons and all of a sudden we lose the plot, and default to behaviour that is out of the norm. Conniptions are rare occurrences, and yet we can learn from them.

Change, transformation, pivot, unprecedented...we’ve all heard the words. Do you feel excited or scared? Joe Jackman is a brand expert, strategist, and CEO of the world’s first Reinventionist company and he is excited about what opportunities are emerging. We talk about the changing nature of change itself, what is staying the same and what will definitely not stay the same, and importantly what we can learn from organisations that ignored the risk of not changing.

Can you be commanding without doing command and control? Can you have authority without being authoritarian? What is the best way to avoid the traps of hubris and power? Brigadier Nick Jans OAM (retired) shares his wisdom and insight from a lifetime of leadership and learning in the military. He debunks some of the myths that exist around military leadership and culture, namely that there is a difference between being authoritative and authoritarian. Military leaders have an embedded culture where you ‘earn your spurs’ and win authority, not seize it. 

The test of a leader is often in times of crisis. What if you had to deal with disaster compounded by disaster? Three bushfires including the most devastating one of 2020, followed immediately by Covid19. This is exactly what Mayor Kristy McBain has faced since first being elected the youngest councillor in Bega Valley Shire at the age of 29, and then as the youngest Mayor in 2016. She shares her biggest leadership insights.

Only 20% of teams are operating at their full potential! What gets in their way? Poor emotional intelligence. Author Kerry Goyette shares her research and experience when it comes to building high performing teams that can collaborate effectively, especially through crisis situations. Plus we dive into the trickier  people stuff issues: dealing with narcissists, psychopaths, and power hungry leaders.

What makes a great leadership performance? What aspect of leadership is performance? If a great performance that is genuine can inspire us, how can we do more of that as leaders? Diana Theodores is an expert in theatre skills for business. She shares what she believes is the natural intersection of performance skills and leadership in this deep dive interview.

Where are you playing it safe in your life? What is the emotional landscape of your life? What is your fear costing you in life and in leadership? These are some hard hitting questions from coach, author and speaker extraordinaire, Margie Warrell. You’ll be mesmerized by her energy and passion for emboldening people to live with courage. 

Chris Griffiths was an unlikely leader, bullied as a kid, who went on to create a highly successful tech company, sell it, and then lose all his wealth on a bad investment. He reinvented himself and built a number of successful enterprises at the intersection of creativity and technology. Chris has a wealth of experience and practical advice on how to innovate better and avoid cognitive bias traps. A must listen for those interested in innovation and creativity, and leadership built out of the ashes of failure.

Are you undergoing a big transformation project? Are you in charge of leading a significant change in systems or processes or structures? Then best be across some of the core fundamentals of doing it right and avoid common myths about change. Change leader expert Julia Steel shares her insights from her own lived experience.

How do you convince someone to change their perspective? If you want to move hearts and minds for a cause that is deeply meaningful to you, how do you do that? Sometimes the most passionate advocates end up doing more harm than good. Don't be fooled: passion is the worst form of persuasion. Pressure does nothing for changing opinions. All it does is push people farther in to their own perspective. Curiosity and compassionate inquiry leads to persuasion.

Complexity and the rapid rate of change demands a new kind of leadership - a next level leadership. Next level is about shifting perspective to be an Amplifier - someone focused on impact and not just results. When we expand our perspective we can have greater positive contribution. There are common blocks to this kind of boundless leadership: Limited awareness about the future, trends, and our own internal operating systems - our beliefs. We need to develop this awareness for the core reason that visionaries attract people. Taking culture for granted. Many leaders smugly think their culture is doing great (because they, of course, are leading it). Culture runs companies. It is the operating system for people, and you need to program it well. Procrastination around new technologies. Technology drives change and many leaders hesitate to implement.

Do you have fear of public speaking? How about a fear of failure? Do you lead a team of diverse personalities, and some big ones that are more like divas? Radio Host extraordinaire Erik Johnson shares his leadership nuggets in a career that celebrates the people stuff.

The coronavirus experience is unprecedented in our time for leaders. How do we make our way through the uncertainty and fear? Transformational leadership expert Barry Pogorel and I talk about there is no ‘going back to normal’. We need instead to create a new normal. This offers huge opportunities! In our energising and uplifting conversation, we get down to brass tacks on what leaders need to do to start crafting their own new normal.

Not-for-profits are too important to fail. They offer critical services to the most vulnerable. In robust economies, NFPs struggle with business resilience at the best of times. In crisis? The stakes can mean do or die, on all fronts. Toni Pergolin is CEO and President of Bancroft, one of the largest healthcare providers in New Jersey. She led a huge turnaround in an organisation that was facing significant financial difficulties. Ten years later, Bancroft is now thriving and has doubled in size. In our interview she shares her insights and priorities in leading through this turnaround, and what is practical and applicable to NFPs and leaders in any business today.

Uncertainty, fear, and unprecedented circumstances. What can we do? There are things we can do right now to lead ourselves and help others. We can also start to navigate the ship through uncharted waters - we can craft a better future, now. We look at how to frame our challenge, how to look after ourselves, how to deal with amygdala hijack responses, confront the brutal truth of the pandemic, and then start to shape what’s next.

Want to be seen as the best candidate for your next CEO role? Want your brand to stand out? Want to build trust with your consumers? Want to build engagement with your staff? The magic solution is Connected Leadership - how to create connections through a personal communication plan. Connected Leadership expert Mel Kettle walks us through key components of building a digital presence that builds trust and credibility.

Do you have too much on your plate? Looking for ways to cut costs and boost productivity? Do you have 26 projects going at once? Ishan Galapathy shares his approach to solving these chronic workplace stressors.

Culture is a fluid thing, one simple act can send it in a new direction - for better, or worse. Author and entrepreneur Chris Dyer shares his research on what can turn a good culture bad (and it’s a simple fix), along with some simple distinctions that can make a big difference in your culture strategy. Why you should listen: Avoid making the mistake that Disney made that could send your culture into a spin How to reward self-motivated sales people in a way that does not turn them into dog-eat-dog lone wolves 3 key tips for effective listening We explore: The role of leadership in culture Toxic vs bad cultures Why you should get rid of your annual culture survey, and what you should do instead