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Is your organization looking to build and sustain an innovative growth culture? What is holding you back from fully embracing this change? Today Deepa speaks with Tobias Klein about the essential shift organizations and senior leaders need to make this culture change happen. It is not sufficient enough to only build an organization with knowledge and expertise. So what else is needed? Tobias’ Tips for Making the Essential Shift: - It’s time to take a look at the inner game of leadership. - Cultivating a culture of failure is key. The point is not about failure, it is about how you move forward from the failure. - Organizations need to take a look at how they measure success and how they reward their employees. - Societal norms have set us up to have to finish what we start - but it is necessary to evaluate when is it time for something to stop, to come to an end. - You cannot do everything at once, everything cannot be the priority. - The top level leadership should take the time to ask and listen to their bottom levels. - Empower the younger employees to be creative and innovative. Don’t be afraid of trying new things. - Critically look at your recruiting approach. What values are you looking for and what is missing from your current team? It’s important to have shared values. - Everybody is better than you at one thing. This is a great way to embrace and include everyone on your team. We hope you liked this episode! Let us know - what are the values that your leadership team shares? When was the last time you spoke about your organization’s values? It’s so important to be on the same page. Please feel free to connect with Tobias and Deepa through LinkedIn to continue the conversation. About Tobias Tobias Klein is a Chief People and Culture Officer at SEBA Bank. He has full accountability for building, maintaining and continuously improving the entire HR Life Cycle. He has implemented objectives and key results as one of the 1st financial institutions in Switzerland. He believes to win the marketplace, you have to first win the workplace. Thanks for listening and stay cool! Visit the show website at (http://www.meetmypotential.com) Follow Deepa on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepanatarajan/)

Leaders are often judged by their decision-making. So, how do you make better decisions? Is there a formula to making better decisions? Today Deepa speaks with David Siegel, author of Decide and Conquer, where he offers three main principles for better decision making. David’s Tips for Making Better Decisions: - Not making a decision is actually still making a decision - Culture matters, don’t ignore behaviors. - Don’t only make decisions based on tangible items. There can be a lack of accountability around toxicity. - Be kind and nice as a leader! You can be nice and clear. - Surround yourself with people who will disagree with you. This will ultimately lead to a better decision. Make sure you ask your team to disagree with you before the meeting. - Repeat the same message many times in order to change your organization’s culture. - Embrace optionality - think about what options you can give yourself based on the decisions you make. - Be careful when decisions are made by your ego. - Be willing to share about your mistakes and failures. Remember that being vulnerable as a leader will make you a better decision maker, which will lead to becoming a better leader. The vulnerable leader creates a culture of learning and developing by being open about their own failures and successes. We hope you liked this episode! Let us know - what’s the hardest part of making a decision for you? Please feel free to connect with David and Deepa through LinkedIn to continue the conversation. About David David Siegel is the Chief Executive Officer of MeetUp, with 20+ years’ dramatically growing revenue and profit in digital media, subscriptions and e-commerce. He has recently authored Decide and Conquer. He is a motivational leader with full decision-making and PandL ownership. His experience includes MandA, turnarounds, scaling operations and growing post startup phase. David is a Management Professor at Columbia and has an MBA from The Wharton School. Thanks for listening and stay cool! Visit the show website at (http://www.meetmypotential.com) Follow Deepa on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepanatarajan/)

Change agents can be a buzzword, and you may want to be one. But have you ever thought about how humans have acted as agents of change towards this planet? Instead of listening to nature and letting it show us the best way, we have created and controlled nature. Now shift this metaphor to you and your organization. Are you taking responsibility for your development? What would it look like if the collective group allowed you to figure out the best way for you to grow? What does it mean to shift from being Agents of Change to Stewards of Change? This is a paradigm shift. How can we unfold the potential within each of us? Listen to this conversation with Trevor Comyn and Deepa to start exploring these ideas. Trevor’s Tips for Rewilding Leadership: - Rewilding Leadership is a metaphor taken from agriculture. It is a concept to play with. - Instead of bending nature to our will, we can become stewards and allow nature to show us the way. This is believing and trusting in the cyclic nature of life. - In this stewardship model, ownership is taken by the individual and collective responsibility is in the system. - Before starting development, it is important to start with why. Why are we developing? - Instead of focusing on the problem, focus on the shift needed in the person. - It is important for everyone to feel psychological safety in order to encourage personal development within an organization. - Collective learning is the key to sustain change and keep accountability. Becoming a part of a community that has a shared goal is the best way to grow. We can read all of the books and articles on developing leadership, but until you start an open conversation with others you won’t be able to fully integrate all of your learning. You are part of this learning community, thank you for listening and please let us know how we can best support you. We hope you liked this episode! Please feel free to connect with Trevor and Deepa through LinkedIn to continue the conversation. About Trevor Trevor Comyn is the Director of Knowledge, Learning and Development at Mills and Reeve, where he has been for over 16 years. He is currently focused on developing a deeper understanding of adult development theory. Trevor is a systemic coach and believes team coaching can deliver meaningful results for both organizations and individuals. Thanks for listening and stay cool! Visit the show website at (http://www.meetmypotential.com) Follow me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepanatarajan/)

Have you ever heard of the idea to have people stand on airplanes instead of being seated? Does that sound crazy to you? Do you immediately think that is not possible? Well don’t jump to that conclusion yet. Today Erwin De beuckelaer joins Deepa to discuss innovation, change and challenging assumptions. Every team and organization needs to set the right foundation for innovation to happen - this includes psychological safety, setting the right candor and being explicit about critiques on the idea instead of on the person. Erwin shares his best practices for engaging with innovation from his experience. Erwin’s tips for Innovation and Change: - It can be hard to bring change to highly regulated areas, but also the most rewarding. - Signaling is a great tool when bringing up new ideas. Frame the conversation of innovation to your audience. You are signaling the type of responses you want to receive. - Every belief about if an idea will work or won’t work is an assumption. It is important to test assumptions. Testing an assumption will then offer a shared belief in your team. - There should be a story that is told with innovation and new changes within the business. You have to know the very clear “why” in the change and how the “why” changes at every level of the organization. - It’s easy to think of innovation in terms of products. Don’t forget that innovation can be applied to culture and team management too. Teams can get stuck doing the same thing, don’t be afraid to check in with your team and see what’s working or not working. Find something to test together as a team! - Give yourself permission to innovate - it’s easy to get caught in perceived barriers. Signaling can be a powerful tool for you to create breakthroughs in your ecosystem. You and your crazy ideas are needed, don’t give up. If you need a place to start your innovation, pick up a paper and pen and answer this question, “What would I do if I gave myself full permission?”. Set a timer for 10 minutes and see what you come up with! We hope you liked this episode! Please feel free to connect with Erwin and Deepa through LinkedIn to continue the conversation. About Erwin Erwin De beuckelaer is a guest professor at the University College of Ghent and the Director of Innovative Capabilities at The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson. He is transforming innovative practice and culture for the Quality and Compliance in Clinical Trials team. He is an expert in design thinking, digital health, strategy definition and business process management. Thanks for listening and stay cool! Visit the show website at (http://www.meetmypotential.com) Follow me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepanatarajan/)

It is the beginning of a new year and the perfect time to reflect on the way you lead. As you move forward into 2022, let’s make sure you are thinking about being strategic in your leadership. Today Victoire de Lajudie joins Deepa to discuss - what being a strategic leader means and how do you keep your strategy alive throughout the year. Victoire’s tips for being a strategic leader: - Being a leader is being strategic. Make sure you think about your strategy before diving into a project. - Leaders should: learn fast, fail fast, and have empathy. - Learning includes curiosity and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. - A mission can be short–term. The most important piece is for everyone to know and stay connected to why they are working on the project. - Creating a vision needs a team, it is a collective responsibility. - Dream big and don’t get stuck wondering “how”. - Ask questions to keep your organization on track for culture change and strategy. - Challenge the stories and assumptions that run your organization. - Vulnerability is needed for connection and connection fuels collective work. What practices do you put into place to reflect on your goals? Do you write in your journal or have an accountability partner? Remember being a strategic leader does not end in January - keep going throughout the year. We hope you liked this episode! Please feel free to connect with Victoire and Deepa through LinkedIn to continue the conversation. About Victoire Victoire de Lajudie is VP, Head of Group Strategy at Michelin. She previously worked with Sanofi and McKinsey. She has a Master of Science, Applied Mathematics and Economics from Ecole Polytechnique. Thanks for listening and stay cool! Visit the show website at (http://www.meetmypotential.com) Follow me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepanatarajan/)

We learn from some of the most successful people. Nils Michael’s leadership has brought him extraordinary results and he created that with people. He was the Head of A400M Retrofit at Airbus Defense and Space and he now heads Center of Competence for Programme/Project Management (PM). Listen to this episode to hear what key factors have contributed to Nils’ success with teams and projects. Key Points from this Episode: - Start journaling. You’ll be surprised by how much clearer you will be when writing ideas down. Journaling also forces you to reflect on what is happening and how best to move forward. - Foster a sense of belonging for your team. Bring the organization’s purpose to the individual level. - Team building is necessary for every team. And it keeps motivation up on the project throughout. An example of this could be to come together as a team to support a charity that everyone can connect to. - Remember to celebrate hard - you work hard, make sure you take adequate time to celebrate those successes and failures as a team. - You always need to be yourself and be able to look into the mirror with pride. If you start acting not within your values, then that creates a problem. - Don’t fall into the mode of compliance and control. Believe in yourself and your team. - Remember that change does not happen overnight. That doesn’t mean that we need to give up. - Being a good project manager is being a good leader. - Change should be considered positive, look forward to it. We hope you liked this episode! We’ve written up a wonderful article based on this interview, it is in our latest issue of Samskara magazine. I hope you will subscribe here! About Nils Nils Michael is the Vice President Head Of Programme Management at Airbus Defense and Space. Prior to that he was the VP of A400M Retrofit and MRO Programmes. He has a history of working in the European aviation and aerospace industry. He was part of the German Air Force for 10 years. Thanks for listening and stay cool! Visit the show website at (http://www.meetmypotential.com) Follow me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepanatarajan/)

Have you ever felt excluded in the workplace? We are willing to bet your answer is yes. Feeling excluded can range from being the minority to not being invited to a lunch group. What corporations tend to forget about is that employee motivation and retention is directly linked to belonging and inclusion. Today Deepa is speaking to Cheryl Thompson, Founder and CEO of CADIA - the Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion and Advancement. Cheryl is on a mission to double the amount of diverse leaders in the Automotive Industry by 2030. She offered great tips for how we can begin to change our work cultures to be more inclusive. Key Points from this Episode: - A big challenge for minorities is feeling as if you are always being watched and will be judged more than the majority. - When someone doubts us, we immediately turn and doubt ourselves. - We can easily give up our own sense of identity to fit into corporate culture. - When we can’t be our authentic self, our brains don’t work as well! How much more productive and profitable would organizations be if all employees can be authentic? - It is not enough to hire diverse talent, organizations need to embrace all cultures. This promotes creativity within projects and the organization is able to keep talent instead of having a high turnover rate. - A change of culture within organizations will help build inclusive environments. First thing is to include yourself, take responsibility for showing up authentically. You can be the change agent. - There has to be a Leadership Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion- they set the tone and the priorities, they model what is valued within the company. - Systemic Change is needed for overall inclusion in a company as well. You have to look at how your company hires, offers benefits, and unconscious biases. - Start to assess performance differently. Ask your leadership team - What do you define as success? What would get in the way of someone who doesn’t look like you to reach that success? We hope you liked this episode! Let us know in the comments - have you had moments where you have felt excluded in your work culture? What did you do? About Cheryl Cheryl Thompson is the founder of the Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion and Advancement. A veteran of the automotive industry, Cheryl has over 30 years of experience at Ford Motor Company and American Axle and Manufacturing in positions ranging from skilled trades, operations, engineering and global leadership. She is trained in diversity and inclusion, career and leadership coaching and is Six Sigma trained and certified as a Black Belt. Learn more about CADIA and their mission to double the amount of diverse leaders in the Automotive Industry by 2030 here. Thanks for listening and stay cool! Visit the show website at (http://www.meetmypotential.com) Follow me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepanatarajan/)

As the workplace has turned more and more virtual over the past year, teams can fall easily into the trap of getting onto a meeting and only discussing the projects at hand. At the end of the day though, we are all still human beings. Humans require connection and building trust with your team will actually increase productivity. Today Katja von Bergen joins Deepa to discuss attitudes and dialogue. She ventures to say that managers and executives should lead the way to create meaningful conversation for their teams and organization. Key Points from this Episode: - In the Virtual environment, it can be easy to jump directly into business and tasks. We cannot forget to connect with each team member directly and get to know them as a human. - Be aware that these valuable dialogues are going to be different and possibly outside of your team’s comfort zone. It’s good to make it fun, like bring a game. Keep it fun, the conversations do not have to be hard work. - Try it once and see how they react. If it works, great. If not, try something different next time. - These meaningful conversations lead to teams listening to each other deeply. - You get to decide how deep you go. You cannot build trust unless you get vulnerable. - Be easy with these valuable conversations and have fun with it. Be the example for your team. - Create a space that is non-judgmental. - If the person does not want to go deeper, accept that. Do not force anyone to give more than they are willing to. - This can be a great tool for inclusion. - Here are 5 great questions to start these conversations- What was the best decision in your job and why? What are you most proud of? What are you grateful for? What gives you energy to get up in the morning? What is your type of humor? What do you laugh about? - You must first open yourself in order for others to be open. We hope you enjoyed this episode! Thank you for listening. Tell us in the comments, how are you taking one step towards meaningful connection today? About Katja Katja von Bergen is the Managing Director and Entrepreneur of Agile Transformer, business unit of the German consultancy Kraus and Partner, but starting her own business in 2022. She has been in change consulting for 12 years and has been involved in quite a few projects, some of which went well and some of which went badly. Make sure you write to Katja on LinkedIn to get your free copy of questions for your next meeting! Deepa will be starting another Rethink Leadership Bootcamp in October. Please get in touch to find out if this could serve you in your leadership journey. You can send a message through LinkedIn or email [email protected]. Thanks for listening and stay cool! Visit the show website at (http://www.meetmypotential.com) Follow Deepa on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepanatarajan/)

We are no longer strangers to the digital space. The pandemic has forced us into this environment if we were not already there. We’ve had to move quickly and adapt and continue to evolve how we make use of digital platforms. Today’s episode dives into the world of digital learning and transformation as Deepa speaks with Detlef Hold, Head of Digital Learning Experience for Roche. They talk about what digital learning is as well as give practical tips for how to use the platforms to achieve the most engagement and success within organizations. Key Points from this Episode: - Digital Learning leverages technology platforms for individual or group learning. And it is about creating the best environment for digital workers, the world we are living in today. - There is a lot of responsibility on digital workers. They have to be able to search, assess, and find what’s relevant. It’s important to use technology and build community around it. - Small things make all the difference in digital learning, but it does require you to rethink the way you design these experiences. - You have to create an environment where everyone has a voice and feels comfortable sharing. - Focus on people first. - Climate, Facilitation, and Pace of program are key ingredients in keeping transformation happen in digital learning environments. - Use co-creation to increase engagement in your digital environment. - Make the most of your meeting time! This means you focus on dialogue and connection rather than tactics and summaries. Make videos of those items before the meeting. - Utilize all forms to communicate on your digital platforms, be breakout rooms or chats or small groups. Engage in multiple ways so that everyone has an option to get in the conversation. - Keeping cameras on for online meetings creates more connection, so encourage the use. This can take time and needs to be woven into your organization’s culture. - The platform is a means to an end. You will have to convince your stakeholders of the technological investment. - You are asking your employees to rethink the way they work. You are helping them build new habits and forget their old ways of doing. This is about mindset. - Focus on the social structures needed to engage every employee. This is more important than the actual technological part of the transformation. - Articulate your intention. - Experiment and observe ourselves. This brings about change within us. - When you find yourself in a place where there is opportunity, take it! We hope you enjoyed this episode! Tell us in the comments, what is one way you are embracing digital learning? And what is one new way you learned from this episode to use digital learning? About Detlef Detlef Hold’s skillset is in digital learning, entrepreneurship, design thinking, the innovation life cycle and global leadership development. He has worked as an independent OD consultant, in HR and teach Psychology, HR, Change Management and Corporate Learning Leadership (Executive MBA programs) in South America, Switzerland and in the US at Stanford. He is a very creative problem solver who can recognize patterns of an emerging future. Thanks for listening and stay cool! Visit the show website at (http://www.meetmypotential.com) Follow Deepa Natarajan on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepanatarajan/)

Have you ever been a part of a transformation project? Or an organization who was looking to make scalable, rapid change? Being a part of these times in an organization can be stressful and intense. Many times employees are nervous about entering a transformation project due to all of the unknowns. Today Deepa is speaking with Elodie Loing about transformation in critical situations within organizations. Elodie shares her real life experiences with scaling organizations and creating change within teams. Elodie’s approach is about empathy, letting go and collective responsibility. This episode is for any one who may be experiencing a critical time in their organization, but especially for executives and managers. Key Points from this Episode: - Many times change agents are called into a project and organizations are called in too late. - Critical times happen when there is high pressure and stress within an organization. It is generally systemic and performance is low. - Being a mediator is different from being an operational manager. - Empathy is enriching and humbling because you are looking at the situation from another person’s perspective. - Being unattached - the ability to do the best you can and let go of what the future holds or what the outcome actually is. - There is an opportunity to grow in every situation. - Promote diversity in your teams. Hire those who have different opinions from yours and let them talk. - Here’s an easy way to practice stillness - make an appointment with yourself, put it in your calendar! - The hardest part of a reset is your ego and your rational brain. Watch out for those! - Co-creation allows you to let go of your own ideas and let others in to help you. Give your teams the benefit of working with you. - Collective responsibility comes from within each person. - Accept yourself - the strengths you have, the weaknesses you have, every part of you. And realize you will make mistakes. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. We hope you enjoyed this episode! Elodie gave so much wisdom. Let us know in the comments, have you been a part of a transformation project? Was it during a critical time? What was the most memorable part? Was it stressful or fun? :) About Elodie Elodie Loing has 25 years’ experience in retail organizations including The Disney Store, Le Cèdre Rouge, The Nuance Group, Fashion History, Jean Paul Gaultier and Manutan. Elodie scales up and turnarounds organizations (in France and Internationally). She implements conflict wise dynamics which lead to improved team spirit and accelerated performance. Elodie is a National Mediator at French Ministry of Economy and Judicial mediator at the Paris Court of Appeals. She is also a Lecturer and Independent board member. Elodie is convinced that conflict-wise organizations are wiser and more competitive on their market! Thanks for listening and stay cool! 😎 Visit the show website at (http://www.meetmypotential.com) Follow me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepanatarajan/)

How many times have you had an idea or suggestion and not actually spoken it out loud? How many times have you seen something wrong happening in your workplace but you have not told anyone about it? Did you know that you are having an impact whether or not you are speaking? What is the legacy that you want to leave as a leader? Today, Deepa is joined with Zana Goic Petricevic, Founder of Bold Leadership Culture, to discuss how and why you need to be bold in your leadership. We are all leaders of our own lives, so why not be bold about it? Key Points from the Episode: - Boldness takes your soulfulness. In order to be bold, you have to engage your entire soul. - There is a limit to your boldness that comes from your head. - Reasonable and safe behaviors and decisions come from the brain. Unreasonable and risky behaviors and decisions come from the heart or soul, anywhere besides the brain. - You have a choice to act more boldly and step outside of your comfort zone. - Your discomfort matters less than your vision. This pushes you to act boldly. - Zana shares a perspective to see how bold you are, based on SOUL - Self, Other, Universe, and Legacy. - Leadership is as much about the “being” space as it is in the “doing” space. There needs to be moments of pause and presence as well as moments that challenge and grow us. - There is no boldness without personal risk involved. - Break out of the mindset that your work is solely a means for income. - You cannot create legacy by staying small. - You are creating an impact whether or not you speak up. Silence is a misused privilege. We hope you liked this episode! Let us know in the comments what part of the SOUL was most intriguing to you and your bold leadership. About Zana Goic Petricevic Zana is the Founder and Managing Director of Bold Leadership Culture. Our mission is to cultivate bolder individual and collective leadership in organizations through coaching, learning and development. Zana also holds many certifications and credentials that make her a sought after Leadership Coach, Executive Coach and Facilitator. Visit her website here. Thanks for listening and stay cool! 😎 Visit the show website at (http://www.meetmypotential.com) Follow me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepanatarajan/)

Many organizations are finding themselves in crisis right now. The pandemic has turned businesses upside down. So how do you persevere through crisis and come out stronger on the other side? Today, Deepa is joined with Magali Euverte who is the Director of the Normandy lines contract with SNCF. Magali shares her experience of pushing through crisis, when it lasts for more than a year. Listen to this episode to hear real life experience of how you can inspire and invest in your team to build collective responsibility and achieve success. Key Points from this Episode: - Invest time and training in your frontline managers. Get them on board and encourage them to bring their teams. - Find your purpose and why you will continue on this journey. If you don’t know your why, you won’t have much luck in continuing when the journey gets difficult. - Understand what is in it for your fellow employees. Both in the sense of empathy as well as anticipating any possible roadblocks that may come along down the way. - Celebrate every step along the way, otherwise the team will lose their motivation. - Transparency includes engaging your employees in solutions, allowing them to contribute their feedback to build the solution. - It pays to spend more time on the short term goals, rather than the long term goal. - Communication builds team spirit. Team Spirit is what keeps the project going, even for over a year. - It is important to be able to zoom in to the short term and zoom out to the long term, even with the crisis right in front of you there is a need to put processes in place that will help in the long term. - Remember to reward every part of the project, especially in support of the long term goals. - Resiliency is needed during a long crisis. - Be honest about the crisis now and hold the future goal – yes the process will be hard and we can see what the future will be so we are going to keep going. We hope you liked this episode! Let us know in the comments what was the most inspiring part of Magali’s journey. About Magali Magali Euverte is the Director of the Normandy lines contract - monitoring and implementation of the operating agreement signed by SNCF and the Normandy region. She has operational management experience at the service of clients and teams. Magali implements several change management systems and supports managers for successful customer relationships. Thanks for listening and stay cool! 😎 Visit the show website at (http://www.meetmypotential.com) Follow me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepanatarajan/)