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What if most transformations fail because we're using rigid, top-down methods to build organisations that are supposed to be adaptable and alive? And what would it take to become less ‘Tin Man’ and more ‘octopus’? These are the key questions we discuss in this episode of Changing Conversations with Phil Le-Brun. Phil is an enterprise strategist at Amazon Web Services, former Corporate VP and International CIO at McDonald’s, speaker, and author. In his current role at AWS, he is a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies and public sector organisations. In this conversation, we share: Why organisations should be less ‘Tin Man’ – mechanical and process-bound – and more ‘octopus’: curious, decentralised, and adaptable.The transformation trap: why rigid, top-down transformations often disempower people, and why you experiment your way to success rather than plan it.The three shifts that make organisations more vital – clarity, ownership, and curiosity – and how they reinforce each other.Why ownership must be both given and accepted, and how leaders rob people of agency by piling on governance instead of trusting the front line.A practical starting point: gather your team around the anti-patterns, turn fixes into small hypotheses to test, and remember ‘spread, not scale.’We'd love to keep this conversation going. To continue the conversation with us, send your reflections and questions to us at [email protected]. You’re also welcome to use this episode as a conversation starter by sharing it with your colleagues and friends.

Why do great companies rarely fail by doing something foolish, but far more often by doing the same smart thing for too long? And in a world of constant disruption, what does it take to change direction without losing momentum? These are the key questions we discuss in this episode of Changing Conversations with Yves Doz. Yves is a leading expert on strategic management, agility, and innovation, Professor at INSEAD, and an experienced leader and advisor to companies around the world. In this conversation, we share: Why conventional strategy – a periodic, analytical exercise – is unfit for an increasingly fast-moving, complex world.The three capabilities that work together to create strategic agility: strategic sensitivity, resource fluidity, and leadership unity.How companies erode their own strategic agility while chasing worthy goals like clear direction, efficiency, and strong leadership – turning past success into rigidity.Why anomalies deserve attention, not just the averages we default to, since the small signals we learn to ignore are often the first sign of disruption to come.How high-quality dialogue unlocks strategic agility: sharing starting points – your assumptions and how you see the problem – rather than debating finished conclusions, and learning to disagree openly, then commit fully.We'd love to keep this conversation going. To continue the conversation with us, send your reflections and questions to us at [email protected]. You’re also welcome to use this episode as a conversation starter by sharing it with your colleagues and friends.

What if leading innovation isn't about pushing your vision onto others, but inviting them to co-create the future with you? And how do leaders create the conditions where individual slices of genius become collective genius? These are the key questions we discuss in this episode of Changing Conversations with Linda Hill. Linda is a leading expert on leadership, collaboration, and innovation. She teaches these topics at Harvard Business School, where she is an award-winning Professor and Faculty Chair of the Leadership Initiative. She is also the Co-Founder of Paradox Strategies and InnovationForce and a best-selling author of multiple books, including Collective Genius and, most recently, Genius at Scale. In this conversation, we explore: How innovation comes from collaboration and co-creation, not flashes of insight from lone visionaries.The ABC of leading innovation: being an Architect who builds culture and capabilities, a Bridger who works across organisational boundaries, and a Catalyst who sparks ecosystem movements.Why leaders must learn to amplify differences and manage conflict constructively rather than minimising it prematurely.Why the biggest barrier to innovation isn't lack of ideas but career risk – when failure is career-ending, leaders don’t want to take the chance.How microactions matter for innovation: using invitational language, making space for a variety of voices in the conversation, engaging sparring partners to challenge assumptions, and killing ‘zombie projects’ that drain resources.We'd love to keep this conversation going. To continue the conversation with us, send your reflections and questions to us at [email protected]. You’re also welcome to use this episode as a conversation starter by sharing it with your colleagues and friends.

Are large, established organisations really doomed dinosaurs in the face of digital transformation? Or can they become ‘dancing elephants’ that adapt and thrive? These are the key questions we discuss in this episode of Changing Conversations with Julian Birkinshaw. Julian is a leading expert on strategic agility, innovation, and digital transformation. He taught these topics as a professor at London Business School and now serves as Dean at Ivey Business School. Julian is also a trusted advisor to senior leaders and a best-selling author of multiple books, including his most recent book, Resurgent. In this conversation, we share: That 473 of the Fortune 500 companies have survived the entire internet revolution – established organisations aren't inherently doomed.Why management model innovation matters as much as technological innovation.How to be both paranoid and pragmatic about disruption like AI – taking threats seriously while recognising that fast followers can beat first movers.The importance of connecting processes to value drivers and ensuring everyone understands how their work links to what matters.Why leaders must invite real conversations with unfiltered feedback rather than polished presentations where everything appears ‘green.’We'd love to keep this conversation going. Send your reflections and questions to us at [email protected] You’re also welcome to use this episode as a conversation starter by sharing it with your colleagues and friends.

Why is disturbance necessary for real change to happen? And how do leaders learn to welcome it rather than avoid it – both within themselves and in their organisations? These are the key questions we discuss with Deborah Rowland in this episode of Changing Conversations. Deborah is a pioneering expert on organisational change and change leadership. She is the best-selling author of numerous books, including Still Moving, and her latest book, From Ought to Is, which is piping hot off the press. In this conversation, we share: That leading change starts with looking inward first – noticing your own patterns and reactivity.How to use emotions not only as personal, but also as systemic data to gain insights into the group and organisation.The difference between action – the unconscious repetition of past routines – and the movement that happens when patterns are disturbed.Why “edge and tension” is among the most important outer skills leaders can use to create movement, even though it is often avoided or poorly handled.How practices like check-ins, changing physical space, and asking “What’s the conversation we’re not having?” can change conversations and organisations.We’d love to keep this conversation going. To continue the conversation with us, send your reflections and questions to [email protected]. You’re also welcome to use this episode as a conversation starter by sharing it with your colleagues and friends.

Why does working with AI as a teammate unlock exponentially better results than treating it as a search engine? And how do you actually build that collaborative relationship?  These are the key questions we discuss in this episode of Changing Conversations with Jeremy Utley.  Jeremy is a leading thinker and speaker within innovation, creativity, and collaboration with AI. He teaches these topics as an Adjunct Professor at Stanford and advises CEOs and leadership teams. Jeremy also shares his expertise more broadly through his writing and podcasting. He is the best-selling author of IdeaFlow and host of the wildly popular podcast "Beyond the Prompt: How to use AI in your company."  In this conversation, we share:  That most people treat AI like a search engine when they should be having real conversations. How giving AI permission to ask you questions can significantly improve the quality of the output, enhancing (rather than replacing) your human intelligence. Why leaders need firsthand experience experimenting with AI to imagine the future of their organizations. The power of starting with personal, emotionally meaningful questions rather than work tasks to overcome fear and build fluency with AI. How simple questions like "Have you tried AI?" can shift organizational cultures to support the spread of AI collaboration. We'd love to keep this conversation going. To continue the conversation with us, send your reflections and questions to us at [email protected].   You’re also welcome to use this episode as a conversation starter by sharing it with your colleagues and friends.

Why spaciousness matters for leading in speed—and how to create it These are the key questions we discuss in this episode of Changing Conversations with Megan Reitz. Megan Reitz is Associate Professor at Saïd Business School, Oxford, and Professor of Leadership and Dialogue at Hult-Ashridge Executive Education. A leading voice on leadership, speaking up and organisational dialogue, her latest research explores spaciousness: a quality of attention that reveals relationships, interdependencies and possibilities hidden in constant doing mode. In this conversation, we share: That leaders operate in two modes of attention: doing (instrumental, narrow) and spacious (open, curious, unhurried)—and why “spaciously doing” integrates bothHow your presence shapes others’ voice and performance—and practical micro-pauses to shift how you show upWhy we often avoid space (fear, success = activity) and the myth that spaciousness means doing nothingHow to design for creativity and safety in fast-paced systems (rituals, metrics, environments)A practical framework: SPACE—Safety, People, Attention (speed bumps), Conflict (dissonance), EnvironmentWe’d love to keep the conversation alive. Reach out to Katrina and Stig to challenge us, ask a question, recommend a future guest and give us feedback.

Why is consciousness important for leading in complexity? And how do you grow your consciousness? These are the key questions that we discuss in this episode of Changing Conversations with Lisa Doig. Lisa Doig is a pioneer in the field of values and consciousness, designing, facilitating and training practitioners in profoundly transformational leadership development programs that are accessible to business leaders. Lisa founded Corporate Evolution in 2002 and her background includes 20 years in the oil and gas industry, and 15 years working as an external facilitator for McKinsey & Company.  In this vulnerable conversation, we share: That consciousness is expanding your view and your ability to navigate uncertainty and complexityHow expanding consciousness is related to the fears that limit your ability to seeA values-based approach to personal developmentHow consciousness links to organisational developmentWe’d love to keep the conversation alive. Reach out to Katrina and Stig to challenge us, ask a question, recommend a future guest and give us feedback.

To what degree do you lean into conflict at work? If you’re like most of us, it’s not always the most natural tendency – but there are business results to be gained for getting the balance right. In this episode we are joined by Amy Gallo. Amy is a workplace expert who writes and speaks about effective communication, interpersonal dynamics, gender, difficult conversations, and feedback. She is the best-selling author of Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) and the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict, as well as hundreds of articles for Harvard Business Review.   In this conversation we discuss: Why both getting along and healthy conflict are important in driving transformationWhat level of conflict to strive for in high performing teamsHow to surface tensions when you are working together with othersWe’d love to keep the conversation alive. Reach out to Katrina and Stig to challenge us, ask a question, recommend a future guest and give us feedback.

How do you find comfort in the discomfort of uncertainty? In this episode we are joined by Susan David, PHD, and will bring her research and perspective to life on this topic.   Susan David (link: https://www.susandavid.com/) is a renowned psychologist and the author of the best-selling book "Emotional Agility". (link: https://www.susandavid.com/book/) Susan is a co-founder of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, and a frequent contributor to publications like the Harvard Business Review. Her groundbreaking work focuses on the role of emotions in psychological resilience, leadership, and personal growth. As business leaders, most of us operate and lead in complex and uncertain environments – and emotional agility has an important role to play in how to find comfort in the discomfort of uncertainty.  In this conversation, we discuss: ·        What it means to be emotionally agile ·        How emotions are data points in leading transformation  ·        How you can authentically be in your emotions without oversharing We’d love to keep the conversation alive. Reach out to Katrina and Stig to challenge us, ask a question, recommend a future guest and give us feedback.

How can you build a stronger connection with others during conversation? In this episode, we are joined by guest Charles Duhigg to explore this question and share several practical examples of things you can do to build a deeper connection with the people around you. Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and best-selling author of the books The Power of Habit, Smarter Faster Better, and, most recently, Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection. In this episode, we discuss: Three categories of conversation: Practical (What’s this really about?), Emotional (How do we feel?), and Social (Who are we?)The importance of matching categories to build stronger connectionsThe types of questions that can deepen our conversations and relationships with othersWe would love to keep the conversation going, so feel free to reach out to Katrina and Stig to challenge us, ask a question, recommend a future guest, or provide feedback.

Adam Hede is an AI specialist at Implement Consulting Group. He helps organisations leverage artificial intelligence to improve operations and solve business problems.  With expertise in machine learning and data analytics, Adam delivers practical AI solutions tailored to client needs. His mission is to encourage business leaders to dare to push the boundaries of the conversations we have about AI. This conversation covers:  How to shape a bigger conversation – one that highlights the greatest potential AI can bring us What it takes for us to engage in a more courageous conversationA reflection on the words "artificial intelligence" and how they might affect our trust in the technologyWe would love to keep the conversation going, so feel free to reach out to Katrina and Stig to challenge us, ask a question, recommend a future guest, and give us feedback.

Professor Brian Cox is a physicist, musician, and a professor of particle physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester, and The Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science.  In this conversation, we talk with Brian Cox about what the scientific community can teach us about dealing with the unknown, and how business leaders can learn to embrace complexity to successfully navigate an ever-evolving business landscape. The key topics covered in this episode are: How holding contradictory ideas can be a strength in handling complexityWhat business leaders can learn from scientists to embrace complexity and reduce fear of the unknownHow to handle discomfort with the unknownWhat characteristics and attitudes are crucial to future leadership when dealing with complex challengesFinding comfort and curiosity in the unknownFor references, links and other episodes, visit the podcast homepage here.

Zafer Achi is an executive coach, a team coach and a designer and facilitator of leadership development interventions. He has 34 years of consulting experience, including 27 years as a partner with McKinsey & Company. We have invited Zafer Achi to talk to us about complexity. He will help us create a language on the different types of challenges we face to enable us to apply the right tools. The key topics covered in this episode are:  The difference between technical and adaptive challenges, and when something is complicated or complexHow to lead with curiosity and compassionHow to address adaptive challengesIntegrating perspectives to manage complexity betterHow to set a direction instead of a destination and lead towards it  For references, links and other episodes, visit the podcast homepage here.

Jennifer Garvey Berger is the co-founder and CEO of Cultivating Leadership. She holds a  master’s degree and a doctorate from Harvard University and is a former associate professor at George Mason University. Jennifer believes that leadership is one of the single most important tools in these times of uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. We have invited Jennifer to introduce us to mindtraps and how they can hinder us when dealing with complexity.  The key topics covered in this episode are:  The five instincts that are most prevailing in our conversationsHow our mindtraps lead to corporate theatreHow awareness of our mindtraps can lead to an invitationHow we can dissemble our mindtraps to thrive in complexityFor references, links, and other episodes, visit the podcast homepage here.