Podcasts are portable, easy to listen to and give you access to information. There are just so many it’s often hard to decide where to start.
Below are my top 5 podcasts with time allocations to get you started.
These podcasts have been selected because they speak to the complex world we live in, the work environments we share, and the people that make the processes and projects happen.
Leadership means different things to different people, but at its core are skills that people can develop to be better leaders.
1. Leadership is a Relationship | Brené Brown with Mike Erwin
The title of this podcast and interview with Mike Erwin was a serious ‘aha’ moment for me. Leadership is a relationship! It is more than just a job title or a role within the hierarchy of a business.
People matter. Full stop.
Relationships are foundational if we want to foster connection and shift from transactional to relational inside and outside the workspace.
I love it when Brené says “embrace the suck!” because relationship building and fostering is hard work! But it is completely worth it when you can build trust and transparent loyalty within a team.
Key points:
- How to put people first in the digital world. People matter.
- Relationships are foundational.
- Emotional exposure and vulnerability build connection.
- Leaders who prioritize relationships are more effective.
- Accountability is more effective and productive when there is a relationship. If leaders invest in their relationships they are able to have accountability conversations in a much more productive way. There is a return on relationship investment.
- A culture of forgiveness often yields a culture of bravery. Forgiveness is a hard thing but leaders who are willing to forgive will foster teams who aren’t afraid to be creative or take risks in the name of innovation.
- Leaders need to drive the importance of resilience and collaboration.
- Trust and coalition building needs relational diversity. We are not all going to agree all the time and that’s okay.
- Loyalty is a powerful, emotional force which should not be abused.
- Amid instability and chaos, relationships form the stability we need.
2. How to lead in a crisis | Amy C. Edmondson
Amy Edmondson, The Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, is well known for her work on teams and her passion for building psychologically safe environments in the workplace. Leaders should encourage their people to speak up without fear of judgement or consequence.
Key points:
- Share what you know and admit what you don’t know. This paradoxical honesty creates psychological safety in a world where change is constant.
- Humility, transparency, and urgency are the ingredients that make a workplace psychologically safe.
- Be honest.
- Be transparent.
- Be humble.
- Communicate often.
- Stick to your values.
Bonus: Watch Amy’s TED Talk and gain a better understanding of her research and ways to obtain a psychologically safe environment.
3. How to lead better through complexity | Jennifer Garvey Berger
Most of us don’t like uncertainty. That makes experimenting with new ideas and actions in complex environments very challenging.
Key Points:
- Complicated situations are hard but have a clear answer.
- Complex situations are dynamic; yesterday’s answer may not work tomorrow.
- Most of us really dislike complexity.
- Step-by-step approaches don’t work in very complex situations. Instead, act through thoughtful experimentation.
- When experimenting, release your attachment to outcomes.
- Lean into humility and don’t shy away from endings. Putting end dates on experiments help us move forward — and sometimes remove what isn’t working.
4. Grit is good. But quitting can be, too | Annie Duke
We are told from a young age to never give up. But at what cost?
Annie Duke, a former professional poker player, takes us through her thinking and experience when it comes to perseverance, calculated risk taking and effective decision making. Time and money are big concerns but sometimes the overall decision will be fruitful in the long-term.
Key points:
- Loss aversion and being fearful of starting something new.
- Bias and its impact on project outcome. We lose sight of other opportunities.
- People can become entrapped in losing causes.
- Learn to calculate the value of a particular course of action. Every decision we make involves calculation, but we need to think beyond right or wrong.
- Feedback loops help us learn.
- The hard part of a problem is often the path we choose to go down.
- Perseverance and resilience are important but it’s also good to think about calculated decision-making. When is it okay to hold on?
5. Why the strongest leaders ask for help | Lorna Davis
“The joy and success that comes from interdependence and vulnerability is worth the effort and the risk. If we are going to solve the challenges that the world’s facing today, we have no alternative, so we had better start getting good at it.” Lorna Davis
Collaborative leadership involves others. There is huge strength in admitting uncertainty and asking for help. Leaders are often faced with daily challenges, uncertainty and risk, where the impact of one decision
can have big consequences. By learning to involve others and publicly commit to big goals, a transparent and collaborative engagement can support the process.
Key points:
- Hero culture vs interdependent leadership
- Goals are important.
- Direction is important.
- No one person has the answer.
- Leaders are not heroes “We need radical interdependence”.
- Interdependent leaders invite others into a partnership of co-creation.
- Interdependent leaders understand that they need other people to achieve goals. People are precious!