Author: MartinWhatPod

Peter Block has spent over 40 years investing his skills and expertise helping groups of people come together to create meaningful change.

In this episode, Peter draws on that vast experience to discuss the benefits of choosing service over self-interest, embracing our freedom, shifting from problem solving to possibility and purpose, and so much more. The author of several books including Flawless Consulting, The Abundant Community, and my favourite, The Answer to How is Yes, Peter advocates for all of us to be a citizen to the community and culture we want to create.

This is an insightful conversation with Peter, that I hope helps you reflect on, and challenge the mental models you use to work, lead, and live.

Leading in the modern world of work is difficult. The pace is fast and the expectation for results is relentless, which is made even more difficult in a global setting that is complex, challenging and constantly changing.

My guest today, Jennifer Garvey Berger, believes we need to develop more sophisticated leaders who can better handle this complexity, and we need to develop them as quickly. Jennifer is the author of four brilliant books, and a partner at Cultivating Leadership, where uses her considerable expertise to help leaders and organisations thrive in complexity.

In this conversation, we talk about how we can prepare for a future we can’t predict and the mental traps we fall into when managing complexity. We also explore the role of curiosity in complexity as well as actionable advice for leaders working in difficult or demanding contexts. A brilliant conversation, please enjoy the deeply insightful and accessible wisdom from complexity expert, Jennifer Garvey Berger.

One of the ways we can do more of what matters and motivates us is to make braver choices. Step into the decisions and actions that make us feel fulfilled, and best reflect the difference we want to make in the world.

And one of the best people to help navigate that courageous call to action is Phill Nosworthy. Phill’s an executive advisor, speaker, and writer in the areas of meaning, leadership, and high performance. His insights into personal mastery and career acceleration have given him a cult following among senior leaders of Fortune listed companies all around the world.

If you have a stirring ambition, want to make more of a contribution, or just shake things up a little in your life, then get comfy and tune in as Phill brings unique and refreshing insights into the established concepts of leadership, purpose, and performance.

How many hours of sleep did you get last night? Did you wake up feeling rested or like 40% of the population, woke up this morning feeling a little sluggish because you didn’t get enough sleep?

Dr. Moira Junge is a registered Health Psychologist and CEO of the Sleep Health Foundation, who is passionate about the importance of good sleep health. In this episode we explore what constitutes a good night’s sleep, some common reasons why we toss and turn, as well as some useful and some unconventional – tips for getting a better night’s sleep.

Which is super important because a good night’s sleep allows our body and mind to recharge helping us to focus, function, and perform at our peak. But when we experience a lack of sleep, it can impact our brain function leaving us vulnerable to attention lapses, reduced cognition, poor concentration, and mood shifts.

And while this conversation doesn’t constitute medical advice, it will provide you with some evidence-based ideas for sleeping a little more soundly. It’s time to move your mental furniture around sleep, with Dr. Moira Junge.

Sometimes, the choices we make are well informed and logical, and at other times, we can make decisions that are emotional, irrational, and slightly confusing. And this matters because our choices are not just about what we do, they’re equally about who we are deciding to become.

To better understand how we make decisions, and how we can make them a little better, I spoke Lisa Smith. Lisa is a professional thinker from Minds at work who specialise in delivering organizational change, by empowering people to think differently – for themselves.

Whether you’re deciding what to have for dinner tonight, your new hybrid work arrangement, or the next step in your career, you are going to get some useful ideas from this conversation with professional thinker, Lisa Smith.

You think communication would be pretty straight forward. I say what I think and feel. And you say what you think and feel. Turns out, it’s not that simple. And when we get stuck defending a position, protecting our ego, or falling back into unhelpful behaviours, we quickly lose our influence and impact.

To gain some insight about how we can communicate more consciously, and effectively, I turned to Andrew Horabin from Bullshift. A stand-up comedian turned consultant who knows a thing or two about: what stands in the way of openness, honesty, and our ability to talk straight, and more importantly, how we can shift to be more conscious in our communication.

Full of insights and ideas, you might want to listen to this fun, and fast paced conversation, with a pen and paper in hand. It’s time to get curious about communication, with Andrew Horabin from Bullshift.

This month I am talking with one of the Founders of Young Henrys, Oscar McMahon. And as you might expect for a company that makes beer, cider and spirits, the business started over a conversation at the local pub.

But one of the things I hope surprises you in this conversation is the considerable depth and care to YH’s approach to business.
In this rich conversation with Oscar, he shares how YH generate, test, and refine ideas, the secret to collaborating with bands like You am I and The Foo Fighters, as well as managing the inevitable setbacks and struggle that come with leading in the modern world of work.

Please, enjoy this conversation responsibly with one of the Founders of YH, Oscar McMahon.

If you’re a parent trying to encourage your kids, a leader trying to drive progress, or just a curious person committed to continual improvement, feedback is one of the foundational tools you will turn to…

…but how do we do it well?

To answer that question, you could turn to Google to source an endlessly array of models and approaches, but for a deeper perspective and opinion, I decided to turn to Rob Mason. Rob is a coach developer who, apart from completing his PhD Thesis on the effectiveness of feedback, is a sought- after advisor to elite coaches, athletes and educators, helping them convey messages more effectively and deeply.

This conversation will help anyone who wants to communicate effectively, collaborate more constructively, or build the capability and capacity of people in their care. Please enjoy this deeper, and slightly different conversation around feedback with the very knowledgeable, Rob Mason.

My guest this month is Lisa Lahey. Faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, co-founder of consulting practice Minds at Work, and author of an incredible book Immunity to Change. A really insightful book that tackles an all too familiar problem: why do so many change efforts fail?

In this conversation, Lisa draws on her 20+ years of research and consulting practice to share why change can be hard and offers a practical framework to help you unlock the potential in yourself, and the people you lead. This is not a conversation where you will find the five steps or seven secrets for creating change. It’s a considered exploration for how you can advance by overcoming your own natural, and very powerful, immunity to change.

Something that will make more sense as you listen and learn from the practical, relatable, and very reputable, Lisa Lahey.

This month I am talking with Andrew May, the Founder of Strive Stronger. A digital consultancy designed to inspire people to wake up to a better way of living, working and leading. With dual degrees in Physiology and Psychology, Andrew has the rare ability to understand how the body and brain work together to help people optimize their performance in pressure moments.

Andrew is a coach and confidante to executives, elite athletes and performing artists, as well as an author, regular media commentator, and is the current mental skills coach for the Parramatta Eels NRL Club. Andrew’s deep commitment to his craft allows us to cover a lot of ground in this conversation. You will want to grab a pen and paper for this one to capture the inspiration, ideas and wisdom that Andrew shares throughout our conversation together.

I hope you enjoy this conversation with performance expert, Andrew May.