August 12, 2024 • 27 mins
Comments, questions? Let's connect!
Have you ever wondered why some people manage to lead effectively in chaotic situations, while others crumble under pressure? In our latest episode, we address this very question by analyzing the varied responses to a global software outage that caused disruptions worldwide. From supermarkets that either panicked and closed or adapted smoothly, to a petrol station that continued operating amid confusion, we reveal the essence of adaptive leadership in a VUCA world—one that thrives on actions, not just titles.
Leadership isn't confined to those with official titles; it can emerge from anyone at any moment. Through captivating stories, we highlight parents, teachers, and even strangers stepping up as leaders during critical times. Discover how the dream of building libraries in Nepal and the heartfelt reception of a school teacher by their students teach us about the power of connection, shared purpose, and the impact of self-leadership. These narratives demonstrate that real leadership is about taking initiative and fostering genuine connections to drive positive change, wherever you are.
This episode is a call to embrace magnetic authenticity, purpose, and values, creating a global ripple effect of positivity.
Don't forget to rate and review our podcast, and with me on LinkedIn for more inspiring content!
REFERENCES
https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html#Milgrams-Experiment-1963
https://www.vuca-world.org/roles-of-nanus-and-bennis/
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I am a Confidence and Success Coach for leaders, Organisational Development Consultant and independent Leadership Circle Profile® Certified Practitioner. Information shared about this tool is courtesy of Leadership Circle®, all rights reserved. www.leadershipcircle.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jolynne Rydz (00:00):
Hello everyone How welcome into this episode
on .
A few weeks ago there was aglobal outage due to a software
system going down.
I don't know the technicaldetails, but it affected so many
organizations across the globe.
Planes were grounded, shoppingcheckouts were shut, shut down
(00:25):
and all sorts of I'm sure ITteams around the world were
going into overdrive to try andfix this situation, which was
interesting because it made merealize how much we rely on
technology as a society and howmuch we don't always know the
full supply chain, really, ofwhat goes into the products and
(00:48):
the things and the services thatwe use and how all of this is
interconnected.
And there were three interestingreactions that I saw, or
responses that I saw, to thisoutage, and I'd love to recount
them because it all aligns withthe need for leading without a
(01:08):
title.
So the first reaction happenedwhen it was Friday, just before
dinner, my family and I weregoing out to the supermarket and
we were approaching the frontdoor and there were a couple of
staff members wandering aroundlooking a bit lost and one staff
member who was clearly incharge but panicking, look of
(01:30):
panic on their face, saying armsoutstretched, saying stop, stop
, stop, we're closed, we'reclosed, don't come in, we're
closed.
Sorry, we're closed.
And that response as a customerleft me wondering.
Oh, I wonder what's going on.
Oh, they don't seem likethey've got.
I wonder what's going on.
Oh, they don't seem likethey've got a handle on what's
going on.
Surely there's some otheralternatives that they could do
(01:51):
instead of just closing thewhole store because there were
still people inside the storepaying.
It was a very confusingscenario.
So we left that store and thebiggest question on my mind was
okay, dinner time's fastapproaching and I've got two
young kids who are about to getvery hangry.
What are we going to do now?
So we went to the othersupermarket in the opposing
(02:12):
color on the color wheel, andthis store was so, so different.
We walked in there and itlooked like any other day.
There were shoppers doing theirown thing, staff members doing
their own thing, people sayinghi, welcome into the store, how
can I help you?
And the only thing that gave itaway that they were also being
(02:34):
affected by this outage was thatthere was a barrier cordoning
off three of the self-checkcheckout kiosks, so you couldn't
use those, but you could useany others, and everything else
was business as normal, so great, got my dinner items, went home
, we had a beautiful dinner.
(02:54):
The next day we were drivingalong to get petrol and there
was a petrol station.
We pulled up in there and Inoticed that the sign that has
all the prices, the LED sign ofall the petrol, unleaded diesel,
all of that, that was blank.
So my first thought was maybethey're not open.
I'm not sure, maybe the sign isjust not working, but the
(03:17):
petrol's working.
Let's go in and check it out.
So he went into the store,comes back out and looks a
little bewildered and I say, oh,are they?
Is the petrol not workingbecause of the outage?
And he said no.
And when I asked they seemedreally confused and I went oh,
(03:38):
okay, apparently they got robbed.
I'm like, oh, did it justhappen?
No, no, it happened way earlierin the day.
I'm like, oh, okay, that'sstrange because there's no sign
of that.
There's no signs anywhere,nothing's been barricaded off.
It just looks like business asusual, but the sign's blank.
Okay, that's an interestingscenario.
So I just thought it was reallyinteresting because there were
(04:00):
three different scenarios invery short time span that showed
how people were reacting to thesituations they found
themselves in, so unexpectedsituations, and on this podcast
I'm going to talk a lot aboutthe VUCA world.
So VUCA stands for volatile,uncertain, complex and ambiguous
(04:21):
, and this concept was inventedby Warren Bennis and Bert Nanus
from the Army War College in theUS in 1987.
So it's been around for a longtime, but it's a nice way to
explain often those scenarioswhere there's so much going on
(04:41):
and it's not something that youcan necessarily solve with your
usual standards and procedures,your ways of operating, the way
these staff have been trained todo their jobs and the way we've
been taught to lead in theworld.
So in this kind of VUCAsituation, we can't rely on a
(05:03):
leader with a title necessarilyto be responding in the moment
to what's needed in the businessand with clients and with staff
, because the way that each ofthose staff members reacted in
that situation is going toimpact them, it's going to
impact the staff and the teamaround them and it's also going
to impact the customers as wellthe staff and the team around
(05:26):
them and it's also going toimpact the customers as well.
So I believe it's absolutelycritical that we can have
leaders that don't have titles,because a title is not
everything, despite what we'vebeen taught as a society.
So have a think.
Leadership is often seen as atitle.
So I am someone who does enjoygoing on a cruise ship as a
holiday and one of the thingsthat always fascinates me is the
(05:52):
status of the captain.
So if you met this person ineveryday scenario perhaps you
met them in a crowded marketthey will just look like any
other person.
But when they put on thisuniform, that white starched
shirt with the blue I don't knowwhat they're actually called,
but those blue things they haveon their shoulders with the
yellow lines that denote thatthey're the captain, or in the
(06:14):
naval one it's got that circularhoop thing.
It shows that they're thecaptain and everyone wants their
photo with the captain.
They want to sit with thecaptain, they want to have
dinner with the captain, theyhave parties as a reward to be
around the captain.
And it's so funny because it'spurely because of his status and
I'm not diminishing his skillin any way of captaining the
(06:35):
ship.
I'm sure it takes a lot ofskill and it takes a whole team
to do that, but it's interesting.
This one person, because oftheir status, gains so much
attraction to want to be aroundthem.
And as a society as well, weidentify people by their status
and their title.
How often have you heard thesaying oh, you know, what do you
(06:56):
do for work as you're justsmall, chatting and getting to
know people?
And I really personally don'tlike this question, even though
it's something I ask myself likeI'm sure everyone can identify
with asking it and being askedthis question, but it it almost
diminishes people's worth.
So if they're not in a paid job, then they're.
(07:18):
They're not doing what theyshould be in society.
And I found this reallychallenging when I was a parent
and I had taken a break frompaid work.
I'm like I'm still working.
I'm working so much harder thanI had been in a paid job.
In this unpaid job where you'reon 24-7, 24-7, you're on demand,
on call, to basically help ahuman survive.
(07:40):
So it's incredibly rewardingjob, but it's also not rewarded
in our societal norms in termsof what we think is a worthy
occupation and contribution tosociety.
So I find it really fascinatingand it's built into the fabric
(08:01):
of our schools as well.
You know, you go to school,you've got to learn, you've got
to do well in school, you've gotto go to uni, get a job, and
when you get that job, you tryand rise up the ranks because
that means success and happiness.
But yet there's so many peoplethat I see rise up the ranks and
get to a point where they'requestioning oh, is this it?
(08:23):
Is this all that it was meantto be?
I thought there would be somuch more than this.
We've kind of got it a littlebit backwards, and it shows up
in so many places in theworkplace in terms of people's
need to feel good enough andworthy.
For example, when there areretrenchments going on in an
(08:45):
organization that often stirs upa lot of emotion, people feel
threatened, they feel like theirsecurity is being taken away.
Some people feel like, well, ifI lose this job, can I get
another one?
Who am I without this job?
What if I can't get another jobin the same kind of
organization, same kind of title, same pay level?
(09:07):
What does that mean?
And I often see it with clientsthat don't like the job that
they're doing, but there's thisreluctance to leave something
that they know to then take astep towards something that is
going to truly light them up andthat they will do better at,
because it's something that theylove and is aligned with their
skills.
So we find people, yeah,trapped, not enjoying this,
(09:30):
because to take a step back, itseemed really odd.
Have a think about it.
Do you ever hear someone havinga celebration or sending a
message of congrats when someonetakes a step down, or maybe
even sideways or diagonally?
Generally not.
Generally, we celebrate thingslike promotions, climbing up the
ladder, and the problem withthis is that there's systems in
(09:55):
place and biases human biases inplace that make it easier for
people that are more extroverted, outspoken, assertive, have a
more masculine energy, to get tothe top, because this is what
we value.
There was a study done byStanley Milgram, a psychologist
from Yale, in the 1960s, andthis one always sticks in my
(10:15):
mind because it's incrediblytelling.
So this study basicallyhighlights the internal bias
that we have as human beingstowards listening and respecting
people in positions ofauthority, and that's why I say
leadership is a privilege,because you have a lot more
power because of that title thana person without that title and
(10:38):
uniform, like the captain.
So in this experiment, theparticipants were told to
administer an electric shock toa student that was giving an
incorrect answer.
Each time they gave anincorrect answer.
So there was a false study thatthis electric shock would help
(10:59):
them to provide better answers,help them to learn, and each
time a shock was given, theintensity was increased.
So the student was actually anactor.
They weren't really beingshocked, but the participant
that was pressing the button togive the shock was the one that
was actually being studied inreality, and so the study would
(11:22):
continue and the student wouldget increasingly distressed and
beg to be let out or becomenon-responsive and try not to
participate as the intensityincreased.
And what was crazy was that 64%of the participants actually
took the experiment all the wayto the maximum level because the
(11:43):
person in authority, thescientist, was telling them to
continue the experiment.
To continue to continue, nomatter how that student was
reacting, and remember thatstudent was an actor.
You, no matter how that studentwas reacting, and remember that
student was an actor.
So this is incredibly, I think,enlightening and important to
realize how much this leadershiptitle means and also how much
(12:05):
we're missing out on the goldand the wisdom and the
experiences of people that don'thave that title.
So if you hold a title, I thinkit's important to be incredibly
careful and mindful of yourimpact as a leader, and if you
don't hold that title, I thinkit's incredibly important for
you to be aware of all the valuethat you have.
(12:27):
That may be harder to get outin the world because you don't
have that title yet.
So I wanted to share thatbecause it's a study that's
always stuck in my mind aboutthis importance of authority and
how much we overvalue itsometimes and override our own
judgments in the process.
(12:49):
When we over rely on someone ina position of authority, we
limit the resources we haveavailable to deal with
challenging situations.
One, because there's lesspeople in the top, so there's
less brains thinking of ideasand less physical energy and
resources to put things intoaction.
(13:09):
Two, it puts a lot of pressureon people in a position of
formal leadership to be the onessolving all the problems, and
that's often a challenge that Isee in the leaders that I coach
that they feel like they have tofix everything when really a
better role to play often is tobring out the wisdom of the
group.
(13:29):
And then this expectation thatthey're perfect and they're
experts can sometimes lead toresentment and judgment from
people that aren't in theleadership role, maybe because
they applied for it and gotoverlooked and they don't know
why.
Maybe they feel like they coulddo a better job and they don't
understand the full complexityof being in that position.
(13:50):
But that judgment and thatresentment is incredibly
draining and disempowering andnot necessarily good for the
system as a whole, and itdisempowers others because then
individual talents areunderutilized.
What I'd like to propose insteadis that we really do value
(14:12):
leaders without titles.
So if you're listening to thispodcast and you have a title
fantastic, use that, because itis a position of privilege and
there's so much that you can doand not do.
That impacts those around youand having that self-awareness
around that is so, so,incredibly powerful to level up
(14:32):
your impact.
And if you don't have a formaltitle, I want to challenge you
to think of yourself as someonewho can have an impact that does
already have an impact anywhereat any time.
Maybe you make leading easierfor others because of the way
you approach things.
Maybe you're coming up withideas and visions and solutions
(14:55):
and not necessarily leaving thatjust to the one person who's
leading the team.
When you lead without a title,you're being part of the
solution, ensuring that there'swisdom and value coming from all
areas of our society, and Ithink that's so important as
things get increasingly complexand there's challenges that we
(15:17):
need to solve as a society.
That is not going to happen ifwe just leave it to a small few
with a proper title.
I'm sure there's incredibleideas that are out there that
are not going anywhere becauseof a lot of reasons, but one of
the reasons, I believe, isbecause the person with the idea
doesn't believe that they canlead or do anything with that.
(15:40):
I'd love for you to reflect onthe people in your life who've
made a real difference.
Who are they?
Where did they show up?
When did they show up?
I'd be interested to know howmany of them were in a formal
(16:02):
leadership role.
Were they CEOs, executives,managers?
Or were they maybe your parents?
Maybe they were a teacher whobelieved in you more than you
did yourself?
Maybe they were a stranger whoasked you in a moment of crisis
are you okay?
My definition of leadership isanyone who sees an opportunity
(16:24):
to make a difference and acts onit, because if you can do that,
if you can encourage otherpeople to do that, that is so
incredibly important and valued,and it can be big or small.
I chatted with someone todaywho, I believe, has incredible
leadership potential and hasthis big dream of bringing more
(16:46):
libraries into Nepal, becausethere's school libraries that
have just one book sitting onthe shelf and there's a whole
wealth of information andknowledge that these children
and communities are missing outon because they don't have
something that is prolific inwhere I'm living in Australia
like a library.
So that's a big one, but alittle one could be just the
(17:11):
little comment you say to apassing person who's having a
bad day, like you know.
I see you, you've got this.
Is there anything I can do tohelp?
Simon Sinek once said a bosshas a title, a leader has people
.
So part of being an incredibleleader, even without a title, is
(17:34):
about having that connectionwith people, sharing something
together like an event andhaving a purpose that aligns all
of you and that can happen inthe workplace, it can happen on
the sporting field, it canhappen at social events.
It's that magic that comestogether when you know you just
want to be around this group ofpeople and you're all working
(17:56):
towards the same thing and youcan all bring your little
pockets of golden goodness inknowledge and experience
together to make it happen.
One morning I was a couple ofmonths ago, walking through the
schoolyard after dropping off myson at school, and I saw
(18:18):
something that just made mesmile.
So when, a couple of minutesbefore the school bell goes,
music comes on to let the kidsknow that it's time to get ready
, go line up at class.
So they all line up in theirclassroom ready to enter as the
bell goes.
So, as I was walking along, Isee these kids lining up,
they're waiting as normal infront of their classroom and
(18:41):
then the bell goes and theirteacher opens the door and this
scream erupts, this cheer,literally.
There were 16 kids cheering andclapping, so excited to have
their teacher back becausethey'd been away for a period of
time.
And to me that's a sign ofincredible leadership that
(19:02):
you're missed when you're gone,but you're also very capable of
still producing work when yourleader's not there.
And it was so incredible to seethat, the impact and the
connection that this teacher hadformed with their class, and
they're obviously sharingsomething together and they
obviously have a joint purposeof learning together and helping
(19:25):
each other grow.
So how do you lead before youhave a title?
And this applies even if you dohave a title.
So what you'll find with thispodcast is I talk about
leadership, but I'm oftentalking about self-leadership,
because that's if you can masterself-leadership and I think
(19:46):
it's an ongoing journey.
I don't think you ever getthere, but if you can
continuously nurture that,that's where your impact grows
and grows, and grows, and I seeit with my clients all the time.
So the first thing you can doto lead without a title is just
to lead before you even have atitle.
So take the lead, see theopportunities, go make it happen
(20:09):
, go have an impact, becausewhen you have an idea and you
put it into action, it's goingto increase your credibility and
it's going to increase thevalue that you're adding and
it's going to help people seewhat you're doing, because
sometimes people can havebrilliant ideas and it can take
other people a while to realizewhat that actually looks like in
(20:32):
reality.
Recently I was watching the showon Netflix America's
Sweethearts about the DallasCowboy cheerleaders, and I like
to watch these shows.
One because I'm a fan ofdancing, but two, I find the
behavioral science and theleadership in it fascinating the
(20:55):
behavioral science and theleadership in it fascinating.
One thing that they did therewas this girl called Victoria
and she was in her fourth yearand they're allowed to be in the
Dallas cheerleaders for fiveyears, so she was wanting to be
in a leadership role in herfifth year and her question to
the leadership team was wasthere really any chance that she
would get this position?
And their response to her wasthat she hadn't really shown
(21:21):
that potential already, so shehadn't been stepping in and
helping others and reallyhelping them to connect and bond
over that common purpose, andbecause they hadn't seen that
they were alluding to it beingunlikely that she would get a
leadership role in the comingyear.
So leading before you have thetitle is such an incredible way
to show your value and show whatyour ideas look like in reality
(21:44):
, because sometimes you are thebest person to bring that to
life in its first iteration, andyou can yeah, you can use
people around you to help withthat, but sometimes people don't
understand what you're tryingto bring into this world until
you just make it happen.
The second thing you can do tolead without a title is to
(22:07):
reflect on why you do something.
What's the purpose of whatyou're doing?
Why you do something, what'sthe purpose of what you're doing
and who could you share thiswith, because when you connect
something to purpose, that'swhen you can inspire other
people to get on board as anexample, often when people go,
(22:29):
what's magnetic authenticityabout, and how did you come up
with that?
I like to tell them that thereason for me bringing this into
being is because I personallywould love to eliminate
workplace related mentalwellbeing issues, and I believe
a big part of that is enablingpeople to be their whole self at
(22:51):
work if they choose to, sohaving an environment where it's
safe enough to do that, butalso, on the other hand,
empowering individuals to knowtheir strengths, know their
self-worth and be able to definethat and not rely on external
ways of defining that or peopleto define their worth, because
the two of those things togetheris so incredibly powerful, and
(23:12):
when I explain that, often itgets a much better reaction than
when I just say, oh, it's aboutuncovering people's hidden
talents.
So when you explain the purposeand the reason behind what
you're doing, it's such anincredible way, as a leader, to
bring people along that journeywith you and create that common
connection and drive towardsdoing something exciting
(23:35):
together.
The third thing you can do tolead without a title is to find
out what matters most to thepeople around you and determine
how can you empower that.
Can you think of something now,something where you can see
there's a really important topicto someone that you care about
(23:55):
and you don't want to fix it forthem, but how can you empower
and support them in that?
I have this wonderful client whohas been struggling with
inspiration for some time intheir leadership role and
they're incredibly creative asin they can very artistic, can
do these wonderful paintings andartworks and is also really
(24:17):
incredible at teaching otherpeople to do that as well.
So I invited them to use thatformat in a presentation that
they were doing, so to actuallypaint it and portray it in an
artistic way and then talk to it, rather than doing a slideshow
to talk to what they've beenasked to present on, and I asked
(24:41):
them how it went and they didit, which was amazing.
And it was so exciting becausethey got a really great response
.
People were really inspired bywhat they'd done and the effort
they'd put into it, and they gotinvited to actually come and
then teach other people how topaint in their workplace, and
(25:01):
what I love about that is it'sabout not fixing it for this
person, but it's about invitingthem, showing what you see and
going.
How can I support you in that?
So for me, in that scenario, itwas literally just giving them
the idea and then letting themdecide if they wanted to run
with that or not.
So there are so many ways youcould apply this, and I would
(25:23):
love to know head over toLinkedIn and DM me if you are
testing any of this out and haveany questions on how to apply
it, because I would really lovefor this podcast to be
interactive, because that'swhere we all learn and grow
together, and I've got someexciting ideas on how we can
make it more interactive.
So they are in the works andthey are coming.
So stay tuned and I'll let youknow when I've got that ready to
(25:48):
be released.
So for now, remember you wereborn for a reason.
It's time to thrive.
Make sure you rate and leave areview on this podcast wherever
you're listening, because thatis the best way that we can get
this out to more people, becauseI truly believe that if we can
all tap into our own MagneticAuthenticity, our purpose, our
(26:11):
values and how we are best madeto show up in this world, that's
going to create a ripple effectof goodness across the globe.
So I would love this podcast toget out there, help me to share
it, because it's free and it'sgoing to be free forever, and
I've got some ideas down thetrack of a special competition
that I want to run for anyonethat has submitted a review.
(26:34):
So go out there, leave a reviewand check in with me on
LinkedIn if you want to connectfurther.
Hello everyone How welcome into this episode
on .
A few weeks ago there was aglobal outage due to a software
system going down.
I don't know the technicaldetails, but it affected so many
organizations across the globe.
Planes were grounded, shoppingcheckouts were shut, shut down
(00:25):
and all sorts of I'm sure ITteams around the world were
going into overdrive to try andfix this situation, which was
interesting because it made merealize how much we rely on
technology as a society and howmuch we don't always know the
full supply chain, really, ofwhat goes into the products and
(00:48):
the things and the services thatwe use and how all of this is
interconnected.
And there were three interestingreactions that I saw, or
responses that I saw, to thisoutage, and I'd love to recount
them because it all aligns withthe need for leading without a
(01:08):
title.
So the first reaction happenedwhen it was Friday, just before
dinner, my family and I weregoing out to the supermarket and
we were approaching the frontdoor and there were a couple of
staff members wandering aroundlooking a bit lost and one staff
member who was clearly incharge but panicking, look of
(01:30):
panic on their face, saying armsoutstretched, saying stop, stop
, stop, we're closed, we'reclosed, don't come in, we're
closed.
Sorry, we're closed.
And that response as a customerleft me wondering.
Oh, I wonder what's going on.
Oh, they don't seem likethey've got.
I wonder what's going on.
Oh, they don't seem likethey've got a handle on what's
going on.
Surely there's some otheralternatives that they could do
(01:51):
instead of just closing thewhole store because there were
still people inside the storepaying.
It was a very confusingscenario.
So we left that store and thebiggest question on my mind was
okay, dinner time's fastapproaching and I've got two
young kids who are about to getvery hangry.
What are we going to do now?
So we went to the othersupermarket in the opposing
(02:12):
color on the color wheel, andthis store was so, so different.
We walked in there and itlooked like any other day.
There were shoppers doing theirown thing, staff members doing
their own thing, people sayinghi, welcome into the store, how
can I help you?
And the only thing that gave itaway that they were also being
(02:34):
affected by this outage was thatthere was a barrier cordoning
off three of the self-checkcheckout kiosks, so you couldn't
use those, but you could useany others, and everything else
was business as normal, so great, got my dinner items, went home
, we had a beautiful dinner.
(02:54):
The next day we were drivingalong to get petrol and there
was a petrol station.
We pulled up in there and Inoticed that the sign that has
all the prices, the LED sign ofall the petrol, unleaded diesel,
all of that, that was blank.
So my first thought was maybethey're not open.
I'm not sure, maybe the sign isjust not working, but the
(03:17):
petrol's working.
Let's go in and check it out.
So he went into the store,comes back out and looks a
little bewildered and I say, oh,are they?
Is the petrol not workingbecause of the outage?
And he said no.
And when I asked they seemedreally confused and I went oh,
(03:38):
okay, apparently they got robbed.
I'm like, oh, did it justhappen?
No, no, it happened way earlierin the day.
I'm like, oh, okay, that'sstrange because there's no sign
of that.
There's no signs anywhere,nothing's been barricaded off.
It just looks like business asusual, but the sign's blank.
Okay, that's an interestingscenario.
So I just thought it was reallyinteresting because there were
(04:00):
three different scenarios invery short time span that showed
how people were reacting to thesituations they found
themselves in, so unexpectedsituations, and on this podcast
I'm going to talk a lot aboutthe VUCA world.
So VUCA stands for volatile,uncertain, complex and ambiguous
(04:21):
, and this concept was inventedby Warren Bennis and Bert Nanus
from the Army War College in theUS in 1987.
So it's been around for a longtime, but it's a nice way to
explain often those scenarioswhere there's so much going on
(04:41):
and it's not something that youcan necessarily solve with your
usual standards and procedures,your ways of operating, the way
these staff have been trained todo their jobs and the way we've
been taught to lead in theworld.
So in this kind of VUCAsituation, we can't rely on a
(05:03):
leader with a title necessarilyto be responding in the moment
to what's needed in the businessand with clients and with staff
, because the way that each ofthose staff members reacted in
that situation is going toimpact them, it's going to
impact the staff and the teamaround them and it's also going
to impact the customers as wellthe staff and the team around
(05:26):
them and it's also going toimpact the customers as well.
So I believe it's absolutelycritical that we can have
leaders that don't have titles,because a title is not
everything, despite what we'vebeen taught as a society.
So have a think.
Leadership is often seen as atitle.
So I am someone who does enjoygoing on a cruise ship as a
holiday and one of the thingsthat always fascinates me is the
(05:52):
status of the captain.
So if you met this person ineveryday scenario perhaps you
met them in a crowded marketthey will just look like any
other person.
But when they put on thisuniform, that white starched
shirt with the blue I don't knowwhat they're actually called,
but those blue things they haveon their shoulders with the
yellow lines that denote thatthey're the captain, or in the
(06:14):
naval one it's got that circularhoop thing.
It shows that they're thecaptain and everyone wants their
photo with the captain.
They want to sit with thecaptain, they want to have
dinner with the captain, theyhave parties as a reward to be
around the captain.
And it's so funny because it'spurely because of his status and
I'm not diminishing his skillin any way of captaining the
(06:35):
ship.
I'm sure it takes a lot ofskill and it takes a whole team
to do that, but it's interesting.
This one person, because oftheir status, gains so much
attraction to want to be aroundthem.
And as a society as well, weidentify people by their status
and their title.
How often have you heard thesaying oh, you know, what do you
(06:56):
do for work as you're justsmall, chatting and getting to
know people?
And I really personally don'tlike this question, even though
it's something I ask myself likeI'm sure everyone can identify
with asking it and being askedthis question, but it it almost
diminishes people's worth.
So if they're not in a paid job, then they're.
(07:18):
They're not doing what theyshould be in society.
And I found this reallychallenging when I was a parent
and I had taken a break frompaid work.
I'm like I'm still working.
I'm working so much harder thanI had been in a paid job.
In this unpaid job where you'reon 24-7, 24-7, you're on demand,
on call, to basically help ahuman survive.
(07:40):
So it's incredibly rewardingjob, but it's also not rewarded
in our societal norms in termsof what we think is a worthy
occupation and contribution tosociety.
So I find it really fascinatingand it's built into the fabric
(08:01):
of our schools as well.
You know, you go to school,you've got to learn, you've got
to do well in school, you've gotto go to uni, get a job, and
when you get that job, you tryand rise up the ranks because
that means success and happiness.
But yet there's so many peoplethat I see rise up the ranks and
get to a point where they'requestioning oh, is this it?
(08:23):
Is this all that it was meantto be?
I thought there would be somuch more than this.
We've kind of got it a littlebit backwards, and it shows up
in so many places in theworkplace in terms of people's
need to feel good enough andworthy.
For example, when there areretrenchments going on in an
(08:45):
organization that often stirs upa lot of emotion, people feel
threatened, they feel like theirsecurity is being taken away.
Some people feel like, well, ifI lose this job, can I get
another one?
Who am I without this job?
What if I can't get another jobin the same kind of
organization, same kind of title, same pay level?
(09:07):
What does that mean?
And I often see it with clientsthat don't like the job that
they're doing, but there's thisreluctance to leave something
that they know to then take astep towards something that is
going to truly light them up andthat they will do better at,
because it's something that theylove and is aligned with their
skills.
So we find people, yeah,trapped, not enjoying this,
(09:30):
because to take a step back, itseemed really odd.
Have a think about it.
Do you ever hear someone havinga celebration or sending a
message of congrats when someonetakes a step down, or maybe
even sideways or diagonally?
Generally not.
Generally, we celebrate thingslike promotions, climbing up the
ladder, and the problem withthis is that there's systems in
(09:55):
place and biases human biases inplace that make it easier for
people that are more extroverted, outspoken, assertive, have a
more masculine energy, to get tothe top, because this is what
we value.
There was a study done byStanley Milgram, a psychologist
from Yale, in the 1960s, andthis one always sticks in my
(10:15):
mind because it's incrediblytelling.
So this study basicallyhighlights the internal bias
that we have as human beingstowards listening and respecting
people in positions ofauthority, and that's why I say
leadership is a privilege,because you have a lot more
power because of that title thana person without that title and
(10:38):
uniform, like the captain.
So in this experiment, theparticipants were told to
administer an electric shock toa student that was giving an
incorrect answer.
Each time they gave anincorrect answer.
So there was a false study thatthis electric shock would help
(10:59):
them to provide better answers,help them to learn, and each
time a shock was given, theintensity was increased.
So the student was actually anactor.
They weren't really beingshocked, but the participant
that was pressing the button togive the shock was the one that
was actually being studied inreality, and so the study would
(11:22):
continue and the student wouldget increasingly distressed and
beg to be let out or becomenon-responsive and try not to
participate as the intensityincreased.
And what was crazy was that 64%of the participants actually
took the experiment all the wayto the maximum level because the
(11:43):
person in authority, thescientist, was telling them to
continue the experiment.
To continue to continue, nomatter how that student was
reacting, and remember thatstudent was an actor.
You, no matter how that studentwas reacting, and remember that
student was an actor.
So this is incredibly, I think,enlightening and important to
realize how much this leadershiptitle means and also how much
(12:05):
we're missing out on the goldand the wisdom and the
experiences of people that don'thave that title.
So if you hold a title, I thinkit's important to be incredibly
careful and mindful of yourimpact as a leader, and if you
don't hold that title, I thinkit's incredibly important for
you to be aware of all the valuethat you have.
(12:27):
That may be harder to get outin the world because you don't
have that title yet.
So I wanted to share thatbecause it's a study that's
always stuck in my mind aboutthis importance of authority and
how much we overvalue itsometimes and override our own
judgments in the process.
(12:49):
When we over rely on someone ina position of authority, we
limit the resources we haveavailable to deal with
challenging situations.
One, because there's lesspeople in the top, so there's
less brains thinking of ideasand less physical energy and
resources to put things intoaction.
(13:09):
Two, it puts a lot of pressureon people in a position of
formal leadership to be the onessolving all the problems, and
that's often a challenge that Isee in the leaders that I coach
that they feel like they have tofix everything when really a
better role to play often is tobring out the wisdom of the
group.
(13:29):
And then this expectation thatthey're perfect and they're
experts can sometimes lead toresentment and judgment from
people that aren't in theleadership role, maybe because
they applied for it and gotoverlooked and they don't know
why.
Maybe they feel like they coulddo a better job and they don't
understand the full complexityof being in that position.
(13:50):
But that judgment and thatresentment is incredibly
draining and disempowering andnot necessarily good for the
system as a whole, and itdisempowers others because then
individual talents areunderutilized.
What I'd like to propose insteadis that we really do value
(14:12):
leaders without titles.
So if you're listening to thispodcast and you have a title
fantastic, use that, because itis a position of privilege and
there's so much that you can doand not do.
That impacts those around youand having that self-awareness
around that is so, so,incredibly powerful to level up
(14:32):
your impact.
And if you don't have a formaltitle, I want to challenge you
to think of yourself as someonewho can have an impact that does
already have an impact anywhereat any time.
Maybe you make leading easierfor others because of the way
you approach things.
Maybe you're coming up withideas and visions and solutions
(14:55):
and not necessarily leaving thatjust to the one person who's
leading the team.
When you lead without a title,you're being part of the
solution, ensuring that there'swisdom and value coming from all
areas of our society, and Ithink that's so important as
things get increasingly complexand there's challenges that we
(15:17):
need to solve as a society.
That is not going to happen ifwe just leave it to a small few
with a proper title.
I'm sure there's incredibleideas that are out there that
are not going anywhere becauseof a lot of reasons, but one of
the reasons, I believe, isbecause the person with the idea
doesn't believe that they canlead or do anything with that.
(15:40):
I'd love for you to reflect onthe people in your life who've
made a real difference.
Who are they?
Where did they show up?
When did they show up?
I'd be interested to know howmany of them were in a formal
(16:02):
leadership role.
Were they CEOs, executives,managers?
Or were they maybe your parents?
Maybe they were a teacher whobelieved in you more than you
did yourself?
Maybe they were a stranger whoasked you in a moment of crisis
are you okay?
My definition of leadership isanyone who sees an opportunity
(16:24):
to make a difference and acts onit, because if you can do that,
if you can encourage otherpeople to do that, that is so
incredibly important and valued,and it can be big or small.
I chatted with someone todaywho, I believe, has incredible
leadership potential and hasthis big dream of bringing more
(16:46):
libraries into Nepal, becausethere's school libraries that
have just one book sitting onthe shelf and there's a whole
wealth of information andknowledge that these children
and communities are missing outon because they don't have
something that is prolific inwhere I'm living in Australia
like a library.
So that's a big one, but alittle one could be just the
(17:11):
little comment you say to apassing person who's having a
bad day, like you know.
I see you, you've got this.
Is there anything I can do tohelp?
Simon Sinek once said a bosshas a title, a leader has people
.
So part of being an incredibleleader, even without a title, is
(17:34):
about having that connectionwith people, sharing something
together like an event andhaving a purpose that aligns all
of you and that can happen inthe workplace, it can happen on
the sporting field, it canhappen at social events.
It's that magic that comestogether when you know you just
want to be around this group ofpeople and you're all working
(17:56):
towards the same thing and youcan all bring your little
pockets of golden goodness inknowledge and experience
together to make it happen.
One morning I was a couple ofmonths ago, walking through the
schoolyard after dropping off myson at school, and I saw
(18:18):
something that just made mesmile.
So when, a couple of minutesbefore the school bell goes,
music comes on to let the kidsknow that it's time to get ready
, go line up at class.
So they all line up in theirclassroom ready to enter as the
bell goes.
So, as I was walking along, Isee these kids lining up,
they're waiting as normal infront of their classroom and
(18:41):
then the bell goes and theirteacher opens the door and this
scream erupts, this cheer,literally.
There were 16 kids cheering andclapping, so excited to have
their teacher back becausethey'd been away for a period of
time.
And to me that's a sign ofincredible leadership that
(19:02):
you're missed when you're gone,but you're also very capable of
still producing work when yourleader's not there.
And it was so incredible to seethat, the impact and the
connection that this teacher hadformed with their class, and
they're obviously sharingsomething together and they
obviously have a joint purposeof learning together and helping
(19:25):
each other grow.
So how do you lead before youhave a title?
And this applies even if you dohave a title.
So what you'll find with thispodcast is I talk about
leadership, but I'm oftentalking about self-leadership,
because that's if you can masterself-leadership and I think
(19:46):
it's an ongoing journey.
I don't think you ever getthere, but if you can
continuously nurture that,that's where your impact grows
and grows, and grows, and I seeit with my clients all the time.
So the first thing you can doto lead without a title is just
to lead before you even have atitle.
So take the lead, see theopportunities, go make it happen
(20:09):
, go have an impact, becausewhen you have an idea and you
put it into action, it's goingto increase your credibility and
it's going to increase thevalue that you're adding and
it's going to help people seewhat you're doing, because
sometimes people can havebrilliant ideas and it can take
other people a while to realizewhat that actually looks like in
(20:32):
reality.
Recently I was watching the showon Netflix America's
Sweethearts about the DallasCowboy cheerleaders, and I like
to watch these shows.
One because I'm a fan ofdancing, but two, I find the
behavioral science and theleadership in it fascinating the
(20:55):
behavioral science and theleadership in it fascinating.
One thing that they did therewas this girl called Victoria
and she was in her fourth yearand they're allowed to be in the
Dallas cheerleaders for fiveyears, so she was wanting to be
in a leadership role in herfifth year and her question to
the leadership team was wasthere really any chance that she
would get this position?
And their response to her wasthat she hadn't really shown
(21:21):
that potential already, so shehadn't been stepping in and
helping others and reallyhelping them to connect and bond
over that common purpose, andbecause they hadn't seen that
they were alluding to it beingunlikely that she would get a
leadership role in the comingyear.
So leading before you have thetitle is such an incredible way
to show your value and show whatyour ideas look like in reality
(21:44):
, because sometimes you are thebest person to bring that to
life in its first iteration, andyou can yeah, you can use
people around you to help withthat, but sometimes people don't
understand what you're tryingto bring into this world until
you just make it happen.
The second thing you can do tolead without a title is to
(22:07):
reflect on why you do something.
What's the purpose of whatyou're doing?
Why you do something, what'sthe purpose of what you're doing
and who could you share thiswith, because when you connect
something to purpose, that'swhen you can inspire other
people to get on board as anexample, often when people go,
(22:29):
what's magnetic authenticityabout, and how did you come up
with that?
I like to tell them that thereason for me bringing this into
being is because I personallywould love to eliminate
workplace related mentalwellbeing issues, and I believe
a big part of that is enablingpeople to be their whole self at
(22:51):
work if they choose to, sohaving an environment where it's
safe enough to do that, butalso, on the other hand,
empowering individuals to knowtheir strengths, know their
self-worth and be able to definethat and not rely on external
ways of defining that or peopleto define their worth, because
the two of those things togetheris so incredibly powerful, and
(23:12):
when I explain that, often itgets a much better reaction than
when I just say, oh, it's aboutuncovering people's hidden
talents.
So when you explain the purposeand the reason behind what
you're doing, it's such anincredible way, as a leader, to
bring people along that journeywith you and create that common
connection and drive towardsdoing something exciting
(23:35):
together.
The third thing you can do tolead without a title is to find
out what matters most to thepeople around you and determine
how can you empower that.
Can you think of something now,something where you can see
there's a really important topicto someone that you care about
(23:55):
and you don't want to fix it forthem, but how can you empower
and support them in that?
I have this wonderful client whohas been struggling with
inspiration for some time intheir leadership role and
they're incredibly creative asin they can very artistic, can
do these wonderful paintings andartworks and is also really
(24:17):
incredible at teaching otherpeople to do that as well.
So I invited them to use thatformat in a presentation that
they were doing, so to actuallypaint it and portray it in an
artistic way and then talk to it, rather than doing a slideshow
to talk to what they've beenasked to present on, and I asked
(24:41):
them how it went and they didit, which was amazing.
And it was so exciting becausethey got a really great response
.
People were really inspired bywhat they'd done and the effort
they'd put into it, and they gotinvited to actually come and
then teach other people how topaint in their workplace, and
(25:01):
what I love about that is it'sabout not fixing it for this
person, but it's about invitingthem, showing what you see and
going.
How can I support you in that?
So for me, in that scenario, itwas literally just giving them
the idea and then letting themdecide if they wanted to run
with that or not.
So there are so many ways youcould apply this, and I would
(25:23):
love to know head over toLinkedIn and DM me if you are
testing any of this out and haveany questions on how to apply
it, because I would really lovefor this podcast to be
interactive, because that'swhere we all learn and grow
together, and I've got someexciting ideas on how we can
make it more interactive.
So they are in the works andthey are coming.
So stay tuned and I'll let youknow when I've got that ready to
(25:48):
be released.
So for now, remember you wereborn for a reason.
It's time to thrive.
Make sure you rate and leave areview on this podcast wherever
you're listening, because thatis the best way that we can get
this out to more people, becauseI truly believe that if we can
all tap into our own MagneticAuthenticity, our purpose, our
(26:11):
values and how we are best madeto show up in this world, that's
going to create a ripple effectof goodness across the globe.
So I would love this podcast toget out there, help me to share
it, because it's free and it'sgoing to be free forever, and
I've got some ideas down thetrack of a special competition
that I want to run for anyonethat has submitted a review.
(26:34):
So go out there, leave a reviewand check in with me on
LinkedIn if you want to connectfurther.
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