Empowering Leaders to Manage Without Power

In today's episode Judith Germain speaks to Joris Merks-Benjaminsen about leadership consistency and ethical actions. They discuss the challenge of ensuring leadership consistency across an organisation, not just at the top. They note how organisational culture and values can drift over time if not actively maintained. Joris explains how leaders can inadvertently create inconsistencies through their behaviours and decision-making processes.

Key Takeaways

• Leadership consistency requires balancing opposing forces (e.g. empathy vs accountability) while under constant pressure
• Small, conscious leadership behaviors have magnified impact on organisational culture
• Effective leaders must actively cultivate psychological safety and open communication with their teams
• "Managing without power" mindset helps leaders tune into team needs and reduce unintended pressures

In this conversation Judith and Joris explore the idea of personalising leadership to the needs of individual team members. They emphasise the importance of creating psychological safety, encouraging feedback, and being conscious of how one's position of power can impact others. Joris suggests the "managing without power" mindset as a way to stay grounded.

Joris Merks-Benjaminsen is an award winning author. His latest book is titled 'Managing without power'. Joris had a leading role in Google's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives, and was one of the highest scoring managers in the company's history.

You can find out more about our guest and today's episode in this Maverick Paradox Magazine article here.

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Catalysing Transformation - 1 min video

Judith's book: The Maverick Paradox: The Secret Power Behind Successful Leaders. 

Judith's websites: 

• Judith Germain (mentoring, Speaker, author) - judithgermain.com
• The Maverick Paradox Magazine - themaverickparadox.com