Welcome to a special preview of the new season of Leading People with me , gerry Murray . This season , I'm excited to bring you more conversations with brilliant authors , organizational experts and leadership practitioners who shape the world of leadership today . Together , we'll explore everything from the art of self-leadership to creating work cultures that empower people .
So settle in for a taste of what's to come and discover why effective leadership always begins with leading ourselves . Our journey starts with Anna Mittelmann , the head of the European School of Administration .
She talks about her experience in HR within the EU institutions and what it takes to nurture leaders who can thrive in multinational , multi-institutional environments .
So I was working in HR , there , in learning and development and inter-institutionally I was participating in this fantastic network across the institutions with all people responsible for training and for learning and development . It was such a vibrant community . We met maybe every two months or so . It was really the cherry on the cake .
Anna's insights remind us that effective leadership is more than a job . It's a responsibility to cultivate the right environment for people to grow . And that brings us to behavioural economist Stefan Meyer , who has a fascinating take on why putting employees first is the key to a thriving organization .
Here's Stefan explaining why leaders should rethink how they view their teams is an indicator of maybe the employees are not the most important asset is like what I what I did in some of my research .
I looked at you know how important are our employees and how important are customers to executives , because I also never met somebody who says like the customers are not important . But when you actually look how often they talk about customers versus employees , they talk about 10 times more on average about customers .
Stefan's ideas and research make us question how we treat people within our organizations . But what about how we treat ourselves ? Melissa Clark , an expert on workaholism , warns us of the dangers of an always-on culture and the toll it takes on mental health .
In our conversation , she shares a powerful perspective on what it really means to switch off and find balance in our lives .
But oftentimes the modern workaholic can be just more visible through technology , emailing all hours of the night . You're getting emails three in the morning , four in the morning and you're thinking , do they ever sleep ?
And constantly on their phone when they're at family gatherings , whether it's a wedding or vacation , taking technology with them to vacation , you know so , I think , the modern workaholic , even though they might not be physically at work as much as before , they're still working and it might even be worse because of technology .
Melissa's message strikes a chord for leaders and employees alike , especially in today's world where boundaries between work and life are increasingly blurred . But how can leaders convey presence and authenticity in a high-stress environment ?
Caroline Goider , a renowned voice and performance coach , gives us her insights into what it means to find your voice and lead with gravitas .
It was like she had slightly shrunk and the journey we went through in a half day coaching session was to help her find the intention , because I don't know about you , jerry , but I feel that a lot of powerful performances about intentionality . I said what do you want them to feel ?
And she was really surprised by that question because she thought what do I want them to think . So we set her intention . We thought about story , because story , I think , is a really beautiful way to tap into things that matter to you . And I said what are the stories , the green shoots of success in this transformation ?
And she started to tell me a story and I said we need to use that because stories will help change the audience's mindset from the pain of transformation to the potential .
And she went in three hours from someone small and hunched and flat on a team's meeting to someone who I know , when she does it will be standing passionate , full of energy and persuasive , and that was always in her . But you know , as you know , good coaching is really just about going to someone . I trust you've got this . Let's draw it out .
As Caroline says , true presence comes from within . So this season we'll continue to dive deeper into the tools , perspectives and practices that help leaders become more centered , intentional and resilient .
It's going to be a fascinating season , filled with wisdom , insights , personal stories and practical advice that you won't want to miss , so get ready to challenge your assumptions about leadership and hear from some of the best minds in the field .
This season , on Leading People , we'll be leading ourselves first , so tune in next week for the first episode of the new season and make sure you're subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts .