Building a healthy culture and fostering ethical decision-making requires an environment in which concerns are raised and dangerous blindness is avoided. However, creating such an environment seems to be one of the most challenging aspects of leadership. Best-selling author Kim Scott has thought long and hard about how organizations can facilitate the hard conversations that need to happen in order to build trust and transparency. In this engaging and insightful episode, your host Tobias and Kim...
Apr 07, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 5Ep. 54
We often don't know what to do with regret. Organizations often have a culture that causes its employees to be solely future-focused, not dwelling on past failures. While there is certainly a need to move forward, the danger is that past regrets become taboo; people can feel like there is something wrong with them if they have regrets. However, best-selling author Daniel Pink believes that regret can become a positive driver resulting in powerful results. In this inspiring and encouraging episod...
Mar 24, 2022•51 min•Season 5Ep. 53
On 24 February 2022 Putin ordered the Russian army to attack Ukraine. At the time of this episode, there are more than 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine that have crossed the border to another European country. Amid this pain, fear, and uncertainty people are still taking leadership. This episode is a conversation with one of those brave leaders: Serhii Bolchuk, the co-founder of Agape Ukraine. This moving interview tells their unfinished story of pivoting from serving people in their own facili...
Mar 10, 2022•49 min•Season 5Ep. 52
Office politics. It's a phrase to which many have some kind of gut reaction. Probably a highly negative one. Niven Postma makes the case that it's essentially impossible to avoid office politics. In every organization, there is a need to socialize and build momentum for ideas in ways that are outside of the formal process and hierarchy; it happens all the time. In this insightful episode, your host Tobias and Niven discuss aspects of office politics, how to build healthy organizational cultures,...
Feb 24, 2022•47 min•Season 5Ep. 51
Welcome to a new season of the Leading Transformational Change podcast! A healthy culture is a culture in which ethics and values are central to the decision-making process. While laws and regulations can offer us some guidance, Dr. Susan Liautaud makes the case that the ethics edge - the areas in which we can’t rely on rules but need our ethical compass and clear guiding principles - is growing. In this fascinating and helpful episode, your host, Tobias, and Susan discuss culture, ethics, decis...
Feb 10, 2022•55 min•Season 5Ep. 50
As season four of the Leading Transformational Change podcast draws to a close, your host, Tobias Sturesson, takes this opportunity to encourage you and your organization to continue pursuing a healthy culture. Together, we can make organizations that live their purpose, succeed in their mission, and have a positive impact on all stakeholders, the norm and not the exception. Wishing you a peaceful Christmas and a prosperous 2022. Duration: 08:40
Dec 22, 2021•9 min•Season 4Ep. 49
What makes people prejudiced and what makes them fight in conflicts? While the "Us vs Them" mentality is a common organizational culture challenge experienced by HR professionals and leaders, there is in-depth research that reveals something more pervasive that needs greater attention: collective narcissism. Dr Agnieszka Golec de Zavala, a distinguished professor who heads up PrejudiceLab, defines this as “a belief that the exaggerated greatness of one’s group is not sufficiently recognized by o...
Dec 09, 2021•30 min•Season 4Ep. 48
The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) concluded in mid-November. It can be difficult to discern between quantifiable achievements and empty promises. Parul Sharma, a distinguished human rights lawyer, contends that many companies spend more resources on communication around their sustainability initiatives than on the initiatives themselves. In this comprehensive and informative episode, Parul discusses what we can learn from COP26, the interconnectedness of issues such as hu...
Nov 25, 2021•58 min•Season 4Ep. 47
Instead of dealing with real organizational and cultural issues, leaders can often engage the organization in exercises around values that are at best meaningless or at worst lead to distrust and disillusion. A leading voice behind this criticism in Sweden is Professor Mats Alvesson, known for coining the term "functional stupidity". In this confronting and thought-provoking episode, Mats discusses how we can avoid functional stupidity and what it really takes to operate according to a set of pr...
Nov 11, 2021•52 min•Season 4Ep. 46
In this exciting and insightful episode, Tonia Ries, responsible for the Edelman Trust Barometer and the leader of the firm's global knowledge agenda, discusses the importance and role of trust within an organization, what it means to be trustworthy, and how to build trust with stakeholders. Indeed, it's not just enough to be seen as competent; we also need to be seen as ethical. Tonia Ries is Executive Director of Intellectual Property for the Edelman Trust Institute, Edelman’s center for the s...
Oct 28, 2021•51 min•Season 4Ep. 45
In this engaging and eye-opening episode, Kevin Oakes, the CEO and co-founder of i4cp (the leading authority on next practices in human capital), and the author of the recently published book, Culture Renovation ™, unpacks the strategies and actions that i4cp, through extensive research, has learned are key to successfully renovating culture. As CEO and co-founder of i4cp, Kevin Oakes provides strategic direction and vision, and is responsible for the overall operations of the organization. Kevi...
Oct 14, 2021•55 min•Season 4Ep. 44
In this informative and helpful episode, Guido Palazzo, a business ethics professor with a passion for examining and understanding unethical decision making, provides profound observations about the current state of society, and how to embrace uncertainty, fear, and irrationality with a sense of hope. In addition, he shares ways that leaders and HR professionals can create an organizational culture that mitigates ethical tunnel vision. Guido Palazzo is Professor of Business Ethics at HEC Lausann...
Oct 01, 2021•50 min•Season 4Ep. 43
"Think about how you can incorporate the things we do in our daily lives that we enjoy into your training programs - that is how you appeal to my emotional side and then you're more likely to get a change in behavior." Join your host, Tobias Sturesson, and his guest, Kelly Richmond Pope, for this episode on The Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this candid and insightful conversation, Kelly Richmond Pope, a recognized expert in Forensic Accounting and the filmmaker who documented the l...
Sep 16, 2021•47 min•Season 4Ep. 42
"We need to invite in the critics. We need to open our doors. We need to listen to them." Join your host, Tobias Sturesson, and his guest, Bob Langert, for this episode on The Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this fascinating and helpful conversation, you will learn how Bob Langert, former VP of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability at McDonald's, shifted from fighting the company's critics to a posture of listening and even collaborating with organizations like Greenpeac...
Sep 02, 2021•50 min•Season 4Ep. 41
“The best organizations encourage people to work together in teams and groups of people, promoting benefits that can be conferred on other parties – where the benefits are of considerable significance – to not just the customers and those organizations, but society and the natural world at large. That is what we need to be seeking from the organizations that we are creating, throughout the economies and nation-states in which we're operating, to help us address the problems that we're facing.” W...
Aug 19, 2021•55 min•Season 4Ep. 40
Our host Tobias Sturesson greets us with some exciting updates on Season 4, launching August 19. We have a number of wonderful, insightful, inspiring, and challenging conversations lined up. Don't miss it!
Aug 11, 2021•2 min
"I've seen many examples of management by fear in organizations. People become so much less than they could be. Many managers think they are making things happen, but the opposite actually happens - people become less active and take less initiative." Join your host, Tobias Sturesson, and his guest, Louise Bringselius, for this episode on The Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this informative and engaging conversation, you will learn how trust can be an organizational operating system ...
Jun 17, 2021•42 min•Season 3Ep. 39
"As much as you feel you're trying to do the right thing, the unforseen implications just knock you from every side." Join your host, Tobias Sturesson, and his guests, Bianca Goodson and Mary Inman, for this episode on The Leading Transformational Change podcast. In this vulnerable and compelling conversation, you will learn how most whistleblowers report internally first, without being heard, before choosing to blow the whistle. This episode discusses how organizations can create environments w...
May 20, 2021•46 min•Season 3Ep. 38
"We have created contexts where so many everyday behaviors are seen as requiring courage." Join your host, Tobias Sturesson, and his guest, Jim Detert, for this episode on The Leading Transformational Change podcast. Their informative conversation focuses on how we can learn to be competently courageous in our workplaces, but also why leaders should never encourage courage but instead create an atmosphere where speaking and standing up is the safest thing in the world. Jim Detert is the John L. ...
May 06, 2021•54 min•Season 3Ep. 37
"Being curious is a skill, which more people would practice if it was actually referred to as a skill." Join your host, Tobias Sturesson, and his guest, Francesca Gino, for this episode on The Leading Transformational Change podcast. During their fascinating conversation, Francesca shares about ethics, culture, leadership, and authenticity. Be inspired by her insatiable curiosity and passion for creating more human, more diverse, and more ethical workplaces. Francesca Gino is an award-winning re...
Apr 22, 2021•51 min•Season 3Ep. 36
"The tragedy is that so many managers get told that you mustn't show weakness, that you should always be in control - this is just nonsense in today's world, and yet we continue to teach it." Join your host, Tobias Sturesson, and his guests, Ed and Peter Schein, for this episode on The Leading Transformational Change podcast. During their engaging conversation, Ed and Peter share how we can build more healthy cultures and trusting relationships through humble leadership and humble inquiry. Be in...
Apr 08, 2021•50 min•Season 3Ep. 35
"Instead of trying to solve it yourself, give tasks to duos and tell them to solve it - make it clear what mandate they have!" Join your host, Tobias Sturesson, and his guest, Maria Deckeman, for this episode on The Leading Transformational Change podcast. During their highly informative conversation, Maria discusses what she has learned about facilitating collaboration, creating a shared identity, and developing professional judgment. Be inspired by Maria's insights into the role of leaders and...
Mar 25, 2021•50 min•Season 3Ep. 34
"If you assume that no news is good news, then you're dangerous." Join your host Tobias Sturesson and his guest, Ron Carucci, for this episode on The Leading Transformational Change podcast. During their lively conversation, Ron discusses how the world’s most successful organizations are leading with the Power of Truth, Justice, and Purpose. Be inspired by Ron's insights into how our organizations can and should be a place where people can find purpose, dignity, and belonging. Ron has a 30-year ...
Mar 11, 2021•37 min•Season 3Ep. 33
Tobias Sturesson invites Adam Kahane to join him for this episode on The Leading Transformational Change Podcast. During their in-depth conversation, Adam candidly shares about his time working with Former Colombian President, Juan Manuel Santos, recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in bringing the 50-year-long Colombian civil war to an end. Be inspired by Adam's insights into a revolutionary way of collaborating that goes against usual organizational norms. Adam Kahane is a Dire...
Feb 25, 2021•45 min•Season 3Ep. 32
Tobias Sturesson invites Stan Slap to join him for this episode on The Leading Transformational Change Podcast. During this insightful conversation, Stan articulates the need to rethink culture and values, unpacks his concepts of "self-protective organisms" and "cultural obsessions", and outlines practical strategies and tactics for success. Be inspired by his passionate plea to leaders to care for the humanity of their organizations, especially as we continue to navigate a global pandemic and u...
Feb 11, 2021•57 min•Season 3Ep. 31
How do we live out our corporate values with integrity? It’s something that is easy to say, but not as easy to do. Too often, corporate values become either a shield against justified criticism or merely some meaningless statements we articulate to seem more attractive. Tobias Sturesson invites Jay Jakub to join him for this episode on The Leading Transformational Change Podcast. Their insightful conversation explores how the Mars Corporation, a 38-billion-dollar privately owned company, lives o...
Jan 28, 2021•51 min•Season 3Ep. 30
Tobias Sturesson kicks off Season 3 of the Leading Transformational Change Podcast with a profound and empowering conversation with Dr. Margaret Heffernen, entrepreneur, CEO, author, and keynote speaker, about how to reimagine the future and not fall into the trap of wilful blindness.
Jan 14, 2021•55 min•Season 3Ep. 29
They were in a state of deep shock. How could something so shocking happen in Germany’s largest corporation, and to one of its most iconic brands? On episode 28 of the Leading Transformational Change podcast, I have the privilege of speaking with Hiltrud Werner about Volkswagen's journey from shock - to shame - to change, after the diesel emissions scandal. Hiltrud is head of Integrity and Legal Affairs and a part of the Volkswagen Management Board. We talk about: - Why it was vital to make the ...
Dec 17, 2020•39 min•Season 2Ep. 28
What distinguishes a great culture, and how do we achieve it? How can we avoid hiring narcissistic leaders that corrupt culture? Jennifer Chatman, Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management at Berkeley Haas School of Business and a world-renowned corporate culture researcher, has focused her career on how leaders can leverage culture for business impact. Recently she also published a highly publicized study on the destructive impact of narcissist leaders on corporate culture. On Episo...
Dec 03, 2020•49 min•Season 2Ep. 27
How do you overcome your ethical blindspots? Ann Tenbrunsel, Professor of Business Ethics at Notre Dame, has researched why we believe we are more ethical than we are, why that is a serious problem for every organization, and what we can do about it. This is vital for every organization that wants to lead with values. On episode 26 of the Leading Transformational Change podcast, I talk to Ann about: -How ethical fading can remove ethics and corporate values from the decision making process. -Why...
Nov 19, 2020•39 min•Season 2Ep. 26
