The greatest gift you can give your organization is that you show up with your own cup full, so you don’t need anything from anyone

Pallavi and I delve into the world of self leadership and empowering yourself for joy, fulfilment and better results. Leadership essentially comes from the inner experience not the outer experience. incredible insights on self-leadership ; defining it as having inner clarity, knowing what truly matters to you, and intentionally guiding yourself without needing this external validation. Think about it: How often do we look outside ourselves for answers when we already have the tools within? One shocking stat that really hit home: only 13% of CEOs believe they have the leadership potential available to grow their business today. This highlights the urgent need for leaders to connect with themselves and do the inner work. The next generation requires the skill of self-mastery in a tech-driven world where AI will do the – non-human – rest.

We walk through Pallavi's ATM framework: Arrive in the present moment, Take responsibility, and Make a conscious choice. This is the basis for framing the journey for leaders to break old patterns and create new neural networks, leading to real empowerment and joy.

If you were to ask yourself how much of your leadership potential is available today for reinventing and innovating on the status quo what would your answer be ?

Taking stock of reality, anticipating change and equipping ourselves to lead through the transition curves is key in todays complex environment.

The main insights you will get from this episode are :

- Leadership is an inside job but in the modern ‘hustle culture’, we look for success to give us inner joy and fulfilment; yet all the answers are within us – if we can connect to our purpose and master ourselves.

- The journey of self-mastery, self-transformation and self-leadership requires a framework to transfer what we learn into daily practice to build stronger connections with others and have real tools for change that work.

- It begins with an ability to have inner clarity about who we are and what is important to us and why; and then the conviction to guide ourselves from within without the need for external factors.

- Helping leaders to be intentional about leading with empathy and clarity is based on a strong foundation of inner science and an understanding of who they are, as well as the need to take care of ourselves first to be able to better serve others.

- Empowered leaders do not blame others or the system but take responsibility for crafting their own life first in order to be better leaders. The ATM framework for personal growth gives three steps to unlock true potential:

· Arrive in the present moment

· Take responsibility and know what truly matters to you

· Make a conscious choice

- They can be applied consistently in our everyday lives and also to any challenging or conflict situation because they help break the automatic response that is programmed in our body and mind.

- Small actions that create new neural networks lead to increased confidence and empowerment to choose and do what we really want; stressed teams need clear, calm, joyful leaders who understand this.

- Our attention faces multiple distractions, and we need an adaptive culture to avoid overwhelm and creating more stress for ourselves, i.e. by revolutionising workplace wellness and making work more joyful and...

"The secret to great EQ is to follow the platinum rule, not the golden rule."

A fun conversation with Faris about leadership, life and sustainable impact. What is the magic formula to success and does it look the same for everyone ?

Whilst EQ may be where all attention lies, FQ can be just as important and impactful. To achieve success, balance a strong strategy (IQ) with emotional intelligence (EQ) for team buy-in, and focused prioritization (FQ) to avoid spreading resources too thin.

To be successful, it’s critical to have a balance of three components: a great strategy (IQ), emotional intelligence to bring others along (EQ), and focus through prioritization (FQ). Many companies only have one or two of these in harmony. A good strategy involves having a well-thought-out plan. Emotional intelligence is needed to excite others about the idea. Focus is about prioritizing and removing barriers to success.

We also look at what AI brings to this formula - it is most helpful in IQ by coming up with hundreds of ideas; for FQ it can help categorise competing priorities; it is less helpful in EQ as empathetic communication and human connection are still key to creating meaningful relationships, and ideas still have to be sold to other human beings.

Listen as Faris sparkles his gold dust into our ears and eyes from working with leaders and organisations around the globe on this formula for success.

The main insights you'll get from this epsiode are :

- Experience of teaching children around the world helps in a business context to solve problems through people – it brings emotional intelligence to decision-making, which in turn makes delivering a strategy more likely.

- Shiageto means to sharpen a tool but is applied to human beings in this context: we can always be sharper, and the same techniques can be used as to teach, such as making things entertaining, simple, etc.

- Three components are required for success: a) IQ, a great idea/strategy/plan, b) EQ, to take everyone with you on the journey, and c) FQ, to focus, prioritise and remove anticipated barriers; of these, FQ is often the missing piece.

- Deployment as a consultant is often more for EQ than FQ, but the three are interlinked. Cultural differences across the IQ/EQ/FQ formula sit within EQ and questions must be asked to understand/overcome them.

- Teaching IQ across the globe requires adapting delivery of the content to take account of culture by using different tools and approaches – time must be invested in meeting every individual at multinational board meetings, for instance, in order to create a more level playing field.

- Small businesses looking to have more impact must define what this means for them. Consider maximum impact by asking, for example: What is a 15% better idea? What would my nemesis do? How will I measure it? What are my assumptions?

- Advice that is applicable to all organisations is to team up and get to know each other by creating random meet-ups, lunch/job swaps – this opens up conversations and increases success by creating connections.

- The effect of (gen)AI on the formula: it is most helpful in IQ by coming up with hundreds of ideas; for FQ it can help categorise competing priorities; it is less helpful in EQ as ideas still have to be sold to other human beings.

- The disadvantage is the weakening of the EQ muscle, e.g. young people are often reticent to speak on the phone - asynchronous is easy but synchronous requires real EQ; having both difficult and casual conversations is good for collaboration, but a tool (AI) is just

"In Digital transformation the disconnect that exists across teams, frameworks and deliverables is always very clear."

Michael and I discuss this trio and what it means for successful transformation. Digital transformation initiatives often suffer from disconnects across teams, frameworks, and deliverables, and many organisations face complexities arising from disparate people, technologies, and data that have evolved without a unified plan. This confusion inhibits effective collaboration and knowledge sharing among teams, with employees often lacking a comprehensive understanding of the broader organisational landscape.

We discuss Michael’s Process Inventory Framework which ensures that even seemingly non-core processes are accounted for, as they can significantly impact how the organisation operates. By building a complete inventory of processes and validating it across all levels of the organisation, businesses can create a common language and understanding that promotes alignment and drives effective transformation. We discuss measuring the success of digital transformation initiatives as well as managing data driven decision making and the need for accountability & empowerment.

Digital transformation is not just about tech, it is about value and creating value differently. The integration of AI will bring with it other opportunities to integrate processes and data and to create value differently also.

Michael shares his insights and experience from creating and implementing his framework and from working with leaders across the globe.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

- Most organisations have a clear disconnect across teams, frameworks and deliverables and the same patterns: complexity, evolving situations, unforeseen/unplanned outcomes, and a high degree of confusion.

- Teams working in silos have little understanding of what other teams do, inhibiting collaboration and knowledge – there is no unifying thread, which is essential for successful transformation.

- The book focuses on this unifying thread by seeking to establish what the business does and codify it (at both strategic and detail level) in one framework for common understanding and vertical/horizontal alignment purposes.

- The process inventory framework covers every single core and non-core process, starting at the top and working down through the organisational hierarchy to the process level (also increasingly with the help of AI to integrate operational data).

- Employees formally attest to the inventory, working upwards from the bottom of the hierarchy, to create an accurate basis and semantic structure for planning transformations and driving programmes.

- The requisite clarity comes from an exhaustive list of processes, followed by a digital initiative – transformation entails profound change and digital integrates new technologies to fuel efficiency.

- A clear roadmap with an environment analysis (external – trade, economic, competition; and internal – strengths and weaknesses) optimises the change budget and permits precision to flow down through the rest of the programme.

- Data-driven ways of working come with enormous volumes of data and the challenge of data lineage with a lack of traceability and documentation - data must always be in a proper business context.

- Operational leaders can use data analytics to empower people and create workflows, cascading goals down to individual processes from the overriding strategic imperative and providing clear accountability.

- Operational...