Swapisodes 1 and 2 – with Will James, Executive Leadership Coach at With Diversity
How can you look after the brains of an organisation?
Will James asked me to name an early influence on my leadership.
Easy: Jim Collins' Good to Great. Specifically, Level 5 leadership—humility paired with ambition for the organisation, not the self. That led me to Gary Hamel's Humanocracy, which gave me the phrase I keep coming back to: the organisation exists to serve the individual, not the other way around.
In this episode, Will digs into how that plays out—the four-day week, the 80% client reduction, and why looking after the cognitive health and cognitive capacity of the team is the thing that keeps me awake at night.
Better to say it wrong than to say nothing at all?
Fear says: I must say it just the right way.
Courage says: better to say it wrong than to say nothing at all.
Will James, one of my coaches, introduced me to creative controversy—the idea that psychological safety isn't enough. High-performing teams also need risk: the willingness to say the imperfect thing because you trust the relationship can survive it. In this episode, Will explains what that looks like and why daring to break the rules is actually a sign of belonging.
Book list
Episode 1:
“Good to Great” by Jim Collins
“Humanocracy” by Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini
“No Rules Rules” by Reed Hastings
“Turning the Flywheel” by Jim Collins
“Dare to Lead”? by Brené Brown
Episode 2:
“Nonviolent Communication” by Marshall Rosenberg
“Time to Think” by Nancy Kline
“Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us” by Seth Godin
