Hello Friends!

I hope you enjoyed Part 1 of How to Lead in a Post-Pandemic World! And I certainly hope that it will very soon BE a post-pandemic world. But this is a safe space, so let’s not get into the crazy-making thoughts about the pandemic okay? 😄
 
Because most – if not all! – of us are pretty done. Amy Cuddy (the Harvard professor whose Power Pose TED Talk has been viewed over 63 million times and even got a shout-out in Ted Lasso this season!) calls this Pandemic Flux Syndrome. Not only are we tired of the pandemic, we’re tired of the back and forth about it too. 

DARE TO LEAD

Cuddy was interviewed by Brené Brown on her Dare to Lead podcast a while back, talking about how much anxiety working through this collective, constant pandemic flux is causing, and also how important it is as leaders to empower people to have agency over their work situations. It was a surprisingly fun podcast to listen to – Brown and Cuddy are friends IRL! So it was a warm and engaging conversation, with lots of valuable leadership nuggets thrown in.
 
I haven’t actually followed Brené Brown much, but I really enjoyed the podcast and I also found Brown to have a really dynamic voice and interview style. And so much of what she said resonated with me that I thought I would try listening to one of her leadership books as an audiobook. And she did not disappoint!
 
Dare to Lead was a fantastic read. I’m declaring it one of my Top 3 leadership reads of 2021. (And yes, there are more than 3 to choose from! 😂). Authenticity, Courage, Vulnerability, Values – Brown discusses how impactful and essential these all are for true leadership. But she doesn’t just tell the reader that they’re necessary. She first backs up her research with a lot of study and relevant examples. And then – and this is what really put the book into the Top 3 for me – she details what the behaviours are that make these characteristics happen. It isn’t a book about the theory of leadership. It’s a practical and highly applicable toolkit for leadership skills.

THE FUTURE OF LEADERSHIP

As the Harvard Business Review declared recently in an insightful article on effective leadership going forward:

“The most effective leadership today isn’t about technical expertise and having all the answers. It’s about being human, showing vulnerability, connecting with people, and being able to unleash their potential.”

It’s about daring to be human, and in doing so, daring to lead.

I was asked this week if I was seeing any differences in leadership taking place now, compared to both pre-pandemic and prior to that. The answer is a resounding yes! The two major differences I’m seeing are this shift to a more soft-skills-centered leadership style, and to more holistic and authentic leadership. 

And my feeling is reiterated in this episode of the What’s Essential podcast on the Future of Leadership which was also a good listen.

🇩🇪  Eine Freundin hat mir diesen Podcast über Wertschätzung empfohlen und er hat mir sehr gut gefallen. Obwohl ich die Stimme des Interviewpartners etwas rau fand, war das Thema faszinierend! Wertschätzung und Anerkennung – und wie wichtig sie für unsere Beziehungen sind. Dieser Perspektivwechsel von Beurteilung zur Neugier und zum Mitgefühl ist ein echter Bewusstseinswandel, den ich derzeit sowohl im privaten als auch im beruflichen Bereich beobachte.

WHAT I’M READING

Over the summer, I read The Thursday Murder Club after hearing so many good things about it. I was delighted to discover that the author had planned for this to be a series, and that the second (of a planned 4-book series – is that a quadrilogy?? 🤔) would be out in September. I ordered the second book, The Man Who Died Twice, and devoured it over two days last weekend. Such a great story! Even better than the first one. I literally laughed out loud multiple times, something books rarely make me do. It was funny and entertaining and a really good mystery story. Highly recommend!

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO

I had lots of listening time in the car this past week as I was on a business trip to Sweden. I binged an entire podcast on the way there, and one on the way back! 😀 Thanks so much for your recommendations – they came in so handy!
 
I’m definitely on a True Crime jag at the moment, so it was true crime podcast bingeing last week. First up was Do You Know Mordechai?, a podcast done by a Toronto journalist about a con man who dupes multiple women into dating him. Very interesting, particularly as it also included an episode where the con man himself is interviewed!
 
Then on the drive back from Sweden, I listened to West Cork. I was so engrossed in the story that the 6-hour drive just flew by! The story was told from multiple perspectives and it was hard not to think one way and then the other about the likely culprit of this murder. So well researched and beautifully done.

Thanks so much for all the wonderful feedback on the previous issue of the newsletter. Part 1 seemed to resonate with a lot of you! So glad to hear it, and so grateful to be able to share and interact about issues that are so central to who we are, how we work, and what type of leader we want to be. I’d love it if you shared the newsletter with friends and colleagues you think would enjoy it too!

Hard to believe that we’re already in the middle of November!! I actually cracked out my master holiday prep list on Monday!! If you know me, you know that I love a good colour-coded and categorized list so I’ve been working on the perfect Christmas prep list for years. Here’s hoping this is the year I get it all done right! 😄

Hope you have a sunny, beautiful autumn weekend!

Hugs,