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Second Crack — The Leadership Podcast
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Second Crack — The Leadership Podcast
Author: Gerrit Pelzer, Martin Aldergard
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© 2025 Second Crack — The Leadership Podcast
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Leadership Consultant Martin Aldergard and Executive Coach Gerrit Pelzer explore everyday leadership dilemmas and paradoxes. Get ready for thought-provoking questions which invite self-reflection and help you grow as a leader. More info: https://secondcrackleadership.com
43 Episodes
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How we think as leaders profoundly shapes our ability to navigate complexity, make sense of challenges, and involve others. In this episode, we explore the "Thinking" dimension of the Inner Development Goals (IDG) and why developing our thinking skills is crucial for long-term success. We share insights on how leaders can expand their perspectives, avoid oversimplifications, and strengthen their ability to make sense of complex challenges. 1. Complexity Awareness Leaders are often great at so...
We continue to explore how to make corporate transformation more successful by more intentional and meaningful involvement of employees. In this episode, we’re joined by Ilkka Mäkitalo, founder of Howspace, to explore how leaders can create better involvement that taps into collective intelligence, leverages technology, and fosters deeper engagement. Key Themes 1. Engage Thoughtfully and Intentionally Involvement isn’t just about participation; it’s about designing thoughtful int...
In today’s episode, we present a free audio version of Gerrit Pelzer's chapter Soft Skills Through the Lens of Hard Science: Insights into Why Leaders Need to Know About the Brain from the book Brains Inspiring Businesses.* In this chapter, Gerrit highlights three essential insights every leader should know about the brain: Each brain is unique—this influences motivation and the conditions under which people can be their best. Emotions drive all our actions, including at work—yet they’re of...
In this episode we explore a timely and vital question: What can women bring to leadership that men can't? Joining us are two accomplished women leaders from traditionally male-dominated industries: Dr. Melanie Maas-Brunner, a former BASF board member, and Evelyn Chau, a director in the global banking industry. Together we dive into the unique contributions women bring to leadership, the challenges, and what we can all learn from a more diverse approach to leadership. KEY MESSAGES AND LESSON...
We explore how to achieve success in corporate transformation. The discussion starts with the fact that many organisations still seem to rely on traditional top-down approaches, despite evidence that this method leads to disengagement, resistance to change, and change fatigue. We conclude that there is a need for organisations to rethink their approach to transformation by putting people at the heart of the process. This means inviting people to co-create at scale, tapping into the collective...
Gerrit Pelzer and Martin Aldergård delve into an unexpected but insightful theme: what leaders can learn from horses. Joined by guest Ed Renshaw, an executive coach with expertise in equine-assisted leadership development, they explore the parallels between interacting with horses and leading people, providing a unique perspective on leadership dynamics. Highlights: Purposeful Leadership: Horses, like people, respond to clear, authentic leadership. Ed explains how horses mirror human energy...
In this episode, we explore the power and importance of intuition in leadership with Intuition Coach Dr. Charlotte Tamason. Intuition is often an underestimated aspect of leadership, yet it plays a crucial role in decision-making, fostering innovation, and navigating complex situations. Episode Highlights Understanding Intuition: Charlotte demystifies what intuition really means for leaders, explaining how it goes beyond gut feelings to become a reliable inner guide.Intuition and Decision-Ma...
In a corporate environment, leaders are expected to be achievement-oriented and drive results. However, the relentless pursuit of goals can lead to exhaustion and burnout. Often, both leaders and employees miss out on enjoying the process while working towards the organization’s future vision. In this episode, Martin Aldergård and Gerrit Pelzer explore how leaders can find a balance between feeling content in the present moment while maintaining a drive for future aspirations. Key Points: ...
Join us in a conversation with Enrico Cañal Bruland, GM&VP of a multinational pharmaceutical company, where we discuss how to develop resilience in leadership. Reflecting on professional and private challenges, Enrico shares 3 factors that have helped him become a calmer, more balanced, and better version of himself. And as a result, becoming a more resilient leader, supporting his team and fostering a positive, forward-looking mindset, during difficult times. Curiosity - the ability to a...
In this episode, we talk with Noah Shepherd about leading change in a foreign country. We tap into his 30+ years of experience as a leader and executive in Asia. Our conversation covers three key success factors for leading change: It's not a raceInvolve everyoneTailor your communication to each audienceWhile this certainly can be seen as common knowledge, there is a lot to learn from Noah's deep experience and the stories he is sharing. He provides practical examples and insights, leading to...
In this episode we delve into the vital leadership skill of assertiveness. With guest Rachel Goodwin, a UK-based leadership coach with a specialisation in assertiveness and supporting women in the workplace, we explore how leaders can balance assertiveness to avoid being too soft, or overly aggressive. We discuss behavioural patterns including passive, aggressive, and passive-aggressive styles, and the role of skilful assertive communication in achieving win-win situations and im...
In this episode, we explore how to navigate organisational boundaries. As enterprises expand, silos and barriers often emerge, hindering collaboration across units, functions, and regions. However, adept leaders understand that success comes from bridging such boundaries, both within and outside the organisation. Join us as we delve into this vital leadership topic with our valued guest, Dr. Jürgen Scherer, a seasoned leader renowned for his expertise in navigating boundaries in global organi...
In today's episode, we delve into the GAPS Grid, a dynamic tool designed to propel your leadership journey forward. Crafted by David B. Peterson, the GAPS Grid offers a structured approach to self-reflection, fostering clarity and alignment crucial for impactful leadership.* At its core, the GAPS Grid is a straightforward 2-by-2 matrix. You can visualize it by clicking here: https://bit.ly/GAPS-Grid. The 'G' quadrant represents Goals & Values, prompting introspection into what trul...
Applying coaching skills as a leader is one of the best ways to develop people and boost employee engagement. And in fact, many leaders have attended "coaching skills for leaders" or "manager as a coach" trainings. Why then, we might ask, is not everyone in every organisation fully engaged, yet. Is coaching not working, after all? We are convinced coaching does work, but there are factors that keep leaders from applying them. What is coaching? Coaching should not be seen as a remedy to fix...
Leaders often ask us, “How can I motivate my team?” or “How do I enhance employee engagement?”. Unfortunately, there is no simple answer, as motivation is a highly individual and complex subject. But the challenge of motivating people is also what makes life interesting as a leader. Wouldn’t it be boring if we were all like robots, needing three pushes of a button, to be motivated? Nevertheless, there are common motivational “themes”, or guidelines, that every leader can benefit from. Key m...
Embarking on a more senior executive role in your career can be very rewarding, yet it also poses several challenges. In this episode, we delve into the intricate dynamics of leadership transitions, uncovering strategies to make a profound impact in your new leadership position from the get-go. [3:10] Understanding the nuances of your new role compared to your previous one is pivotal. Letting go of familiar tasks and delegating these can prove challenging, especially if you excelled in...
In this episode, we share insights from a 12-month project where we involved all executives, managers and employees in shaping and implementing a new vision and strategy for growth. The project resulted in re-energizing and motivating 700 people at a large chemical manufacturing plant, fostering not only business expansion but also fortifying a sense of ownership and teamwork across the site. Key takeaways Approach vision and strategy as a process, implementation includedInvolve people in co-...
In this episode we keep exploring the topic of trust in leadership, today from the perspective of openness and transparency. We are joined by Adam Horne, the co-founder of OpenOrg, a company on a mission to rebuild trust by bringing transparency to the world of work. We know that being open and transparent as a leader is key to build trust. An article in Harvard Business Review reports 76% higher employee engagement, and Gallup statistics shows 21% higher profit margin, compared to the averag...
A 360 Degree Feedback may be the most powerful leadership development tool you will ever use — if you use it correctly. Feedback holds the key to successful leadership development. Despite our well-intentioned endeavours, our actions may not always align with our intentions in the eyes of others. The most successful leaders understand how they are perceived by others and adjust their actions and manage perception accordingly. Receiving candid feedback is not always pleasant, but it invariab...
Join our conversation with Anu Rathninde, the APAC President of Johnson Controls, and take-away an easy-to-remember guide for how to tackle complexity as a leader. Apply the steps in the “SIILA”-model and directly understand what you need to address, and create positive transformation in your organization. As a leader, you are expected to deliver predictable results and you are held accountable. It might be tempting to base your decision-making on control and assumed certainty. Yet, an organ...
Tho Ha Vinh (bio below) found that one root cause for suffering is our current economic system based on competition and the fundamental contradiction of endless economic growth and the reality of a finite planet. It is an illusion that happiness and satisfaction come from more consumption. In effect, the ever-increasing consumption is destroying the planet and thus the very foundation of our human lives. The goal of economic growth must be to to satisfy legitimate human needs through ...
We are joined by Jim Massey, Chief Sustainability Officer at Zai Lab, and former global Vice President of ESG at AstraZeneca. Jim shares his experience as a global sustainability leader, and how he is using the Can, Care, Do model to lead transformation in the healthcare industry. Jim is also the author of the newly launched book "Trust in Action". Listen and gain insights on how you can build trust: the foundation of all positive action and change. And as always, we end with a few reflection...
From our experience in executive coaching and leadership development we see again and again that self-awareness is absolutely mission critical for self-development and personal growth. And of course, we can ask the question: Is there a link between a leader's self-awareness and his or her leadership effectiveness? To help us answer this question, we have a great guest on the show, Dr. Nia Thomas. Key moments [05:19] Nia shares what triggered her curiosity about leadership and self-awareness&n...
On the one hand, ‘every leader knows’ that it’s important to make all voices heard in an organisation, diversity and inclusion is critical. On the other hand, it’s still not uncommon to experience meetings where only a minority of participants is talking. And why is it so difficult to truly listen to opposing viewpoints? It has a lot to do with dialogue. In this episode we go deeper into the practice of genuin dialogue, its benefits and challenges. And, as always Gerrit and Martin have very d...
In this episode, we interview Anthony Watanabe, Chief Sustainability Officer of Indorama Ventures, a 20-billion dollar chemical company with 140 manufacturing sites worldwide and 26,000 employees. Anthony shares his experience of leading sustainable transformation at scale, and as we will see, there are both charms & challenges to the job. Key moments [05:00] How Anthony “wonderfully accidentally” discovered sustainability and started his 20+ year career in the field. [10:00] Charms and...
Leaders are expected to get results. In fact, some people will say that’s what leaders get paid for, and they are held accountable when the desired results are not achieved. But, at the same time, leaders can’t really control outcomes, especially during times that seem to become increasingly uncertain. So what can leaders do? Dr. Paul Lawrence is helping us find answers in this episode. Paul is a leadership consultant, coach, researcher, and author of many books and articles on leadership an...
The end of the year is always an excellent opportunity to slow down, reflect, and set the course for the New Year. Reflection helps us get clarity and new insights. Often, that's all we need to take the right actions. But, reflection is also important to bring into awareness what's good already — something that often gets lost in our hectic daily lives. So, why don't you set aside some time during the holidays period to reflect? You may want to use the questions below as guidance: How has th...
With Acting — Driving Change, we explore the fifth category* of the Inner Development Goals (IDG). Traditional leadership frameworks may include elements such as results-orientation, setting SMART goals, delegation, or follow-up when it comes to acting. Surprisingly, the IDG focus is on four entirely different skills and qualities that form the foundation of driving change: 1) COURAGE (4:03 mins): ability to stand up for values, make decisions, take decisive action and, if need b...
We talk about COLLABORATING the 4th category of the Inner Development Goals (IDG). In previous episodes we have covered Being, Thinking and Relating. According to a study by Howspace, 76% of employees say they really enjoy collaborating, but 2/3 also say the way their company collaborates needs to change, but don’t believe it will change. There's clearly room to nurture better collaboration in organisations. The IDG framework offers 5 skills or qualities to practice: 1) Communication the ab...
How can leaders can create more impact through listening? We interview Raquel Ark, founder of Listening Alchemy and host of the Listening Superpower Podcast. 7:40: Recent statistics show that a key skill that’s needed for leaders is listening. However, listening is normally nothing we learn in school. Research shows that there is a lot of power in listening. Listening is a prestige power It's the type of power where people want to follow you, where people are inspired by you. It's more of an...
In our series on the Inner Development Goals (IDG), we have already covered Being and Thinking. Today, we discuss the third IDG category: RELATING Many leaders are focused on action to get results. The importance of relationships is often underestimated, as we discussed in Relationships at Work. Sometimes leaders intentionally want to keep a “professional distance” thinking it helps them to “stay in power”. “We are here to get the job done, not for relationships.” But in reality, we nee...
Cognitive Skills are common elements in any leadership model, and most leaders excel at these qualities. However, traditional leadership models may emphasise aspects such as analytical thinking, rational decision-making, or logic. Of course, such skills are still critical today. However, leaders need to expand their cognitive skill set according to the context we are operating in nowadays. The world is highly interconnected and complex, and the speed of change can be overwhelming. The Inner D...
Last time, we explored The Inner Development Goals — THE Leadership Model for the Future. Now, we take a deeper dive into the first category of this Framework: "Being — Relationship to Self" Traditional leadership models tend to focus a on the actions ("doing") a leader has to take to be successful. However, the underlying "being" sets the stage for what actions we take and how we take them. The IDG highlights five specific qualities and skills for leaders: 1)...
There are already hundreds of leadership models. And most companies have well-established competency frameworks for leadership. So why should we care about another model? In this episode, we explore The Inner Development Goals (IDG) model and why we think IDG is a powerful tool for leadership development and organisational transformation. WHAT'S IDG? IDG was created in 2021 by three Swedish organisations: Ekskäret Foundation, The New Division, and the 29K Foundation. The purpose is to draw at...
Today, leadership takes place in a challenging context, e.g., increasing complexityincreasing speed of changeinformation overloadThus, decision-making processes become more difficult. Leaders are at risk of either delaying decisions (gathering more information) or over-simplifying and rushing to decisions. In an increasingly complex world, single leaders or small groups of leaders can’t have all the answers. Instead, they need to involve the whole team in sense-making and de...
Trust-based relationships at work are the foundation for healthy performance. We are social beings. However, what is often described as social or psychological is actually biological. Relationships are an essential aspect of evolution: living in groups has been critical for our survival as a species. We developed capabilities to quickly judge if we can trust others, largely without conscious awareness, sometimes described as “gut feeling” (see neuroception and interoception). Not only our hun...
The speed of transformation in your organisation depends on how fast you can involve and gain ownership from all employees. And this depends on how fast you are prepared to ‘let go’ of control. We discuss a case where we used a world-class tool called Howspace to engage employees in a large company and the implications for leaders. [01:20] Changes/trends that set the condition for successful transformation. Companies are on longer and more complex transformation journeys, e. g., t...
Your success as a leader depends not only on the quality of your work. Whether you want to get a promotion or influence stakeholders to support your next big investment project, you need to make sure that you and your work are perceived in the desired way. Success is a function of performance and perception. Managing perception does not mean you need to put on a show or try to be someone else. On the contrary: the best leaders can put themselves into other people’s shoes and cater to their ne...
Feedback is vital for growth. Leaders need to understand how others perceive them to create the desired impacts. Leaders need to give feedback effectively to help their teams grow. Leaders who do not provide feedback deny others the opportunity to improve. However, giving feedback effectively can be challenging. Explore here with Gerrit Pelzer and Martin Aldergard how to master the Art of Giving Effective Feedback to help you and your team grow. Key Aspects ‘One thing people are...
There seems to be no room for emotions at work. We say things like “don’t be so emotional” or “emotions have clouded your judgment.” However, the reality is that basically all our actions are triggered by emotions, whether we are consciously aware of this or not. Emotions provide the energy for action: E-Motions. Here’s what leaders need to know about emotions and how they can release the energy for innovation, creativity, and optimum performance in organizations. Key Aspects Emotions play a ...
We live in a world that emphasises action. Of course, action is required to get things done and achieve goals. However, reflection is vital to ensure we are doing the right things. Key Aspects Two major observations inspired this episode: 1) Gerrit wondered what the secret of his most successful executive coaching clients was. To his surprise, he found that a critical success factor was reflection. The clients who make the most significant changes in their lives put in extra time for reflecti...
Humility is seen as a key leadership trait these days. But what does being humble mean in practice? Why should a leader be humble? And isn't there an inherent contradiction between being humble and being strong and powerful? Key Elements and Time Stamps [01:54] We explore the real-life example of a large seafood company that introduced “being humble” as a core value across three continents. Other values such as collaboration, innovation, or passion were quickly accepted as a nec...
What is your purpose as a leader? Executives may be quick in giving answers related to achieving the company's goals, increasing shareholder value, and taking care of their employees. But how about your personal purpose? Why are you doing what you are doing? And is there alignment between what you do at work and what makes your life meaningful? In the first episode of Second Crack - The Leadership Podcast, Martin Aldergard and Gerrit Pelzer discuss why exploring one's purpose matters for you...
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