Humans At Work

“The present is already really messy.  What I’ve learnt is that the future will be really messy, too, and that there won’t be a single answer to everything.  Coming back to foresight then, I think good organisations should really do the work of imagining multiple futures and there’s some really well-designed scenario methodologies out there for working out which kinds of futures you might want to think about.  Let’s say you end up with four different futures for how you think the world might be, that’s really, really useful for strategising.”    This episode of the humans at work podcast features conversation with Melissa Clark-Reynolds, a futurist, technology entrepreneur and insightful and visionary speaker. She is the Managing Director at FutureCentre.nz and sits on the Boards of Atkins Ranch, Wētā Workshop Ltd, Alpine Energy Group, Daffodil Enterprises Ltd, NZ Future Bees Trust, and Iron Duke. Melissa and I talk about the changing nature of consumer and employer influence, the evolution of executive governance, and the role of long-term investment thinking for future generations.  As an experienced Director, Melissa reflected on how Boards need to role model the behaviours and values of the organisation, how incentives for CE performance could do with an overhaul, and how to develop resilient strategies.   Melissa and I talk about: Pattern recognition across multiple different systems Food security and ethical labour and what it means to our ‘small pleasures’ Era of increasing transparency Consumerism as voice and voting Ethical alignment and the importance of visible integrity Organisations as part of wider ecosystems Intergenerational workforce strategies Shifting nature of employer – employee relationships Importance of holistic reputations for companies Governance and Directorships – role of Boards in supporting and role modelling the company ethos and values Relationships between CE and Board chairs What success is for companies and organisations with a future perspective Appropriate incentives for sustainable longer-term strategies Board Director’s roles in supporting culture and succession The importance of long-term workforce strategies Planning for comprehensive integration of migrants into the workforce and communities The need to review New Zealand’s labour market policies Long-term investment in education and health The importance of teaching critical thinking and creativity Infrastructure and the challenge of government debt leaving stranded assets for future generations Strategies that build resilient futures that future generations will have the most choice in Te Ao Māori view in relation to valuing people with preferences for the past, the present and the future The importance of handling the present as well as thinking of the future The need to imagine multiple futures and scenarios to build resilient strategy The importance of pandemic scenario planning.   Resources and Links:  Connect with Jules: Follow Jules on www.linkedin.com/in/julesharrisonannear Need an engaging, thought-provoking, inspirational speaker or facilitator?  Talk to Jules about her availability via https://calendly.com/jules-jhaconsulting/speaking-event-preparation To get Jules’ help with your organisational or leadership challenge, visit https://jhaconsulting.org or go ahead and book a time with Jules via Calendly on https://calendly.com/jules-jhaconsulting   Keep connected with Humans At Work: To listen to more podcasts and read Jules’ blogs visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ To improve your ethical leadership, sign up to our free self-paced digital Matching Values to Action course https://www.humansatwork.org/store Sign up to the human hub newsletter keep up to date with all things Humans at Work. Find more info here Follow Humans at Work on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/humans-at-worknz/

And those of us who are 45 and up who are in that category of leaders at the moment, if you like, what if we’d all been through an education system which taught us to be ethically informed about what our actions were doing, not just on our doorstep but in other parts of the world?  Or about the climate or about how the economic system favours some people and definitely not the majority of people, might we have a completely different perspective?    This episode of the humans at work podcast features conversation with Sophie Howe, Sustainability Futures and Wellbeing Adviser, and the first Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. Sophie and I talk about what the reality is of the ‘superhero’ job Future Generations Commissioner, how much more public and private sector can be doing to integrate our thinking systemically and holistically, and how to enable younger generations to think creatively, proactively and strategically to be better prepared for the future challenges.    Sophie and I talk about: The amazing British TV show Gavin and Stacey, and how well it captured the small nuances of culture and behaviour Personal experience as valuable for driving your work The breathtaking slow-ness of governments in thinking and planning ahead for social, technological and other shifts The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act in Wales The national ‘citizens conversations’ that designed and developed the concept of the ‘Wales we want’ into reality The 5 ways-of-working that embedded a fundamental shift in how government agencies, local councils, citizens and others work together systematically to create the future of Wales Involvement of the private sector in national shifts in ethos The value of a clear national strategic vision for certainty for all sectors What counts as ‘future generations’ – in the Welsh context, 25 years ahead is the starting point Tensions within government system settings between short-term and long-term decision-making and mechanisms to resolve those Cross-discipline and integrated system thinking – e.g. applying a public health perspective to long term transport strategy Education as a tool for embedding preventative and integrated thinking for future leaders The role and tactics of the Future Commissioner The fact that road building (and the future debt required) doesn’t stand up to scrutiny from a holistic wellbeing perspective Building courage for holding the holistic, future lens ground in conversations Social justice and the concept of intergenerational fairness Public policy and its role in getting to the root cause of systemic problems rather than short-term sticking plasters Her work with the UN system to reach a declaration for Future Generations What everyone can do to bring a future generations lens to your influence and work.   Resources and Links:  Connect with Jules: Follow Jules on www.linkedin.com/in/julesharrisonannear Need an engaging, thought-provoking, inspirational speaker or facilitator?  Talk to Jules about her availability via https://calendly.com/jules-jhaconsulting/speaking-event-preparation To get Jules’ help with your organisational or leadership challenge, visit https://jhaconsulting.org or go ahead and book a time with Jules via Calendly on https://calendly.com/jules-jhaconsulting   Keep connected with Humans At Work: To listen to more podcasts and read Jules’ blogs visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ To improve your ethical leadership, sign up to our free self-paced digital Matching Values to Action course https://www.humansatwork.org/store Sign up to the human hub newsletter keep up to date with all things Humans at Work. Find more info here Follow Humans at Work on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/humans-at-worknz/

This episode of the humans at work podcast features a Postscript Moment – a special follow-up conversation with one of our previous podcast guests.  For those of you who can remember letter-writing, after you’d signed off your letter, you could write P.S. and add in one last story or commentary that you knew would appeal to your letter recipient!  You wouldn’t have much space left on the paper, so you’d need to be more succinct and often P.S. information was the most informal and ‘juicy’ part of your news.   “So, you cannot pretend those things didn’t happen and you cannot pretend that those things don’t have an influence on what happened a hundred years later, and how living with that legacy of that trauma can still have an impact in today’s world.”   This episode of the humans at work podcast features a short(er) follow-up conversation with Enver Samuel, Documentary Film Maker, head of EMS Productions and currently a board member of the Documentary Film Makers Association.  It builds on the full podcast with Enver in episode 1.   Enver and I talk about: The beauty of Kruger National Game Park The peaceful sound of Africa How social and economic imperatives take effort and investment away from environmental issues The power of storytelling to fundamentally change the settings of the future The success of impact campaigns – bringing forgotten voices back to life Transgenerational trauma and the importance of addressing it to move forward The need to acknowledge the past and its affect on people’s futures, particularly the impact of colonialism The importance of taking breaks, particularly when dealing with trauma and hard topics Techniques for keeping safe when dealing with difficult topics and working for impact.   Resources and Links: To learn more about Enver:  Visit EMS Productions   Join us at humans at work: Sign up to the human hub newsletter today! Engage with Jules as she discusses important and thought-provoking questions and themes every month, and keep up to date with all things Humans at Work. Find more info here. To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, invest in some active community learning and mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow Jules on LinkedIn Follow Humans at Work on LinkedIn

“Kindness can look different to different people as well. Kindness for me is very specific around boundary setting; by setting clear and not rigid but I’m very strict with my boundaries around my time, my emotional energy, my energy levels, my mental bandwidth around what I will and won’t take on and what I will and won’t keep."   This episode of the humans at work podcast features conversation with Sophie Bretag, Kindness guru and CEO and Founder of Metta Leaders. Sophie and I talk about what kindness looks, feels and sounds like in the workplace, the value of the Human Resources function within organisations, and the challenges and opportunities of adaptive parenting.   Sophie and I talk about: Our journeys to not drinking alcohol Adaptive strategies and applying them to parenting Parenting opportunities and challenges Choices and conscious risk taking Change and opportunities to use scenarios to demystify the future Organisational change processes and people impacts The invisible value of Human Resources for the system that is the workforce of an organisation Taking responsibility for your own health and wellbeing The shift that COVID brought to organisations’ view of the value of HR The intersect between HR and leadership, behind common purpose Jules’ views on the true definition of an organisation The return on investment from kindness in the workplace Understanding what kindness looks like The importance of personalising purpose and values Modern offices that don’t encourage connection with nature Opportunities to partner with nature in the design of healthier workplaces The value of daydreaming   Resources and Links: To learn more about Sophie: Visit Sophie at mettaleaders.com/   Follow Sophie on LinkedIn   Join us at humans at work: Sign up to the human hub newsletter today! Engage with Jules as she discusses important and thought-provoking questions and themes every month, and keep up to date with all things Humans at Work. Find more info here. To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, invest in some active community learning and mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow Jules on LinkedIn Follow Humans at Work on LinkedIn

“One of those examples is, we talk about articulating strategy, because strategic thinking is no good if it just stays in your head.  So, we talk about articulating strategy and how you can get clear on that in your head, in order to communicate it and articulate it. That’s not just how do you write a strategy document, that’s how do you have day to-day conversations where you’re being clear with people, you’re leaving space for them to come up with their own solutions.”   This episode of the humans at work podcast features conversation with Nina Field, Business Psychologist.  Nina shares her journey from her love of water to joining the Navy and then designing her own highly successful strategic thinking programme. Nina and I talk about what its really like in the Navy, how organisational psychology and a love of strategy led to Nina designing a programme to help people translate the process of strategic thinking into tangible actions, and the value of understanding how you think.   Nina and I talk about: Working in the Navy The focus for organisational psychology The training foundation of defence work that enables readiness Strategic thinking from a psychological perspective Nina’s strategic thinking framework and programme Metacognition – the process of thinking about your thinking Jules’ decision-making practice work The link between thinking and decisions, and decisions and actions The need for clear articulation of your strategy Use of assessment tools in selection and development Cognitive Profile process and the value of understanding how you think The value of knowing your strengths and weaknesses and recruiting for complementary skills and capabilities.   Resources and Links:  To learn more about Nina: Visit Nina at ninafield.co.nz/ Follow Nina on LinkedIn   Join us at humans at work: Sign up to the human hub newsletter today! Engage with Jules as she discusses important and thought-provoking questions and themes every month, and keep up to date with all things Humans at Work. Find more info here. To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, invest in some active community learning and mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow Jules on LinkedIn Follow Humans at Work on LinkedIn

“I think that’s where we need to use our power as global citizens and keep putting that pressure on Governments and corporates. I believe that corporates are driven by profit and Governments are driven by votes. That’s what they want, so it’s us that we can actually force them to change. If we start putting pressure and being loud about what we want, ultimately, when we build this critical mass of people, they’ll have to change.” “But if you can connect with three, four, five people in your street, in your neighbourhood who has aligned values to you and want to change the world, that gives you a really special power that virtual connections can’t give you. Suddenly you can go for a walk and have a chat face-to-face; you can have a meal together, talk about it, come up with ideas, brainstorm and start running things locally. I think once we tap into that power of seeing how many people there are around you that want to change the world, I think we will change the world much, much faster.”     This episode of the humans at work podcast features conversation with Carlos Terol, Impact Entrepreneur, owner of Terol Engineering and Good Ripple champion. Carlos and I talk about what it takes to make change happen, how to be an active change maker, and what drives him to champion the concept of community collaboration and community action. We dive into his personal journey to knowing his purpose, and how incentives need to be rethought to drive innovation and regenerative approaches to building, infrastructure, government spending among other things.   Carlos and I talk about: His journey from wanting money and sports cars to being a globally-known influencer for good How civil engineering can contribute to sustainability Better incentives for sustainable building and infrastructure planning Biophilic design opportunities and changing traditional mindsets The geographical roulette of where you’re born dictating your opportunities The concept of global change makers and how to connect and collaborate Finding your sense of value and contribution Not postponing starting doing something for impact The joy and inspiration of conversation and connection Defence against despair and inaction The criticality of non-measurable things The Good Ripple concept and the power of local connections.   Resources and Links: To learn more about Carlos: Visit Carlos at carlosterol.com Follow Carlos on LinkedIn   Join us at humans at work: Sign up to the human hub newsletter today! Engage with Jules as she discusses important and thought-provoking questions and themes every month, and keep up to date with all things Humans at Work. Find more info here. To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, invest in some active community learning and mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow Jules on LinkedIn Follow Humans at Work on LinkedIn

“That led me to believe that, no, there has to be a better way for us to do marketing because marketing has the power to change behaviour. Marketing is really important in society.  And instead of perpetuating stereotypes, instead of promoting scarcity tactics or fear-based marketing strategies, there is a way to use marketing for change, for positive change.”   This episode of the humans at work podcast features conversation with Cláudia Guerreiro [Conscious Marketing Freelancer, Master of Chaos], who brings incredible optimism and creativity to the world of conscious and ethical marketing. Cláudia is a positive force for rethinking push marketing in favour of pull marketing – storytelling, value-driven work and organically developing communities of customers who share your ethics.  Cláudia offers 1-1 consulting support and workshops on conscious marketing, content development and personal branding, helping entrepreneurs and solopreneurs to take that leap, and have that positive impact..    Cláudia and I talk about: Tired old tactics of marketing, and how to step away and rethink Social entrepreneurship and the movement to set up your own business for good - the good and the hard parts. Authentic storytelling and the value of organic marketing The value of collaboration over competition Personal brand, the fun and scary parts of being yourself Redefining success as value creation and authenticity Spreading yourself too thin The dangers of burn out Fighting against perfection expectations and societal biases Listening to your body and energy levels, and working when you're most productive Staying optimistic.   Resources and Links: To learn more about Cláudia: Visit Cláudia at claudia-guerreiro.com Follow Cláudia on LinkedIn   Join us at humans at work: Sign up to the human hub newsletter today! Engage with Jules as she discusses important and thought-provoking questions and themes every month, and keep up to date with all things Humans at Work. Find more info here. To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, invest in some active community learning and mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow Jules on LinkedIn Follow Humans at Work on LinkedIn and on Instagram

“For me, strategy is a company’s or an organisation’s unique way of sustainable value creation.  In my approach, in the very definition of strategy, there is this word “sustainable” and the way I mean this is not just planet proof but also sustainable from a commercial perspective, from a strategic point of view. If that’s the core, if sustainable value creation is your core and not competitive advantage, growth, profits and so on and you at least start with the right attitude, the right mindset. Because it’s about contribution. It’s about thinking, who is this for? Who’s the customer? Who’s the target group? How do I create value for that customer? So how do I solve the real problem, how do I really help them?  How do I do that in a sustainable way which means I take into account the interest of different stakeholders, I take into account the limited resources, the boundaries of our planet?”   This episode of the humans at work podcast features conversation with Jeroen Kraaijenbrink, author of The Strategy Handbook: The Secret Sauce to Daily Business Success and The One-Hour Strategy: Building a Company of Strategic Thinkers, and consultant supporting organisations around the world with more effective strategic thinking.   Jeroen is a powerhouse of strategy and leadership content development, using his repository of concepts and models and turning them into practical advice. Jeroen and I talk about strategy as a collective sense-making process, and the benefits of using strategic tools across all aspects of your life. And we talk about challenging our mindsets for sustainable value creation, and the need for ‘unlearning’ or rethinking.   Jeroen and I talk about: Reasons, openness and the opportunities of remote working Falling back into habits of filling your life post-pandemic Commonalities of humankind when working internationally The opportunities and challenges of working in academia Starting your consulting practice Whether having an academic or theoretical background helps or hinders your career The value of concepts and models to validate your intuition Discipline and dedication of impactful LinkedIn posting What it takes to write books about strategy Strategy as a collective, integrative and community process Decision-making as an intuitive process Vulnerability as a key leadership trait Sustainable value creation to help address sustainability challenges for organisations Generative AI and the ongoing importance of imagination, voice, judgement and connection.   Resources and Links: To learn more about Jeroen: Visit Jeroen at https://www.jeroenkraaijenbrink.com/ Follow Jeroen on LinkedIn   To dive into the concept of Strategy:  The Strategy Handbook: The Secret Sauce to Daily Business Success The One Hour Strategy: Building a Company of Strategic Thinkers Certified Strategy & Implementation Consultant Certification course   Join us at humans at work: Sign up to the human hub newsletter today! Engage with Jules as she discusses important and thought-provoking questions and themes every month, and keep up to date with all things Humans at Work. Find more info here. To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, invest in some active community learning and mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow Jules on LinkedIn Follow Humans at Work on LinkedIn and on Instagram

“That was probably the most formative 18 months, the best education I could’ve got was those 18 months in terms of what it took to launch a business. But crucially understanding that it is okay to fail if you fail for the right reasons. If your morals and values are in the right place, it is absolutely fine to test something out and fail.”    This episode of the humans at work podcast features Jules’ conversation with Dan Sherrard-Smith, Founder of MotherTree, a ground-breaking social impact organisation giving its customers the information they need about how their money is used within the banking and pension industries, and giving them the control to use their money for good.  Dan has been focused on social impact and climate change since he was a child, through trying and not succeeding with this first charitable organisation targeting loneliness, to his success with Look After My Bills. He talks candidly about his responses to initial failure, lessons learned, and his inspiration for founding mymothertree.com, which is using the old adage ‘money talks’ to send big messages to global systems about humans and our focus on a positive life worth living.    Dan and I talk about: being a first-time parent and balancing parenting with work the similarities between parenting and running businesses Good Company and what he learned from it and the value of failure not letting others or yourself put you in a limiting box of potential the inspiration of the Mother Tree, and purpose and values of mymothertree.com how The Climate Challenges work learning from nature concepts of control and choice building better systems to transition to, and taking a longer-term perspective the importance of purpose, and its link to optimism and resilience what's next for www.mymothertree.com   Resources and Links: To learn more about Dan: Visit My MotherTree Follow Dan on LinkedIn To learn more about Mother Trees or hub trees, visit the MotherTree project website or Suzanne Simard’s website www.suzannesimard.com    Join us at humans at work: Sign up to the human hub newsletter today! Engage with Jules as she discusses important and thought-provoking questions and themes every month, and keep up to date with all things Humans at Work. Find more info here. To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, invest in some active community learning and mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow Jules on LinkedIn Follow Humans at Work on LinkedIn and on Instagram

“I think it’s not just up to one person, everyone needs to know about this, realise what’s really going on.  You know, you don’t need to be a scientist to be in. Even in Fiji, ask any local people in any village, they’ll tell you.  Climate change is real.” “The question is what’s more important – the environment or the economics?  We can live without the economics but the environment, we need it. It sustains us in multiple ways.”   This episode of the humans at work podcast features a thought-provoking conversation with Johnny Singh, Marine Biologist at the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort in Fiji.  Johnny is the first Fijian marine biologist employed at the resort and talks about his passion for all things nature.  From running a kid’s educational programme to grow budding ecologists, to coral nurseries and mangrove replanting, its clear that Johnny is an example of the kind of care for biodiversity and balance between humans and nature so often characterised by island-based communities.    Johnny and I talk about: Sparking motivation and interest in young people Sustainable design of buildings, using local and renewable materials Impacts of climate change on coral and actions to regenerate and protect future coral How Fijians are adapting to current (and planning for future) climate change impact Food insecurity – in the sea and on land The importance of nature in feeling (and keeping us) alive and healthy The reality of climate change on the weather and life in a nation like Fiji Why people in power aren’t taking the action they can to change the direction of climate change Marine biology as a profession The importance of storytelling in Fijian culture. Note: Jules travelled to the Jean-Michel Resort Fiji as a paying guest.  The recording of this podcast was made possible by the management of the resort and generosity of Johnny himself.    Resources and Links: To learn more about Johnny, follow him on LinkedIn on https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnny-singh-074a0553/ For more information the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort Fiji: https://www.fijiresort.com/ To understand more about how the Jean-Michel Cousteau resort focuses on sustainability https://www.fijiresort.com/sustainability/   Join us at humans at work: Sign up to the human hub newsletter today! Engage with Jules as she discusses important and thought-provoking questions and themes every month, and keep up to date with all things Humans at Work. Find more info here. To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, invest in some active community learning and mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow Jules on LinkedIn Follow Humans at Work on LinkedIn and on Instagram

“So, hearing a company purpose and talking about this, that might sound great, but that may not be what I need to access and understand consciously before I can really give myself to this organisation. All of these different purposes, even in a great organisation, don’t mean we all share the same thing. That’s the, I think, the hard part with working with purpose and helping teams acknowledge it, is that everyone will have a different one and it’s really hard for an individual to put their finger on what theirs is. If you can help them do that, then you can find some common ground to create that shared purpose for the team.”    This episode of the humans at work podcast features a conversation with Andy Longley, founder of Psych-io, a boutique leadership, training, and culture consultancy that brings deep expertise from psychology and neuroscience to help people create engaging, motivational and inspiring environments.  From working as a performance psychologist the New Zealand Navy, spending a year as a United Nations unarmed peacekeeper in the Middle East, and working with Emirates Airlines as a performance psychologist and coach to both pilots and cockpit teams, Andy has travelled the world supporting leaders and teams to be their best. Andy is also the co-founder and CEO of the CoachUp Academy, through which he combines his love of sports for sports sake, with applied neuroscience to develop high-performing sports teams.   Andy and I talk about: what its like to return as an adult and new parent to live in New Zealand the competitive and social aspects of sports teams the diversity of motivation and how it drives people the importance of finding individual purpose rather than relying just on organisational purpose looking beneath the surface at assumptions in decision-making maximising the role your gut plays in decision-making wider vocabulary for emotions to unlock knowledge and awareness – in both leadership and parenting.   Resources and Links: To learn more about Andy: Visit www.psych-io.com or www.coachup.academy or check out his profile on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-longley-psychio-and-coachup/   Join us at humans at work: Sign up to the human hub newsletter today! Engage with Jules as she discusses important and thought-provoking questions and themes every month, and keep up to date with all things Humans at Work. Find more info here. To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, invest in some active community learning and mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow Jules on LinkedIn Follow Humans at Work on LinkedIn and on Instagram

This episode of the humans at work podcast features a Postscript Moment – a special follow-up conversation with one of our previous podcast guests.  For those of you who can remember letter-writing, after you’d signed off your letter, you could write P.S. and add in one last story or commentary that you knew would appeal to your letter recipient!  You wouldn’t have much space left on the paper, so you’d need to be more succinct and often P.S. information was the most informal and ‘juicy’ part of your news.   I think sustainability has been an organisational or a corporate responsibility for a long time. Just look at all of the, we call them continuity plans in case of an emergency. But most organisations that I know, and I work with, are looking beyond, say, quarterly returns.   Again, while there are those market pressures, I think organisations recognise they want to be a going concern. I think I saw a statistic recently where a certain number of CEOs were wondering, maybe the majority were wondering if their organisations were even going to be in existence in 10 to 15 years, given the rate of change.   This episode of the humans at work podcast features a short(er) follow-up conversation with Jeff Mike, Head of Insights and Impact at FlexTrack, a global company providing an extended workforce solution that aims to support organisations to acquire, engage, and manage their contingent workforce.  It builds on the full podcast with Jeff in episode 4.   Jeff and I talk about: his hypothesis on the importance of non-employee workforces playing out leadership traits for maximising mixed workforce value capturing knowledge with non-employee workforces inclusion, remote working and opportunities for non-employees and people with alternative abilities organisational sustainability and question of ongoing relevance tools like AI and the importance of human-focused judgement action as the critical step in decision-making.   Resources and Links: To learn more about Jeff: Visit Flextrack at https://www.flextrack.com/ You can read Jeff’s blogs at https://www.flextrack.com/author/jeffadmin/ Follow Jeff on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-mike/   Join us at humans at work: Sign up to the human hub newsletter today! Engage with Jules as she discusses important and thought-provoking questions and themes every month, and keep up to date with all things Humans at Work. Find more info here. To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, invest in some active community learning and mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow Jules on LinkedIn Follow Humans at Work on LinkedIn and on Instagram

This episode of the humans at work podcast features a Postscript Moment – a special follow-up conversation with one of our previous podcast guests.  For those of you who can remember letter-writing, after you’d signed off your letter, you could write P.S. and add in one last story or commentary that you knew would appeal to your letter recipient!  You wouldn’t have much space left on the paper, so you’d need to be more succinct and often P.S. information was the most informal and ‘juicy’ part of your news.   I'm seeing that I've got my happy place or my preference and where I feel most comfortable in the style of leadership. That works for a certain number of people, but there are other situations and other people that need something quite different from me. And, it's actually the ability to adjust my leadership style for different contexts and different people, I think, is the next big challenge.   This episode of the humans at work podcast features a short(er) follow-up conversation with Diane White, Director – Strategy and Transactions, at EY, Melbourne Australia.  It builds on the full podcast with Diane in episode 3 (insert link please)   Diane and I talk about: learning about her own leadership style and the need to adapt it situationally Jules’ concept of “peer leadership”, particularly in consulting practice Jules’ concept of radical boundary blurring between organisations to cope with true scarcity collaboration and purpose Artificial Intelligence and questions of trust the future of consulting as a profession in the AI and large language model age decision-making style the impact of climate change on organisational decision-making practice.   Resources and Links: To learn more about Diane: Find Diane on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diane-white-8039b249/ And to find out more about the services EY Australia provides, check out: https://www.ey.com/en_au   Join us at humans at work: Sign up to the human hub newsletter today! Engage with Jules as she discusses important and thought-provoking questions and themes every month, and keep up to date with all things Humans at Work. Find more info here. To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, invest in some active community learning and mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow Jules on LinkedIn Follow Humans at Work on LinkedIn and on Instagram

“When he was in prison, and prison was both a physical thing but also a metaphorical thing, because imprisoning you on Robben Island, they were not only trying to physically isolate you but also mentally imprison your mind.  Mr Mandela knew this so he would always say to these fellow prisoners, “Never, ever give the upper hand to your jailers.  Never.  …This is central to his ability to have managed all that time on Robben Island in a way that enabled him, first of all, to keep his dignity and, secondly, to do so in a principled manner.”    This episode of the humans at work podcast features a conversation with John Samuel who, prior to his retirement, was one of South Africa’s leading education experts.  John played a pivotal part in developing the new education system in South Africa after the new epoch heralded by the 1994 elections, and he worked alongside Nelson Mandela in the establishment of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.  From his experience as a teacher, to learning the skills required for successful executive leadership, John talks us through the lessons he learned from arguably one of the greatest leaders in South African history – Nelson Mandela.  Widely read about the skills and techniques required by leaders and executives, John reflects on the hard-won practices he honed on the job as an organisational leader, in challenging roles and within dramatic environmental contexts.    During his long career, John was Deputy Director General for the South African government's department of Education, the Senior Programme Director of the WK Kellogg Foundation in the USA, Chief Executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and the CEO of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.    John and I talk about:  the importance of really listening to understand and find the good  the top 3 traits he witnessed by working alongside the late, great Nelson Mandela – listening, moral courage and humility  the importance of moral courage for all leaders, particularly in our current challenging times  the requirement for executive leaders to dedicate time to understanding the current and future context, in preparing for the unknown  the weaknesses of ‘airport literature’ on organisational leadership.     Unfortunately, my conversation with John had to be cut slightly short due to load shedding in South Africa – basically… regular, managed power cuts to lessen the drain on the country’s power supplies.  We aim to pick it up again in a few months’ time!    Resources and Links:  To learn more about the some of the varied organisations John has been involved in establishing and leading:  For the Nelson Mandela Foundation, visit:  https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/about-the-centre-of-memory   For the WK Kellogg Foundation, visit:  https://www.wkkf.org/who-we-are/overview   For the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, visit: https://www.owlag.co.za/about-owlag/   For SACHED, visit:  https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/education-in-south-africa-challenging-gutter-education/   https://www.uj.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/cert-the-learning-post.pdf     Sign up to humans at work:  To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, join the humans at work community, sign up for some 1-1 mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/   Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/humans-at-worknz/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/humansatworknz/  

“We need new ideas, new data, new passion, we need new adrenalin.  How can we create it?  Through conversations like this, and then create the connections, connect the dots…and that will help us build a human connection between us, and also break down the divisions of nations, races, cultures, our languages, to a point where we see the one-ness of our humanity.”   This episode features a conversation with Jay Naidoo, political and environmental activist, elder and grandfather.  Jay has lived almost two lives in one – the first, growing up in apartheid South Africa as a leader and fierce advocate of student and worker rights, and the second as an environmental and humanity-rights influencer focused on young people and governance across Africa.    Jay eloquently walks us through his ‘non-job’ career history, from student activist to a Minister in the new democratic Government working with President Nelson Mandela.  And reflects on his spiritual journey, reconnecting with Mother Earth and listening with your heart in pursuit of regenerative action against climate change, poverty and discrimination.  Jay also talks about his priorities now – listening and supporting young, black people in Africa through their challenges and lack of trust in conventional institutions and systems.   We’ve split this episode into 2 parts – part 1 focuses on Jay’s reflections through his life and career and where he finds himself focusing now.  Part 2 includes our discussions about democratising creativity and innovation, support for young people, and redefining success.   Jay and I talk about: growing up in the apartheid system as a political activist meeting Steve Biko and Nelson Mandela reclaiming your sense of identity intergenerational conversations, solidarity, and collaborative action tackling global crises – discrimination, racism, slavery, climate change valuing indigenous wisdom, reparation, and reconciliation reconnecting with spirituality and learning to listen with your heart his concepts of Mother Earth and biodiversity.   Resources and Links: To learn more about Jay: Follow him on Instagram: jaynaidoograndpa   Sign up to humans at work: To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, join the humans at work community, sign up for some 1-1 mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/   Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/humans-at-worknz/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/humansatworknz/

"It’s one thing when an HR person says, “We need to humanise the workforce,” or, “Let’s talk about being human centric.”  It’s another thing when the top five platform businesses in the world are saying, “We’re gonna humanise our offerings.”   This episode of the humans at work podcast features a conversation with Jeff Mike, Head of Insights and Impact at FlexTrack, a global company providing an extended workforce solution that aims to support organisations to acquire, engage, and manage their contingent workforce.   From Martial Arts to teaching to researching and focusing on levelling the workplace experience through technology for gig workers – what connects the dots is a focus on developing and sharing knowledge.  Jeff shares his reflections on the threads from his childhood, setting up a Martial Arts school while at university, working in HR, teaching, and now focusing on research as a critical support for organisations to become more human-centred.    Jeff and I talk about the world of work: how Covid shook the “ant farm” and created opportunities to do things differently for the future of work human-centred workplaces and belonging what selling really means, even if you’re in HR productivity, daydreaming and the concept of slow-motion multi-tasking how our weaknesses and strengths are often the same thing the value of re-framing the question   Resources and Links: To learn more about Jeff: Visit Flextrack at https://www.flextrack.com/ You can read Jeff’s blogs at https://www.flextrack.com/author/jeffadmin/ Follow Jeff on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-mike/ To dive into the concept of slow-motion multitasking: https://timharford.com/2019/01/my-ted-talk-on-the-power-of-slow-motion-multitasking/ https://timharford.com/2015/09/multi-tasking-how-to-survive-in-the-21st-century/ Sign up to humans at work: To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, join the humans at work community, sign up for some 1-1 mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/humans-at-worknz/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/humansatworknz/  

“There was not even a second thought that the fact that I had to go back to South Africa because history was happening and couldn’t miss out on that.”  The first chance to vote as an equal citizen, why would you not want to go back?"   This episode of the humans at work podcast features a conversation with Enver Samuel, international award-winning producer and director, and head of his own production company EMS Productions in South Africa.   From his first experience of picking up some video and sound equipment to work out how to use it, to multi-award-winning directing and producing – Enver has always been fascinated by what motivates people, the psychology behind the public façade and the truth behind the gloss.  Enver shares his experiences about working on reality television shows like Survivor and Great South African Bake Off, and what drives him to make documentaries about the unsung people who have made South Africa the country it is today.    Enver and I talk about: leaving his country of birth because of the apartheid regime, and his reasons for returning marathon running and using it to find balance mixing your work types to retain resilience reality tv and the teams that work behind the scenes for a common goal content production and bringing out the personalities of people you’re filming what it really takes to make a serious documentary, and the value behind it Dulcie September and the Murder in Paris documentary   Resources and Links: To learn more about Enver: Visit EMS Productions at https://emsproductions.co.za/   Go to https://murderinparis.com/home for more information about the assassination of Dulcie September and Enver’s documentary Murder In Paris To sign the petition to re-open Dulcie’s case, go to https://awethu.amandla.mobi/petitions/justice-for-dulcie-1  You can view the trailer for the documentary, Murder in Paris at https://youtu.be/yC9o3RFSpkI Sign up to humans at work: To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, join the humans at work community, sign up for some 1-1 mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/humans-at-worknz/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/humansatworknz/  

"I tried to be someone that wasn’t me and then at one point I just got tired of it and just accepted the fact that I’m a giant nerd and I should just enjoy the things I enjoy."   This episode of the humans at work podcast features a conversation with Vince Warnock, prolific host of the Challenging the Insights podcast, author, and award-winning Business and Marketing Coach and strategist.   From the Christmas Ninja to not fitting in and refusing to grow up, Vince has turned his ADHD into a super-power that has enabled him to carve out a global business supporting entrepreneurs to market their own uniqueness.  Vince shares insights into his journey from difficult childhood, through Star Wars, comics and corporate life, to NFTs and doing it his own way.    Vince and I talk about the world of work: entrepreneurship and the courage to make decisions and take risks ADHD, problem solving and the power to look at things differently personal authenticity and not being afraid to be you retraining your brain and valuing kindness seeing the potential and the good in people, looking behind the façade the power of animals to support mental health and wellbeing the importance of checking in with others about how they’re doing how the Covid pandemic changed our interactions resilience, taking the time to get it right, failure as learning   Resources and Links: To learn more about Vince: Visit https://chasingtheinsights.com/ You can listen to the Chasing the Insights podcast on all major players, and via https://chasingtheinsights.com/podcast/ Follow Vince on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/vdub01/  Sign up to humans at work: To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, join the humans at work community, sign up for some 1-1 mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/humans-at-worknz/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/humansatworknz/

"I think people are very uncomfortable about talking about power and that especially we talk about it in different ways, we talk about it in terms of gender, or we talk about it in terms of culture or race.  But it all comes down to power and until you name it and find space to talk about it comfortably, it can loom over organisations and people and society."   This episode of the humans at work podcast features a conversation with Diane White, Director – Strategy and Transactions, at EY, Melbourne Australia.   From baking and bookshops, to carefully understanding and wielding your personal power, Diane reflects on her journey from small town New Zealand to glamourous Melbourne.  Diane shares her fierce intellect and wide-ranging reflections about what it means to have clear boundaries at work, and how finding your niche and enjoying your work can be just as meaningful as working for a cause.    Diane and I talk about: the importance of pastries, reading and other rituals self-consciousness and how it shapes you travelling and working, and taking work chances how working in hospitality teaches you serious multi-tasking how job titles and job sectors carry their own (often unrealistic) perceptions working for a cause versus finding your niche boundaries and power dynamics in the work environment gender in the workplace the importance tailoring your advice, for mentoring and book recommendations   Resources and Links: To learn more about Diane: Find Diane on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diane-white-8039b249/ And to find out more about the services EY Australia provides, check out: https://www.ey.com/en_au Sign up to humans at work: To listen to more podcasts, read the blogs, join the humans at work community, sign up for some 1-1 mentoring…visit https://www.humansatwork.org/ Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/humans-at-worknz/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/humansatworknz/