The Leadership Enigma Adam Pacifico

Dominic George is from California but is now based in New York City and has a passion for helping black men working in middle manager positions. This episode is all about how to leverage the Messy Middle. 

George's passion for education and continuous learning was sparked by his 5th grade teacher and he learned the value of relying on other people when he was competing as a professional athlete in the swimming pool. Middle managers in George's view are the group who have a direct tie to the leaders who are creating company strategy, policy and vision and a direct tie to the individual contributors within an organisation. 

The middle manager population can sometimes be missed due to their size and scale with competing interests and priorities. This can be the issue for many who decide to transition from a business as they get fed up of waiting for some form of focus and effort on their needs. The reality is that the messy middle is full of diverse thought and skills and is actually the dynamo of the business which can either drive and enable change or even block change. 

One of the biggest challenges is communication or the lack of communication with the messy middle, partly associated with the different demographics that now exist within our organisations. George also tells me that new first line managers also make up the messy middle. They are full of enthusiasm and zest as they start to get traction in their careers and then suddenly they find themselves lost in the sheer size and inaction of the centre of the organisation and their momentum stalls. 

Limiting beliefs also exist within the middle manager group, for example visionaries don't think they can have the impact they should have and as such some lose self confidence and even start to abdicate their personal power to the more senior levels.

George's top tips for any senior leader to get the most from the messy middle include: 
1. Really see and connect with your people in this space to really understand the value, need, challenges and successes of this group. 
2. Tailor professional development opportunities for this group, their sheer size and influence can drastically shift the momentum of an organisation. 
3. Pull people forward. Senior leaders must create space and opportunity for the middle managers to step into new growth experiences. 

George also focuses on helping black men within the middle of a business. He sees that they are under leveraged in most instances and are waiting for permission to step up or they lack the opportunity to show what they can do. George coaches black men to define those spaces for themselves and identify sponsors within a business to be ambassadors for the change needed. Thankfully George is seeing positive change within organisations. 

www.linkedin.com/in/dominiccgeorge 
dominic@visionleadershipforlife.com 

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Alice Breeden is Regional Managing Partner CEO & Board practice for Heidrick & Struggles based in London. This episode is based on the recent research completed by Heidrick focused on CEO and Board confidence. 
Alice highlights that there is so much happening in the world over shorter time periods that no leader has all the answers and every leader must be ever ready for the challenges. 
CEO and Board positions are a world that only few will occupy. Those who do, will need to operate in an environment of constant change, pressure and expectation. 
The Confidence research is being tracked quarterly by Heidrick throughout the year  in order to help advise leaders and also stay up to date and relevant as possible. 
The research findings represents data from almost 3,500 respondents from major organisations and key findings included low confidence in an organisations ability to reach their 2024 goals and low confidence in the longer term succession and leadership planning. 
The low confidence around reaching goals was predicated on leaders dealing with themes beyond their control combined with strategy being difficult to execute without  constant amendments, This compares with the fact that confidence is high in executive teams so organisations feel they have the right people but the landscape is problematic. 
The role of the Board has also changed over time, they too have shifted in their capabilities coupled with a deep sense of curiosity to deal with complex topics such as AI, climate and sustainability to name just a few. 
I also ask Alice about her thoughts on the role of Human Centred Leadership in CEO and Board roles . She explains that those in role understand success will be determined not just by their technical competence but very much by their ability to lead as a human with a deep sense of propose, curiosity, humility. constant learning, adaptability and agility. 
The Top 4 concerns for CEO's according to the Heidrick research included 
1. Economic uncertainty
2. Geopolitical volatility 
3. Workforce attraction and retention and 
4. Shifts in market dynamics. 
We also talk about culture in this episode as 83% of the companies surveyed are actively working on their culture as it is a key differentiator in the quest for success. 

To access the research: https://www.heidrick.com/en/insights/board-of-directors/ceo-and-board-confidence-monitor-a-worried-start-to-2024

www.heidrick.com/en/people/b/alice_breeden


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Adam Howe is a Partner at Heidrick & Struggles based in their New York office and specialises in helping organisations to proactively kill complexity and promote simplicity. This episode is essential for leaders of any sized business. 
Adam realised during the delivery of large scale transformation programmes that people were overwhelmed and overloaded and that the idea of taking things away and subtracting tasks would improve productivity. 
Complexity is a huge issue and has never been higher. Research has found that on average, large publicly traded companies waste 10.2% of their EBITDA and high tend to suffer from low employee engagement ad lack of innovation. The solution for many companies is rooted in good leadership and culture. 
Heidrick & Struggles research has shown that companies who have high quality cultures drive 90% more revenue growth and 30% more profit growth over 5 years. 
The vast majority of organisational complexity is actually self generated by peoples decisions and behaviours. Leaders must become complexity conscious and be able to distinguish between good ad bad complexity. 
Good complexity is where the value of the complexity outweighs the cost and the inverse is true for bad complexity. As the context of an organisation changes, good complexity can become bad complexity so leaders must remain curious and vigilant. 
The role of complexity being used to undermine is well known as Adam explains how the CIA taught its operatives to use complexity in the 1940;s in its fight against governments it was at war with. 
Adam outlines the major root causes of complexity and the need for leaders to look holistically across the business. He also shares some examples of organisations who have benefited from killing complexity and promoting simplicity.
As humans we are wired to create complexity and we need to avoid 'zombie complexity' which Adam explains as complexity that is simplified but the root causes were never dealt with so the complexity comes back. 
To sustainably drive simplicity within your business you must have a culture where everyone can call out complexity, they can speak up with our fear and know they will be listened to. 
Adam's advice is for leaders to be bold, clear trusting, pragmatic and obsessed in becoming complexity conscious. 
Check out the episode to hear about Home Depot, the Balance Bike and JEEP (Just Enough Essential Parts) 
Adam's top tips for any leader are to do the following:
1. Write down on one page your top 3 priorities and your team are aligned on them
2. Empower your team and your teams teams to really identify where bad complexity is getting in the way. Thereby getting clear on your complexity shadow. 
Start today by asking yourself and your teams, 'what have you said no to today?'

www.heidrick.com/en/people/h/adam_howe






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Dr Graham Curtis is Director of learning and research at Roffey Park Institute and leads their Masters programme. Roffey Park was first established in the 1940's by the UK Government and a number of sponsoring companies focused on the rehabilitation of workers after the war. Today, Roffey Park is established on a multi acre site in Horsham helping to deliver educations and research to aid the health and well being of the workforce (they are validated by the University of Sussex).
Roffey Park specialises in carrying out research to try and help leaders make better decisions based on evidence as opposed to mere hunches or biases. They are also passionate to help organisations identify and recognise talent from all levels to ensure that talent is maximised and where you were born or what school you went to is not a disadvantage.
Graham explains that every single organisational context is different and those in senior leadership must remain attached to what is happening at the lower levels which means spending time on the 'shop floor' in order to pressure test assumptions, listen and learn from those closest to the customers and problems and being open and vulnerable to pivoting and changing direction.
Graham talks passionately about coming from Sunderland and growing up on a tough estate and attending a comprehensive school but was always alive to opportunity as and when it came knocking. He remembers an incident when he was 7 years old and hospitalised through ill health yet he became the centre of attention through the love he received from family, teachers and medical staff. This helped him understand that he was worthy of investment, something that continues to motivate Graham in seeking to always help others.

www.roffeypark.ac.uk to access multiple research papers including their important post pandemic research. 
www.linkedin.com/in/dr-graham-curtis-6b931911
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Nuala Walsh is a former senior executive for a FTSE 100 company, behavioural scientist, Ted X speaker, non executive director (including the Football Association and British & Irish Lions) various businesses and charities,  author  of 'Tune In' and has been recognised as one of the most influential women in finance. 
Nuala has interviewed Presidents, top sports stars and executives so this episode focuses on her learning and experience as a senior leader with an insatiable curiosity to understand why people do what they do.
In a noisy world, when we are rewarded by speed, the crisis is growing as regards a leaders inability to ensure that they are making safe, sound and ethical decisions that truly consider the wider implications. 
Nuala's Ted X talk was at the University of Salford and focused on 'How to overcome Indecision.' The key message is that indecision is temporary, hidden and is normally a state of mind. No leader admits they are indecisive. Leaders's can control it by understanding one of three barriers that may exist (1) the decision is too big (2) it's too far in the future and a decision doesn't need to be made (3) or its too hard a decision.  The solution is to chunk or split the decision into smaller and easier components whilst visualising the end result. 
'Tune In' is all about how to make smarter decisions in a noisy world. Nuala describes that the world is very visual and fast paced with too much data coming at leaders from all directions but inside a leader's head is just as crowded and noisy as the external world. 
Nuala also describes 'Power Recognition' as one of 10 misjudgement traps. She explains that there are three categories which include 'power seekers', 'power holders' or  those who have 'lost or are afraid of losing power.' and she provides some interesting examples which highlights that many leaders have an obsession with identify, title and status. 
Leaders must consider their own deaf spots - ask yourself are you a tuned out or tuned in leader? If you are not tuned in you are missing signals that matter. 
Nuala has interviewed Presidents, the first man on the moon, top sports stars and executives and she has always been curious as to the human being element of their accomplishments. In this episode she shares some insights from her interview with former President Bill Clinton and top golfer José María Olazábal. 
Don't miss this episode.

www.nualagwalsh.com
Tune In is available on Amazon 



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Dr Gary Crotaz is a former medical doctor, professional ballroom dancer turned coach, author and podcast host. This episode is a collaboration between The Unlock Moment and The Leadership Enigma.
Gary realised after 8 years of medical training that he wanted a different career which in turn created opportunities for him in consulting and retail. Ballroom dancing had always been a parallel passion so Gary and his wife also travelled the world competing in professional tournaments with those who are well known to us from the TV hit 'Strictly Come Dancing.'
Gary's shares my passion for curiosity, learning and conversation. One of Gary's first client's called him at 4am to declare that he realised that he wanted to pursue happiness and not success for the sake of it. This in turn allowed Gary to realise that people have unlock moments of clarity.
An Unlock Moment is a moment when you think back and remember exactly where you were, who you were with and you suddenly know something that you had not realised before. Perhaps some may call it an epiphany.
Two critical questions for all of us are firstly "if we want to really understand the person you are today, where do we need to start the story?" and "if you think about a remarkable moment of clarity, what do you think about?"
In this episode Gary asks me a number of questions which lead me to remember a deeply personal moment with my daughter which was the catalyst for my exploration into my own Human Centred Leadership and sense of purpose.
What is your Unlock Moment?

The Unlock Moment: https://open.spotify.com/show/4yzWepuXTf5rursAv9O1NZ
www.garycrotaz.com
The Idea Mindset is available on Amazon. 


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