Let's talk Transformation : The business leaders podcast

Suzie Lewis
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Management
  • Updated Semimonthly

"Let's talk Transformation" is a podcast for busy yet curious leaders and executives who want to stay ahead of the curve and relevant in the age of AI. Join strategic yet practical conversations with experienced leaders ready to vulnerably share knowledge & learnings. You will be able to operationalise these insights and immediately apply with your team & peers to drive more inclusive & collaborative environments for sustainable transformation & innovation in the workplace and beyond. Hosted by Suzie Lewis, bilingual & bicultural, holding over 20 years of transformation experience in different sized organisations. Her approach is systemic, working on invisible dynamics to improve the quality & speed of decision making and creating a culture of learning. https://transformforvalue.com

  1. Transform Your Leadership: Mood, Mindset & Mastering systems with Chris Majer

    13h ago

    Transform Your Leadership: Mood, Mindset & Mastering systems with Chris Majer

    Imagine a world where leadership ignites potential, turning $200 million losses into $3 billion profits. A great conversation with Chris about transforming organisational performance, and moving beyond industrial-era practices. We explore the critical role of mood, leadership, and systems in fostering high-performing teams and how CEOs can navigate the challenges of the modern competitive landscape, including the impact of AI. Successful organisational transformation depends on three crucial variables: mood, leadership practices, and systems. Many organisations fail to realise their potential not due to bad people or poor tech, but bad practices. Transformation hinges on three levers: Mood, Leadership, and Systems, and yet, the majority of organisations miss the most critical piece. The trap? Ignoring the “mood” of the organisation. Mood isn’t emotion, it is more of a predisposition for action. Generative moods like confidence and trust pave the way for progress, while degenerative moods like cynicism and resentment guarantee failure. You can’t just paint over old, peeling walls with new paint and expect it to stick. After mood, new leadership and management practices are necessary to transition from industrial-era supervision to coordination-era collaboration. Leaders have two responsibilities – the guardian of mood and the architect of the future; they must listen to the organisation, read the world and not be risk averse. Finally, systems and processes must align with desired behaviours. For example, a compensation system rewarding individual effort will sabotage any attempt to build high-performing teams. The system itself must align with desired behaviours. What “mood” currently defines your team or organisation, and how is it impacting performance ? The main insights you'll get from this episode are : Elements of consistent winning performance from athletes can be transferred to any field with human beings and bring about transformation.Bad leadership management tries to use industrial-era methods with modern-day coordination workers whereas completely different leadership is required. Three levers of transformation: Mood: a predisposition for action, generative or degenerative for the future; most organisations have negative moods and if the mood is not right, nothing else matters.Leadership: a need to install new management practices, constitute teams, and design workflow.Systems: they must provide incentive for all, not reward individuals, and not ‘paint over old paint’.Caretaker CEOs vs. real leaders: new CEOs often promoted from within and remain in the manager mindset rather than assuming the role of leader.Leaders have two responsibilities – the guardian of mood and the architect of the future; they must listen to the organisation, read the world and not be risk averse.Sustaining competitive advantage depends on the CEO having a coach (cf. athletes) and being open to improvement.AI is creating disorder faster than we did and it cannot replace coaches; it must be used organisationally but not based on financial decisions (which affect mood).Awareness is a prerequisite to everything, and calm is a trainable skill – none of us can see our own limitations and we need to hear it from a trusted objective source.Taking new action starts transformation, being and doing differently experientially, finding your edge and continuing forward.The lone ranger/noble hero is an inhibiting leadership myth as nothing is created alone; great leaders build teams and develop people.To navigate transformation in an AI world, the CEO must listen to the junior people first – there is no innovation in the boardroom. Find out more about Chris and his work here : https://humanpotentialproject.com/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Power-Transform-Passion-Purpose-Daily/dp/1623362717 https://chrismajer.com/ For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

    48 min
  2. AI & Inclusion: Design for an Equitable Future with Stephanie Sylvestre

    Jun 22

    AI & Inclusion: Design for an Equitable Future with Stephanie Sylvestre

    Imagine a world where AI doesn’t just automate tasks, but actively builds bridges, connecting individuals to mentorship and opportunities previously out of reach. Stephanie and I discuss how AI can level the playing field for underrepresented communities and can drive transformation, inclusion, and belonging. We explore the intersection of digital innovation and human systems, particularly looking at responsible AI solutions through intentional design. A critical blind spot in AI adoption however is not knowing what the root access it. Many leaders are rushing to implement new AI tools without understanding the underlying risks. Our conversation uncovered that the true power of AI lies not just in its capabilities, but in its responsible deployment. This means having clean, validated data and carefully configured agents. Just as a human needs clear instructions and a focused task, so does AI. A small, refined dataset leads to more accurate, less “hallucinating” results. Building responsible AI means involving the people it will serve from the very beginning. and creating AI solutions that are specifically designed for people whose voices are often unheard, operationalizing inclusion in a way that I hadn’t considered before - this is the mission of Avatar buddy. We also discussed the concept of digital twins – digital versions of ourselves that capture our personality and life history. These aren’t just cool tech, they’re tools for accessibility, providing judgment-free support and encouragement. We also explored Mosaic Commons, Stephanie’s virtual community for digital twins, and how crucial representation is. Mosaic commons is a space where Black and brown people can see themselves reflected. This idea of seeing yourself in positions of power and access is such a powerful motivator for intentionally building for inclusion and reminds me how key representation is, even in the digital realm. I truly believe that the future of AI hinges on intentional design and ethical considerations. If you’re a leader, I urge you to think about Stephanie’s advice: don’t use AI just because everyone else is. Instead, have clarity on the problems you’re trying to solve and include diverse voices in the design process. Main insights you'll get from this episode are : AI and inclusion belong together at the intersection of digital innovation, culture change and human systems.AI can level the playing field for marginalised/locked-out communities so that inclusion becomes a design decision.Avatar Buddy delivers cutting-edge, responsible AI solutions for transformation, belonging and performance.AI must have clean data that is accurate and has been reviewed by humans, as well as be deployed properly with specific directions to reduce hallucinations.As it is designed like a human brain, AI makes mistakes, but smaller datasets produce more accurate results.AI agents must be properly configured to prevent slop, and it cannot perform infinite multiple tasks together.Avatar Buddy uses digital twins to digitise people: capturing their essence, interviewing them, taking an audio sample and feeding everything into the AI.The underlying premise is that everyone can overcome if they have one loving adult in their life who believes in them more than they believe in themselves.For AI to fulfil this role, it is configured not be to addictive, to improve knowledge acquisition/retention and self-esteem, and to be judgement-free.AI levels the playing field, gives a voice to those who don’t have one, promotes accessibility and enables people to see themselves reflected back.To operationalise inclusion, C-suite digital twins can offer real human insights, let leaders be heard and seen too, and give juniors access to the C-suite.The 5-step process is ultimately aimed at eliminating bottlenecks, not people, and involves meeting the whole team to craft the solution they will use.Diversity of opinion is fundamental to development at Avatar Buddy, which is also localised for different geographical regions.Guardrails are required when building AI, e.g. only use products you understand; a productivity increase no longer requires edge cases or the latest development.AI can be used in some parts of business processes but always with humans in between; used correctly, it removes emotional churn and improves quality of life.Google AI is a safe, simple, fast and low-risk alternative and can improve civil society.Leaders need a specific problem to solve with AI (but nothing mission-critical) and must include all the appropriate voices. Find out more about Stephanie and her work here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-a-sylvestre/ https://avatarbuddy.co/ https://youtu.be/32LAt1sJPTA?si=I6-OowG5E8yy2DU8 For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

    52 min
  3. Transforming leadership : the Hidden Cost of Workplace Grief with Dr Angela Fusaro

    Jun 15

    Transforming leadership : the Hidden Cost of Workplace Grief with Dr Angela Fusaro

    When there is any deviation from expectations, grief show up, we just don't call it that... A brilliant conversation with Angela Fusaro, an emergency medicine physician and CEO, and our conversation completely shifted my perspective. Here is the powerful idea that really resonated with me: what if these feelings, these un-budgeted operating costs of change, are actually a form of grief? Not just the traditional grief we think of, but a “non-traditional grief” — any deviation from our expectations. It’s a game-changer for understanding how our teams truly function, and how we can manage navigating the unseen costs of organizational change as levers for business growth. We explore how acknowledging non-traditional grief can improve team performance and leadership identity in an AI-driven world. Our brains are wired for pattern recognition, and when expectations aren’t met, our brains interpret it as a threat. This kicks us into defensive & undesirable behaviours we often see: micromanagement, rumination, or even just general irritability. Naming it as loss or grief, rather than anger or frustration, disarms it and creates a path to deal with it constructively. This reframe is crucial because it allows us to move from a place of blaming to a place of understanding. We can’t control everything, especially with things like AI changing our landscape so rapidly, but we can control how we process these moments. Leaders have a responsibility to take this bold step, as their role offers a level of protection that individual contributors may not feel, and building this space for explicit co-regulation is what will keep performance and safety at a level where business and people can grow and thrive in the AI era. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : Leadership in the ER involves facing grief and being comfortable with loss, yet deviation from expectation affects all professional settings and elicits the same human response.Human brains are wired for pattern recognition, and to have intention or want a desired outcome, but this loss of expectation is often not acknowledged, leading to irritability, rumination, and micromanagement in teams.The brain interprets deviation as a threat, but naming grief disarms it; many leaders see the discussion of vulnerable topics as a loss of authority but normalising vulnerability helps co-regulation, which improves performance.Unprocessed grief threatens confidence, certainty and control – it entails complexity and pain, which are important signals that can be leveraged once acknowledged.Holding grief and gratitude at the same time is a necessary leadership skill but requires practice and training our brain to believe; we use gratitude to cope with loss rather than alongside it (as part of a transition process).‘And’ is a powerful word in terms of polarity: in systems thinking, it reframes processes, decision-making, and outcomes from a duality perspective and instils worth and authenticity in the process.AI is increasing how often leaders have to let go of what they think would work: as AI fulfils more complex tasks for us, our ability to process being human and connection to each other will have to accelerate.Leaders will have to model this, demonstrating a shift away from outcome-based KPIs to KPIs that value decision-making quality and the bravery to make decisions in ever-increasing ambiguity.Leaders must take stock with their team after a setback to acknowledge it, reframe regret, and commit to doing things differently going forward; accountability requires a safe environment to prevent the ‘blame game’.Accountability will be the last thing to be delegated to AI, e.g. in medicine, the responsibility is still on the physician - AI is unable to handle the complexity of being human, to hold polarities, to metabolise loss, etc.People with authority must take the first bold step to acknowledge the truth and reflect for themselves if they can self-regulate before tackling co-regulating others. Find out more about Angela and her work here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelafusaromd/ For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

    40 min
  4. Lead with Purpose: Beyond Busyness to Soul-Aligned Work with Joanna Zhang

    Jun 8

    Lead with Purpose: Beyond Busyness to Soul-Aligned Work with Joanna Zhang

    Joanna and I explore shifting from overwhelm to conscious leadership, how business owners can reclaim time, build effective systems, and cultivate inner peace to achieve success and joy in their work. When you stop drowning in the “doing,” you can finally get back to the “leading.” we dive deep into how we can reclaim our time, build systems that genuinely work for us, and, most importantly, cultivate the inner leadership game needed to stay above the overwhelm and find joy and success in our work. Joanna offers insights into transforming leadership through self-awareness and intentional action. We know that many identify of us identify with the desire for control, especially when stressed. The challenge therefore is moving from understanding to practical action. How can leaders “let go” and create space in an uncertain world? Many of us start with a vision: freedom, impact, a unique offering. But daily tasks—emails, invoices, meetings—overwhelm, replace the initial spark with doubt. “Is this what I signed up for?” Our discussion highlights a crucial shift: from time management to energy management. Before her awakening, Joanna filled her calendar, feeling exhausted. Now, she prioritizes her energy state. In a “high vibration state,” she’s efficient and inspired. When energy is low, she rests instead of pushing.While external schedules remain, internal tasks are flexible. If a brainstorm doesn’t align with your energy, reschedule it. Joanna Zhang’s shift to spiritual leader was not really planned but profound. She became more aware of her actions and motivations and discovered that Self-love and boundaries are key. As she embraced self-love, her boundaries strengthened, allowing her to respect her team while holding her ground. We draw the parallel with the use of AI. If we are using AI from fear (e.g., being outdated, wanting more money) more than from love and care, the result will look very different. With love, AI creates space, reduces repetitive tasks, and fosters creativity for leaders and teams. It empowers self-care, self-love, and abundance. Our intention dictates its use., so partnering with AI with love and care, means that we can create AI systems that benefit us, our teams, and the world. The choice is ours, and releasing control and creating space starts with self-awareness and inner work to create this clarity. All leaders should make time for this, particularly in today's fast moving AI era. How has intentional energy management shifted your leadership and enabled your strategic genius ? The main insights you'll get from this episode are : The gradual move from a title leader to a serving and spiritual leader means relinquishing control, standing in others’ shoes, understanding their challenges. Seeking external validation to avoid conflict leads to boundaries being violated; increasing our awareness of self and self-love helps hold strong boundaries.Learning to let go of control – also in personal relationships - helps leadership; it results in more support, calm and assertiveness within the team. Stress increases the need for control and controlling leaders get dragged down by their mistakes, and by a focus on results as opposed to progress.The first step in the inner game of operations is making the decision to delegate - demonstrating courage, taking action and recognising one’s own patterns.Energy management is more important than time management – treating oneself with respect in order to treat others with respect.Conscious leadership means allowing people to make their own decisions and find their own rhythm. Four layers to help leaders: removing pressure on the system (emotional burnout); creating momentum; understanding the parts of the machine (the business design and processes); returning to the genius of the business owner. Building a soul-aligned model creates space to access the ‘genius zone’; the business becomes a fun, energetic and creative playground - a high-vibration state that has a ripple effect of abundance and happiness.We must accept the existence and vibrating resonance of AI and be intentional about how we work with it, i.e. from a place of fear, desire, love, creativity, etc.A change in intention is required for transformation, e.g. what is the purpose of the business? It must be in alignment with the business owner. The same applies to AI as a double-edged sword and we must choose how we treat it.A shift in intention from external to internal is transformational – accepting, forgiving and caring for oneself is the starting point for everything else along the soul journey. Find out more about Joanna and her work here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhang-joanna/

    43 min
  5. Leading magnanimously: step back for a thriving team with Andrew Brummer

    Jun 1

    Leading magnanimously: step back for a thriving team with Andrew Brummer

    "Plant the seeds of a tree you'll never sit under.." Andrew and I explore this mantra and what it means for leaders in today's world. We discuss a leadership approach where the ultimate goal is for the leader to become redundant. This means cultivating a team so capable that it functions better in the leader’s absence. What if the best thing a leader could do for their team was to disappear? Not to abandon, but to empower. To cultivate an environment where operations run smoothly, even flawlessly, in the leader’s absence. A major challenge for many leaders lies in detaching their ego from their work. For most organizational cultures, a leader’s identity is often intertwined with their output and ability to deliver results. This ego-driven system rewards constant doing, making it difficult to step back and move from a "must fix it" mentality to allowing people to find their own brilliance. Leaders often mistakenly believe that by staying busy, they become indispensable, but this actually limits their growth and the growth of those around them. As Ai challenges leadership identity more and more it is important to uderstand this phenomenon and intentionally intercept it. AI not as a threat, but more of a tool to create new horizons and solutions, such as helping people leave behind their legacies through stories. When discussing the impact of AI on loyalty, particularly with the rise of AI agents and distributed teams, Andrew Brummer offers us a different perspective : AI as a utility, akin to tools in a woodworking shop. Just as exquisite wood and advanced machinery are useless without understanding the desired outcome, AI is ineffective without critical, creative, and outcome-based thinking. For those who can engage in such thinking, AI becomes a powerful multiplier, enabling individuals to achieve things they once only dreamt of. AI will bring people back together in humanity, i.e. away from tech; the humanity of a team becomes super critical and will become more significant to society as time goes on. How do you cultivate team autonomy while maintaining impact ? The main insights you'll get from this episode are: Leaders who make themselves indispensable limit both themselves and their team - the book is a practical field guide to move away from feeling needed.Working with clarity, not frameworks, helps to detach from ego/identity to allow the wisdom of stepping back shine through – letting people be brilliant and autonomous rather than governing them.Rewarding managers sets a bad precedent, demonstrating individual divisiveness as opposed to cohesiveness; much better to help people find their ability/confidence and encourage them to grow and act.Teams need space to become loyal, learning and defining themselves with an intentional and transparent social contract = vulnerability in giving people trust without them having to earn it.Yielding information yields a relationship, which then yields outcome: leaders can love their people for the individuals they are, trust them and watch them grow, but this requires introspection.Leaders must allow themselves to be loved by their team; when teams no longer need their leader, leaders must have the resilience to pivot.‘Plant the seeds of a tree you’ll never sit under’ means: radical service, deep connection, humility in helping (younger) people, sharing your knowledge, and leveraging technology (AI) in smart ways to help create new horizons.Loyalty remains unchanged in the age of AI; AI is a tool for those who can think critically and want to maximise themselves – we can re-engineer ourselves by asking specific, creative questions and thinking differently.AI will bring people back together in humanity, i.e. away from tech; the humanity of a team becomes super critical and will become more significant to society as time goes on.Once AI no longer requires our human limitations, we will reinvent a new world; leaders must aim for a larger outcome, embracing AI, love, vulnerability and introspection to find out how to plant their seeds. Find out more about Andrew and his work here : www.andrewbrummer.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewbrummer/ https://www.mystorytold.ai/

    41 min
  6. Whole human leadership with Victoria Pelletier

    May 25

    Whole human leadership with Victoria Pelletier

    "Discover how to build resilience that truly supports you and your growth, not just survival." Victoria and I reflect on what we celebrate in leadership. The drive, the composure, the ability to read a room—these are often seen as peak leadership skills. But for many, these aren’t just skills. They’re survival strategies, honed long before any boardroom. We delve into the definition and application of healthy resilience: it involves processing, self-reflection, and intentional strategy, not just “plowing past” adversity. Many leaders, unknowingly practice an “unhealthy” version, equating resilience with stoicism. Yet, this often leads to burnout and a lack of genuine connection within teams. Healthy resilience to remain as human and authentic as possible in the way we show up as leaders has this been more relevant and important than today in the age of AI and a potential to become more and more transactional and isolated. We need to build more resilience at both human and systems level as people drive everything; given that perception is reality, changes must be made to show up differently and display emotion. While organizations are starting to talk about different leadership styles, they often miss the deeper “why” behind people’s behaviours. We discuss authentic leadership, but not the underlying fears or insecurities that prevent it. It’s not about therapy at work, but about designing environments where people don’t need survival strategies. This means shifting from simply promoting good performers to also supporting & training them to be good leaders, truly focusing on people and creating a sense of belonging to allow for innovation, better decision making and ultimately improved performance. How can we better integrate people strategies with business strategies to underscore the ROI of human-centered leadership? The main insights you'll get from this episode are : ‘Iron maiden’: the armour necessary for a young female executive that does not reflect the ability to express or feel emotion - a toxic culture can be a response at organisational level due to the trauma of the people leading it.Need to build more resilience at both human and systems level as people drive everything; given that perception is reality, changes must be made to show up differently and display emotion.Unhealthy resilience: resilience as a badge of honour, never processing, never self-reflecting, never sitting in awareness, never integrating trauma, etc. vs. healthy: having clarity around goals, creating strategy/intentions, asking for help.Dialogue around mask-wearing in organisations requires leaders who start with themselves first and design environments in which people don’t need survival strategies, i.e. trauma-informed organisations that foster trust and belonging.‘Whole human leadership’ is an innovation practice as leaders often perceive two separate halves – business/financial performance vs. people; the human-centred design used in tech/processes should also apply to employees.For leaders to leverage communities, intentionality is critical: innovation through diversity, recruitment based on bridging gaps in the workforce, moving away from facts and figures, modelling the behaviour of being a whole human leader.The metaphor of the turtle that moves deliberately, carries its home, and protects its wisdom and softness is very helpful to model behaviour, speak out, tell your own story with learnings and outcomes – less need to wear a mask.Permission to fail – following initial disappointment, leaders can demonstrate moving on, rectifying mistakes, supporting people, creating safety: thoughts, language, actions, and behaviour must be intentional.Resilience is about growing through, not pushing through – support systems/ structures are often not ideal but we still have agency within the system and can step into the zone of discomfort to go beyond the fear. Find out more about Victoria and her work here https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriapelletier/ https://victoria-pelletier.com/ For more information on this episode please visit www.transformforvalue.com/podcast To carry on developing your leadership and building a relevant & high performing team, connect with me here : https://calendly.com/transformforvalue/connect

    28 min
  7. Your AI Future: Designing a Human-First Approach to Tech with Bala Muthiah

    May 18

    Your AI Future: Designing a Human-First Approach to Tech with Bala Muthiah

    Growth is a collective development. We should grow as a community. We should grow as a humanity, we cannot succeed individually. In a world already obssesed with growth, and AI bringing speed that we've never seen before, understanding how to intentionally design for human centred growth strategies is so important. Systems only work when the humans inside the systems are seen, valued, and allowed to grow. Bala and I discuss the fact that building effective systems—engineering, organizational, or community—is fundamentally a human design problem, and how AI makes this more urgent. Bala shares invaluable insights from advising startups to teaching coding in public schools. We dive into redesigning organizations around AI without losing the human element, ethical AI as a design principle, and building human-centered communities when tools change faster than people. Many see AI as a tool for efficiency, a way to move faster. But if you purely optimise with AI without deeply examining your organizational structure and culture, you’re merely moving the bottleneck, not solving it. AI accelerates discovery, highlighting existing issues, especially in low-trust environments. Introducing AI into a low-trust culture doesn’t magically build trust. It automates around the lack of it, potentially exacerbating issues and inciting the use of 'shadow AI'. The foundational element for any successful team remains trust. As leaders, we must focus on fostering environments where trust is built proactively, before the pressure of AI-driven decisions. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : Systems only work when the humans inside are seen, valued and allowed to grow; humans are also the meta point in organisations, so it is vital to understand what motivates them (before they decide to leave). Building a team in a fast-scaling company requires first and foremost the right environment and culture, i.e. how people interact, how things are set up; AI acts like an x-ray machine, quickly showing what is broken and mirroring what is happening. Any team success requires trust and in the AI age, this entails trusting (or not) in AI as a system, trusting (or not) the output I produce (direct), and trusting (or not) others to use AI properly (indirect). The human aspect is about making things come together; AI requires fast decisions from leaders so leaders must trust their people, not identify or label them by their mistakes. AI governance is both a legal and human/behavioural issue – everyone should be involved in the conversation as AI is not an entity in itself; we give it life/power, which gives rise to ethical issues. New generations have access to tools/power and are already thinking about impact (moving away from the conventional leadership model) and the need for community, factoring this into decision-making to make it easier to create new tools quickly. Growth is a collective development, and success is not possible individually because access is now decentralised; the infrastructure must be a community as a living thing, helping others unbidden and building networks of trust. Leaders must intentionally make time for and ‘invest’ in community, taking off their leader ‘hat’ in an informal setting, for example; it all starts with objective communication, removing the subjects to change the perspective. AI is an opportunity to revamp organisational design with humans as the connective tissue in the system; in future, governments, education/industry, and economies must come together to include everyone and work for humans. Being curious is good enough and will guide us to the next step; we should get our hands dirty and humbly remember that our day jobs are creating a world for the next generation. Find out more about Bala and his work here : https://balamuthiah.com/

    40 min
  8. Unlock Creativity & Focus : the 'flow' of transformation with Steven Puri

    May 11

    Unlock Creativity & Focus : the 'flow' of transformation with Steven Puri

    You need to treat time as sacred... In our 24/7 hustle culture this is no mean feat.. Imagine a workday where time seems to vanish, distractions fade, and your team produces their best work effortlessly. This isn’t a fantasy. It is the power of “flow states,” a concept gaining traction among forward-thinking leaders. Steven and I explore this concept of Flow, steven is a visionary who has navigated the worlds of IBM engineering and Academy Award-winning film production. Their conversation reveals how understanding and cultivating flow can transform productivity, performance, and overall happiness within any organization. Entering a flow state typically requires 15 to 23 minutes of uninterrupted focus and that interruptions reset this process. To facilitate flow, leaders must treat dedicated work time as sacred, encouraging “time blocking” where team members can focus without distractions like instant messages or impromptu meetings. This intentional protection of time allows for deep work and creative insights Steven shares his unique perspective, having witnessed high performance in both highly creative and deeply technical fields. This dual experience provides a rare insight into universal patterns that drive sustainable success. His journey from IBM software engineer to visual effects producer for “Independence Day,” a VP at Fox, and now the creator of the SUkha company, a platform designed to help remote workers achieve focus and flow. We explore why leaders might be hesitant to adopt models that prioritize deep, creative work, often attributing this to a fear of losing control over their teams. This fear often stems from a hiring problem, if leaders effectively articulate a mission and values, they will attract engaged individuals who are intrinsically motivated. Trusting talented employees to pursue the mission without constant surveillance is crucial. We touch upon the increasing importance of “inner game” skills and fostering creativity in an AI-dominated world to ensure both relevance and fulfillment. Leaders should protect time for deep strategic thinking, as this is often given away to busywork, impeding true leadership, care and innovation. Steven’s company, SUKHA, built on the Sanskrit word for happiness through self-fulfillment, provides tools to foster these conditions for remote knowledge workers. By offering distraction blockers, curated soundscapes, and smart assistants, SUKHA helps individuals consistently enter flow states. The result? 94-96% month-over-month retention, showing people truly value the ability to achieve deep work and finish their tasks efficiently. What’s the one thing you will commit to protecting in your week to foster deep thought and move your strategic objectives forward? The main insights you'll get from this episode are : There are patterns that are common among high performers that must work in a hybrid world that can oscillate between periods of remote working followed by intense in-person periods.LLMs are great for automating established patterns but leaders must also know how to manage and create the right conditions for people to thrive in this setup - Sukha helps people create flow states for healthy productivity.Productivity can be defined more broadly as extracting people’s greatness and creativity, i.e. creating a flow state which provides an uplift as opposed to energy depletion.The trick to translating an understanding of flow into real-world situations is to treat time as sacred, e.g. by using time-blocking and -boxing, working according to chronotype, and changing working methods.Small insights can lead to huge competitive advantages, but they are difficult to measure and make tangible; leaders are also fearful of being unsure what their people are doing and losing ‘control’.This can be traced back to hiring the ‘wrong’ people: if leaders articulate the company’s mission and values correctly, they will naturally attract the type of person that wants to work in the organisation. Systems in organisations have antibodies to a culture of creativity and are structured around demonstrating results as a means to get things done, whereas Sukha – meaning happiness through self-fulfilment in Sanskrit – aims for flow. The Sukha platform offers the right aural environment, a smart assistant for optimisation, and blocks distractions to enable people to enter flow and build self-belief in defiance of the all-pervasive ‘steal your life’ model.Every leader (everyone) should aim to protect what we give away free for others to monetise: time for deep thought - before giving in to temptation or distraction, we can think of one thing every day that we can do to move our life forward. Find out more about Steven and his work here : steven@thesukha.co https://www.thesukha.co/

    50 min
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"Let's talk Transformation" is a podcast for busy yet curious leaders and executives who want to stay ahead of the curve and relevant in the age of AI. Join strategic yet practical conversations with experienced leaders ready to vulnerably share knowledge & learnings. You will be able to operationalise these insights and immediately apply with your team & peers to drive more inclusive & collaborative environments for sustainable transformation & innovation in the workplace and beyond. Hosted by Suzie Lewis, bilingual & bicultural, holding over 20 years of transformation experience in different sized organisations. Her approach is systemic, working on invisible dynamics to improve the quality & speed of decision making and creating a culture of learning. https://transformforvalue.com

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