Dig Deeper

Digby Scott
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There's no one way to lead. Yet we need to find a way. Our own way. And it can be hard to get right. As we find our way to lead it can be useful to listen to how others found theirs. Each fortnight, I’ll share a rich, unhurried conversation with someone who’s leaned into and learned from the challenges of leadership, change, and life while staying true to themselves. You'll get to experience me doing what I do best: asking the surface-piercing questions to help people see what they couldn't see before. Including you. Learn more about my courses and get more resources at https://www.digbyscott.com/ And follow me on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/digbyscott/

  1. há 4 h

    [Interview] Rebels vs Prefects, Psychological Safety, and Permission to Play | Cat Hall

    How do you know when your team needs a rebel and when they need a prefect? And what happens when you've only ever learned to lead one of them? In this episode, I sit down with Cat Hall to explore an idea we built together years ago: rebels and prefects, and why both are essential when you're driving change. Cat brings six research-backed traits from her master's in Change and Organisational Resilience that shape how well people adapt, and partway through the conversation, she turns that research back on herself. We land on something worth sitting with: adaptability starts with psychological safety, and with giving people permission to play. Cat Hall is a workforce strategist and change leader who helps people thrive in a rapidly changing world of work. With a background in organisational development and change, she now works at the intersection of future-of-work strategy and practical change, designing future skills frameworks and adaptive ways of working, from her early years pushing against the status quo inside a large government department, through to building a practical adaptability playbook now used by leaders and HR professionals. Her recent master's research went beyond the adaptability buzzword, focusing on what actually enables people to adapt to change and what organisations and leaders can practically do to foster it. We get into: Why rebels and prefects both matter, and how to know which one your team needs right nowHow psychological safety is the real starting point for building adaptabilityWhy self-efficacy and resilience show up differently when change is happening to you rather than being led by youHow small pockets of autonomy give people permission to experiment with change Why a simple mantra helped Cat get through one of the hardest years of her life Timestamps: (00:00) - Introduction (01:44) - Rebels vs prefects: what do the words actually mean? (05:38) - From "good girl" to rebel: Cat's story (09:22) - Finding organisational development and a career-defining moment (14:09) - Full rebel mode at Inland Revenue, and learning to bring people with you (20:11) - Back to study: a master's in Change and Organisational Resilience (25:13) - The six traits of adaptability, and turning the research on herself (29:51) - Doing a master's through the hardest year of her life (34:37) - Bringing the playbook to life (37:06) - Where adaptability starts: psychological safety and permission to play (39:48) - Reflections, and where to find Cat Hall You can find Cat Hall at: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-hall-834220199/ Check out my services and offerings https://www.digbyscott.com/ Subscribe to my newsletter https://www.digbyscott.com/subscribe Follow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/digbyscott/

    [Interview] Rebels vs Prefects, Psychological Safety, and Permission to Play | Cat Hall

  2. 17 de ago.

    [Solocast] Don't Give Them Certainty. Give Them Agency.

    When everything around your team feels uncertain, what are you actually meant to give them? Not answers you don't have. Not confidence you can't hold onto forever. A few weeks back, working with a group of senior leaders from a New Zealand local government agency, I asked what they found hardest about leading through uncertainty. Almost every answer came back the same: it's hard to give people certainty. This episode is about why I don't think that's actually the job. I reckon most leaders default into one of two modes when things get shaky: heroing, where you perform having the answers and end up carrying it all yourself, or hoping, where there's no answer and nothing gets handed over either. There's a third mode: hosting, where you create real room for people to find their own answers, whether or not you know the way yourself. Certainty is a promise you often can't keep. Agency is a gift you can always give, and there's real research behind why that matters, including a decades-old study where small everyday choices measurably changed how long people lived. In this solocast, you'll get: Why performing certainty under pressure quietly turns you into the bottleneckThe difference between heroing, hoping, and hosting, and why hosting is the one that lasts beyond youWhat a nursing home study from the seventies reveals about the measurable power of small choicesWhy giving away agency is still hard, even after fifteen-plus years of coaching leaders through itThe cultural pressures, boards, media, performance systems, that quietly punish anyone who says "I don't know"Three practical tools you can use this week: a certainty and agency check-in, an agency audit, and a language shiftA simple sailing metaphor for what it looks like to lead without controlling everything Timestamps (00:00) The question that started this: what leaders find hardest about uncertainty (02:29) Heroing, hoping, and hosting: a sailing metaphor for leading without controlling everything (04:35) Why giving away agency is still hard, even after fifteen-plus years of coaching (06:47) Three practical tools: a certainty and agency check-in, an agency audit, and a language shift (09:11) A close: the one decision you could hand over this week I've put together a free model and a downloadable toolkit with the practical questions and language shifts from this episode. Grab it here: https://assets.cdn.filesafe.space/8yuhB4NRc6tP0qlIfnMn/media/6a7003b2a4c8a1a2c376e427.pdf Check out my services and offerings: https://www.digbyscott.com/ Subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.digbyscott.com/thoughts#subscribe Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/digbyscott/

    [Solocast] Don't Give Them Certainty. Give Them Agency.

  3. 10 de ago.

    [Interview] From Proving to Improving, Creating a Culture of Curiosity, and the Weight of the Cape | Monique Davidson

    You've probably heard the advice: back yourself, have confidence, don't let self-doubt hold you back. But what happens when confidence tips into needing to prove something? And what happens when you're the one everyone comes to for the answer, every single time? In this conversation, Monique Davidson traces her own shift from proving herself to improving herself, and what that's changed about how she leads. She talks about building a culture of curiosity, asking better questions instead of jumping in with answers, and about a metaphor she keeps returning to: the cape that leaders wear without realising it, and the weight of carrying it for too long. Monique Davidson became one of New Zealand's youngest local government chief executives at 29. Nearly a decade on, she's leading Horowhenua District Council and serving as Vice President of Taituarā, Local Government Professionals Aotearoa. She's known for a candid, reflective style of leadership grounded in service rather than ego. We get into: The shift from proving yourself to improving yourself, and why it changes everythingHow to build a culture of curiosity instead of always being the one with the answersWhy leaders wear a cape without realising it, and the weight of carrying it for too longThe cost of holding on to a hero identity, even when things are going wellHow to build a healthier relationship with your own egoThe distinction between an ally and a confidant, and why every leader needs both Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (00:29) What got you to the top (03:34) From proving to improving (05:42) Your relationship with your ego (10:46) Taking the cape off (14:31) The cost of wearing the cape too long (21:35) Imagine your actions written in the sky (28:59) Balancing delivery and discovery (30:08) Creating a culture of curiosity (38:03) What she'd tell a 29-year-old (41:19) Ally versus confidant (43:59) The kitchen floor (46:49) What she's learned from this conversation You can find Monique on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moniquedavidson/ Check out my services and offerings https://www.digbyscott.com/ Subscribe to my newsletter https://www.digbyscott.com/thoughts#subscribe Follow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/digbyscott/

    [Interview] From Proving to Improving, Creating a Culture of Curiosity, and the Weight of the Cape | Monique Davidson

  4. 3 de ago.

    [Solocast] Why “Focus on What You Can Control” Is Only Half the Advice

    Do you ever act fast and call it decisive, only to find out later you were missing half the picture? Or maybe you can see exactly what's going wrong, but you're not the one who gets to change it? This episode explores why "focus on what you can control" is only half the story. Acting with agency but no awareness can set you up for exactly the mess you were trying to avoid. This episode walks through a simple two-by-two model, scrambling, sideline, stuck and solid, so you can spot which one you're operating from right now, and what it takes to move towards solid, where agency and awareness work together. You'll walk away with: Why "focus on what you can control" only tells half the storyA simple model for spotting whether you're scrambling, sidelined, stuck or solidThree practical shifts for each state, to help you move towards solidWhy guarding your energy matters as much as guarding your judgementThe ski-field story about the time Digby got tracked down on a chairlift, and what it taught him about hoarding agency Timestamps: (00:00) Why focus on control is only half the story (02:26) What agency without awareness costs you (04:34) What awareness without agency costs you (06:56) Introducing the agency and awareness model (09:16) Three shifts to move out of scrambling (11:18) Three shifts to move out of sideline and stuck (13:35) Staying solid, and where Digby gets caught out (15:32) An invitation to explore this with other leaders Check out my services and offerings https://www.digbyscott.com/ Subscribe to my newsletter https://www.digbyscott.com/thoughts#subscribe Follow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/digbyscott/

    [Solocast] Why “Focus on What You Can Control” Is Only Half the Advice

  5. 27 de jul.

    [Compilation] The Courage to be Unfinished | Jodi Willocks, Sarah Manley, Nicola Nation, Rita Cincotta & Erin Judge

    How much of your energy goes into making sure everything looks perfect? Into being the leader who's got it handled, even on the days you really haven't? This episode pulls together five conversations from the Dig Deeper archive, each one built around the same discovery: the leaders who earn real trust aren't the ones with all the answers. They're the ones who let people see what they're still working out. You'll hear what it costs to admit that, and what changes once you do. Five guests, five very different stories. Jodi Willocks left a senior role with no plan and learned to trust her gut instead. Sarah Manley led an organisation through her own rock bottom and found the words to ask for help. Nicola Nation stepped out from under the leader she thought she was supposed to be. Rita Cincotta got called out by a friend for looking “too together” to need anyone. And Erin Judge worked out what leadership looks like once you stop making it about yourself. Here's what we get into: Why trusting her gut mattered more to Jodi than having a planWhat it took for Sarah to tell her team the truth about a really hard yearThe moment Nicola realised she'd been performing someone else's leadershipThe friend's comment that showed Rita what she'd been putting out into the worldWhy Erin reckons real impact has got nothing to do with you Timestamps: (00:45) Introduction (01:54) Jodi Willocks: trusting her gut through a career break (07:57) Sarah Manley: leading through rock bottom (15:07) Nicola Nation: stepping into her own version of leadership (20:59) Rita Cincotta: the friend who called out her L plates (28:20) Erin Judge: leadership that isn't about you (33:47) Closing thoughts You can hear the full conversations with each of these guests in the Dig Deeper archive: Jodi Willocks Sarah Manley Nicola Nation Rita Cincotta Erin Judge Check out my services and offerings https://www.digbyscott.com/ Subscribe to my newsletter https://www.digbyscott.com/thoughts#subscribe Follow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/digbyscott/

    [Compilation] The Courage to be Unfinished | Jodi Willocks, Sarah Manley, Nicola Nation, Rita Cincotta & Erin Judge

  6. 20 de jul.

    [Solocast] Are You the Circus Owner or the Ringleader?

    Do you know that feeling when you're the one everyone comes to, the one with the answers, the one holding it all together? It can feel like competence. It might actually be a bottleneck with your name on the label. In this solocast I share a moment from a coaching conversation with a leader who runs a big, messy part of the health system. She described her role as owning the circus, then caught herself and landed on something better: it's everybody's circus, and she's just the ringleader. I unpack why that distinction matters, why leaders who hold onto everything end up exhausted, and why what they build tends to wobble the moment they step back. You'll get: Why "I own that circus" and "it's everybody's circus" are two completely different ways to leadThe difference between the ringleader and someone carrying every act themselvesWhy being across everything feels like competence, but works against you over timeWhat tends to happen to a team the moment a leader who's been holding everything steps backA question worth sitting with: which parts of your circus were never yours to own in the first placeWhere to find my free five-minute Collective Brilliance self-assessment Other references Are You the Circus Owner or the Ringleader? Blog PostFree five-minute leadership self-assessment: Your Lasting Impact Stage Check out my services and offerings https://www.digbyscott.com/ Subscribe to my newsletter https://www.digbyscott.com/subscribe Follow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/digbyscott/

    [Solocast] Are You the Circus Owner or the Ringleader?

  7. 13 de jul.

    [Interview] When Your Skill Problem Might Actually Be a Story Problem | Andrew Horsfield

    What if the thing you're calling stuck is actually the moment your character is being revealed, not tested? Most of us treat the messy middle, that stretch between where we are and where we'd rather be, as something to survive rather than something to learn from. We chase the next skill, the next framework, the next fix, when the real block might be a story we've been telling ourselves for years without ever checking if it's still true. This episode is an invitation to slow down and look at that gap differently. My guest Andrew Horsfield has spent his career helping leaders navigate exactly this territory, and he brings a host mindset and a systems-aware lens to it: rather than pushing for outcomes, he asks what a person, a team, or a relationship actually needs to move well. Andrew is a performance consultant and the author of Better. He's also just come through eighteen months in which he and his wife counted twelve or thirteen major life events hitting at once, including his mother's cancer diagnosis and a son struggling at school. What he shares isn't theory. It's lived. In this conversation, we explore: Why the messy middle reveals who we are rather than building it from scratchHow to tell the difference between productive struggle and simply spinning your wheelsWhy reflection is a practice almost nobody actually does, and what gets in the wayHow a mentor's question, "why do you always have to be approved of?", can expose a story problem hiding behind what looks like a skill problemWhy courage in leadership often looks quiet rather than dramaticHow the tool Bigger Me and Smaller Me can help you notice which version of yourself is drivingWhy understanding someone's perspective matters more than winning the argumentHow three simple end of day questions can turn effort into genuine growth I wonder what might shift if you started treating your own messy middle as information rather than a problem to fix. What's possible here isn't a tidier life. It's a truer one. Timestamps: (00:00) - Navigating the Messy Middle (12:12) - Choosing Between Bigger Me and Smaller Me (20:57) - Turning Struggles into Strengths (31:08) - The Courage to Lead: Insights from Mentorship (38:55) - Productive vs. Unproductive Struggle: Finding the Right Path (46:52) - The Power of Story: Shaping Our Leadership Journey References: Robin SharmaThe Messy Middle | Scott BelskyBigger Me Tool You can find Andrew at: Website: andrewhorsfield.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewhorsfield/ Check out my services and offerings https://www.digbyscott.com/ Subscribe to my newsletter https://www.digbyscott.com/subscribe Follow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/digbyscott/

    [Interview] When Your Skill Problem Might Actually Be a Story Problem | Andrew Horsfield

  8. 6 de jul.

    [Solocast] Fluency and Fluidity

    You've probably noticed that the way you lead in one room doesn't quite land in the next. The approach that makes you sharp in a crisis can fall flat in a quiet one-on-one. And most of the time you're not choosing your style at all. You're running the one that comes naturally. This solocast looks at two things that separate leaders who operate well at senior levels: fluency and fluidity. Fluency is your range across the organisation. The ability to move between functions, contexts and conversations without losing your footing. Fluidity is quieter. It's noticing your default mode and choosing, in the moment, to step out of it when the situation in front of you asks for something else. You'll come away with a clearer read on your own defaults, and a simple way to choose who you need to be before you walk into the room. Here's some of what we get into: Why fluency is built over time, through the range of experiences you collect along the wayWhat organisational literacy actually looks like, and why fluent leaders lean on itThe difference between knowing your natural style and being run by itA door-framing question to ask before any meeting: who do I need to be here?Why self-awareness, not just behaviour, is the real marker of fluidity Have a think about your own default mode as you listen. I reckon you'll spot it quickly. The more interesting question is what it might be costing you on the days you don't step out of it. Fluency & Fluidity Blog Post Check out my services and offerings https://www.digbyscott.com/ Subscribe to my newsletter https://www.digbyscott.com/subscribe Follow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/digbyscott/

    [Solocast] Fluency and Fluidity
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Sobre

There's no one way to lead. Yet we need to find a way. Our own way. And it can be hard to get right. As we find our way to lead it can be useful to listen to how others found theirs. Each fortnight, I’ll share a rich, unhurried conversation with someone who’s leaned into and learned from the challenges of leadership, change, and life while staying true to themselves. You'll get to experience me doing what I do best: asking the surface-piercing questions to help people see what they couldn't see before. Including you. Learn more about my courses and get more resources at https://www.digbyscott.com/ And follow me on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/digbyscott/

Informações

  • Criado por
    Digby Scott
  • Anos de atividade
    2024 - 2026
  • Episódios
    84
  • Classificação
    Explícito
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Digby Scott
  • Site do podcast
    Dig Deeper