Lancefield on the Line David Lancefield

How do you respond when you’re caught off guard?

Imagine holding a meeting but you don’t know how to respond to a situation. The way you react to your anxieties can negatively impact the outcome you want to achieve. It doesn’t have to be this way; you can be prepared.

In this episode I am joined by Matt Abrahams, an expert in communication. He says there are ways of preparing yourself and then responding, which is achieved through changing your mindset and having structures to follow.

He discusses the common moments we get caught off guard at work and how we can prepare for them. He also shares ways that you can become a better listener, and his methods to talk smarter in the moment.

It's about getting out of your head and finding ways to connect with the other person.

“You actually have to prepare to be spontaneous” – Matt Abrahams

You'll hear about:
Moments we get caught off guard at workHow to be able to apply Matt’s methodsHow do you listen properly and attentivelyDealing with difficult situationsThe power of storytelling in these momentsMatt’s recommendations to perfectionistsMatt’s top tip for dealing with difficult situationsWhat Matt’s best day looks likeThe impact Matt wants to have on the world
About Matt Abrahams

Matt Abrahams is a leading expert in communication with decades of experience as an educator, author, podcast host, and coach. As a Lecturer in Organisational Behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, he teaches popular classes in strategic communication and effective virtual presenting. Outside of the classroom, Matt is a sought-after keynote speaker and communication consultant. He has helped countless presenters improve and hone their communication, including some who have delivered IPO road shows as well as Nobel Prize, TED, and World Economic Forum presentations. His online talks garner millions of views and he hosts the popular, award-winning podcast Think Fast, Talk Smart The Podcast. 

Resources:


• Profile: https://mattabrahams.com/about/
• Book: ‘Think faster, talk faster’ - https://mattabrahams.com/books/
• Podcast: https://mattabrahams.com/podcast/
My resources:

Find out more about my new venture, Strategy Shift (https://bit.ly/3TMvj3y).

Take my new Becoming a Strategic Leader course (https://bit.ly/3KJYDTj).

Sign up to my Strategic Leader newsletter (http://bit.ly/36WRpri) for stimuli, ideas, guidance and tips on how to lead your team, organisation or self more effectively, delivered straight to your inbox:

Subscribe to my YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/3cFGk1k) where you can watch the conversation.

Take the Extraordinary Essentials test (https://bit.ly/3EhSKY5) to identify your strengths and development areas as a strategic leader:

For more details about me:


●      Services (https://bit.ly/373jctk) to CEOs, entrepreneurs and professionals.
●      About me (https://bit.ly/3LFsfiO) - my background, experience and philosophy.
●      Examples of my writing (https://bit.ly/3O7jkc7).
●      Follow me and engage with me on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/2Z2PexP).
●      Follow me and engage with me on Twitter (https://bit.ly/36XavNI).

What impact do the biases you hold have on your work?

Living and working in a more critical manner allows you to be more informed and less impacted by bias. This can have positive impacts on your work and those around you, just by challenging yourself to think differently.

In this episode I am joined by Alex Edmans, author of May Contain Lies. He shares his deep knowledge of bias and how to think smarter and more critically. He discusses how he uses this within personal aspects of his life too.

Are you confusing correlation with causation? A statement with a fact? Evidence with proof?

This episode is full of practical advice you can use in your projects or meetings. Or even when listening to the news, to become more aware of what could be misinformation.

“Misinformation affects our professional and personal lives” – Alex Edmans

You'll hear about:
Which are the most harmful biases?How pervasive are biases?Does Alex make gut decisions still?Business and the ladder of inferenceUsing these ideas in practiceIs doing less better?Looking at specifics vs broad dataHow to challenge people with ill-informed viewsHow to inspire more debate and dissentManaging himself with other’s critical thinkingWhat Alex's best days look likeAbout Alex Edmans

Alex Edmans is Professor of Finance at London Business School. He has a PhD from MIT as a Fulbright Scholar, and was previously a tenured professor at Wharton and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. He has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, testified in the UK Parliament, and given the TED talk “What to Trust in a Post-Truth World” and the TEDx talks “The Pie-Growing Mindset” and “The Social Responsibility of Business” with a combined 2.8 million views. He is a non-executive director of the Investor Forum, on the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Responsible Investing, and on Royal London Asset Management’s Responsible Investment Advisory Committee.

He has won 25 teaching awards at Wharton and LBS and was named Professor of the Year by Poets & Quants in 2021.

His resources:

•Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aedmans/
•Book: www.maycontainlies.com 
•Resources and research: www.alexedmans.com

My resources:

Find out more about my new venture, Strategy Shift (https://bit.ly/3TMvj3y)

Take my new Becoming a Strategic Leader course (https://bit.ly/3KJYDTj)

Sign up to my Strategic Leader newsletter (http://bit.ly/36WRpri) for stimuli, ideas, guidance and tips on how to lead your team, organisation or self more effectively, delivered straight to your inbox:

Subscribe to my YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/3cFGk1k) where you can watch the conversation.

Take the Extraordinary Essentials test (https://bit.ly/3EhSKY5) to identify your strengths and development areas as a strategic leader:

For more details about me:

●      Services (https://bit.ly/373jctk) to CEOs, entrepreneurs and professionals
●      About me (https://bit.ly/3LFsfiO) - my background, experience and philosophy
●      Examples of my writing (https://bit.ly/3O7jkc7)
●      Follow me and engage with me on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/2Z2PexP)
●      Follow me and engage with me on Twitter (https://bit.ly/36XavNI)

How well do you ask questions?

Asking questions can be more than a way to elicit an answer. They allow us to form connections. Used in the right way they are a powerful tool for us to learn from each other.

In this episode I am joined by philosopher, Dr Pia Lauritzen, who spends her life researching the art and science of question-making. This is becoming even more important as more organisations are opening up their approach to innovation, strategy and transformation, inviting people to share their perspectives.

We discuss ways of asking better questions, and getting the balance right between asking questions and sharing knowledge. We also delve into why you need to find out what people care about to be able to connect through questions.

“Questions are probably the most powerful way of being in the world” – Pia Lauritzen

You'll hear about:
What is the power of questions?What does it take to break down barriers?How do you connect around questions?The balance between questions and knowledgeFinding out what people care aboutTools to help with questioningAI and questioningCoaching people to ask better questionsHow Pia has improved her questioningThe impact Pia wants to have on the worldAbout Pia Lauritzen:

Pia Lauritzen is a Danish philosopher and tech entrepreneur. She holds a PhD in philosophy and is the inventor and founder of Qvest and Question Jam. She has published five books (Questions is upcoming on Johns Hopkins University Press in November 2023), and her regular column for strategy+business is read by more than 20,000 decision makers worldwide.

Her resources:

•Profile: https://www.pialauritzen.dk/
•Questions: Brief Books About Big Ideas, by Pia Lauritzen - https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/23069/questions
•What You Don’t Know About Questions (TEDx Talk) - https://www.ted.com/talks/pia_lauritzen_what_you_don_t_know_about_questions
•Six Reasons Successful Business Leaders Love questions, by Pia Lauritzen
•Question Jam - https://www.questionjam.com/
•Qvest platform - https://www.qvest.io/

My resources:

Take my new Becoming a Strategic Leader course (https://bit.ly/3KJYDTj).

Sign up to my Strategic Leader newsletter (http://bit.ly/36WRpri) for stimuli, ideas, guidance and tips on how to lead your team, organisation or self more effectively, delivered straight to your inbox:

Subscribe to my YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/3cFGk1k) where you can watch the conversation.

Take the Extraordinary Essentials test (https://bit.ly/3EhSKY5) to identify your strengths and development areas as a strategic leader:

For more details about me:

●      Services (https://bit.ly/373jctk) to CEOs, entrepreneurs and professionals.
●      About me (https://bit.ly/3LFsfiO) - my background, experience and philosophy.
●      Examples of my writing (https://bit.ly/3O7jkc7).
●      Follow me and engage with me on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/2Z2PexP).
●      Follow me and engage with me on Twitter (https://bit.ly/36XavNI).

Fixing problems is often seen as a slow, complex process but it doesn’t need to be this way. You can solve the hardest problems your organisation faces at speed; you just need to know how.

In this episode I am joined by Harvard Business School professor Francis Frei. She talks about what it takes to build trust fast, and how to focus on the hard problems. She also shares how to scale an idea to create real change and how to build a more inclusive environment that enables it.

Frances counters many management practices and mindsets we've heard of so get ready to be challenged and indeed surprised.

“Leaders need to decide, which is the big problem we should work on now” – Frances Frei


You'll hear about:
 ●      How to combine the long and short term
●      Identifying the big problems
●      Tackling a deficit of trust
●      Making the right new friends
●      Moving from prototype to scaling
●      The power of storytelling
●      Judgement and curiosity don't sit well together
●      What makes a more inclusive environment?
●      What is Frances most proud of?
●      The impact Frances wants to have on the world
●      Finding inspiration      

About Frances Frei:

Frances is a professor of Technology and Operations Management at Harvard Business School. A global thought leader on organizational change, Frances is widely recognized for her dynamic teaching style and breakthrough insight into how to move fast and fix things. Her research investigates how leaders create the context for organizations and individuals to thrive by designing for excellence in strategy, operations, and culture. In 2017, she took a leave from HBS to serve as Uber’s first senior vice president of leadership and strategy to help the company navigate its very public crisis in leadership and culture.

Her resources:

•Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesfrei/  and https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6587 
•Services: https://anneandfrances.com/work-with-us 
•Book: Move Fast and Fix Things https://anneandfrances.com/books 
•Podcast: Fixable. https://anneandfrances.com/fixable


My resources:

Take my new Becoming a Strategic Leader course (https://bit.ly/3KJYDTj).

Sign up to my Strategic Leader newsletter (http://bit.ly/36WRpri) for stimuli, ideas, guidance and tips on how to lead your team, organisation or self more effectively, delivered straight to your inbox:

Subscribe to my YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/3cFGk1k) where you can watch the conversation.

Take the Extraordinary Essentials test (https://bit.ly/3EhSKY5) to identify your strengths and development areas as a strategic leader:


For more details about me:


●      Services (https://bit.ly/373jctk) to CEOs, entrepreneurs and professionals.
●      About me (https://bit.ly/3LFsfiO) - my background, experience and philosophy.
●      Examples of my writing (https://bit.ly/3O7jkc7).
●      Follow me and engage with me on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/2Z2PexP).
●&

What is the culture in your organisation like?

Culture is more popular and necessary for management to consider than ever. Talking about culture is one thing, improving it, evolving it into something better, more inclusive, and higher performing is quite another.

In this episode my guest is Aga Bajer, a leading authority on culture. We talk about what it takes to develop a greater sense of belonging, and what that means and involves. She shares how organisations can develop and evolve a culture as well as the important role fun plays in the process.

Aga also discusses the impacts deep belonging has on culture as well as the misconceptions commonly held around it. So, if you're looking to supercharge the performance of your team, this episode is certainly for you.

“Culture is a movement rather than a mandate” – Aga Bajer

You'll hear about:

·      Aga’s definition of culture
·      Why codifying culture is important
·      How do you evolve culture?
·      How do you bring culture to life in organisations?
·      How do you scale culture pilots?
·      How important is fun to culture?
·      The impact of deep belonging on culture
·      Misconceptions about culture
·      The impact Aga wants to have on the world
 
About Aga Bajer:

Aga is the Founder and CEO of CultureBrained, the first-of-its-kind virtual community for Culture Leaders. She’s spent more than 20 years helping leaders build cultures that foster belonging, innovation, and high performance. She’s the host of the CultureLab podcast and co-author of the book ‘Build a coaching culture.’

Her resources:

• Profile: https://www.agabajer.com/about-aga-bajer/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/agabajer/
• Community: CultureBrained Community https://www.agabajer.com/culturebrained-community/
• Podcast: Culture Lab Podcast - https://www.agabajer.com/podcast/
• Book: Build a coaching culture. https://www.agabajer.com/book/
 
My resources:

Take my new Becoming a Strategic Leader course (https://bit.ly/3KJYDTj).

Sign up to my Strategic Leader newsletter (http://bit.ly/36WRpri) for stimuli, ideas, guidance and tips on how to lead your team, organisation or self more effectively, delivered straight to your inbox:

Subscribe to my YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/3cFGk1k) where you can watch the conversation.

Take the Extraordinary Essentials test (https://bit.ly/3EhSKY5) to identify your strengths and development areas as a strategic leader:

For more details about me:

●      Services (https://bit.ly/373jctk) to CEOs, entrepreneurs and professionals.
●      About me (https://bit.ly/3LFsfiO) - my background, experience and philosophy.
●      Examples of my writing (https://bit.ly/3O7jkc7).
●      Follow me and engage with me on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/2Z2PexP).
●      Follow me and engage with me on Twitter (https://bit.ly/36XavNI).

What type of stimuli helps you to think?

Leaders often shy away from using visual stimuli as it can be seen as gimmicky. But knowing where, when, and how to use it can transform how problems are solved.

My guest in his episode is Holger Nils Pohl, one of the best at using visual thinking to tackle complex problems. He discusses how to apply it, and the tools you can use to help you and your team use it in a meaningful way. He also shares how to avoid doing it badly, something many leaders can struggle with.

He gives insight into how he uses his background in teaching within his work, how he deals with perfectionism and why autism is his superpower.

“A lot of the struggles we have are actually caused by missing clarity” – Holger Nils Pohl

You'll hear about:

●      The importance of clarity in business
●      Why multi-sensory stimuli amplify conversations
●      The scientific nature of visual senses
●      The three elements of Holger’s framework
●      The role teaching plays in Holger’s work
●      How to tame perfectionism
●      How Holger prepares to work at his best
●      Why autism is a superpower
●      What impact does Holger want to have?                   
 
About Holger Nils Pohl:

Holger is a multi-passionate creative, visual strategist, author of Non-Fiction, Kids' and Fantasy books, trainer, and autistic.

He believes in the transformational power of visual tools and creates clarity for his clients, workshop delegates, readers, and viewers. He does this by reducing complexity to simple, actionable steps.

His resources:

•          Profile: https://clarity.holgernilspohl.com/pages/about-holger 
•          Books: Creating Clarity – www.holgernilspohl.com/claritybook  and The Wrong Planet – www.holgernilspohl.com/autism    
•          Courses: https://clarity.holgernilspohl.com/pages/courses
 
My resources:

Take my new Becoming a Strategic Leader course (https://bit.ly/3KJYDTj).

Sign up to my Strategic Leader newsletter (http://bit.ly/36WRpri) for stimuli, ideas, guidance and tips on how to lead your team, organisation or self more effectively, delivered straight to your inbox:

Subscribe to my YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/3cFGk1k) where you can watch the conversation.

Take the Extraordinary Essentials test (https://bit.ly/3EhSKY5) to identify your strengths and development areas as a strategic leader:

For more details about me:

●      Services (https://bit.ly/373jctk) to CEOs, entrepreneurs and professionals.
●      About me (https://bit.ly/3LFsfiO) - my background, experience and philosophy.
●      Examples of my writing (https://bit.ly/3O7jkc7).
●      Follow me and engage with me on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/2Z2PexP).
●      Follow me and engage with me on Twitter (https://bit.ly/36XavNI).