Everyone is a Leader.

Charles Simonetti
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

A podcast about Leadership for Executives, Investors, and Business Leaders. 👤 Hosted by Charles Simonetti, Executive Coach (PCC) and Founder of "On a Quest." 🧭 Each episode follows a three-part structure: - The Leader’s Journey: A turning point that shaped the guest’s leadership. - Breakthrough Conversation: An unscripted dialogue about one current challenge the guest is facing. - Key Takeaways: Insights the guest believes every leader should embody.

Episodes

  1. Jul 26

    Why the "Business Mindset" Fails in Leadership | Dr. Nafees Hamid: Everyone is a Leader (S02E02)

    👤 Hosted by Charles Simonetti ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlessimonetti/ ),Advisor to CEOs & Executive Teams and Founder of "On a Quest." ( https://www.onaquest.eu/ ),"Everyone is a Leader." is a leadership podcast for Executives, Investors & Business Leaders.🎙️ Today’s guest: Nafees Hamid, PhD (https://nafeeshamid.org/ / nafees-hamid-phd / @drnafeeshamid )A cognitive scientist and field researcher who has scanned the brains of extremists, negotiated with radicalized individuals, and studied how identity and belief systems drive human behavior.He is the Research & Policy Director of XCEPT, based at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, and advises governments worldwide on preventing political violence, negotiating conflict, and peacebuilding.In this episode of Everyone is a Leader, host Charles Simonetti (founder of On a Quest.) sits down with Dr. Nafees Hamid (https://nafeeshamid.org/ / nafees-hamid-phd / @drnafeeshamid ) —cognitive scientist, field researcher, and Research & Policy Director at XCEPT (King’s College London).Dr. Hamid’s work scans the brains of extremists and negotiates high-stakes geopolitical conflicts. In this conversation, he explains why the traditional "rational actor model"—relying strictly on financial carrots, sticks, and cost-benefit analyses—fails when dealing with human beings in business, leadership, and negotiation.Key Discussion Points:- Devoted Actors vs. Rational Actors: Why people are motivated far more by identity, sacred values, and purpose than purely transactional incentives.- Re-engaging the Disaffected: How to listen to actively disengaged employees and leverage their critical diagnostic skills to improve your organization rather than turning them into adversaries.- Navigating Asymmetric Conflict: Why "perspective giving" matters more than "perspective taking," how to defuse competitive victimhood, and the power of public symbolic concessions.- Empathy vs. Compassion: The crucial neurological distinction between absorbing trauma (which leads to burnout) and bringing compassionate, benevolent energy into the room.- The Limits of Mass Persuasion: Why broadcast advertising and top-down messaging frequently fail in high-stakes environments without genuine social interaction and community-driven connection.- Identity Before Ideology: Why people join political or corporate groups for belonging and agency long before they buy into the actual ideas.Episode Chapters00:00 – Introduction: Dr. Nafees Hamid01:12 – The Flaw in the "Rational Actor" Model03:15 – Rational Actors vs. Devoted Actors05:10 – The Parallel Between Disaffected Citizens & Disengaged Employees08:05 – Why Top-Down Solutions Backfire (The MolenGeek Case)11:00 – Harnessing Subversiveness: Using Criticism Productively13:15 – The Motivation Trap: Rewarding Highly Engaged Talent15:35 – Negotiating Deep Conflict Beyond Material Interests17:50 – Asymmetric Conflicts & The Power of Being Heard19:40 – Breaking Competitive Victimhood with Symbolic Concessions21:50 – Empathy vs. Compassion: A Neurological Shift24:30 – Why Mass Advertising Campaigns Fail26:50 – Building True Client Devotion & Community29:10 – Identity Before Ideology: Why People Really Join Groups30:40 – Final Takeaway: Connecting to the Internal Narrative35:15 – The Motivation Paradox: How Material Rewards Lower Engagement41:20 – Negotiating Deep Conflict Beyond Costs and Benefits48:00 – Asymmetric Conflict, Perspective Giving & Competitive Victimhood53:40 – Empathy vs. Compassion: A Neurological Shift in High-Stakes Mediation01:00:15 – Why Mass Persuasion & Advertising Fail01:06:30 – Building True Client Devotion Through Community01:10:15 – Identity Over Ideology & Final Leadership Takeaways

  2. Jul 22

    Humanizing Business: Rethinking Leadership | Tobias Haug: Everyone is a Leader (S02E01)

    👤 Hosted by Charles Simonetti ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlessimonetti/ ),Advisor to CEOs & Executive Teams and Founder of "On a Quest." ( https://www.onaquest.eu/ ),"Everyone is a Leader." is a leadership podcast for Executives, Investors & Business Leaders.Key Discussion Points:- Beyond the "Chief Happiness Officer": Why branding cultural change around "happiness" can backfire, and why "Humanizing Business" grounds transformation in both performance and human values.The Freedom of the Fool (Narrenfreiheit): How creating autonomous, non-hierarchical spaces (like SAP’s AppHouse) fosters genuine innovation and psychological safety.- Networked Organizations vs. Rigid Hierarchies: Why traditional top-down structures fail in unpredictable, fast-changing markets—and how "team-of-teams" models adapt faster.- Data-Driven Culture Change: How micro-interventions in a sales environment directly drove over €10.5 million in revenue increase.- Team-Driven Hybrid Work Policies: Why top-down mandates fail and how empowering teams to co-create their own working agreements delivers better alignment and performance.- Strong Opinions, Weakly Held: How leaders can bring vision and experience without dominating the room or stripping agency from their teams.Episode Chapters00:00 – Introduction: Toby Haug & Humanizing Business01:15 – From Zoologist to Design & Tech Pioneer02:30 – The Shift from "Chief Happiness Officer" to Humanizing Business04:20 – The AppHouse Experiment: 3 Years of Autonomous Innovation07:05 – Drawing the Shift: Hierarchies vs. Networked Teams09:40 – Management vs. Leadership: Why You Need Both11:15 – Practical Culture Framework: The Frequency vs. Collaboration Workshop14:00 – Proving ROI: Tracking €10.5M in Revenue from Culture Interventions16:30 – Navigating Reorgs, Stakeholder Friction, & Change Exhaustion19:10 – The Garden Metaphor: Leaving a Legacy vs. Owning the Outcome22:00 – "Have a Strong Opinion That is Weakly Held"24:10 – What Leadership Truly Means: Leadership is Personal38:50 – Management vs. Leadership: Why High-Performing Companies Need Both46:15 – Practical Culture Framework: The Frequency vs. Collaboration Workshop55:30 – Proving ROI: Tracking €10.5M in Revenue from Culture Interventions01:03:45 – Navigating Reorgs, Stakeholder Friction & Change Exhaustion01:11:50 – The Garden Metaphor: Leaving Legacy & Processing Transition01:19:15 – "Have a Strong Opinion That is Weakly Held" & Supporting as Leadership01:24:10 – Final Takeaway: Leadership is Personal

  3. Mar 2

    Influence vs. Authority | Léa de Fierkowsky: Everyone is a Leader (S01E04)

    👤 Hosted by Charles Simonetti ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlessimonetti/ ),Advisor to CEOs & Executive Teams and Founder of "On a Quest." ( https://www.onaquest.eu/ ),"Everyone is a Leader." is a leadership podcast for Executives, Investors & Business Leaders.🎙️ Today’s guest: Léa de Fierkowsky, Co-founder & ex-COO · Underdog.🧭 Each episode follows a three-part structure:- The Leader’s Journey: Turning points that shaped the guest’s leadership.- Breakthrough Conversation: An unscripted dialogue about one current challenge the guest is facing.- Key Takeaways: Insights the guest believes every leader should embody.📌 Chapters00:00 Warning 00:45 Generic01:05 Intro - Host01:14 Intro - Show01:42 Intro - Guest02:54 The Leader's Journey27:38 Breakthrough Conversation49:43 Key Takeaways1:00:09 Final Thoughts & Exercise

  4. 06/24/2025

    Pragmatic vs. Values-Driven Leadership | Nafees Hamid, PhD: Everyone is a Leader (S01E03)

    👤 Hosted by Charles Simonetti ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlessimonetti/ ),Executive Coach (PCC) and Founder of "On a Quest." ( https://www.onaquest.eu/ ),"Everyone is a Leader." is a leadership podcast for Executives, Investors & Business Leaders. 🎙️ Today’s guest: Nafees Hamid, PhD (https://nafeeshamid.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nafees-hamid-phd/ https://www.youtube.com/@DrNafeesHamid)A cognitive scientist and field researcher who has scanned the brains of extremists, negotiated with radicalized individuals, and studied how identity and belief systems drive human behavior. He is the Research & Policy Director of XCEPT, based at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, and advises governments worldwide on preventing political violence, negotiating conflict, and peacebuilding. 🧭 Each episode follows a three-part structure: - The Leader’s Journey: Turning points that shaped the guest’s leadership. - Breakthrough Conversation: An unscripted dialogue about one current challenge the guest is facing. - Key Takeaways: Insights the guest believes every leader should embody. 🔗 Links to cited articles and studies Devoted Actors https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.181585 https://newlinesmag.com/argument/the-neuroscience-of-devoted-actors-within-extremist-groups/ Sacred Values https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02462 Steward Ownership https://purpose-economy.org/content/uploads/purposebooklet_en.pdf Instrumental and value rationality https://archive.org/details/economysociety00webe/page/n755/mode/2up Moral Injury https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2009.07.003 Positionality https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003377986 https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406919900828 https://doi.org/10.34293/education.v8i4.3232 📌 Chapters 00:00 Warning 00:21 Generic 00:41 Intro - Host 00:53 Intro - Show 01:33 Intro - Guest 02:27 The Leader's Journey 28:38 Breakthrough Conversation 49:56 Key Takeaways 1:01:28 Final Thoughts & Exercise

    Pragmatic vs. Values-Driven Leadership | Nafees Hamid, PhD: Everyone is a Leader (S01E03)

  5. 05/25/2025

    S01E02 - Edwina Dendler: Everyone is a Leader.

    👤 Hosted by Charles Simonetti ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlessimonetti/ ),Executive Coach (PCC) and Founder of "On a Quest." ( https://www.onaquest.eu/ ),"Everyone is a Leader." is a leadership podcast for Executives, Investors & Business Leaders.🎙️ Today’s guest: Edwina Dendler ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/edendler/ ): a global marketing strategist with a unique path to leadership - scaling B2B and B2C brands, across SaaS, adtech, and e-commerce. She’s led major transformations at Criteo and Pernod Ricard, advised high-growth startups as a fractional CMO, and now leads Marketing and Developer Experience at Prismic, an AI company building autonomous websites. Her background in finance and early exposure to product and business strategy give her a distinctive lens on marketing leadership ; one that’s hands-on, curious, and deeply focused on impact.🧭 Each episode follows a three-part structure:- The Leader’s Journey: A turning point that shaped the guest’s leadership.- Breakthrough Conversation: An unscripted dialogue about one current challenge the guest is facing.- Key Takeaways: Insights the guest believes every leader should embody.00:00 Warning 00:40 Generic01:01 Intro - Host01:10 Intro - Show01:47 Intro - Guest02:32 The Leader's Journey18:24 Breakthrough Conversation28:46 Key Takeaways31:53 Final Thoughts & Exercise

    S01E02 - Edwina Dendler: Everyone is a Leader.

  6. 05/13/2025

    S01E01 - Nick Miller: Everyone is a Leader.

    👤 Everyone is a Leader. is a leadership podcast for Executives, Investors & Business Leaders hosted by Charles Simonetti, Executive Coach (PCC) and Founder of On a Quest. 🎙️ Today’s guest: Nick Miller, entrepreneur, investor, and leader who has built, scaled, exited companies, and led global teams. 🧭 Each episode follows a three-part structure: - The Leader’s Journey: A turning point that shaped the guest’s leadership. - Breakthrough Conversation: An unscripted dialogue about one current challenge the guest is facing. - Key Takeaways: Insights the guest believes every leader should embody.

    S01E01 - Nick Miller: Everyone is a Leader.
  • 6 Episodes

About

A podcast about Leadership for Executives, Investors, and Business Leaders. 👤 Hosted by Charles Simonetti, Executive Coach (PCC) and Founder of "On a Quest." 🧭 Each episode follows a three-part structure: - The Leader’s Journey: A turning point that shaped the guest’s leadership. - Breakthrough Conversation: An unscripted dialogue about one current challenge the guest is facing. - Key Takeaways: Insights the guest believes every leader should embody.

Information

  • Creator
    Charles Simonetti
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Charles Simonetti
  • Show Website
    Everyone is a Leader.