Not Simple Wendy Bittner

“So it’s not that our brain constrains the activities we can engage in and the behaviors that we have. It’s the other way around. The behaviors we engage in change the brain we have.”
Dr. Victoria Leavitt is an assistant professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University who studies brain resilience, brain reserve, and cognitive reserve, companion theories that help us understand individual differences in our ability to maintain brain function over the lifespan. She and Rebecca discuss the arc of evolution, the effect biologial dictates have on our brains, the challenges of thinking about difference, and the promise (and limits) of precision medicine.
 
Mentioned in this episode:
E. O. Wilson 
Human Genome Project



Dr. Leavitt’s research on sex difference:
https://pubmed-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/38718749/
Leavitt VM, Dworkin JD, Kalina T, Ratzan AS. Sex differences in brain resilience of individuals with multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2024 May 1;87:105646. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2024.105646. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38718749.
https://pubmed-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/38452646/
Leavitt VM, Dworkin JD, Galioto R, Ratzan AS. Disparities in DMT treatment: Demographic and neurocognitive differences between MS patients currently treated versus not treated with disease-modifying therapies. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2024 May;85:105508. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2024.105508. Epub 2024 Feb 22. PMID: 38452646.

“In addition to it being small moves, I would say consistent moves. What are those consistent practices help that create the conditions for impact?”

CL colleague Barry Bales thinks of leadership as an action rather than a title, and he knows that sometimes the most effective actions are small ones. He and Wendy discuss the importance of connection and engagement, as well as the small moves they’ve seen have big impact.
 
Mentioned in this episode:
Matthew Lieberman
Adam Kahane

“It’s like our mind wants to categorize things, and it’s much easier to feel pity than trying to embrace the complexity that life goes on and you can live in the midst of war.”


Elena Tochilina is a Ukrainian coach and consultant as well as a colleague at Cultivating Leadership. In this conversation she challenges Wendy, and all of us, to step away from pity and see life in the midst of war as changing, evolving, and composed of not just pain but also beauty.


Mentioned in this episode:
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

“I care about supporting people more as wayfinders and what it might take to ditch the maps and find your own way—and keep learning and growing.”
CL colleague Fred Jones is a lover and collector of questions that he stays with a long time. One of those questions: how do you help people create time and space for reflection in periods of transition, those moments of “meanwhile” where what’s next isn’t obvious? Join Fred and Wendy as they explore the questions this question inspires that might help in these mapless moments.
 
Mentioned in this episode:
Parker Palmer
Designing Your Life
Learn more about Fred and his work at meanwhile.studio.

“It matters how we feel because how we feel and how we’re doing impocts everyone.”


TV has taught us that doctors are sexy, mysterious superheroes, but what is really happening at the other end of the stethoscope is more complex than we realize. Rehema Kutua, a pediatrician and certified coach, came to Not Simple to discuss what it feels like to be a primary care physician today and what happens when we see the human behind the title.

“There’s a deep sense of letting go, of surrendering so they can open up into a new possibility for themselves, whether it’s becoming a coach or becoming a senior leader or leading in a new way.”  
 
We all know changing behaviors and habits is hard, but our language around it often “just” oversimplifies it. Bill Pullen brings his experience as a person in recovery, a coach, and a teacher of coaches to this thoughtful conversation that covers adult development, the importance of connection, and the slow and beautiful process of emergence.


Mentioned in this episode:
Adult Development
The Concept of the Third

Read more of Bill's thoughts on change on the Cultivating Leadership blog.