273. Leadership and The Human Experience: A June Recap with Mick Spiers

Leadership demands constant evolution in our rapidly changing world. Are you asking the right questions as a leader? Are you creating an environment where people can adapt, belong and thrive amid uncertainty?

This solo episode distills the most powerful insights from four exceptional leaders featured on the podcast during June, blended with reflections on leadership in today's complex landscape. Kumar Parakala revealed how the pace of technological change is exponential - "the world is changing faster than ever before, but slower than it ever will again." His guidance on embracing AI to augment rather than replace human capabilities offers a powerful framework for technological leadership.

Drawing an intriguing parallel between leadership and ChatGPT, both respond best to better questions. Like a skilled prompt engineer, great leaders know that quality questions yield quality answers. Jones Loflin challenged us to stop being "busy for busy's sake," reframing productivity as energy management rather than time management. Creating intentional space between commitments allows creativity to flourish.

Dave MacDonald's wisdom on hiring for character over skills resonates deeply: "Resumes show what people have done; character shows what they'll do when no one's watching." This prompted the confronting question: If your workplace were a democracy, would you be re-elected as leader? Your team votes daily through their engagement and trust.

Michael Lopez transformed our understanding of change management, explaining that people resist change not from stubbornness but from fear of loss. His concept of letting people "hold the pen" by co-architecting change creates ownership instead of resistance. During these times of global uncertainty, creating environments of safety and belonging for multicultural teams has never been more crucial.

Subscribe to the Leadership Project on your preferred platform and follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube for weekly content designed to help you become the leader you wish you always had. Next episode features Randy Lyman exploring emotional awareness in leadership.

Chapters

• 0:00 Are You Evolving Fast Enough?
• 1:39 Kumar Parikala: AI and Human Experience
• 4:03 Jones Laughlin: Focus Over Busyness
• 5:41 Dave McDonald: Hiring for Character
• 7:15 Michael Lopez: Understanding Change
• 10:11 Leading Through Global Uncertainty
• 12:30 Closing Thoughts and Next Episode

Transcript

Mick Spiers: 0:01

Are you evolving as fast as the world around you? Are you asking the right questions as a leader, as a human and as a thinker? And are you creating an environment where people can adapt, belong and thrive amid uncertainty? Today's episode is going to be a solo cast, where I reflect on the most powerful insights from the incredible guests we've hosted during June, blended with a few of my own thoughts and observations on what's happening in the world and how we show up as leaders. This month, we welcomed four exceptional leaders Kumar Parakala, a global digital transformation leader. Jones Laughlin, author and coach on focus and productivity leader Jones Loflin, author and coach on focus and productivity. Dave MacDonald, founder of the Better Together Group. And Michael Lopez, a change expert and neuroscience-informed coach.

Mick Spiers: 0:55

Welcome back to The Leadership Project. I'm your host, Mick Spiers, and today is going to be our solo cast, reflecting on the powerful insights from our guests during the month of June. We're going to go through the highlights from Kumar Parikala, jones Laughlin, dave McDonald and Michael Lopez. Let's get into it. Kumar Parikala, an expert on digital disruption and leadership. Kumar reminded us that the pace of technological change is exponential. And here's the confronting truth the world is changing faster than it ever has before, but slower than it ever will again. That puts immense pressure on leaders to adapt, but it also opens up incredible opportunity. Ai is one of the most profound changes of our time, but, as I often say, businesses are still people. Businesses, the leaders and companies that embrace AI to augment the human experience, not replace it, will flourish. Using AI to solve real world problems, not just AI for the sake of AI.

Mick Spiers: 2:05

Kumar also called for ethics and reflection. We must not only explore the art of the possible, but also ask what have we just made possible and who does it serve? Making sure that the innovations that we bring into the table do not have unintended consequences or open up for malicious intent. So have a think about the way that you can embrace AI to augment the human experience inside your business and also to serve your customers. Can you use AI to solve problems that have been plaguing your business for some time, but doing it in a way that doesn't have unintended consequences? That brings me to a fun but powerful analogy that I've been pondering about leadership and chat GPT. They share a common trait they both respond best to better questions. So you can think of yourself as a prompt engineer in both leadership and in AI, you can ask better questions of your team and you'll get better answers and better results. And if you ask better questions of ChatGPT, you get better answers and better results. So ask yourself the question are you getting the most out of AI and what might you do to lean in and use it effectively, and are you asking the right questions of your team and when you embrace tools like ChatGPT?

Mick Spiers: 3:37

Moving on to Jones-Loughlin and this concept of being focused as a bee, jones challenged us to stop being busy for the sake of being busy. He asked are you busy being productive or just busy being busy? That hit home for me. As leaders, our job isn't to fill every moment. It's to create space for what matters most, and the same applies to our teams. What interference can we remove to free people to do their best work? Jones also highlighted that productivity is less about time management, more about energy management. So build margin into your days, allow creativity to breathe, let your people focus so that they can create amazing things. It's something I'm personally working on creating more intentional space between meetings and then ensuring, when I do turn up to a meeting, that I'm completely focused on. What is the purpose of this meeting, being 100% present in the meeting that I'm currently in, instead of thinking about the meeting that I just had or some other meeting that's in the meeting that I'm currently in. Instead of thinking about the meeting that I just had or some other meeting that's in the future. In the day, create space in your day, create focus, and you'll be surprised how much more productive you can be.

Mick Spiers: 4:57

Moving on to Dave McDonald and his concept of hiring for character Dave dropped a truth bomb. Resumes show what people have done. Character shows what they'll do when no one's watching. Hiring isn't just about competence. It's about character, chemistry and contribution. What impact will this person have on your culture? Will it be a positive impact or will it be a negative impact? Will they be disruptive? Will they be disruptive in a good way or disruptive in a bad way?

Mick Spiers: 5:33

Now, it's also true that sometimes there are skills that are table stakes. If you're going to be a surgeon, there are skills that are table stakes. If you're going to be a surgeon, you need to know how to be a surgeon. So you can't just not think about skills, but you need to put character first. You're going to work with this person every day, and so is the rest of your team. So you want to pick someone that is pleasant to work with, is going to be professional at what they do, but also a delight to work with, and someone that's going to add to your culture, not destroy it.

Mick Spiers: 6:10

So here's a question for you to reflect on about yourself, though. If your workplace was a democracy, would you get re-elected as leader? Think about that. Your team votes every day with their engagement, their energy and their trust, so leadership is about earning that vote daily. Through clarity, empathy and consistency. You're the one that's role modeling, the behavior that you want to see in others. So ask yourself would you vote for yourself as leader? And if not, what are you going to do differently?

Mick Spiers: 6:45

Moving on to Michael Lopez, michael reminded us that change isn't something to manage. It's something to understand. Change triggers the nervous system. People resist, not because they're stubborn, but because they fear loss. And here's the kicker People fear loss at a far greater degree than they appreciate gain, and you ignore that fact at your peril. So have a think about what they might be fearing in terms of loss, and how might you show them that fear is not real, that they will be whole at the end of this journey. And remember that that loss might not be financial. It could be loss of identity, status or ego. Think about the change from their perspective. Put yourself in their shoes and think about what they might be fearing before you try to impose change upon them. You can also ask who is benefiting from not changing. What are they afraid to lose and how might you show them that they won't lose, that they'll evolve into something new? And remember that if people co-author the change, they'll own it, whereas if the change is thrust upon them, they'll resist it.

Mick Spiers: 8:04

So I use a concept in my businesses called you hold the pen. Instead of architecting new changes myself, we co-architect change. We ask people what do you like about today's processes or tools or technology? What don't you like? What do you think is working well? What's not working well? What would you like to see done differently? And we encourage them to grab hold of the pen and help us write the new process, the new tool, the new technology. Whatever the change might be, we get them to co-architect it with us. And if they've got their fingerprints all over the change might be, we get them to co-architect it with us. And if they've got their fingerprints all over the change. They will take great ownership and they'll lean in and they'll go on the journey with you.

Mick Spiers: 8:50

Michael also taught us the value of patience and consistency and to stop jumping from one change initiative to the next. Give change the time to embed, let it stick, before you move on to the next one. People get very change weary. They go what is the new change this month? And they start either resisting the change or ignoring it, knowing that another one is just around the corner. You need to give change time for it to actually work before you start moving on to the next one. Which reminds me greatly of a previous episode we've had on the show, patrick Tian and his concept of a rhythm system. What is the rhythm in your business? Is it quarterly, is it biannually? Is it once a year that you need to get into this rhythm of change?

Mick Spiers: 9:45

And finally, I'd like to share some reflections on what's happening in the world today. As we look around the world, we see conflict, uncertainty and instability. I want to remind you that many of you are leaders of multicultural and multinational teams and it's more important today than ever to create a sense of safety, belonging and humanity. Many of your colleagues are living through war in their home countries and it is going to be playing on their mind. It could even be domestic politics in your own countries that's being divisive, and you don't want that divisiveness showing up in the workplace. The workplace is somewhere where people need to feel safe, need to feel that they belong. The art here is to not take sides in any of these conflicts, whether it's the domestic politics in your country or world conflicts that we're seeing today. Don't take sides, but check in with your people. Show them that you care, be present, be supportive, give them a good listening to if they need to get things off their chest and be aware and mindful that they might have things other than work on their mind from time to time. This is a moment to show great leadership and to create that environment where people do feel safe and where they feel that they belong.

Mick Spiers: 11:12

And if you're leading a business, it might be a good time to start revisiting your business continuity plans. Good time to start revisiting your business continuity plans. Are your supply chain secure? Do you have alternatives if global conflict escalates? This is not about fear. It's about readiness, and your people will feel safer knowing that you're thinking ahead. It could be anything from shipping routes through to trade embargoes to tariffs. Are you thinking about what might be the impact to your businesses?

Mick Spiers: 11:45

So some closing thoughts. What have we learned this month on the show? That great leaders are adaptable, that focus is about choosing what matters, that character matters more than skill and that change requires patience, co-authorship and understanding. And, finally, that leadership is about asking better questions. Whether it's to chat, gpt or your team, if you ask better questions, you'll get a better result. Thanks for tuning in during this special June solo cast. I invite you to reflect, to grow and to continue learning with curiosity, clarity and care.

Mick Spiers: 12:26

If you haven't already, make sure you subscribe to the show on your preferred podcast platform, but also follow us on LinkedIn and on YouTube, where we share weekly videos to help you become the leader that you wish you always had. In the next episode, we're going to be joined by the amazing Randy Lyman, who's going to be sharing with us the power of emotional awareness in leadership.

Mick Spiers: 12:58

Thank you for listening to The Leadership Project mickspiers. com. A huge call out to Faris Sedek for his video editing of all of our video content and to all of the team at TLP Joan Gozon, Gerald Calibo and my amazing wife Sei Spiers. I could not do this show without you. Don't forget to subscribe to The Leadership Project YouTube channel, where we bring you interesting videos each and every week, and you can follow us on social, particularly on LinkedIn, facebook and Instagram. Now, in the meantime, please do take care, look out for each other and join us on this journey, as we learn together and lead together.