ILI Class Content

The Essentials of Theory U

Theory U blends systems thinking, innovation, and leading change from the viewpoint of an evolved human consciousness. Guest Otto Scharmer’s first book on the topic sold over 100,000 copies (versus the average traditional book which sells 3,000 copies in its lifetime). Otto joins Maureen to discuss his latest book: The Essentials of Theory U: Core Principles and Applications, which meets a crucial need during this point in history in helping us bring necessary changes to our foundational systems from a place of deep consciousness and perspective-taking from all key stakeholders – including the future as a key stakeholder.
We keep talking about following us on LinkedIn, but we could use some friends on Facebook, too! Find us at https://www.facebook.com/Innovativeleadership .
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Our Guest:
Otto Scharmer is a Senior Lecturer at MIT and co-founder of the Presencing Institute. He introduced the concept of “presencing” — learning from the emerging future — in his bestselling books Theory U and Presence. Otto is also co-author of Leading from the Emerging Future. His most recent book, The Essentials of Theory U, outlines the core principles and applications of awareness-based systems change.
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Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko

Leadership Trends: 2021 Edition - with Christopher Washington

We are facing unprecedented changes in our world today. These changes range from geopolitical uncertainty to the impact the pandemic has on everything from how we work to technology acceleration – and all that change creates a corresponding need to adjust leadership, too. Christopher Washington joins Maureen to discuss the top seven Leadership Trends for 2021 and Beyond.
Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn for daily leadership news and info on our latest podcasts. We're at https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovativeleadershipinsitute/ .
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Our Guest Host:
Dr. Christopher Washington is a tireless supporter of global leadership development, designer of accessible and relevant education, and champion for the role of universities in workforce development. He serves as the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs for Franklin University, a private, nonprofit institution of higher education. Dr. Washington takes an active role in his local community by serving on the Board of the International Visitors Council and on the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s Ohio Advisory Council. He currently is a member of the Forbes Nonprofit Council and serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Washington D.C. based Global Ties U.S.
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Guest Host: Dr. Christopher Washington
Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko

Mindfulness & Its Benefits in the Workplace - with Peter Weng & Rich Fernandez

Even before Covid-19, employees were reporting record rates of burnout and stress; Gallup studies showed only 15% of people fully engaged at work. Now with workers stuck behind screens, grasping for focus and suffering from the real mental challenges of prolonged social isolation and anxiety over the health of loved ones, organizations are in need of well-being development for their employees. It is essential for today’s workplaces to provide well-being support for employees, just as much as traditional professional development. Supporting the long-term mental health of your team can mean the difference between an engaged, collaborative and productive organization…or one riddled with toxicity and turnover. With 71% of U.S. office workers either curious about or already practicing meditation, now is the time to signal your long-term support for staff’s mental wellness, and bring in the neuroscientifically proven benefits of contemplative practices, such as meditation. Peter Weng and Rich Fernandez join Maureen to discuss mindfulness and employee well-being.
Want more leadership wisdom and updates on our latest podcasts? Follow us on LinkedIn; we're at https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovativeleadershipinsitute/ .
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Our Guests:
Peter Weng is the founder of the EWS Collective. Peter is focused on supporting individuals and organizations to optimize the balance of well-being and performance. As a corporate executive (Google, Dell) and well-being/mindfulness non-profit leader (HMI, SIYLI) he has implemented systems of well-being and performance in companies, governmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations around the world.
Rich Fernandez, Ph.D., is CEO of Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which was developed at Google as a mindfulness and emotional intelligence platform for leaders, and later was spun off as an independent non-profit educational institute. Rich was formerly head of executive education at Google, and prior to that worked for many years at JP Morgan Chase and eBay. Currently, his organization works with governments, businesses, universities, and community organizations to offer practical and accessible mindfulness and emotional development learning solutions.
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Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko

DEI: Needed Conversations & Understanding

How can we change the way conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion are progressing towards productive, inquiring, learning experiences -- and ultimately creating a more just and equitable workplace and society?  How can we understand the effects outside-of-work events have on people of color within work?  Laura Morgan Roberts and Courtney McCluney join the show to share insights from their work, and to encourage leaders to examine and understand racial barriers…and how those barriers can be removed.
For notification of new podcasts and more leadership wisdom, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovativeleadershipinsitute/ .
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About Our Guests:Laura Morgan Roberts is an innovative global scholar and consultant on the science of maximizing human potential in diverse organizations and communities. She has published over fifty research articles, teaching cases, and practitioner-oriented tools for strategically activating best selves through strength-based development, workplace equity and inclusion. Laura is also a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review and the Academy of Management Review. Her influential publications and presentations on diversity, authenticity and leadership development have been recognized by Thinkers50 “On the Radar” and the Academy of  Management.
Courtney McCluney is an assistant professor of organizational behavior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. Her research examines how practices and norms in organizational contexts shape marginalized groups’ experiences and perpetuate inequitable structures. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and earned her PhD in Psychology at the University of Michigan. Courtney has published numerous articles and book chapters in academic and practitioner outlets on diversity, inclusion, race, and gender at work.
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Executive Producer & Host: Maureen Metcalf
Producer & Editor: Dan Mushalko

Building a Culture of Brain Health, Growth, and Effectiveness

To be competitive in business over the next decade, it will not only be necessary to optimize the body for physical and mental health purposes, but it will also be necessary to ensure that cognitive optimization is a major focus. The human brain is simply not equipped to handle the deluge of data that is coming, nor the constant upskilling requirements that are inevitable. Dr. J.J. Walcutt joins host Maureen Metcalf to share information about Accelerate, a program that can get businesses stared on the right track toward building a culture of brain health, growth, and effectiveness.
For more leadership wisdom, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn! We're at https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovativeleadershipinsitute/ .
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Our Guest:
Dr. J.J. Walcutt is a scientist, innovator, and learning engineer specializing in strategic development and reform across education, military, and government. Her current work focuses on optimizing human cognition and performance across a wide spectrum of learning programs. Dr. Walcutt has served in the U.S. government as a Director of Innovation for distributed learning optimization and as a Human Innovation Fellow. In her role at the Pentagon, she also served as a U.S. delegate to NATO, Partnership for Peace, and as a national and international keynote speaker. Dr. Walcutt has over 20 years of experience in research and development for training, education, and human optimization.
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Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Producer & Editor: Dan Mushalko

Recruiting & Retaining Diverse Executives - with Eric Douglass Keene

Diversity recruiting and retention has become a hot topic and yet, many organizations don’t understand the nuances of recruiting and how to navigate the complexities of retention, and ensuring candidates and organizations create the best experiences and mutual success. Eric Douglas Keene joins Maureen to discuss changes occurring in the world of diversity recruiting.
Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn! We're at https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovativeleadershipinsitute/ .
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Our Guest:Eric Douglas Keene is the Founder & President of Keene Advisory Group, a retained executive search firm known nationally for impactful client-driven solutions to diverse talent acquisition needs. He partners with clients to recruit general management, board directors, commercial leadership, and functional executives. Formerly with Russell Reynolds Associates, Eric served as a firm-wide leader on Diversity & Inclusion. Eric has successfully led search engagements across a variety of industries including business services, consumer markets, energy, financial services, healthcare & life sciences, industrial, private equity, social impact, and technology. He previously worked for McKinsey & Company, AT&T, and IBM.
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Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Producer & Editor: Dan Mushalko

Leading with Character: A Real-Life Red Roof Report

Featured Guest: George Limbert
“Character is what you do.” That’s a fundamental leadership principle for George Limbert, president of Red Roof. This is our second visit with George since he began his leadership journey as a first-time corporate president last summer. Red Roof has prospered under his guidance, proving the value of his philosophies. Character sits at their core. A focus on character led to many innovations at Red Roof, including their Women’s Center for Excellence and Women in Leadership programs to help level the gender playing field, particularly in the lodging industry. To keep character objectively defined, and his actions with character exemplary for his team, George looks at himself and his team through the lens of judicial temperament. It’s a non-biased way of looking at a situation from all sides to determine its core truth; it comes naturally to George, whose legal background goes beyond law school with deep roots in family: his father is a judge, and a brother and sister are also attorneys. George shares the many ways any good leader can display character, calmly analyze corporate storms, and deal with other real life ups and downs of leadership with host Maureen Metcalf. Join us for this episode filled with practical examples from Red Roof.

The Power of Passion & Perseverance: Four Levels of Grit

Featured Guest: Jim Ritchie-Dunham
There’s more to grit than determination – a whole lot more. Knowing that can help you harness this incredible power of passion and perseverance. Building on the work of Angela Ducksworth and her seminal book, guest Jim Ritchie-Dunham shows how there are four levels of grit in an organization...an insight which dovetails neatly with his own work in ecosynomics. Leaders often unknowingly determine how it cascades through various parts of their business – but because they’re not aware of it, they may be reinforcing the wrong kind for a particular department, team, or employee. That results in inefficiencies, lower staff engagement, and the loss of talent. But all of that can be boosted when grit is recognized and deftly applied. Dig in to a deeper understanding of grit with Jim Ritchie-Dunham and host Maureen Metcalf! For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on Twitter: @IL_Institute .

Employees: Empowered!

Featured Guest: Rod Lacey
There’s a fierce competition going on out there: competition for talent. While pundits debate how real the Great Resignation is, HR departments face it every day. Rod Lacey has seen it, but the Chief People Operations Officer of simPRO has a very simple and elegant method for recruiting and retaining top talent: listen to them. There’s no need to second guess: current staff and incoming candidates will tell you what they’re looking for from an employer beyond the paycheck. Listen in as he chats with host Maureen Metcalf, and start to stabilize your organization’s talent flow! For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on Twitter: @IL_Institute .

Humbitious: How to Be Ambitious without the Ego

Featured Guest: Amer Kaissi
A major myth in politics and business is that arrogant, over-confident people are better leaders. But reality reveals the opposite: humility combined with ambition drives the best leadership performance – and that, in turn, improves the entire organization. Author and Trinity University professor Amer Kaissi discusses the details with host Maureen Metcalf. His new book, Humbitious, digs deep into the reasons the humble-yet-ambitious leader delivers the best results…for everyone from front line staff to the board of directors. This isn’t academic theory; Kaissi studied real-world leaders from Napoleon Bonaparte to New Zealand’s acclaimed Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. While narcissists sometimes do make it to the top, they’re the exception, and their actual performance (as opposed to their PR) tends to be less than stellar. Fortune favors not simply the bold, but the humbitious!