People often don't speak up in meetings out of fear, a sense of futility, a lack of confidence, or because they just can't be bothered. But active participation and speaking up can significantly advance visibility and career prospects. So leaders and participants alike need to take responsibility for making meetings meaningful and encouraging open communication.

Betina Szkudlarek is a professor in International Management at the University of Sydney Business School. Betina has conducted extensive research on why people often do not voice their opinions and what can be done to encourage people to speak up. In this episode, she shares findings from her research, and offers practical steps for both leaders and participants to ensure everyone’s voice is heard…not just the loudest.

Three reasons to listen

• Understand the common reasons why people often refrain from speaking up in meetings and how it impacts team dynamics
• Learn strategies to encourage active participation and meaningful discussions in meetings
• Discover the importance of restructuring meeting formats to facilitate better engagement and contribution from all attendees

Episode highlights

• [00:08:13] What Betina found in her research
• [00:12:09] Common reasons people don't speak up
• [00:15:34] Administrative bloat
• [00:17:52] Disengagement in meetings
• [00:22:16] Making space for introverts
• [00:25:53] What participants can do in meetings
• [00:29:55] How family dynamics play out in meetings
• [00:32:04] Make just one contribution
• [00:33:14] Betina's media recommendation
• [00:34:54] Takeaways from Dan and Pia

Links

• Connect with Betina via LinkedIn
• Doing Silence: How Silence Is Produced in Meetings – Betina’s research
• The Stupidity Paradox: The Power and Pitfalls of Functional Stupidity at Work, by Mats Alvesson and Andre Spicer
• Harnessing the power of silence – Episode 85, with Bastian Overgaard
• Leave us a voice note

How much responsibility do leaders have for the psychological safety of their teams? Aren’t psychological hazards an HR issue?

Recent changes in Australian law require employers to take steps to ensure not only the physical but also the psychological safety of their employees. This includes identifying and mitigating psychosocial hazards in the workplace, which can have a profound impact on employees' mental health. But what is “reasonable”?

This week's guest is Ian Bennett, a legal expert specialising in employment and safety law. He lends his expertise to discussions on workplace safety, specifically focusing on psychological safety and psychosocial hazards in the workplace.

Three reasons to listen

• Understand new legislation that necessitates employers to ensure the physical and psychological safety of their employees, currently in place in Australia, but likely to spread
• Learn about the implications of these laws for team leaders and what lessons can be drawn from this approach globally
• Discover how to create healthy, productive workplaces where everyone still strives to do their best work

Episode highlights

• [00:08:18] Expectations on employers to provide psychological safety
• [00:13:40] How is new legislation being implemented?
• [00:16:52] The Australian public's reaction
• [00:20:29] What leaders should bear in mind
• [00:24:57] What employees are entitled to
• [00:27:06] Psychological safety in performance management
• [00:30:15] The downsides of remote work and "always being on"
• [00:32:14] What can leaders do today?
• [00:34:43] Ian's media recommendations
• [00:37:46] Takeaways from Dan and Pia

Links

• Connect with Ian via LinkedIn
• Conversations on Love, by Natasha Lunn
• Ant Middleton’s Head Game podcast
• Leave us a voice note

Imposter syndrome is a common psychological pattern many of us experience. It makes us doubt our achievements, or feel like we’re going to be exposed as a fraud. Imposter syndrome is usually only experienced by high performers, but there are techniques and mindset shifts that can help us, if not “cure” imposter syndrome, then at least manage it.

Clem Pickering is a coach and specialist in the area of imposter syndrome. He has a background in tech, and focuses on supporting leaders in the tech space enhance their people skills and increase their impact. Dan and Pia share their personal experiences with imposter syndrome, and together with Clem explore its prevalence, discuss the impact it has in the workplace, and uncover ways to manage it.

Three reasons to listen

• Learn the differences between imposter syndrome and self-doubt
• Understand how imposter syndrome affects high-performing people and its prevalence across genders
• Discover coping mechanisms and strategies for dealing with imposter syndrome

Episode highlights

• [00:08:15] What is imposter syndrome?
• [00:13:10] Imposter syndrome vs self-doubt
• [00:16:00] Imposter syndrome and gender
• [00:18:23] Settling your imposter
• [00:22:39] Normalising imposter syndrome within teams
• [00:26:31] Competence vs confidence
• [00:31:40] First steps you can take
• [00:33:03] Clem's media recommendation
• [00:34:17] Takeaways from Pia and Dan

Links

• Leave us a voice note
• The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women (And Men): Why Capable People Suffer from Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive In Spite of it, by Valerie Young
• The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth, by Amy Edmondson

The shift to working from home during the pandemic has significantly altered the way businesses operate, with many finding a balance between in-person and remote work. This change seems to be persisting even as lockdowns end, suggesting a long-term shift in our approach to work.

This week, Dan and Pia are joined by Jose Maria Barrero, an assistant professor at ITAM Business School in Mexico City. He leads one of the world's biggest research studies on working from home, and how businesses are reacting to the shift to remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three reasons to listen

• Learn about the evolution of working from home trends over time, as observed through extensive research.
• Understand the dynamics and preferences of remote and hybrid work models from both the employee and employer perspectives.
• Discover the impact and potential future of working from home on productivity and organisational structure.

Episode highlights

• [00:07:18] Working from home in 2020
• [00:12:23] Changes in expectation of paid work-from-home days
• [00:14:31] Digging into productivity data
• [00:18:40] The drivers for returning to the office
• [00:21:03] The impact of working-from-home on real estate
• [00:23:37] The picture four years from now
• [00:26:25] What leaders should consider today
• [00:28:38] The extra hour in our days
• [00:31:25] Jose's media recommendations
• [00:32:16] Takeaways from Dan and Pia

Links

• Connect with Jose via LinkedIn
• Work From Home and the Office Real Estate Apocalypse
• Working Remotely? Selection, Treatment, and the Market for Remote Work
• Checks and Balance – Podcast from the Economist
• Leave us a voice note

A successful transition to leadership calls for a significant shift in mindset. Not only do you need to enhance your existing skills, but also adopt new ones and let go of habits that may have earned you you success in the past.

A transitioning leader understands the importance of team dynamics, makes space for collaboration, evolves their leadership style, and embraces continuous learning.

This week, Dan and Pia are joined by Iain Gauld, the Chief Information Officer at Contact Energy in New Zealand. With a background in computer science, Iain started his career in tech with the intention of effecting change. Over time, he transitioned into team leadership and management roles, continuously learning and growing as he did so.

Three reasons to listen

• To learn about the transformation process from a technical role to a leadership role in a team
• To understand the dynamics of team building beyond technical skills
• To discover how to apply principles of Agile approach to enhance leadership skills

Episode highlights

• [00:12:22] Moving into leadership
• [00:17:31] T-shaped leadership
• [00:20:56] Skills emerging leaders need
• [00:23:49] The role of psychological safety
• [00:28:12] Adapting and evolving as a leader
• [00:31:33] Leadership in the next decade
• [00:33:20] Iain's media recommendation
• [00:34:17] Takeaways from Pia and Dan

Links

• Connect with Iain via LinkedIn
• The Leadership Pipeline: How to Build the Leadership Powered Company, by Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter, and James Noel
• Same as Ever: Timeless Lessons on Risk, Opportunity and Living a Good Life, by Morgan Housel
• Team #1 by Patrick Lencioni
• Leave us a voice note

Salience (or what we choose to focus our attention on) has a big impact on our perceptions and actions within a group. Understanding this can help us reconsider what we’re ignoring or overlooking, which can lead to more innovative and inclusive team dynamics.

This week, Dan and Pia are joined by Greg Radick and Tom McClelland, a professor and lecturer respectively, who study the history and philosophy of science. They discuss the concept of salience, which points to the ideas that grab our attention, and how salience impacts scientific enquiry and teams.

In their professional work, they examine how different elements become more salient or important within a community of inquirers, such as a scientific community or a team, shaping what problems are considered relevant and which ones are ignored. They also explore how these patterns of salience influence the directions of research and collaboration.

Three reasons to listen

• To learn about the concept of salience and its impact on team performance and problem-solving
• To understand how ignoring and attention shapes our professional and personal identities
• To discover how the history and philosophy of science can influence our understanding of team dynamics

Episode highlights

• [00:05:33] The history and philosophy of science
• [00:07:13] What is salience
• [00:14:16] Choosing what we ignore
• [00:15:42] The importance of pointing in a different direction
• [00:19:35] Identifying mavericks and outliers
• [00:24:53] Greg's experiment to alter salience patterns
• [00:31:09] Creating a more open mindset
• [00:34:55] Social media, misinformation, and salience
• [00:37:31] Media recommendations
• [00:39:54] Takeaways from Dan and Pia

Links

• Connect with Greg via LinkedIn
• Connect with Tom via LinkedIn
• Tom’s website
• Disputed Inheritance: The Battle over Mendel and the Future of Biology – Greg’s book
• Woman First and a Philosopher Second: Relative Attentional Surplus on the Wrong Property, by Ella Whiteley
• The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, by Thomas Kuhn
• Leave us a voice note

Kitchens – like any professional environment – need effective leadership. This means staying calm, promoting clear communication, and creating a learning environment where team members feel valued and motivated. Professional kitchens run well are the epitome of the We Not Me philosophy.

This week, Dan and Pia are joined by Simon Zatyrka, a former executive chef who’s spent most of his career in professional kitchens around the US. He’s the founder of the Culinary Mechanic, where he coaches chefs on leadership and building a positive culture in the kitchen, offering a mix of on-site and virtual consulting.

Three reasons to listen

• To understand the importance of team building and development in high-pressure environments
• To learn about the dynamics and leadership strategies used in professional kitchens
• To discover how to create a productive and positive culture within a team

Episode highlights

• [00:13:55] Inside a professional kitchen
• [00:23:56] Having key conversations
• [00:25:47] When communication breaks down
• [00:28:11] Just so you are aware
• [00:29:49] Simon's leadership tip
• [00:31:41] Takeaways from Pia and Dan

Links

• Connect with Simon via LinkedIn
• Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect, by Will Guidara
• Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, by Stanley McChrystal, David Silverman, Tantum Collins and Chris Fussell
• Chef Journeys – Simon’s podcast
• Leave us a voice note

If you’re taking over as team leader, you need to have open and honest conversations about the change in dynamics. If you’ve previously enjoyed a friendly relationship and you’re transitioning from buddy to boss, or you’re filling someone else’s shoes, it’s time to show humility, honour the past, embrace an uncertain future, and accept feedback from your team.

This week, adaptive organisations consultant Jon Barnes rejoins the podcast. Jon helps organisations shift from rigid hierarchies or bureaucracies towards teams that manage themselves, promoting more autonomy. He’s a fan of working styles where individuals have more freedom but are also more accountable, and he focuses on helping groups collectively nurture the culture they want, together.

Three reasons to listen

• Understand how to handle the "buddy to boss" transition by establishing a new social contract with your team
• Explore ways to maintain mutual respect and equality in relationships, even when hierarchical structures are in place
• Learn specific techniques for scheduling, giving and receiving feedback, in order to shape a constructive leadership style

Episode highlights

• [00:07:42] The budy-to-boss problem
• [00:18:38] The perils of bringing in an outside team whisperer
• [00:30:29] Big shoes to fill
• [00:37:43] Jon's recommendation
• [00:39:42] Takeaways from Pia and Dan

Links

• Leave us a voice note
• Connect with Jon via LinkedIn
• The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World, by Mpho Tutu and Desmond Tutu