Summary

(02:40) Workplace practices and culture were due a big change

• The pandemic has accelerated the changes in the workplace

• Before the pandemic, almost half the companies in the UK didn’t ever consider remote working

(03:50) Jeremy’s background

• He started his career in sales at Proctor & Gamble

• He ran his own business during the dot-com bubble burst

• Jeremy then became a consultant on the operational aspect of businesses

(06:51) Some common traits Jeremy sees in the leadership landscape

• 20th century leaders are often resistant and struggle to transform, and 21st century leaders know they don’t have all the answers and have to learn at a fast pace

• There is a narrowing gap in capabilities between the executive team and the rest of its organisation

(09:12) On writing ‘The Inner CEO: Unleashing Leaders at All Levels’

• It came from noticing that there was a significant knowledge gap in existing research and publications

• Many leaders focused on just digital transformation ‘ when they should have focused on an entire organisational transformation

• ‘The Gig HR’ is the rise of the independent workforce

(14:55) Why gig economy workers should be more networked in organisations

• The largest demographic coming into the gig economy today is Generation X, aka ‘leaders in waiting’

(18:42) Henry Mintzberg’s idea of emergent strategy

• ‘Emergent strategy’ refers to unintended patterns or consistencies in the behaviour of organizations over time, as distinct from their planned or deliberate strategies

• ‘One CEO is not enough’

• We need to be more ‘how-focused’

(23:10) What makes great leadership

• It delivers great people, great profitability and great productivity

• The rise of asynchronised working

• Great companies like Spotify and Nike have moved away from performance management into performance support and encourage experimentionation

• According to Spotify, the secret is chaos ‘ ‘that’s where the magic happens’

(26:12) How Jeremy’s insights can help company’s retain great talent

• There is a disconnect between employees and leaders believing that they are ready for the future

• We need to focus on creating a culture of empowerment

• Jeremy has written his book as a practical how-to manual

• Empowerment is not about doing more

(30:40) How to ensure high performance through a supportive role

• Recognise and reward targeting behaviours as much as the results

• Create pyschological safety

• There are two types of empowerment: stepping up and stepping out

• ‘Be enablers, not supervisors, of the process’

(36:19) How public service frontline organisations can embrace performance support

• Frontline workers are ‘owning’ what is happening on the frontline

• The British Army is a great example of an organisation which transcends mission command and control

(42:02) Mindset shifts needed for traditional CEOs

• There is a triple transformation: digital and the workplace environment, a more empathetic approach to leading, and keeping up with the pace of change

• Consider distributing leadership across your organisation in a more strategic way

(46:01) On authentic leadership

• Jeremy calls it ‘the enlightened leader’

• Embrace that you are not the smartest person in the room

• Gucci went through a journey of rediscovery, empowering their frontline employees to share ideas with the top e.g. the Gucci Life campaign

(50:14) The opportunities of working with multiple generations

• Diversity and inclusion has come to the forefront, including having a multi-generational mix

• Over 60% of people leave a company because of their boss ‘ not because of the company

• We need a more empowered and flatter structure

(55:42) The most important traits and skills for leaders

• Human-centered skillsets are the most in need, e.g. empathy and relationship-building

(01:01:09) Representation amongst the workforce

• Diversity isn’t enough ‘ we need representation

• ‘Are you representing in a way that’s right for your business, your purpose, and your people?’

• According to Jeremy, a better word for ‘Inclusion’ is belonging and involvement