Podcast Summary
Navigating Disruptions: Leaders Driving Innovation: Resilient leaders, inspired by curiosity and creativity, navigate disruptions to drive innovation, inspiring lasting change.
Resilient leaders, who have navigated personal and professional disruptions, are driving innovation in the post-pandemic business landscape. They embrace curiosity, creativity, and the courage to think outside the box, creating new paths and breaking barriers. Deb Golden, Deloitte's US chief innovation officer, interviewed Stephanie Mehta, the CEO and Chief Content Officer at Mansueto Ventures, for the Lead Through Disruption series. Throughout her almost 3-decade career as an editor and journalist, Stephanie has uncovered bold leadership strategies from industry leaders during times of uncertainty and change. Growing up in a household filled with books, newspapers, and magazines sparked her passion for the written word and learning. Despite her intended career path, she found herself drawn to journalism due to her curiosity and love for reading. These leaders' stories of resilience and innovation serve as inspiration for all, demonstrating that disruptions can lead to lasting change.
Embracing uniqueness in journalism: Developing a unique voice and perspective is essential for success in journalism and beyond. Embrace differences and challenge conventional norms.
Finding and developing a unique voice in journalism, or any industry, can be a challenging but rewarding process. The speaker shares her experience of initially focusing on following the conventional style of journalism and being criticized for lacking personality. It wasn't until she embraced her differences and learned to infuse her own perspective into her writing that she truly found her voice. This process took time and self-reflection, but ultimately led to a successful career in journalism and beyond. As a female journalist, she also emphasizes the importance of embracing one's differences and challenging the status quo in order to make a meaningful impact in the industry. Overall, the key takeaway is that developing a unique voice and perspective is essential for success in journalism and beyond, and it's important to not be afraid to challenge the conventional norms and embrace one's differences.
Empowering Others: A Leader's Superpower: Empowering others is a key aspect of strong leadership. Building a culture of learning and accessibility can help reach a larger audience and prepare individuals for an uncertain future.
Embracing your superpower and helping others can shape you into a strong leader. This was a personal experience for the speaker, who felt underrepresented in her early career and made it her mission to provide opportunities for those coming up behind her. However, with more people seeking guidance than ever before, it can be challenging to reach and mentor everyone individually. The solution lies in building a culture of learning and accessibility that can reach a larger audience. This is particularly important in today's rapidly changing world, where the norms of the past are no longer sufficient. By fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth, we can help individuals adapt and thrive in an uncertain future.
Embracing risks for growth and innovation: Organizations and individuals should celebrate calculated risks for growth and innovation, recognizing that every risk presents an opportunity for learning and resilience.
Organizations and individuals need to focus on building their risk muscle to navigate the constant evolution of business. While the pandemic highlighted the importance of resilience, risk and resilience are interconnected. People took risks every day without realizing it, and organizations should celebrate and learn from these calculated risks. Building a culture that accommodates and benefits from change requires everyone to have the ability to take risks. The pandemic served as a life experience that tested everyone's resilience, and recognizing and celebrating that resilience can lead to growth and innovation. Taking calculated risks, whether big or small, is essential for pushing boundaries and growing in both personal and professional capacities. The question of whether a risk is worth taking should be reframed, as every risk presents an opportunity for learning and growth.
Learning from younger generations: Leaders can benefit from engaging with younger workers, observing their behavior, and understanding trends to embrace failure and take calculated risks in innovation and adapting to change
Embracing failure and encouraging calculated risks, especially in the context of innovation and adapting to the speed of change, can be facilitated by learning from younger generations in the workforce. These younger generations, who have grown up with uncertainty and digital technology, bring unique resilience skills and a willingness to take risks. Leaders can benefit from engaging with them, observing their behavior, and understanding their trends. Additionally, fostering open communication and building relationships through icebreakers or informal interactions can help bridge the gap between different generations in the workforce and create a more collaborative and innovative environment.
Navigating Hybrid Work: Fostering Inclusive Meetings: Slow down, make time for personal stories, accommodate different working styles, ask insightful questions, and practice empathy and adaptability in virtual meetings to foster human connection and effective communication in the new normal of hybrid work.
As we navigate the new normal of hybrid work, the art of conducting inclusive meetings will become increasingly important. Dev shared his experience of implementing new communication methods to foster human connection in virtual settings, emphasizing the need to slow down and make time for personal stories and experiences. He also highlighted the importance of accommodating different working styles and creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable speaking up. Curiosity was identified as a common trait among successful leaders, and the ability to ask insightful questions was seen as a valuable skill. Overall, the conversation underscored the importance of adaptability, empathy, and effective communication in the evolving business landscape.
Leaders foster curiosity and purpose through long-form conversations: Successful leaders engage in deep discussions about their passions, unlocking insights and adapting to change, while maintaining financial results and operational excellence, and building a strong support network.
Successful leaders possess a deep sense of curiosity and a clear sense of purpose. They use platforms like podcasts to engage in long-form conversations about topics they're passionate about, unlocking valuable insights. While financial results and operational excellence are important, a leader's ability to communicate their purpose and adapt when necessary is crucial. Leaders who have a strong understanding of their business and its history are best equipped to pivot when needed. Furthermore, leaders no longer have to face the role alone. Building a strong support network, where vulnerability is encouraged, is essential for success.
Communicating Authentically to Earn Influence: Effective leadership requires authentic communication, unique voice, diverse culture, and leveraging various tools to connect with team members.
Effective leadership in today's multidimensional business environment requires earning influence through authentic communication and leveraging various tools to connect with team members. The speaker emphasized the importance of developing a unique voice and point of view, whether through modern formats like video or old-school methods like newsletters. Additionally, fostering a diverse and inclusive culture is crucial for strong leadership and collaboration. The speaker shared examples of how their organization is adapting to these changing times, such as using personalized video messages and employee newsletters to engage their team. Ultimately, influence is a skill that can be honed through genuine connection and communication, regardless of the tools or methods used.
Shifting focus to skills-based hiring and expanding supplier diversity programs: Organizations can make a difference for underrepresented groups by focusing on skills over degrees and expanding supplier diversity programs to include new, diverse businesses.
Organizations can make a significant impact on promoting equity and diversity, particularly for underrepresented groups like black women entrepreneurs, by shifting their focus beyond traditional college degrees and towards skills-based hiring. Additionally, reevaluating and expanding supplier diversity programs to include new, diverse businesses can create new opportunities and help bridge the gap. These are simple yet effective steps that can be taken to make a difference, and it's essential for leaders to understand their current demographic makeup and strive for a more inclusive team and supplier network. By prioritizing diversity of thought and recognizing the potential in a wider range of candidates and businesses, we can work towards solving complex problems and creating a more equitable business landscape.
Asking questions and checks & balances in leadership: Effective leaders ask questions, build skilled teams, ensure accuracy and fairness in content production, and foster positive impact on diversity.
Effective leadership involves asking questions and having a strong system of checks and balances in place. This was highlighted during a discussion about the production process of editorial websites and magazines. Contrary to popular belief, the creation of content is not a simple process of a writer publishing a story without review. Instead, stories undergo rigorous editing and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and fairness. As leaders, it's essential to ask questions and build skilled teams to positively impact diversity and overcome challenges. Additionally, on a lighter note, the speaker shared a personal preference for unpacking on vacation to get a sense of the new environment.
Leading Through Disruption: Adaptability and Learning from Experiences: Adaptability and learning from experiences are crucial skills for leading through disruption. Having a strong instinct, informed by learning and experience, can be a valuable asset. Stay agile, inclusive, and continuously learn and grow to navigate the complexities of our ever-evolving world.
Both Stephanie Mehta and Deb Golden emphasized the importance of adaptability and learning from experiences in leading through disruption. While there may not be a straight or same line for everyone, having a strong instinct or gut feeling, informed by learning and experience, can be a valuable asset. Mehta shared her insights on the changing landscape of media and leadership, encouraging the honing of such skills. Golden, in turn, appreciated Mehta's perspective and the importance of staying agile and inclusive in meetings and beyond. Ultimately, their conversation highlighted the value of continuous learning and growth in navigating the complexities of our ever-evolving world.
