The Mind Takeaway Podcast

The fear of making mistakes can affect creativity, collaboration and your ability to trust people and delegate opportunities for growth and learning from their experience.

See also this episode, as this topic links well with the fear of failure.

https://www.themindtakeaway.com/podcast/episode/2e00af6b/micro-episode-44-how-to-overcome-the-fear-of-failure

Irrational Retaliation: When we make decisions from a space of fear, urgency, and frustration, we still have an emotional charge attached to a situation; those decisions are often ones we can come to regret, and there will be learning opportunities.

It's our 50th Micro Episode (our 121st episode), which we recorded for you on location in Bordeaux a few weeks ago!

This new episode explores the importance of being yourself as a leader and at work, as the alternative to being inauthentic takes too much energy when you think you cannot be yourself around others.
Biggest Takeaway:
It takes twice as much energy to wear a mask; it is stressful, and your team cannot properly connect with you on a human level.

How to give feedback is one of the most requested topics for us to unpack when we have conversations with companies about leadership development and when we coach and develop leaders, so we packed a lot of value for you into this 15-minute episode, where we explore how to overcome the challenges of giving feedback.

This episode explores how, over time, our ideas change and evolve.

Takeaway 1: All of the entrepreneurs and founders we have helped or conversed with had changed their minds at least two or three times from their original ideas for their products or services. We all like to be sure about things; we want to know what will happen to prepare ourselves for the future, but that can also be a trap!

Takeaway 2: Changing your mind or pivoting will give you something more viable because you will have more clarity about your ideas than your previous iterations and be more precise on the value proposition.

Takeaway 3: It is only sometimes a good idea to rush to market and get funding for something unless you have spoken to as many people as possible and done your research and testing. Have you noticed that being first to market with a product sometimes means your competitors can leapfrog you, take advantage of your initial ideas, and learn from your mistakes?

Remember: We learn, we evolve, and we change.

We talked with K Rajeev Narayan, CEO of Leadership Elements, Inda, about why leaders need to read more books and how investing time into your professional development is a good use of time and will always be a good return on investment in the future.

Experiences are created when we read books and stories about other people's challenges and achievements. Leaders who read more books are wiser, easily connect with others and show a greater ability for empathy.

Sometimes, when leaders don't believe in what they are saying, they make it louder so it sounds more true. In the context of a meeting, that can often lead to others speaking with a louder voice, and everyone stops listening. 

We were in Belgrade a few weeks ago watching a live news channel and wondering why the prime minister was practically shouting at the news anchor and people watching at home. There was nothing to defend; nobody was objecting to her opinion. Interestingly, we thought she just wanted to be heard and listened to. 

The solution: Be that same person in the room, the calm and reflective person who isn't shouting, by stepping back and listening to what is happening. This leads to curiousity in the group and more people listening to each other.

Do you want to have an impact and stand out above the noise? The best thing you can do is listen to understand; you are more likely to have a human connection. 

In this episode, recorded at Ada Lake in Belgrade, Serbia, we talk about why being present with your team is essential to building trust and psychological safety, developing relationships, dealing with challenges before they become problems, and driving innovation and creativity.

The most challenging relationships often offer us significant growth and learning. We recorded this episode with love on the Balearic Island of Ibiza when we were there recently to do work and have some natural downtime.

What do the fear of failing, the fear of making mistakes, and the fear of being criticised have in common? It feels to us that the world will end, and there won't be any life after, so we stay stuck in our comfort zone and miss opportunities for growth and learning.

Chances are that we will fail, be criticised and make mistakes; it would be ignorant to think that we will not experience any of these situations in life or that somehow we can prevent them from happening.

In this episode, we explore the fear of failure and questions like; what if it was OK to fail and make mistakes? What if it didn't mean that life will end, and what if it is just another step in our experience as a human and another step in our personal and professional growth?

Peter also shares one of his significant failures during an important performance at a music showcase and how it became a valuable learning experience and sparked more opportunities in the future.

The name of the four-member band Peter played with was MASS. Tune in to hear the whole story.

Change and uncertainty are two constants in today's business world. As a leader, it's not only essential but also vital to navigate these challenges and guide your team through them.

Great leaders acknowledge that change and uncertainty are inevitable. By doing so, they can prepare for opportunities rather than resist them or be caught off guard when an opportunity presents itself. They stay proactive and open-minded and embrace change to create a competitive advantage for their team and organisation.

Join us as we explore the topic of change and uncertainty and how you can guide your team to thrive in times of ambiguity. Let's build a future-proof organisation together.

Looking to improve your decision-making skills, overcome your fear of failure, and build resilience? Check out our latest podcast episode!

We all face tough decisions in life and at work, but fear of making the wrong choice can hold us back. In this episode, we talk about the role of our emotions in making decisions, how resilience works, and making better decisions even when feeling scared.

From knowing how to avoid making rash decisions under pressure and when to seek advice from others, we share stories of leaders making tough choices under pressure and learning from the outcomes. Plus, we explore the role of fear in decision-making and how to manage it effectively.

Take advantage of this episode if you're looking to improve your decision-making skills and build your resilience for a successful career and life!

We were inspired to make this episode last week, where we took time out to get creative, and what better place to do that than Venice?

In this 16-minute episode, we explore female virtuoso performers of the 18th century, the Figlie Del Coro, whom Vivaldi trained and supported in his musical laboratory at The church of S. Maria della Pietà, known as the "Church of Vivaldi. These women were the pop stars of Europe at that time.

We also talk about Leonardo Da Vinci's brief stay in Venice due to an invasion of Milan and explore the connection between creativity and curiousity; plus, Mira shares her experience of what get's in the way.

Provincial Institute for Childhood Santa Maria della Pietà of Venice

https://www.pietavenezia.org/myportal/IPISM_/home

https://dailydosedocumentary.com/figlie-del-coro/

Vivaldi and the Figlie Del Coro

The Power of Silence in Leadership 

Who would have thought that getting comfortable with silence in conversations could positively impact human connection and bring out the best in people?

When we get comfortable with being uncomfortable with silence, we invite insight, realisation and curiousity into our conversations.

We were working with a trail-blazing group of leaders last week, checking in to see how they were exploring the impact of silence in their work, and one leader said: "When I spoke less in my 121s and became comfortable with silence, my team members had much more to say, and our conversations were more productive and impactful. Previously, I would over-prepare and fill those uncomfortable gaps of silence, which led to too much work from my side and fewer results.

In this episode, we invited Sunday Times Bestselling Author and Executive Coach Jamie Smart back on the show to talk about the principles behind clarity and his 10th Anniversary edition book with the same name.

We came across the principles behind clarity back in 2015. Since then, it has transformed our personal lives and allowed us to have more impact in our work with leaders, teams and organisations.

This episode explores the importance of being compassionate towards ourselves and others and why we need to start with ourselves first.

When you learn to be compassionate towards yourself during challenging situations, showing kindness towards others becomes second nature.

What Makes a Great Leader?

In this episode, we explore

- Being comfortable with being uncomfortable

- The benefits of listening to understand

- How being authentic can increase your impact 

🚀 Stepping up into a senior leadership role? Set yourself up for success and avoid burnout with these three key areas:
1:Reassess your boundaries: It's a common challenge faced by our Executive Coaching clients. Your new position demands new boundaries, and ignoring this can lead to future difficulties.
2: Energy exploration: Discover what fuels and drains you. This awareness allows you to recharge efficiently and minimise energy-zapping tasks.
3: Prioritise self-care: Don't neglect yourself! Schedule breaks, create downtime, and nurture your creativity. Remember, you will only be the leader your teams deserve with self-care. Take care and thrive! 💪✨

Listening to understand is probably one of the most impactful and profound skills you can master as a leader.

In this episode, we explore what gets in the way of becoming a better listener and what practical steps you can take to improve. 

What gets in the way of feeling safe in leadership roles?

In this second series of what gets in the way episodes, we explore what gets in the way of having more women in leadership roles and, when they are in senior positions, what stops them from feeling safe, valued and being themselves. We also share some practical tips and suggestions for the future.

What gets in the way of collaborating and working together effectively?
In this first series of what gets in the way episodes, we explore what stops us from being able to collaborate effectively and being part of a team.

We also share some practical tips to make it more enjoyable to work together.

Our business relationships and teams will benefit from embracing our intercultural differences.

We were at a friend's wedding in Portugal last week, and my friend's father said something interesting about the secret to lasting relationships. He mentioned embracing intercultural differences. We looked around our table, and In our conversations, we realised all eight of us were from different countries, each with unique cultures, and we were in four relationships, each with intercultural differences.

Self-doubt is a typical experience of being a great leader.

Learning new skills and becoming aware of how your feelings can impact your ability to lead will be messy sometimes; you will feel uncomfortable, and you might feel like an imposter some days.  That doesn't mean you are heading in the wrong direction, and it's part of learning from your experience.

If you are not doing the work, pushing the boundaries, or are unwilling to change. You cannot expect to grow or become a better leader.

This episode explores self-doubt,  imposter syndrome, and why growth requires us to feel whatever we feel. 

Do you celebrate your milestones?

If so, how do you celebrate with your team?

This episode explores the importance of celebrating milestones and enjoying the journey.

• You can quickly lose your way if you do not reflect on how you got to where you are now.
• When you don't take time to reflect, it is challenging to stay on track and know your purpose.
• Celebrating small incremental wins can make all the difference in getting the desired results.
• If you haven't been celebrating those milestones, the good news is that it's never too late to start.
• We must start to enjoy the journey and celebrate what we do, or we can quickly lose sight of why we are doing what we are doing.

In this 10 minutes episode, we explore a story about one leader's challenge with getting comfortable with being uncomfortable in front of his team and sharing when he got things wrong or did not always answer.

The positive impact of sharing your learnings and challenges with your team is this:

- It builds trust, compassion, and empathy.

- You go there first, allowing others to do the same.

- Transparency reduces people second-guessing you behind your back.

- Collaboration and creativity improve when you work together to find solutions to challenges.

The flip side of the above is that the leader usually feels uncomfortable, then tries to ignore their feelings or push any discomfort away so they can get on with their work. This behavior only leads to more suffering for everyone. The best gift you can give your people and yourself is to get comfortable with noticing when you feel uncomfortable and being curious about the source of those feelings.

Do you need a tight, rigid plan and structure to succeed with your business idea?

In this 10 minutes episode, we explore planning vs. preparing for opportunities and how learning about our resilience and creative we are is much more helpful than being strategic or being able to build a detailed plan.

• We stifle innovation and creativity when we think our plan should be one way or another.
• When doing something new, we often believe that having a specific plan is a way forward; however, this blinds us from seeing opportunities.
• By having a more open and fluid plan, you allow the possibility of things being better than you envisaged.
• Having unrealistic timescales can also be another way of talking ourselves out of doing something we want to achieve.

Do you feel valued by your team and colleagues?

Do you feel you need to talk more to be heard by your colleagues?

In this 10 minutes episode, we explore what gets in the way of having an impact as a leader and allowing others to do the same.

• You must get to know yourself to be a great leader and positively impact others.
• If you are not listening to yourself and not seeing your value,  you are more likely not to have a positive impact.
• You cannot force people to listen to you; they must first feel safe around you and the team.
• When you feel like you are not enough, you may talk more and try to force people into your way of thinking instead of listening to others.
• There is real value in getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.
• When you stop overthinking, you drop back into a space of clarity and will not know what to do next.

Did you know that your perception of reality shifts depending on how you feel?

In this 10 minutes episode, we share a valuable thing to know regarding how we feel about any given situation that can shape our perception of reality at that moment.

• How we feel in any situation can change depending on our mood.
• Being curious about how our perspective in any given moment can impact our work, the better results we will experience.
• The trap of reacting or changing things when we feel uncomfortable, just because we have thoughts in the moment.
• The more awareness you have of this will improve your relationships, improve your ability to make better decisions, and cultivate lasting relationships.
• However, we are feeling can overlay our reality from moment to moment.
• Once you notice this trick of the mind, it is easier to show compassion for others when they get uncomfortable in meetings.

Living a life with purpose.

In this 10 minutes episode, we share some of the insights from our work supporting leaders.

• You can not find your purpose as it is not something outside of us; it shapes through our life experiences.
• The more you connect with yourself and listen to your inner voice, your decisions and actions will be aligned with your purpose.
• You cannot find your purpose and then live your life aligned to it; it's quite the opposite; the more you connect with yourself and the more time you spend in clarity of mind, the more you will live your life on purpose.

When it comes to mental health in the workplace, Sheila Lord, by her own admission, has learned from her mistakes. She saw first-hand how businesses and organisations weren't taking mental health seriously and the detrimental impact on the industry as a whole.

To tackle this head-on, Sheila started BMR, and today the company leads the way in mental health support programmes, all of which have a definitive return on investment.

Well known for her ability to 'cut to the chase', Sheila believes that workplace wellbeing isn't just about fruit bowls and yoga and that you can't simply magic away employee stress by 'fixing' people. The problem is often more complex, but BMR is designed to help.

Takeaways and Timestamps

02:40 Pressure builds on CEOs and business leaders to deal with workplace mental health, and they don't know where to start. 

05:20 Workspace mental health is a shared responsibility; as individuals, we need to take ownership of our mental health, and in the workplace, we need to create a culture where we can have support when we need it. 

8:00 Often, one thing that gets missed is leaders; after conducting engagement surveys, they do not follow up with conversations with employees to get the complete information about the required changes and next steps.

10:33 Why do workplace wellbeing programs and initiatives have relatively low uptake and engagement? 

16:53 What are the dangers of implementing a wellbeing strategy to tick a box and not ask yourself why you need it?

21:18 The benefits of implementing a systemic workplace wellbeing approach even if your company is doing great.

23:32 Employees are a vital part of any organisation; they drive your business forward every day, and having good mental health in the workplace is not an employee perk or reward.

26:31 What are the visible signs of mental health issues, and how having a risk-based approach can help prevent problems occurring in the future and know what to do when someone needs help?

30:42 Everybody has a shared responsibility for mental health and workplace welling, so let's work together to create happy workplaces.

35:43 Fear is often the root cause of inaction when addressing mental health and wellness in the workplace. 

When we blame others, we stop listening and give away any chance of finding solutions.

In this 12 minute Micro Episode, we explore the transformative power of taking responsibility and ownership for our actions.

Timestamps and Takeaways

01:12 When we were kids, we learned that if we blame someone else, we won't get punished, whether we had something to do with the situation or not.

01:48 It's not that we are bad people; we often blame others as a protective mechanism; however, we understand the impact of blaming others on our teams, the company and ourselves.

02:14 When we blame others, we disempower ourselves, and it stops people from being able to trust you as a leader (it's the opposite of psychological safety)

02:29 Your people will copy your behaviour, both the positive things you would like them to continue and the negative things you might want them to stop.

03:08 When you take responsibility for your actions and show a willingness to look for solutions, you create the right conditions for others to do the same in your team.

04:27 You may not be the cause of an issue, but you are more likely to resolve it as an individual, as a team, as a company if you are willing to look at the options with other people and think ok what we can do?

04:42 When we are angry and fearful in the moment, it can look like there are no options, and that is when we need to slow down, take a step back and breathe.

05:24 It can be painful to accept responsibility when looking back into the past; however, this is the only way to resolve trauma. And avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

06:43 By blaming others, we stop listening to others, stifle creativity and limit the possibility of finding solutions to problems.

08:04 When we take the role of victim and blame others, we resolve ourselves from any power to anything about it.

08:16 Playing the martyr and taking responsibility for absolutely everything can lead to isolation and create a toxic environment.

10:38 Blaming others also prevents your team from growing as they will not feel safe enough to learn from their own mistakes.

In this episode, we speak to Giulia Iannucci, a  social entrepreneur and founder of KnowThyBrand dedicated to helping women in business build sustainable ventures and career paths. Always curious and inquisitive, Giulia has worked and lived in Spain, Belgium, Australia, Singapore, the UK and Luxembourg.

Timestamps and Takeaways

02:15 Not knowing what we want to do, exploring our curiosity and accepting opportunities over a long period, we can find our passion and purpose.

07:50 How sometimes the jobs we are the most passionate about can have the most significant impact, we're not paying the most money.

08:42 What is a social enterprise and how to turn an existing for-profit business into one, where the proceeds are invested into something good for society.

10:43 Resilience does not mean working too many hours to the detriment to your personal life.

12:09 The more you take care of your own needs first for your mental and physical health, the more it reflects positively on your team, your business, and your family.

14:39 We often forget we have a conscious choice of whether to work more hours than we really need to.

19:18 If you care for your team's results, spending time on too many tasks might not get you where you want to go with regards to more creative solutions and often leads to burnout.

20:41 There is still this badge of honour of smashing too many hours, and even though you might not say, hey, you should do that too,  your team will copy your behaviour and feel under pressure to do the same.

29:59 How can we all be tricked by a feeling of urgency, that feeling when you receive an email and think you have to act straight away, and where does that come from?

31:29 The common mistakes startups make as they grow and build a bigger team are thinking they have to follow what everyone else is doing, which can be dangerous.

34:15 One trap entrepreneurs often take every opportunity that comes their way and suddenly realise it's not their business anymore or it evolved into something they didn't want.

36:45 It really all boils down to who you are, what you want to achieve as a business and why are you doing it?

44:05 Accepting your own vulnerability as a leader, we are humans after all and being ok not to have all the answers.

Your manager's and peers' behaviour can positively or negatively impact your self-confidence and belief in your ability to do great things.

Sometimes leaving a toxic company can be as challenging as ending an unhealthy and abusive relationship.  All because our self-confidence, self-belief and self-esteem are shattered, and we can't see better options.

In this 14 minute Micro Episode, we explore how to leave a toxic workplace.

Timestamps and Takeaways

01:24 How can your manager's and peers' actions impact your self-confidence and belief in your ability to do great things.

02:51 There is no special feeling of confidence that you have to build; it is the absence of discomfort, doubt and over-thinking.

05:06 One practical action you can take for yourself is to do a self-inventory and get it all out of your head and on paper.

06:09 We can't always see what we are capable of when we are in a low mood; just knowing that can save you lots of time and worry.

07:28 The trap of self-sabotage and how to get out of it and take meaningful action.

12:02 No matter how much self-confidence you may think you have, you have to start somewhere and take the first step.

Dissent is essential in leadership.

If you are not comfortable with differences of opinion in your team, then you cannot really call yourself a leader.

Leaders often shy away from open dialogue and differences of opinion because it feels uncomfortable to have someone not agree with you, even though diversity can only flourish if you are open to differences of opinion.

If you want to innovate, solve problems and create a safe and inclusive environment, then it's time to allow your people to express disagreement without fear of retaliation.

Timestamps and Takeaways

00:54 Dissent is required if you want to cut through groupthink and have high performance in your team.

01:23 The meaning of Dissent is to publicly disagree with an official opinion, a decision or set of beliefs.

01:58 Contrary to popular belief, if your team feels safe enough to express their opinions, this is a great thing because the opposite of that can stifle creativity, create fear, and give up voicing their concerns.

02:35 Allowing Dissent allows you as the leader to relax (you don't have to have all the answers) and gain different perspectives that you didn't have before.

03:37 The reason leaders are not comfortable with Dissent is because they have the mistaken belief that if someone doesn't agree with them, they are wrong, and there is this push back to prove that they are correct, instead of listening to what people are saying.

04:30 When you create a space where Dissent is ok, where other people's opinions are ok, it becomes a conversation.

06:56 What we noticed is that Dissent can often look personal, but it's usually not and the means of an individual or team expressing their opinions.

07:30 Having open dialogue can result in an agreeing on a consensus with your team which results in trust, psychological safety and high performance.

07:56 There will always be a few people who argue for the sake of it, but as you get more comfortable with dissenting opinions, you will quickly notice who has the right intentions and who doesn't.

09:07 If you listen to everyone's point of view, the noise will decrease because your team will not have to shout to be heard.

09:49 If you ignore and marginalise your team and don't allow people to express their opinions, you create a toxic environment where trust is eroded.

10:14 if you are not listening to someone, you force them around to our opinion or the company's views without facilitating a safe space to discuss things openly. The result with always a power struggle.

When people feel well, they do well! 

We all fall into the trap, believing that when we do well, we will feel well, which leads to mental health challenges in the first place. If we want better results, we have to take care of ourselves first. 

In this 10 minute Micro Episode, we explore:  

Timestamps and Takeaways

😃 Why is it so essential to take care of your mental health first before being able to help others? 

🤔 Companies are not getting the results they want with their current working methods, so what has to change in the future?

😩 What happens when leaders focus on tracking hours worked instead of thinking about the results? 

In this, our 60th episode (well, actually our 79th if you include the Micro Episodes), we speak to Layla Li and Sonali Sanghrajka, co-founders of KOSA AI. They are based out of Nairobi, Kenya, and Amsterdam, Netherlands, building software solutions that help companies make their AI technologies more inclusive of all genders, ages, races, and more through bias detection and mitigation.

Timestamps:

00:15 What does it mean for companies to implement software that can make their technology more inclusive and detect bias in their AI systems before it's too late?

2:25 New regulations in  EMEA include fines for any AI or data misuse by companies that are not holding themselves accountable.

4:06 The upside of making your technology more inclusive is tapping into new markets that can often be overlooked due to a lack of awareness.

7:23 Today employees care about what they produce and the actual values of the company they are working for - one in six employees will quit their job rather than help build a system with AI bias built in it.

9:41 How can we know that companies are accountable for making positive progress in their culture regarding DEI and sustainable practices?

10:43 The first step towards diversity and inclusion is transparency because there are no clear metrics you could use to measure it; it's a constant conversation and improvement based on that.

15:41 Machines reflect our own bias and blind spots, and as we're correcting ourselves, we need to fix the data we add to those machines as well.

24:00 Self-reflection and the desire to do something meaningful for society drew Layla to leave her cushy job at Tesla and build technology for good.

28:00 What challenges and biases do women face in leadership roles in predominantly male environments?

35:06 Sonaly explains how their authenticity and way of doing things as female founders helps grow the company and improve their product.

38:17 How living in different countries and being exposed to different cultures exposes your vulnerability and helps you become aware of your resilience.

40:05 To make meaningful changes and use AI to improve the hiring process or product, companies must know where they stand at the moment and what they want to achieve.

44:01 Why is it important to have diverse talent and in different parts of the world to have different perspectives?

46:05  Examples of the importance of listening to the employees because executives are often not closely in touch with the problems and ideas available from all their employees.

In this Micro Episode, we explore time and the present moment in conversation with Claudia Goetzelman, one of our coaching colleagues in Berlin, a world-class photographer for content and brands.

Timestamps and Takeaways

01:44 It’s only humans that have developed the ability to measure time, and animals don’t have that ability; it is more automatic for them.

02:36 When living in our external representation of time measured by clocks and calendars, it can be limiting and slow us down.

03:28 There is another experience of time whereby being present, you can feel like you have achieved more just by not having to measure it and experience it at that moment.

04:30 Wanting results, outcomes and goals are fine with clarity, but sometimes we trap ourselves with having the end in mind when it comes to time pressures.

04:49 Leaders often trap themselves and their time by causing unnecessary pressure when they say we must do this by a particular time.

05:23 When it comes to creative problem solving, you need to consider getting out of the habit of thinking about time and how much time it will take to find a solution.

06:20 we often say we will make time for reflection and downtime for ideas to form, but we often fall into the trap of never scheduling it in our week.

07:42 The real benefits of slowing down and being present throughout your day.

In this Micro Episode of the Mind Takeaway Podcast, we explore the fear of talking about Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace.

Timestamps and Takeaways

01:30 Diversity and Inclusion is not a topic you can resolve by attending a one day workshop; it’s about getting into conversations about it with your employees.

02:03 The most significant thing that gets in the way of creating a more inclusive environment and talking about DEI is fear.

02:32 How with DE & I, there is no one-size-fits-all solution and a perfect how-to guide that will address everything, as it is constantly changing and evolving.

02:54 The more we leaned into our fears and insecurities, the more we learned about the subject of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

04:13 Dialogue and open discussions with your team about Diversity will open the door to a more inclusive environment in the future.

07:08 You have to start somewhere, and the quicker you do, the easier it will be to address any shortcomings that your company may have. 

07:50 It is always good to get curious about how inclusive your company is and listen to your employees first before taking any action.

09:56 In many organisations, we see a disconnect between how they talk about DEI and how their managers do not display inclusive behaviour in their day-to-day work.