Innovating Leadership: Co-Creating Our Future

Getting Positive Results from Hard Conversations

Guest: Dr. Marcia Reynolds
Why do difficult conversations so often go wrong, even when you prepare for them?
 
In this episode, host Maureen Metcalf sits down with Dr. Marcia Reynolds to explore how leaders can turn resistance into meaningful results. While most approaches focus on what to say, Marcia reveals that real change happens when leaders shift mindsets, starting with their own.
 
Together, they unpack:
Why knowing what to do rarely leads to behavior change,
How emotional reactions (both yours and theirs) shape the outcome of every conversation, and
Why psychological safety is the foundation for honest dialogue and high performance.
 
You’ll learn how to mentally prepare for difficult conversations, manage your emotional state in the moment, and use a coaching approach that helps others see differently so they can act differently.
 
This episode offers practical tools for navigating high-stakes conversations with clarity, courage, and care…whether you’re giving feedback, addressing conflict, or guiding someone through change.
 
 
Other episodes you'll enjoy:
- Why You Fight Against Your Own Interests with Lord John Alderdice
- Our Emotional Recession: How to Lead When People Are Depleted with Joshua Freedman
- Let’s Talk: Four Steps to Bridging Disagreements with Michael Morrow-Fox
For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.
RESOURCES:  
Marcia’s book is Coach the Person, Not the Problem. It’s available in paperback at https://amzn.to/4sEWtIo, and as an audiobook at https://amzn.to/4uMnbR5.
 
Her prior book is The Discomfort Zone: How Leaders Turn Difficult Conversations into Breakthroughs. You can find it in paperback at https://amzn.to/40PluVk, and as an audiobook at https://amzn.to/4dGfe9L. 
 
You can also learn a lot more about her work online at https://covisioning.com/.
 
Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 
 
Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. The Kindle version is available at https://amzn.to/44buVz8 .You’ll find further details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI. Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 
 
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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  
Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko
Video & Graphics Editor: Devon Mushalko
Assistant Editor & Raconteur: Luigi Morelli
(Information requiring higher security clearance than you have): Jenna Reik & Mike Morrow-Fox
CONNECT WITH US: 
YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 
Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 
 
Loved this episode? Like and subscribe!
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About Our Guest:  
Dr. Marcia Reynolds, president of Covisioning LLC, is endlessly curious about how humans learn and grow. She found coaching to be the best technology we have for accelerating the process of change. She has coached and trained leaders and coaches in 41 countries and has presented at the Harvard Kennedy School, Cornell University, and The National Research University in Moscow. Dr. Reynolds is a pioneer in the coaching profession. She is a founding member and 5th global president of the International Coach Federation. She returned to the board for two years in 2016 where she focused on credentialing requirements and strengthening relationships with coach training schools. She is the Training Director for the Healthcare Coaching Institute and on faculty for the International Coach Academy in Russia and Create China Coaching in China. Global Gurus recognizes her as one of the top 5 coaches in the world. Dr. Reynolds has published 5 books.

S8 Ep6: Why You Fight Against Your Own Interests: Lessons from a Peace Negotiator

Guest: Lord John Alderdice, House of Lords & Peace Negotiator
What if conflict isn’t driven by rational self-interest, but by something far more human?
In this episode, Lord John Alderdice—psychiatrist, political leader, and key architect of the Good Friday Agreement which brought peace to Northern Ireland—shares a radically different lens on conflict. Drawing from decades of peace negotiations, he explains why people and nations often act against their own interests, and what leaders must understand to move from division to resolution.
You’ll learn why listening is more powerful than persuasion, why the real issue is often the relationship (not the opposing sides), and how identity, history, and fear shape decisions in ways logic cannot. Alderdice also explores how these lessons apply to today’s global polarization, from geopolitics to corporations.
This conversation offers a profound reframe for leaders navigating complexity, conflict, and change in an increasingly uncertain world.
Produced in partnership with the International Leadership Association: https://ilaglobalnetwork.org/
 
Other episodes you’ll enjoy:
- The Accidental Peacemaker: How a Philanthropist Pursues Peace in a Complex World with Mike Hardy & Steve Killelea
- 11 Steps to Help You Heal Divides with Mike Hardy
- Peace through Better Leaders with Mike Hardy
- A Genocide Survivor’s Path To Leadership: Turning Trauma into Peace with Hyppolite Ntigurirwa & Mike Hardy
For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.
RESOURCES:  
Lord Alderdice’s website has a wealth of information on his work: https://lordalderdice.com/.
 
Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 
 
Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at  https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.
 
Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 
 
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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  
Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko
Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan
Sponsorship Sales Manager: Kristine Gross (Kgross@innovativeleadership.com)
Booking Producer: Jenna Reik (Jreik@innovativeleadership.com)
Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.
 
CONNECT WITH US: 
YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 
Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 
 
Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! 
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About Our Guest:  
Lord John Alderdice is a psychiatrist, political leader, and internationally recognized peace negotiator who played a key role in the Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement. A former leader of the Alliance Party and Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, he has spent decades applying psychological insight to resolving complex political conflicts. His work now spans global peacebuilding, advising on issues of polarization, extremism, and leadership in deeply divided societies.
“If you come into a conflict and take a side, you are no longer part of the solution—you are part of the conflict.” — Lord John Alderdice

S12 Ep5: Building the Systems (& People) That Sustain Growth

Guest: Carla Morelli, Scale and M&A Exec
What really happens when organizations try to grow?
In this episode, Maureen Metcalf speaks with Carla Morelli about why many organizations struggle to scale, even when strategy and market opportunity are strong. They explore how growth exposes weaknesses in leadership, decision architecture, and culture, and why scaling successfully requires more than simply increasing revenue or headcount.
You’ll discover the leadership mindset required to sustain growth, the human dynamics that often derail mergers and acquisitions, and the systems leaders must build to ensure organizations scale without losing trust, execution discipline, or long-term value.
If you’re leading organizational growth, acquisitions, or major transformation, this conversation offers practical insights into how leaders can design organizations that grow stronger as they scale.
Other episodes you'll enjoy:
- AI, Your Story, & the Professional Identity Crisis with Christopher Washington
- To Stop a Tyrant: The Power of Followers with Ira Chaleff
- In It Together: How Boston Consulting Group Combines Strengths from Every Generation with Alicia Pittman
 
 
For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We’re onTikTok, Threads, and Twitter, too!
RESOURCES:  
Carla’s website is https://www.gobluechair.com/.
 
Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 
 
Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at  https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.
 
Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 
 
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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  
Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko
Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan
Sponsorship Sales Manager: Kristine Gross (Kgross@innovativeleadership.com)
Booking Producer: Jenna Reik (Jreik@innovativeleadership.com)
Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.
 
CONNECT WITH US: 
YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 
Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 
 
Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! 
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About Our Guest:  
Carla Morelli is a seasoned M&A and strategy advisor with extensive experience across startups, Fortune 200 companies, private equity-backed businesses, and global transactions. With deep expertise in deal execution, transformation, and post-merger integration, she brings a unique blend of financial acumen, strategic insight, and human-centered leadership. A Wharton Online-trained capability builder, Carla has led nine-figure P&Ls and advised on strategy and M&A across the Americas, Europe, and India. She is also an experienced executive coach and counselor, guiding CEOs and boards through growth, M&A readiness, and cultural alignment. Co-authoring key ILI content on merger success, Carla champions authentic, sustainable outcomes that align business objectives with human values.

S4 Ep12: - The Illusion of Leadership: Neuroscience Finds Who’s Really in Control

Guest: Gary Weber, PhD
Your conscious mind may not be in control. That’s becoming clear to neuroscientists, and it explains why smart, experienced leaders miss obvious issues and disruptions so often.
In this episode, Maureen Metcalf speaks with neuroscience researcher Gary Weber about what modern brain science reveals about decision-making, confirmation bias, and strategic blind spots.
Research shows that most cognitive processing happens outside your conscious awareness. That has profound implications for leadership. If our brains are wired to reinforce existing beliefs, then even high-performing executives are vulnerable to dismissing emerging risks, filtering contrary information, and operating within narrowing feedback loops.
Together, Maureen and Gary explore:
The neuroscience of decision-making
The “elephant and rider” model of the brain
Why confirmation bias is structural, not personal
How hierarchy amplifies blind spots in the C-suite, and
Practical ways leaders can design dissent into their organizations.
This conversation challenges one of leadership’s most deeply held assumptions: that effectiveness comes from control. Instead, it suggests that adaptability, cognitive humility, and exposure to contrary input may be the true competitive advantages in volatile markets.
If you are a senior executive, board member, or transformation leader navigating rapid change, this episode offers both a neuroscience foundation and practical guidance for protecting your strategy from your own success.
Other episodes you'll enjoy:
- Self-Awareness: The #1 Predictor of Leadership Success with Belinda Gore
- Our Emotional Recession: How to Lead When People Are Depleted with Joshua Freedman
- From Stress to Strength: How to Rewire Your Brain for Resilience with Jon Wortmann
 
For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.
 
RESOURCES:  
One of Gary’s seminal works is Evolving Beyond Thought: Updating Your Brain’s Software. It’s available in paperback at https://amzn.to/4u3qXFh.
 
Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 
 
Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8 . The audiobook version is now available at  https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.
 
Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 
 
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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  
Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko
Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan
Sponsorship Sales: Kristine Gross
Booking Producer: Jenna Reik
Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.
 
CONNECT WITH US: 
YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 
Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 
 
Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! 
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About Our Guest:  
Gary Weber is an American author and teacher known for integrating neuroscience, meditation, and nondual inquiry. With a background in science, military service, and senior executive leadership, Weber brings a research-informed lens to questions of consciousness and decision-making. He is the author of Happiness Beyond Thought and Evolving Beyond Thought, where he explores the nature of thinking, identity, and well-being through both contemplative practice and cognitive science. His work bridges rigorous analysis with experiential insight, offering practical approaches to understanding how the brain shapes perception, belief, and behavior.

S12 Ep4: AI, Your Story, & the Professional Identity Crisis

Guest: Christopher Washington, Provost Emeritus
The real challenge for leaders facing disruption isn’t technical. It’s psychological.
In this episode, Christopher Washington joins host Maureen Metcalf to explore why transformation efforts fail, even when strategy, data, and logic are sound. Christopher argues that the missing lever in most change efforts is narrative.
Strategy tells people what to do, but stories determine whether they actually do it.
As AI, economic volatility, and policy shifts create a cascade of “disorienting dilemmas,” leaders are confronting a deeper issue: identity disruption. When professionals fear that their expertise—or even their entire role—may become obsolete, resistance is rarely about logic. It is about belonging, self-worth, and survival.
In this conversation, you’ll explore:
Why highly intelligent people use their intelligence to defend the status quo
How culture is shaped more by repeated sentences than by strategy decks
Why anxiety reduces adaptability in times of rapid change
The Four Ps of transition narratives: Purpose, Picture, Plan, and Part to Play, and
How leaders can honor legacy while guiding reinvention.
Christopher also discusses the importance of listening for the stories already circulating inside your organization because those narratives may be doing more work than formal policies or incentives.
For leaders navigating AI adoption, workforce anxiety, and enterprise transformation, this episode offers both a diagnostic lens and a practical framework for shaping change that people can believe in.
Binge on these other great episodes with Christopher:
- The End of Control: Leadership Trends for 2026
- Developing Future-Fit Employees – Christopher is joined by Faris Alami
For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.
RESOURCES:  
Learn more about Christopher on our website at https://bit.ly/CWatILI.
 
Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 
 
Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at  https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.
 
Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 
 
-----------------------  
OUR PODCAST TEAM:  
Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko
Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan
Sponsorship Sales Manager: Kristine Gross (Kgross@innovativeleadership.com)
Booking Producer: Jenna Reik (JReik@innovativeleadership.com)
Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.
 
CONNECT WITH US: 
YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 
Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 
 
Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! 
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About Our Guest:  
Dr. Christopher Washington is a strategic leader, systems thinker, and seasoned academic executive with over three decades of experience strengthening nonprofit and educational organizations. He served as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Franklin University and is a long-standing contributor to the Forbes Nonprofit Council. He previously served as CEO of Urbana University and has held leadership roles on numerous national and international nonprofit boards.
 
Now, as an IES Principal, Christopher focuses on:
Developing intrapreneurs who strengthen organizations through creativity, adaptability, and proactive innovation and designing workplace cultures that support experimentation, learning, and resilience
Guiding executives in building antifragile systems capable of leveraging stress and volatility as sources of growth
Supporting leaders in responsibly adopting generative and agentic AI
Advising nonprofits and educational institutions on leadership development, culture redesign, and system transformation.
 
As a Fellow of the Innovative Leadership Institute for six years, he will continue to partner with ILI founder Maureen Metcalf to explore emerging trends and co-create influential thought leadership and foundation programs, including their annual podcast interviews on leadership disruptions and opportunities.

S7 Ep8: Leading to Shape the Future: Scharmer’s Theory U

Guest: Otto Scharmer
In times of disruption, new strategies are not enough. According to Otto Scharmer, what determines the success of an intervention is the leader's interior condition.
 
In this episode, Maureen Metcalf sits down with Otto Scharmer, Senior Lecturer at MIT and co-founder of the Presencing Institute, to explore the principles behind Theory U and why traditional change management tools fall short in today’s environment.
 
Together they examine:
Why disruption exposes the limits of analytical leadership
The gap between traditional change management and emerging realities
The four levels of listening — and how they transform decision-making
The role of empathy, courage, and “open will” in executive leadership
How leaders can create holding spaces that elevate performance and trust, and
Why leadership failure often begins with a disconnect from reality.
 
Scharmer challenges leaders to move beyond reacting to the past, and instead learn to sense and shape emerging future possibilities. This conversation bridges philosophy, systems thinking, and practical application, offering tools leaders can use immediately in their organizations.
 
If you’re leading through uncertainty, this episode offers both clarity and direction.
 
 
Produced in association with the International Leadership Association: https://ilaglobalnetwork.org/ .
 
Other episodes you'll enjoy:
- Leadership at the Edge of Uncertainty with Helle Bank Jorgensen
- The End of Stability: Leading in a Disrupted World with Bob Bush, Jr.
- Leaders Need More Values with George Limbert
For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We’re on Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Twitter, too!
 
RESOURCES:  
Otto’s landmark book is The Essentials of Theory U; it’s available in paperback at https://amzn.to/4aA4N4v, and as an audiobook at https://amzn.to/4tH38mu.
 
You can also learn more about Otto on his website at https://ottoscharmer.com/, or through his nonprofit at https://www.presencing.org/.  
 
Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 
 
Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. The Kindle version is available at https://amzn.to/44buVz8 .You’ll find further details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI. Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 
 
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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  
Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko
Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan
Sponsorship Sales: Kristine Gross (KGross@innovativeleadership.com)
CONNECT WITH US: 
YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 
Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 
 
Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! 
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About Our Guest:  
Otto Scharmer, a Senior Lecturer at MIT and Founding Chair of the Presencing Institute, has dedicated the past 20 years to helping leaders embrace cross-sector systems transformation. 
 
Through his bestselling books Theory U and Presence (the latter co-authored with Peter Senge and others), Otto introduced the groundbreaking concept of "presencing" — learning from the emerging future.
 
He co-founded the MITx u-lab, which has activated a vibrant worldwide ecosystem of transformational change involving more than 260,000 users from 194 countries. In collaboration with colleagues, he co-created global Action Learning Labs for UN agencies and SDG Leadership Labs for UN Country Teams in 26 countries, which support cross-sector initiatives for addressing urgent humanitarian crises.
 
Born and raised near Hamburg, Germany, Otto’s early experiences on his family farm profoundly shaped his vision. From his father, a pioneer of regenerative farming, Otto learned the significance of the living quality of the soil in organic agriculture, which inspired his thinking about social fields as the grounding condition from which visible transformations emerge. Like a good farmer who cares for the soil, Otto believes responsible leaders must nurture the social field in which they operate. He emphasizes that shifting our economic operating systems from extractive to regenerative requires innovations in leadership support structures for shifting mindsets from ego to eco. Building that infrastructure is the purpose of the u-school for Transformation.

S12 Ep3: Leadership at the Edge of Uncertainty: Lessons from Davos

Guest: Helle Bank Jørgensen, Global Managing Director of Board Intelligence
What happens when global leaders gather at Davos amid rising geopolitical tension, collapsing trust, and compounding global risk?
In this episode, host Maureen Metcalf is joined by Helle Bank Jørgensen, a global pioneer in board effectiveness and a leading voice on governance, risk, and sustainability. Fresh from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Helle shares firsthand insights into what felt different this year, and why leaders should be paying close attention.
Together, they explore the growing sense of fear and uncertainty shaping global decision-making, the World Economic Forum’s global risk outlook, and why today’s most dangerous challenges are no longer isolated, but stacked and interconnected. From geopolitical instability and misinformation to climate risk, trust erosion, and AI-driven disruption, this conversation examines what boards and executive teams must do differently to run companies and other organizations effectively in a volatile world.
The discussion also draws on recent Board Intelligence survey findings, revealing that many boards believe they are leaving significant value on the table, even as they see traditional governance models are struggling to keep pace with the realities leaders now face.
This episode is a candid, forward-looking exploration of:
Why global risk is compounding rather than occurring in silos
How fear, polarization, and trust collapse are reshaping leadership
What boards must do to move from oversight to foresight
Why waiting for perfect information is no longer a viable strategy, and
How leaders can prepare organizations—and society—for what lies ahead.
For board members, senior executives, and leaders responsible for long-term value creation, this conversation offers critical perspective on what leadership requires now, and what the next decade may demand of us all.
Binge-listen to Helle’s wisdom with these other episodes:
- How to Keep the Boardroom Stable in Turbulent Times
- The Future-Ready Board Member
- Stewarding the Future of the Planet: Views from the Boardroom
For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.
RESOURCES:  
Learn more about Helle’s company at https://www.boardintelligence.com/. Read her insights on her blogs at https://www.boardintelligence.com/blog/author/helle-bank-jorgensen. Her book, The Future Boardroom: How to Transform in Turbulent Times, is available in hardback at https://amzn.to/4tb73rx or Kindle at https://amzn.to/3M0MKMM.
 
Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 
 
Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at  https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.
 
Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 
 
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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  
Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko
Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan
Sponsorship Sales Manager: Kristine Gross (Kgross@innovativeleadership.com)
Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.
 
CONNECT WITH US: 
YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 
Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 
 
Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! 
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About Our Guest:  
Helle Bank Jørgensen is an internationally recognised voice on governance, board effectiveness, and sustainability. She leads Board Intelligence’s Board Development practice globally, empowering boards and leadership teams around the world to enhance their impact through the science of board effectiveness.
Helle is the founder and previous CEO of Competent Boards, the world-renowned education platform which was acquired by Board Intelligence in 2025.
Beyond her work with Competent Boards and Board Intelligence, Helle is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Nature and Climate Governance, and has initiated several pioneering projects. These include the world’s first green account, the first integrated report, the first holistic supply chain program, and many other innovative business solutions, including the Amazon bestseller, The Future Boardroom: How to Transform in Turbulent Times.
Helle is a regular contributor to governance and board-focused publications such as Financial Times’ Agenda, Board Agenda, and Thomson Reuters and in 2025 contributed to guidance published by the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)
She is an in-demand keynote speaker and has won numerous awards, including the Corporate Governance Lifetime Achievement Award 2024, the Peter Dey Governance Achievement Award from the Governance Professionals of Canada 2024, and the Globe and Mail’s 50 Changemakers for 2023. In 2024, she was inducted into the Corporate Governance Hall of Fame by IR (Investor Relations) Magazine and named Board Stewardship's Steward of Sustainability.

S4 Ep49: High-Performance Medicine: Healthcare’s Lesson for Your Elite Teams

Guest: Brian Ferguson, CEO, Arena Labs
Burnout is a real and growing issue in the workplace.
 
The healthcare industry provides a perfect example. It demands life-and-death decisions under relentless pressure…yet doctors, nurses, and frontline teams are rarely equipped the way elite performers are in sports and the military.
 
In this episode, Maureen Metcalf speaks with Brian Ferguson, founder of Arena Labs and former special operations officer, about high-performance medicine, a new way of thinking about leadership, resilience, and team effectiveness in healthcare that has direct application across all workplaces. Drawing on lessons from elite military units, professional sports, and high-stakes operating rooms, Brian explains:
 
Why burnout is not an individual weakness but a system design problem
How firms underinvest in human performance
The role of humility, learning cultures, and after-action reviews in preventing failure
What COVID revealed about leadership, stress, and organizational fragility, and
Why resilience must be built at the individual, team, and family level.
 
This conversation goes beyond wellness slogans to address the real structural changes required to sustain excellence, and what leaders in any high-pressure industry can learn from it.
 
Other episodes you'll enjoy:
- Leveraging Tech to Deepen Human Performance with Brian Ferguson
- The End of Stability: Leading in a Disrupted World with Robert Bush, Jr.
- The End of Control: Leadership Trends for 2026 with Christopher Washington
 
For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.
 
RESOURCES:  
Brian’s company, Arena Labs, has more information on their high performance work at https://arenalabs.co/.
 
The company Brian referenced with whom Arena Labs works to help organizations optimize is McChrystal Group: https://www.mcchrystalgroup.com/. The Santa Fe Institute, which developed the concept of consilience, has more information at https://www.santafe.edu/. And the wearables Arena Labs worked with to gather sleep and other health data on hospital staff is Whoop; learn more at https://www.whoop.com/us/en/.
 
Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 
 
Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8 . The audiobook version is now available at  https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.
 
Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 
 
 
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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  
Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko
Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan
Sponsorship Sales: Kristine Gross
Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.
 
CONNECT WITH US: 
YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 
Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 
 
Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! 
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About Our Guest:  
Brian Ferguson has spent his career working in high-performance organizations, learning from leaders and decision-makers in national security, the military, and technology. He used those experiences to build Arena Labs, a company pioneering the field of High Performance Medicine®️. Arena Labs uses state-of-the-art training and technology solutions to bring the science of peak performance, creative mastery, and elite teams to modern healthcare and surgical teams.
 
Before founding Arena Labs, Brian served in the military as a Navy SEAL and as a civilian in national security working on matters of global security policy. He received an MSc from the London School of Economics.

S12 Ep2: The End of Stability: Leading in a Disrupted World

Guest: Robert Bush, Jr., CEO, Mutombo Coffee
Volatility is no longer cyclical. It’s structural.
 
That’s one takeaway from Davos. In this episode, Maureen Metcalf speaks with global strategist,  board advisor, and CEO Bob Bush Jr. about what leadership looks like when stability is no longer a realistic planning assumption. Drawing on insights from Davos, global operating models, and lived experience building businesses through disruption, Bob challenges leaders to move beyond prediction and toward preparedness.
 
This conversation explores why foresight matters more than forecasting, how optionality becomes a strategic discipline, and why orchestration (not optimization) is the defining leadership capability of our time. Leaders will gain practical ways to distinguish real risk from noise, rethink resilience as a growth driver, and operate effectively inside evolving global ecosystems.
 
If your best plans keep breaking, this episode offers a clearer way forward.
 
Other episodes you'll enjoy:
- More than Experience, More than Degrees: Leaders Need More Values with George Limbert
- The End of Control: Leadership Trends for 2026 with Christopher Washington
- Leading Smart Cities: Transforming Work & Life with Nikki Greenberg & Ugo Valenti
For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.
RESOURCES:  
 Learn more about Bob’s company at https://www.mutombocoffee.com/.
 
Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 
 
Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at  https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.
 
Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 
 
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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  
Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko
Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan
Sponsorship Sales Manager: Kristine Gross (Kgross@innovativeleadership.com)
Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.
 
CONNECT WITH US: 
YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 
Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 
 
Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! 
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About Our Guest:  
Robert Bush, Jr., is the president and CEO of Mutombo Coffee, a purpose-driven company elevating women coffee farmers. He’s a senior investment executive with experience across industries, geographies, and asset classes (venture capital, private equity, Islamic Finance).
Bob speaks frequently to corporates and governments on issues related to innovation, social impact, sustainability, global investing, and international trade. He also provides commentary on international media, including Bloomberg, CNN International, Euromoney, and Fox Business News, as well as speaking at global conferences, including the UAE’s Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), Milken Conference, Institutional Investor, Business Week CEO Forum, and GAIM.

S4 Ep23: Leveraging Technology to Deepen Human Performance

Guest: Brian Ferguson, CEO & Founder of Arena Labs
Technology is accelerating faster than most leaders can adapt. But speed isn’t the real challenge. In this episode, Brian Ferguson joins host Maureen Metcalf to explore why human performance matters more, not less, in an era of exponential change.
Drawing on examples from high-stakes environments such as medicine and defense, their conversation examines technology’s true role as an amplifier of human systems. They unpack:
Why humility, learning, and disciplined execution remain the foundation of high performance,
How expertise is eroding as change outpaces learning, and
What senior leaders must do to lead effectively when tools evolve faster than organizations.
This episode offers a grounded leadership reality check for those navigating complexity, technology fatigue, and the pressure to “keep up”—without losing judgment, clarity, or purpose.
 
Other episodes you'll enjoy:
The End of Control: The Leadership Trends of 2026 with Christopher Washington
Leading When We’ve Stopped Thinking: AI’s Red Flag with Srini Koushik
More Than Experience, More Than Degrees: Leaders Need More Values with George Limbert
 
For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We’re onTikTok, Threads, and Twitter, too!
 
RESOURCES:  
Arena Labs’ website is https://arenalabs.co/. You’ll find more about Brian and the company’s human potential work there.
 
The groundbreaking books Brian mentioned are Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast & Slow (paperback at https://amzn.to/3ZnEKIy or audiobook at https://amzn.to/4sQJ0xG) and Ray Kurzweil’s The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (paperback at https://amzn.to/4r4Muet or audiobook at https://amzn.to/4qXFdNq).
 
Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 
 
Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at  https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.
 
Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 
 
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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  
Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko
Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan
Sponsorship Sales Manager: Kristine Gross (Kgross@innovativeleadership.com)
Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.
 
CONNECT WITH US: 
YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 
Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 
 
Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! 
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About Our Guest:  
Brian Ferguson has spent his career working in high-performance organizations, learning from leaders and decision-makers in national security, the military, and technology. He used those experiences to build Arena Labs, a company pioneering the field of High Performance Medicine®️. Arena Labs uses state-of-the-art training and technology solutions to bring the science of peak performance, creative mastery, and elite teams to modern healthcare and surgical teams.
 
Before founding Arena Labs, Brian served in the military as a Navy SEAL and as a civilian in national security working on matters of global security policy. He received an MSc from the London School of Economics.

S12 Ep1: More than Experience, More than Degrees: Leaders Need More Values

Guest: George Limbert, former President, Red Roof Inns
In this time defined by AI disruption, post-COVID workforce tension, and growing leadership fatigue, trust has become the most critical (and most fragile) asset leaders hold.
 
In this episode, George Limbert, new president of Innovative Executive Solutions, joins host Maureen Metcalf to explore why modern leadership is no longer about control, certainty, or rigid playbooks. It’s about judgment, humility, and doing the right thing, even when it’s hard.
 
Drawing on his experience as a CEO, attorney, and advisor across industries, George unpacks:
Why many leadership challenges today are actually trust failures
How judicial temperament helps leaders make better decisions under pressure
The difference between what’s legally safe and what’s ethically right
Why return-to-office and AI debates often reveal management gaps, not employee problems
How leaders can find their “North Star” amid career transitions and uncertainty.
 
This conversation is for experienced leaders who aren’t looking for shortcuts, but for coherence, integrity, and leadership that holds up over time.
 
Binge-listen to George’s other episodes:
Leading with Character: A Real-Life Red Roof Report
Red Roof: Revisioning the Future
Expecting the Unexpected: VUCA in Action at Red Roof
For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We’re onTikTok, Threads, and Twitter, too!
 
RESOURCES:  
Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 
 
Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at  https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.
 
Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 
 
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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  
Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko
Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan
Sponsorship Sales Manager: Kristine Gross (Kgross@innovativeleadership.com)
Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.
CONNECT WITH US: 
YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 
Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 
 
Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! 
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About Our Guest:  
George B. Limbert is a visionary executive and transformational leader with a proven track record of driving organizational growth and operational excellence. As President of ILI’s Innovative Executive Solutions, George partners directly with boards and executive teams to accelerate strategic transformation, deliver measurable performance, and implement world-class leadership frameworks. 
George’s executive leadership is distinguished by his tenure as President and CEO of Red Roof Franchising, where he led a dramatic financial turnaround, tripling EBITDA in just 12 months during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He has built scalable infrastructure and operational processes for multi-million-dollar organizations, consistently delivering results in complex, challenging environments.

S2 Ep42: Greater than Fact: The Power of Leading with Stories

Guest: Paul Smith, former Procter & Gamble VP
What if the most effective leaders didn’t need to explain more, push harder, or manage excuses?
 
In this episode, host Maureen Metcalf is joined by leadership storytelling expert Paul Smith for a thought-provoking conversation about how leaders can most effectively influence behavior…and why logic alone so often fail at this.
 
Drawing on neuroscience, leadership research, and real-world examples, Paul explains why people don’t change simply because they understand more, and how stories fill that need by helping leaders create accountability without blame, pressure, or defensiveness.
 
You’ll learn:
Why accountability works best when it’s chosen, not enforced;
How emotion—not logic—drives decisions and follow-through;
Why stories replace lecturing as a leadership tool;
How leaders can reduce defensiveness while raising standards; and
What the real test of leadership is when you’re not in the room.
 
This is not an episode about storytelling as a communication technique. It’s about storytelling as a behavior-change lever…and a more human, sustainable way to lead.
 
If you’re a seasoned leader who’s tired of explaining and ready to create real ownership, this episode offers a powerful reframe.
 
Other episodes you'll enjoy:
- Tales from the Top: How Leaders Use Stories with Tanvi Gautam
- Using Storytelling to Elevate Leadership with Chris Nolan
- How Great Leaders Are Made: Insights from “The Economist” with Andrew Palmer
For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.
RESOURCES:  
To learn more about Paul and access his free resources for leading (and for parenting) using story, check his website at https://leadwithastory.com/.
 
Paul’s books include:
Lead with a Story (paperback at https://amzn.to/4quEDq4, audiobook at https://amzn.to/4quEDq4)
Sell with a Story (paperback at https://amzn.to/4q5MWJc, audiobook at https://amzn.to/4qFG4SN) and
Parenting with a Story (paperback at https://amzn.to/3N2HBE1, audiobook at https://amzn.to/4q3JdM9).
 
Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 
 
Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at  https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.
 
Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 
 
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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  
Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko
Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan
Booking Producer: Jenna Reik
Sponsorship Sales: Kristine Gross (kgross@worldtreeproductions.com)
Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.
CONNECT WITH US: 
YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 
TikTok: @innovativeleadership
Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 
 
Loved this episode? Subscribe and leave us a review and rating! 
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About Our Guest:  
Paul Smith is one of the world’s leading experts in business storytelling. He’s one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 100 Leadership Speakers of 2018, a storytelling coach, and bestselling author of several books on the art and science of storytelling. As part of his research on the effectiveness of storytelling, Paul has personally interviewed over 300 CEOs and executives in 25 countries, and documented over 3,000 individual business stories. That has allowed him to reverse-engineer what works in storytelling and what doesn’t.
 
He’s a former executive at The Procter & Gamble Company and a consultant with Accenture prior to that. A 20-year veteran of P&G, Paul worked most recently as vice president of consumer and communications research for the company’s $6 billion global paper business where he led a research team across four continents. He also held leadership positions in corporate finance, and at manufacturing plants and sales offices working closely with major global retailers like Walmart, Costco, Asda, and Sam’s Club.
 
Paul holds bachelor’s degrees in both astrophysics and economics and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.