Tuesday Feb 25, 2025
S2-Ep37: Navigating the Global Storm: Rethinking Leadership for the Future with Cynthia Cherrey

Guests: Cynthia Cherrey, CEO of the International Leadership Association
There is no single solution. That truism is hard-won wisdom from the leadership experience of guest Cynthia Cherrey. From both research and practice, she’s learned that the issues leaders face are far more complicated than most of us realize.
That’s particularly true today, with a surge in confusion and chaos cascading from the global and national levels right down to the teams we lead. Fortunately, Cynthia shares ways to navigate through it all to stay balanced, focused, and help your teams thrive.
Here's what Cynthia and host Maureen Metcalf cover:
- Cynthia’s unique leadership perspectives as the first college graduate from a rural Minnesota family;
- Why you need global thinking, even when you strive to “keep it local”; and
- The extreme importance of experimentation and flexibility in your organization…and in your own leadership.
Produced in conjunction with the International Leadership Association: https://ilaglobalnetwork.org.
Other episodes you'll enjoy:
- Africa’s EU Ambassador Redefines Leadership: How You Have Global Impact – with Ajay Bramdeo & Cynthia Cherrey
- Deloitte’s Dean Explains Why Your Old Leadership Style Doesn’t Work Anymore – with Gill Hickman, Jorrit Volkers, & Cynthia Cherrey
- Cooperation, Leadership, & Empathy: George Papandreou’s Path for Meeting Challenges with the former Prime Minister of Greece
For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We’re onTikTok, Threads, and Twitter, too!
RESOURCES:
You can learn more about Cynthia Cherrey’s organization – as well as their next global conference – on the International Leadership Association website: https://ilaglobalnetwork.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. 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.
Books we’re reading for fun or personal development right now include:
- Take Back Your Power: 10 New Rules for Women at Work by Ancestry CEO Deb Liu, on how to overcome the obstacles women still face in the workplace – especially in tech. It’s in hardback at https://amzn.to/47OUO9E, and audio at https://amzn.to/3Y6EmOQ.
- Covert Cows and Chick-fil-A by Steve Robinson; it’s available in hardback at https://amzn.to/460LnmQ, on Kindle at https://amzn.to/3RVXhZs, and as an audiobook at https://amzn.to/3xPjBgn.
- The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. Paperback = https://amzn.to/3VEl7cU, Kindle = https://amzn.to/45JGm1L, and audiobook = https://amzn.to/3RPhC2y
- Everyday Ubuntu: Living Better Together, the African Way by Mungi Ngomane. Hardback (https://amzn.to/48Doh6j) and audiobook (https://amzn.to/48YCRF4)
NOTE: As an Amazon partner, we may make a small commission from books you buy through these links.
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OUR PODCAST TEAM:
Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko
Video & Graphics Editor: Devon Mushalko
Booking Producer: Jenna Reik
CONNECT WITH US:
YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership
Threads: @innovativeleaders
X/Twitter/Whatever New Name It Has This Week: @IL_Institute
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2
TikTok: @innovativeleadership
Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com
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About Our Guest:
Cynthia Cherrey, is president and CEO of the International Leadership Association (ILA), a global network of leadership scholars, educators, and practitioners. Previously, Cynthia served as Vice President and Lecturer in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. She publishes in the areas of leadership, organizational development, and higher education including coauthoring Systemic Leadership: Enriching the Meaning of our Work, coediting ILA’s Building Leadership Bridges book series, and co-editing Women and Leadership around the World. She is a Fellow at the World Business Academy and a recipient of a J.W. Fulbright Scholarship. Cynthia’s interests and research explore new ways to live, work, and lead in a knowledge-driven, interdependent, global society. She consults and speaks to for profit and nonprofit organizations around the world on leadership and organizational change.