Leadership Biz Cafe with Tanveer Naseer

In this edition of my “Leadership Espresso Shot” series, I explore the dynamic between authority and influence, and some important findings from the field of neuroscience that reveal how quickly leaders can lose trust and with it, the ability to successfully drive peak performance in their organization. Considering how easily this can happen, this is an episode you’ll want to check out if you want to ensure you’re able to bring out the best in those you lead. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a world where misinformation spreads at lightning speed, how can leaders protect themselves – and their organizations – from making crucial decisions based on flawed thinking? In this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast, I’ve invited Dr. Alex Edmans to join me to help tackle this timely and critical question facing leaders today. Alex is a Professor of Finance at London Business School. He has a PhD from MIT as a Fulbright Scholar, and was previously a tenured professor at Wharton and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Alex has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, testified in the UK Parliament, and given 3 TED talks, including “What to Trust in a Post-Truth World”, which has been viewed over two million times. Alex joins me to talk about his latest book, “May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit Our Biases – And What We Can Do About It”. Over the course of this episode, Alex and I discuss: This is both a fascinating and challenging conversation, and one that will help you strengthen your critical thinking skills that you’ll need to help your organization navigate this age of misinformation. Noteworthy links: Amazonalexedmans.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past couple of months, there have been several high-profile CEOs across different industries whose actions and words demonstrate a firm belief in the command-and-control approach to leadership. That leaders can simply issue declarations of 'how things work around here' without so much as an explanation or giving space for employees to share their concerns. But is this really the most effective and successful way to lead organizations in today’s uncertain and increasingly fragmented world? Is this truly the best way for our organization’s long-term prosperity? Or is that longevity being cast aside in favour of short term gains and ‘shiny object’ wins? In this edition of my “Leadership Espresso Shot” series, I wanted to address this growing perception around what it means to lead because the acceptance of such outdated attitudes around leadership will adversely impact the competitiveness of many organizations who choose this easy path over doing what's necessary to evolve and grow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you caught in the relentless cycle of ‘eat, work, sleep, repeat’? According to my guest for this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast, the problem we face with this cycle of busyness is not a lack of time management, but a lack of clarity over what our personal values are and how to live a more intentional life. Peggy Sullivan is a corporate performance expert, researcher, speaker, and founder of SheCAN!, a national women’s nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women professionally and personally. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Inc, Bloomberg Businessweek, and numerous other media outlets. I’ve invited Peggy to join me on my podcast so we can talk about her book “Beyond Busyness: How to Achieve MORE by Doing LESS.” Over the course of our conversation, Peggy shares a simple, but powerful three-step strategy that can help any leader get off the busyness hamster wheel and instead spend their days doing work that aligns with their personal values and aspirations. Noteworthy links: Amazonpeggysullivanspeaker.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In times of uncertainty, the most important thing leaders need to do is make sure their team’s goals are directly tied to their organization’s noble purpose. But how do we do that? How do we make sure we connect the ‘what’’ of our days to the ‘why’ that defines our future? In this edition of my “Leadership Espresso Shot” series, I share three questions leaders should be asking themselves to ensure they’re staying on track to achieving their shared purpose, and not drifting off-course towards employee disengagement and dissatisfaction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the face of rapid change and disruption, organizations everywhere find themselves in a race to not only preserve their market share, but discover the next big opportunity that will given them the keys to future growth and innovation. And according to my guest in this episode, that opportunity can be attained when leaders understand how to plan for and implement Big Bets. John Rossman is the former Amazon executive who played a key role in the launching of Amazon Marketplace, and is a sought-after expert on digital transformation, leadership, and business reinvention. I’ve invited him to join me on my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast to talk about his latest book, “Big Bet Leadership”. In this conversation, John shares an unexpected, but powerful model that will help leaders and their organizations move past the current tide of incrementalism and instead aim for that moonshot that will define their organization – much as Amazon Marketplace has done for Amazon – in the years and decades to come. Noteworthy links: Big Bet Leadershipjohnrossman.comRossman’s Business Manifesto for Competitive Advantage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if your organization's most powerful leadership asset is something you see every day but never really notice? In this Leadership Espresso Shot, I share a personal story that reveals how simple traditions can be the drivers of organizational success. Whether you're leading a small team or a large organization, this episode will change how you think about those simple traditions and the roles they play in helping your employees to achieve their goals. Listen now to learn about three reasons why leaders should celebrate their organization’s traditions so they can harness their hidden power to drive success. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What would make a successful and profitable leader, who had a self-described “dictator” style of leadership, embrace love as a business strategy? What compelled this transformation and what lessons can we learn to drive organizational transformation that fuels growth and long-term success? In this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast, I welcome president and CEO of Softway, Mohammad Anwar, so we can talk about his Wall Street Journal bestseller “Love as a Business Strategy – Resilience, Belonging & Success”. Through our conversation, Mohammad shares how attending a sporting event made him realize the key to driving organizational success is love, and helped him create a 6-step framework that he used at his company – and is now helping other companies deploy – to transform their toxic workplace cultures into ones where employees succeed and thrive. As Mohammad points, it’s critical that we learn the difference between “building a team of all-stars and an all-star team.” Check out this episode to learn why love is a business strategy and how it can help your organization succeed in achieving its goals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join me for this year-end retrospective episode featuring some of the most powerful insights shared by my guests on the Leadership Biz Cafe podcast in 2024. From Robin Sharma's revelations about humility and success, to Marshall Goldsmith's transformative exercise on unlocking our potential, this episode provides valuable guidance and insights that will help you prepare for the challenges ahead: Robin SharmaShaara RomanBob SuttonScott MautzShelmina AbjiMarshall GoldsmithSo listen to this episode to get inspiration and actionable insights to help you elevate your leadership effectiveness in 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you striving for the elusive “work-life balance” and finding it’s not quite working? In this episode of Leadership Biz Cafe, I welcome back my friend, and fellow leadership expert (and Canadian) Dan Pontefract to discuss his book, “Work-Life Bloom: How to Nurture a Team That Flourishes“, where he argues work-life balance is a misleading and at times harmful concept. As Dan puts it, work and life aren’t opposing forces, but distinct entities that interact and influence one another. Over the course of our conversation, Dan and I discuss: Tune in to learn more about Dan’s Work-Life Bloom model with its four different personas that shape our work and life selves, and why we need to let go of trying to find that work-life balance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever thought about your leadership values? Understanding what your values are – of what matters to you and how you want your employees to view your leadership is critical to not only helping your employees understand your motivations, but to creating clarity during times of uncertainty and change. That’s why for this Leadership Espresso Shot I want to share a three step process to help you identify what your leadership values are, how to put those leadership values into action, and how to communicate your leadership values to your team and solicit feedback. Tune in to discover how defining your leadership values can empower you to lead with clarity and purpose. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I spoke with GiANT co-founder Jeremie Kubicek about his book “The Communication Code” and the communication framework he developed with his business partner Steve Cochram to help people become more effective communicators. The “Communication Code” framework involves applying five key “code words” – care, celebrate, clarify, collaborate, and critique – that can help transform how we interact with others by helping us shift the focus from what we’re trying to say, to what those we lead need to hear from us. What’s important for us to understand is that effective communication is about more than just transmitting information – it’s about understanding and meeting the expectations the other person has in that moment. As Jeremie pointed out during our conversation, we tend to make assumptions about what other people want, when we should be taking the time to understand their true expectations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the questions I get asked a lot by leaders after one of my keynotes is – how do drive growth and success when you have to work under a controlling boss? How do you get them on board with your initiatives when they only seem to like their ideas or those from their ‘inner circle’? So for this instalment of my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I share 3 measures I’ve shared with leaders who are grappling with how to move initiatives they want to get done while working for a controlling boss. If you’re in such a situation, hopefully listening to this episode will help you understand how you can continue to succeed and grow, in spite of whatever obstacles and issues your controlling boss puts in your way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A troublesome and persistent issue facing organizations today is their inability to develop and promote women to leadership positions where they can play a key role in the decision-making process. But as my guest in this episode of my Leadership Biz Cafe podcast points out, this doesn’t mean there aren’t things women can do to make the case in their organization to promote them into leadership roles. Shelmina Abji is a former IBM vice-president, philanthropist, angel investor, and active gender and racial equality advocate. I invited Shelmina to join me on my show not only to share her inspiring story of growing up in a rural village in Tanzania to being one of the first visible minority women to hold the position of vice-president at IBM, but to talk about her book, “Show Your Worth: 8 Intentional Strategies For Women To Emerge As Leaders At Work." Just as she does in her book, Shelmina shares a powerful, empowering, and honest message for how women – and in particular visible minority women – can address the current obstacles – both within the organizations and themselves – that impede their ability to, as Shelmina puts it, “create higher levels of value at your maximum capacity.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I’ve had the distinct pleasure of speaking to so many incredible and world-renowned experts on my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast, and I’m elated to now include Dr. Marshall Goldsmith to that list. Marshall has been recognized as the #1 executive coach in the world, two-time Thinkers50 #1 leadership thinker in the world, not to mention being a New York Times bestselling author whose books have sold over 3 million copies and been translated into 32 languages. All of which is to say that you’re in for a real treat with this episode as Marshall brings so much wisdom, insight, and thought-provoking ideas over the course of our conversation about his books, “The Earned Life: Lose Regret, Choose Fulfillment” and “Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts”. In fact, I’d encourage you to be ready to take notes as Marshall not only offers so many revealing ideas on how to reframe how we approach work and our lives, but he even gives a coaching session during our conversation directed to both you the listener and myself to help us do and be better. Without question, this episode will be one of the highlights of my podcast as it’s filled with inspiration, laughs, and moments that challenge us to recognize how we can become that better version of who we can be. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As team lifespans continue to shorten as a result of both layoffs and employee leaving for opportunities elsewhere, leaders are having to deal with another growing issue in today’s evolving workplaces: specifically, how do you ensure team harmony when everything – including the make-up of your teams – is in flux? In this Leadership Espresso Shot, I share three important strategies that leaders can use to foster team harmony through promoting collaboration, trust, and a sense of shared purpose within your team, no matter how often members of your team change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the face of rising levels of workplace anxiety and burnout, there’s a natural tendency to consider building resilience as being the key to keeping such mental health issues at bay. But my guest for this episode of my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast argues that resilience is not enough and what’s needed instead is building our mental strength. Scott Mautz is a former Procter & Gamble senior executive, faculty member at Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business for Executive Education, and the author of four books, including his latest “The Mentally Strong Leader: Build the Habits to Productively Regulate Your Emotions, Thoughts, and Behaviors”. (He’s also a very good friend of mine who I enjoy spending time talking about leadership and the challenges leaders face leading today’s organizations.) As Scott points out during our discussion, mental strength is about your ability to regulate your emotions, thoughts and behaviours so you can successfully overcome whatever challenges you face, and help your team achieve its goals. So how can we build our mental strength? In his book “The Mentally Strong Leader”, Scott describes six habits that are key to building your mental strength and he shares several strategies for each on how you can do this. And as if that wasn’t enough, Scott was kind enough to offer listeners a free 60 page ebook that will help them begin the process of developing these habits of a mentally strong leader. This is without question one of my favourite interviews of the year about one of my favourite books I read this year. So give this episode a listen and do yourself a favour and pick up a copy of Scott’s latest book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One situation every leader needs to be ready for is when a crisis hits your organization. Unfortunately, most leaders are ill-prepared and lack proper experience to know how to best address a crisis in such a way that allows the organization to pivot while still staying true to their long-term goals. Fortunately, my guest in this episode of Leadership Biz Cafe has developed a pragmatic leadership model that leaders can employ to not only ride out the storm, but come out stronger on the other side. Eric McNulty is the Associate Director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard University, and Instructor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He also teaches graduate-level courses on leadership, negotiation, and conflict resolution at Harvard, as well as several executive education programs at MIT and Harvard. Eric joins me in this episode to talk about his latest book “You’re It: Crisis, Change, and How to Lead When It Matters Most” and the research-based, leadership framework that can not only help leaders be better prepared for any future crisis, but develop a mindset to transform crisis situations into opportunities to evolve and grow your organization. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whether you’re a sports fan or not, there’s no denying there’s something special about watching the Olympics. No doubt a big draw is the immediacy of knowing who the winner will be. Instead of months, it only takes a matter of days to discover which athlete will end up rising up to the top to clinch the gold medal. But there’s another reason why I enjoy watching the Olympics and that is the real-time examples and reminders of what it takes to succeed. Of what drives us to push ourselves to the fullest of our abilities, knowing that for many there’s a slim chance of even landing on the podium. So in celebration of the start of the Paris Summer Olympic Games, I wanted to share this edition of my Leadership Espresso Shot series where I share four leadership lessons inspired by the Olympics that will help you to ignite your team's performance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this latest episode of my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I share a simple process that even the busiest leader can apply to tap into the power of reflection to gain a better sense of context and awareness for what needs to be done to drive organizational growth and success. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.