Lead From the Heart

Some organizations have no heart at all. The best have three! That’s the thesis of the new book, The Octopus Organization: A Guide to Thriving in a World of Continuous Transformation, co-authored by our guests, Phil Le Brun and Jana Werner. Both work with leaders operating at global scale—Phil as an Executive in Residence at Amazon Web Services, and Jana as a Global Executive Advisor at AWS—helping organizations navigate complexity, change, and continuous transformation. In their book, Phil and Jana introduce a clear contrast between what they call Tin Man organizations and Octopus organizations. Tin Man organizations are rigid, highly centralized, and overly dependent on a small group of decision-makers at the top. Like the character in The Wizard of Oz, they operate with structure but no heart. Decision-making slows, intelligence gets trapped in the hierarchy, and employees often wait for direction rather than contributing meaningfully. Octopus organizations, by contrast, are alive with three hearts. They are intelligent, adaptive, and responsive. A strong central purpose keeps everyone aligned, but authority and decision-making are distributed to the people closest to the work. Teams are empowered to sense, decide, and act, allowing the organization to learn, adapt, and thrive in real time. A central contribution of the book is the identification of what Phil and Jana call organizational “anti-patterns”—recurring leadership behaviors and systems that feel reasonable in the moment but consistently undermine clarity, trust, cohesion, and performance. These patterns exist even in organizations with talented people and strong intentions. In this episode, we explore several anti-patterns in depth: the lack of clarity that leaves people guessing what truly matters; the overuse of corporate jargon that creates distance and mistrust; purpose statements that are words on a page rather than guides for behavior; and cultures that elevate individual stars at the expense of cohesive, high-performing teams. We also discuss why fast, open information flow is essential for adaptability and well-being. Phil and Jana also reconfirm our own understanding that well-being cannot be created through perks or programs—it emerges from how people are treated, trusted, and empowered, and how work is designed and decisions flow. For leaders who care about performance, well-being, and building more humane organizations, this episode offers practical insight into creating workplaces that truly thrive. The post Phil Le-Brun & Jana Werner: How Organizations Thrive When They Have Three Hearts appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

For decades, Wall Street has rewarded short-term thinking: layoffs, cost-cutting, and squeezing employees. Let’s be honest, investors have never been concerned about workers or their well-being. But that era is ending. David Van Adelsberg, CEO and co-founder of Irrational Capital (alongside renowned behavioral economist Dan Ariely), has helped produce some of the most rigorous research on the connection between employee well-being and long-term business performance. The work draws on data from thousands of publicly traded companies over more than a decade—and the results are hard to ignore. Irrational Capital’s research shows that companies ranking in the top 20% for employee well-being significantly outperform those in the bottom 20%—by nearly six percentage points over 11 years. Even more striking, their study proves intrinsic factors like trust, clarity, innovation, and connection are consistently more important drivers of company performance than extrinsic rewards such as pay and benefits. In other words, caring and supportive leaders matter more than what they pay. For years, CEOs and boards have nodded toward employee well-being without taking decisive action. Now, with investors and market analysts clearly rewarding companies that get it right, ignoring how people feel at work is no longer optional. In our conversation, David explains how his research was conducted, what surprised him most, and the practical implications for leadership teams still on the sidelines (not a bright future). For leaders wanting proof that supporting the human needs in employees is worthwhile, we’ve never had greater information to share. The post David Van Adelsberg: Why Wall Street Is Betting on Employee Well-Being appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

For only the second time since launching the Lead From The Heart podcast in 2018, Mark is opening a new season by speaking directly to you—without a guest. Eight years ago, Mark used the very first episode to introduce himself and his mission for the show. As this new season begins, he felt it was important to pause again, reflect, and—once more—clearly frame the context for what lies ahead. Over the past seven years, the podcast has featured more than 170 remarkable guests—CEOs, researchers, academics, and thinkers whose work helped shape and advance a leadership philosophy that was once considered unconventional. What began as a challenge to traditional management thinking has steadily become part of the mainstream conversation about leadership, performance, and culture. Today, many of Mark’s ideas that once provoked debate—or even ridicule—are no longer contested. In this solo episode, Mark revisits why he created the podcast, what it set out to influence, and how the leadership landscape has changed since it began. As you’ll hear, Season 8 marks an important inflection point. Mark introduces a new dimension he’s adding to the show—one designed to keep the podcast vital and relevant while aligning it more closely with the moment leaders now find themselves in. Just before the new year, Mark published an article in Fast Company outlining why he believes employee well-being is poised to become a true business priority. In this episode, he expands on that thinking and explains how the podcast will support leaders navigating what comes next. The post Mark C. Crowley: The Future Of The Lead From The Heart Podcast appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

The first chapter of my new book, The Power of Employee Well-Being is titled Know Thyself—and for good reason. I’ve long believed that the most important work a leader can do begins inward, with deeply understanding who you are, how you show up, and the patterns that shape your behavior. That’s exactly what […] The post Margaret Andrews: Why Leading Others Begins with Understanding Yourself appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Mark Thompson is widely recognized as the world’s #1 CEO coach, bringing more than 30 years of experience preparing top executives and boards — from global corporations to fast-growing startups — to step confidently into their next leadership roles. As founding Chairman of the Chief Executive Alliance and former Chief Experience Officer at […] The post Mark Thompson — The #1 Coach to CEOs Prepares Leaders for Their Next Opportunity appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Have you ever noticed how many people — even highly successful leaders — live in constant overdrive? They’re productive, disciplined, and always “on,” but inside, they’re exhausted. That’s survival mode — and according to Jon Rosemberg, author of A Guide to Thriving: The Science Behind Breaking Old Patterns, Reclaiming Your Agency, and Finding Meaning, […] The post Jon Rosemberg: How To Break Out Of Survival Mode — And Start Thriving appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Why Do Smart, Capable Leaders So Often Get In Their Own Way? Muriel M. Wilkins — executive coach, host of the Harvard Business Review podcast Coaching Real Leaders, and author of the brilliant new book Leadership Unblocked: Break Through the Beliefs That Limit Your Potential — has spent her career helping senior leaders uncover the invisible […] The post Muriel Wilkins: Breaking Through the Hidden Beliefs That Hold Leaders Back appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

The core message of Colin M. Fisher’s new book, The Collective Edge: Unlocking the Secret Power of Groups, is simple but profound: we dramatically overestimate the role of individuals in success and underestimate the extraordinary power of groups. History celebrates “great men” like Edison, Jobs, and Musk, but the truth is that real breakthroughs […] The post Colin Fisher: Why Teams, Not Stars, Create Lasting Success appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Klaus Kleinfeld has lived one of the most extraordinary leadership journeys of our time. He’s the only executive ever to serve as CEO of two Fortune 500 giants on different continents—Siemens in Germany and Alcoa in the U.S.—and he’s advised presidents and global leaders around the world. What struck me most in speaking […] The post Klaus Kleinfeld: A CEO Who Believes Well-Being Is the Real Edge in Leadership appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Laurie Santos is one of the world’s leading voices on the science of happiness and well-being. She’s a psychology professor at Yale University, where her course Psychology and the Good Life became the most popular class in Yale’s 300-year history. So many students enrolled that the university had to move it to a concert hall […] The post Laurie Santos: Yale’s Star Professor Brings the Science of Happiness & Well-Being to Work appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

For the second half of this podcast season, we’ve been focused on employee well-being—why it matters, how to foster it, and what happens when leaders fail to take it seriously. Our new guest, Amy Gilliland, shows what it looks like when a CEO makes well-being a true priority, not a mere slogan. Amy is president […] The post Amy Gilliland: A CEO Who Puts Employee Well-Being at the Center of Success appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

That’s the groundbreaking case made by Dr. Angela Jackson, Harvard University professor and New York Times bestselling author of The Win-Win Workplace: How Thriving Employees Drive Bottom-Line Success. Angela’s journey is remarkable. After losing her mother at age four, she was raised by grandparents who grew up in the Jim Crow South and never advanced […] The post Angela Jackson: What If Thriving Employees Were The Key To Thriving Companies? appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Nick Foster, former head of design at Google X — the “moonshot factory” — and author of Could, Should, Might, Don’t: How We Think About the Future, joins us to discuss his stunning conclusion that human beings are terrible at predicting the future, calling most forecasts “mostly nonsense.” For leaders, this insight is […] The post Nick Foster: What If Most Predictions About the Future Are Just Noise? appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

What’s worse than a boss who emails you at midnight, demanding instant replies? How about one who calls you “Mohammed” instead of your real name, Madhumita, or another who expects you to dive back into work just days after your father’s sudden death. Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, Mita Mallick […] The post Mita Mallick: Bad Bosses Have Much To Teach Us appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

In this thought-provoking episode, we sit down with Urs Koenig, author of “Radical Humility: Be A Badass Leader And A Good Human,” to explore leadership through a lens of selflessness and authenticity. Drawing from his experience as a peacekeeping mission commander in Kosovo, Urs shares surprising insights on leading in high-stakes environments, revealing how […] The post Urs Koenig: Humility Is Leadership’s Secret Weapon appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Is Bree Goff delusional or naive to believe work should be a source of fun and joy? Having read her bestseller, Today Was Fun: A Book About Work (Seriously) and interviewed her, we’re certain she’s spot-on—and voicing what many of us have long felt: work shouldn’t be a grind that erodes our happiness or well-being. […] The post Bree Goff: Reimagining Work with Joy and Purpose appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

As a statistician by trade, Cambridge University Emeritus Professor, Sir David Spiegelhalter might seem to be a huge outlier for our leadership podcast. At the beginning of our conversation he even acknowledges feeling this way. But his new book, The Art of Uncertainty, was named an Amazon Best Book of 2025, and his investigations […] The post Sir David Spiegelhalter: A Leader’s Guide To Mastering Uncertainty appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Ever wonder what 75 days a year glued to your phone is costing you? That staggering figure—based on a 2024 study showing Americans spend an average of 5 hours and 16 minutes daily on their smartphones—reveals how deeply our devices dominate our lives. Enter Richard Simon and his provocative bestseller, Unplug: How to […] The post Richard Simon: Why It’s Probably Time You Unplugged appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

We’re thrilled to welcome back Margaret Heffernan to the podcast, a guest whose erudition and insight left us in awe last time! Margaret is one of the most remarkable people we’ve had on the show—an entrepreneur, former CEO, acclaimed author, and thought leader whose uncommon education and thirst for knowledge imbue her work […] The post Margaret Heffernan: How Artists Turn Uncertainty Into Opportunity appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Imagine you’re a leader who’s achieved great success, yet something suddenly feels off: roadblocks appear, your team seems less responsive and productive—and you’re not progressing as hoped. What’s holding you back? Martin Dubin, a clinical psychologist and author of, Blindspotting: How To See What’s Holding You Back As A Leader (being released next […] The post Martin Dubin: Uncovering the Hidden Blind Spots That Hold Leaders Back appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.