Have you heard about unlearning? It sounds like the opposite of what we are all about here at How To Take The Lead - learning, growth and development. But understanding what we need to unlearn as leaders is key to that growth and development.
In this episode we cover:
As it's the last episode of this series you can also hear our highlights from series 4. Both of us particularly loved the conversation about self-leadership.
How to Take the Lead is a show exploring all things leadership.
Every episode we explore a different part of life as a leader, questioning everything we've ever learnt and sharing a few of our own stories along the way.
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And I've got a lovely Bear Island gin and tonic
Lee Griffith:so so put really annoying ice cubes in yes sorry char editor
Lee Griffith:apologies
Unknown:yeah sorry
Lee Griffith:to complain about
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: sorry Scott I'll maybe try not to drink it
Lee Griffith:on the way through I have a big slurp now like and then not have
Lee Griffith:any till the end when we do a little cheers they go That's
Lee Griffith:That's my promise sorry Scott sorry.
Lee Griffith:Welcome to how to take the lead the podcast where
Lee Griffith:we challenge the myths and stereotypes of what it means to
Lee Griffith:be a leader today and help you to succeed in post without
Lee Griffith:compromise. I'm Lee Griffith
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: and I'm Carrie-Ann Wade and together we
Lee Griffith:will be your guides question everything we've ever learned
Lee Griffith:about leadership sharing our experiences along the way and
Lee Griffith:inspiring you to make a real impact in your role visit how to
Lee Griffith:take the lead.com For show notes past episodes and
Lee Griffith:join our community
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: enjoy this episode. Welcome listeners to
Lee Griffith:what is oh I love the jazz hands there for those who not watching
Lee Griffith:on YouTube Lee was doing some very fabulous jazz hands in a
Lee Griffith:very fabulous outfit I have to say well,
Lee Griffith:so can we just have a moment first per said
Lee Griffith:outfit because this you might recognize that I paid a bloody
Lee Griffith:fortune for for Karianna wedding and asked to wear suits
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: I do recognize and it looks gorgeous. And it's
Lee Griffith:bringing back all the memories.
Lee Griffith:I thought we were we got shortlisted for an awards
Lee Griffith:recently.
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: Just Just lay drop that in there.
Lee Griffith:I know. And I thought perfect I'll get another
Lee Griffith:way and my pound per weight ratio can be reduced by wearing
Lee Griffith:its knees out thing and then that was too trendy and I
Lee Griffith:couldn't wear this It wasn't to say like it's it's yeah, she
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: well, because Welcome to What is the last
Lee Griffith:episode of this series. So we've gone celebrate every like Ender
Lee Griffith:series kind of wrap party mode where we just get dressed up.
Lee Griffith:Let's have a little drinky poo. We haven't done that in a long
Lee Griffith:while on how to take the lead episode so I'm quite glad that
Lee Griffith:we've bought this celebratory drinks back and mentioned in my
Lee Griffith:wedding another little plug for my wedding which was the last
Lee Griffith:series of take the lead we were talking about having the wedding
Lee Griffith:I think or just having had the wedding and this one it was last
Lee Griffith:year how has that happened? Getting ready for the first
Lee Griffith:wedding anniversary soon.
Lee Griffith:I've got a lovely burger Island gin and tonic. So
Lee Griffith:so put really annoying ice cubes in yes sorry. Editor apologies
Lee Griffith:Yeah, sorry to complain about sorry Scott.
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: I'll maybe try not to drink it on the way
Lee Griffith:through I have a big slap now like and then not have any till
Lee Griffith:the end when we do a little cheers. There you go. That's
Lee Griffith:That's my promise. Sorry, Scott. Sorry. So yes, so our last
Lee Griffith:episode of this series of how to take the lead or the Bear Island
Lee Griffith:vibes going on with the dress and the gin which I'm loving and
Lee Griffith:we coordinate No, we didn't. So that's just a weird little thing
Lee Griffith:that has happened a bit. Okay, folding into one another. Yeah,
Lee Griffith:we did promise that something we attended recently that we do do
Lee Griffith:stuff separately as well. We don't always come as a pair but
Lee Griffith:you know,
Lee Griffith:with with the modern day chanson de choco
Lee Griffith:brothers, you name your duo. Yes.
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: And you Yeah, whatever. Do you have choice
Lee Griffith:you'd like maybe share that on socials get in touch tell us
Lee Griffith:which, which famous duo you'd most likeness to I'm always
Lee Griffith:going front and deck but that's only for the photoshoot moments.
Lee Griffith:So if you know you know, if you've been on the instinct,
Lee Griffith:you'll know that but anyhow, we digress, we digress. That happy
Lee Griffith:end of series five going on here. And and before I get into
Lee Griffith:the main topic of conversation, obviously just reminding people
Lee Griffith:that we are on all of the podcast platforms. So whichever
Lee Griffith:is your favorite. You can listen to us there you can subscribe so
Lee Griffith:we drop straight into your inbox when new episodes land. We are
Lee Griffith:also on YouTube if you'd like to watch us along the way rather
Lee Griffith:than just listen. And we are on substack so there will be an
Lee Griffith:article with every episode as well as some in between musings,
Lee Griffith:which will give you more exclusive content thoughts, all
Lee Griffith:of that kind of jazz over on substack and on the socials. Do
Lee Griffith:let us know which duo we most remind you of is going to be the
Lee Griffith:Chuckle brothers isn't it? Over on our Instagram you can catch
Lee Griffith:up with us there leave a comment DM so I think that's everything
Lee Griffith:I need to share by way of starting have I forgotten
Lee Griffith:anything they
Lee Griffith:no no all this good. Fabulous.
Unknown:I just feel you're very regal sat there. I feel like I
Unknown:don't know I feel like you're Yeah, I'm loving it.
Unknown:I'm loving this vibe. It's like a new kind of world Karianne
Unknown:dynasty kind of
Lee Griffith:vibe going on. But then yeah, my path and my path.
Unknown:Sorry. Oh, slight end of term vibes here. So,
Unknown:Carrie-Ann Wade: so we will get on with this last conversation
Unknown:of series. And it's, I don't I don't want to say a weird one
Unknown:because that's not really selling it to listeners. But
Unknown:what we what we were planning to talk about is what so we're all
Unknown:about the learning, we're all about the improving, but what we
Unknown:wanted to talk about was what you might need to unlearn in
Unknown:order to be a better leader. So that is the topic of
Unknown:conversation for this final episode. And I think it's
Unknown:potentially quite easy to get a bit set in our ways. As a
Unknown:leader, we talk a lot about pushing outside of our comfort
Unknown:zone, but most of us know where we feel like we operate,
Unknown:possibly at our best, but definitely are our most
Unknown:comfortable. And as listeners will know, we are all about
Unknown:challenging that status quo. And we think it's really important
Unknown:to consider what things we might need to unlearn in order to
Unknown:better ourselves in that leadership space. So that's what
Unknown:we're going to talk about this episode and Lee I'm gonna throw
Unknown:it over to you like sort of pen at the ready poised to give us
Unknown:some good content here.
Unknown:What exactly do we over promise and
Lee Griffith:under deliver Now come on, we're
Unknown:going for it. We're going through what what
Unknown:exactly do we mean by this phrase,
Unknown:Carrie-Ann Wade: unlearn because I'm hearing it a bit more now in
Unknown:the leadership space, but it does feel like a sort of term
Unknown:that maybe people haven't been used to hearing so so what do we
Unknown:mean by unlearning,
Lee Griffith:judo? Just as an aside, you're right. I've heard
Lee Griffith:this term a lot. And I've been reflecting on it a lot. But I
Lee Griffith:used it for the first time about probably about nine to 10 months
Lee Griffith:ago, and I hadn't really heard it. Well, I hadn't heard of it
Lee Griffith:before. Because I did think I invented that word.
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: Well say straight from the horse's mouth.
Lee Griffith:And this is going to be good response to the question,
Lee Griffith:because I was doing some like reflection,
Lee Griffith:coaching practice. And I was like, God feels like I've always
Lee Griffith:got to unlearn what it is that I was taught. And I genuinely
Lee Griffith:thought that this was a brand new word that I had created. And
Lee Griffith:I was, you know, going back to the thought leader,
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: just sit you like, well ahead of the time.
Lee Griffith:And then it's like, literally everywhere. And now Now I don't
Lee Griffith:know how I feel. So I was loving the word. Now I'm feeling like,
Lee Griffith:oh, is it just one of those corporate BS? buzzwords, and I
Lee Griffith:don't like it. And I'm feeling really torn, because like,
Lee Griffith:there's a pride that I invented. I was about Yes, I was about to
Lee Griffith:say it's this level of feeling torn, because you're a bit
Lee Griffith:disappointed that you didn't invent, invent it. So obviously
Lee Griffith:thinking about the bias that you might have in that, but for the
Lee Griffith:sake of this episode, we've gone with unlearn. So what do we mean
Lee Griffith:by the term unlearn? And when you first introduced that to the
Lee Griffith:leadership worldly? What did you mean specifically by unlearning?
Lee Griffith:Well, I think for me, it's always been about
Lee Griffith:giving myself permission to let go of old thinking, or actions.
Lee Griffith:In order to make space for new stuff. And kind of referencing
Lee Griffith:the point use you said at the beginning about, we're all about
Lee Griffith:the learning and taking on new things, you know, our brains,
Lee Griffith:our emotions, every will like a computer hard drive will get
Lee Griffith:full up, we've got to let some stuff go to let the new things
Lee Griffith:come in. Otherwise, we've got overwrite or delete, or
Lee Griffith:something's got to happen in order for us to develop I think,
Lee Griffith:the
Unknown:show you did an issue. You didn't invent this, because
Unknown:I really loved that. I was like, Yes, Lee,
Unknown:Carrie-Ann Wade: I'm loving this whole analogy. Absolutely. For
Unknown:me, it was about that evolution, say, you know, it might be about
Unknown:your mindset, it might be about changing behaviors. And it
Unknown:doesn't always mean stopping something, I don't think
Unknown:although it absolutely might. But it is about that growth and
Unknown:that evolution towards a new, hopefully better way of being.
Unknown:And I was
Lee Griffith:I was struggling a little bit with this with the
Lee Griffith:notion of you know, you're you're letting go of old
Lee Griffith:thinking, because I think when we say that we often think, oh,
Lee Griffith:it's out of date and outdated. And we when we talk about
Lee Griffith:leadership, challenges and change things you want to
Lee Griffith:change. We talk about the old way of bleeding and we do mean
Lee Griffith:that in the kind of outdated modes and I don't necessarily
Lee Griffith:mean that when I say old here, because I don't really think
Lee Griffith:that that is the case, but I think it's It's about making
Lee Griffith:sure we don't get stuck, or we're being held back by things.
Lee Griffith:And because that's the way we've been taught, we should do it. So
Lee Griffith:there's a whole like neuroscience thing behind it,
Lee Griffith:which is, if you keep doing the same things over time, you
Lee Griffith:become resistant to change. And so working on undoing or
Lee Griffith:unlearning helps you to create the little neural pathways,
Lee Griffith:reset them. Yeah. And we get to grow and helps us be more
Lee Griffith:innovative and all of that kind of stuff. So, and
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: it's a bit like that. It's the whole habit
Lee Griffith:forming thing, isn't it with the neuroscience that actually if
Lee Griffith:you want to give up a bad habit, you almost have to create a new
Lee Griffith:one to take the place and redirect the pathway to stop you
Lee Griffith:from having the gin and tonic with the ice cubes in or
Lee Griffith:whatever, whatever it might be. And the more times you practice
Lee Griffith:it, the more that becomes the kind of more updated way of
Lee Griffith:doing things. So say yeah, brilliant. I love that. Thank
Lee Griffith:you, Lee. So we
Lee Griffith:like the Apple operating system where we just
Lee Griffith:like variations just slightly improving every time. Yeah. And
Lee Griffith:loving for we get dumped by our husbands and replaced by a
Lee Griffith:younger model of like, when Apple bring out a new version. I
Lee Griffith:don't know why I said that. No, I've had that happen. And can I
Lee Griffith:just say,
Unknown:No, this time round? Yeah.
Unknown:Carrie-Ann Wade: I love it. Say it's only taken how many series
Unknown:for my title oversharer to come out. So moving this on before
Unknown:this turns into a therapy session, rather than something
Unknown:more useful for our listeners. I thought it might be helpful
Unknown:though this may well become therapy. To be honest. I thought
Unknown:it might be helpful, perhaps to give some examples from our own
Unknown:experiences, about things. And this is to make it tangible. And
Unknown:something that people can feel and see is real. What things
Unknown:might we have had to unlearn in our careers. So I'm delving a
Unknown:bit here and digging Lee, so feel free to share what you're
Unknown:most comfortable sharing. But have there been specific things
Unknown:that you can almost pinpoint gain? Yeah, I had to unlearn
Unknown:that in my leadership journey so far. And I'm sure there might be
Unknown:more to come in the future. But yeah,
Lee Griffith:well, you Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yes, yes, yes. I
Lee Griffith:think there's, there's almost been like three stages, I'd say
Lee Griffith:to my unlearning, in my life, and so there's the kind of the
Lee Griffith:corporate life where I had to unlearn all the things I'd
Lee Griffith:learned about leadership, which is kind of what we try and do
Lee Griffith:with this podcast in a way, which is stuff that was out of
Lee Griffith:day, or attitudes and behaviors and stereotypes and all of that,
Lee Griffith:which I you know, and I've talked about this before, on the
Lee Griffith:podcast that I thought was how I had to behave. So you know,
Lee Griffith:you've you've you get the wrong role models and all of that. So
Lee Griffith:I had to do some unlearning. And then what what type of leader I
Lee Griffith:wanted to be, I think, also, just from a professional point
Lee Griffith:of view, you know, we know professions evolve and adapt.
Lee Griffith:And back in the day, when we were both starting out in our
Lee Griffith:communications careers, yeah, everyone wanted to spin doctor
Lee Griffith:and wanted someone that had managed the media. And now,
Lee Griffith:yeah, and you'd say, you've got to do unlearning, to think and
Lee Griffith:talk like that to satisfy certain audiences. So so I've
Lee Griffith:got that, then I've got my, I suppose my now business life.
Lee Griffith:And I've had to do loads of unlearning, in that I had to
Lee Griffith:unlearn how not to do a nine to five work in like, you know,
Lee Griffith:what conditioning of I get up at nine work to five, I mean, you
Lee Griffith:obviously leadership roles, you do a lot longer than that. But I
Lee Griffith:had to unlearn and redefine what what that looked like for me.
Lee Griffith:When I did my coach training, you get taught very specific
Lee Griffith:models, you get assessed to deliver coaching in a very
Lee Griffith:particular way. And then, actually, when you go out into
Lee Griffith:the real world, as you start to implement that and you test it
Lee Griffith:on real clients, you realize that what you get taught can be
Lee Griffith:a bit too rigid and a bit too directive. And so you know, as I
Lee Griffith:said, when I came up with the epiphany and invented the word
Lee Griffith:unlearning, it was when I was doing some, some mentor coaching
Lee Griffith:and my mentor, and we would we would like challenging what it
Lee Griffith:meant to show up as a coach and I was like, God, I really have
Lee Griffith:to unlearn what I got taught in my training about this
Lee Griffith:particular issue. And so so there's been those really
Lee Griffith:practical things. And then I think the third area of
Lee Griffith:unlearning is the real deep mindset stuff. So limiting
Lee Griffith:beliefs or views that I've had, that have perhaps held me back
Lee Griffith:from growing as a person so questioning whether I'm good
Lee Griffith:Enough questioning why should I be the one doing this? Because
Lee Griffith:someone else is more expert, all of those types of things. I've
Lee Griffith:had to unlearn some of those narratives that might be
Lee Griffith:playing. I was No, no,
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: no, no, sorry, I was only because I was making
Lee Griffith:notes, because so much of what you said, resonated with me,
Lee Griffith:particularly around the corporate and the business
Lee Griffith:element of unlearning, and gearing them concurrently. Yeah,
Lee Griffith:I was gonna say that it's definitely been one for me that
Lee Griffith:as you were talking, I was actually yeah, I can really
Lee Griffith:resonate with that, because having to balance having a
Lee Griffith:corporate leadership role, and then also running my own
Lee Griffith:business and having a different leadership role in that space
Lee Griffith:has felt quite challenging. And, and I guess, also the sector
Lee Griffith:that I work in for my day job, you know, it's a bit about being
Lee Griffith:a political and, you know, working in the public sector,
Lee Griffith:which means I've had to sort of think very differently, in that
Lee Griffith:space found how I show up for my business and putting myself out
Lee Griffith:there a bit more. And I've sort of had to unlearn some of what
Lee Griffith:I've naturally maybe thought I better keep some of that opinion
Lee Griffith:to myself, because that's maybe not going to go down so well in
Lee Griffith:the corporate space. So that definitely definitely resonated
Lee Griffith:with me, alongside what you said about kind of questioning
Lee Griffith:yourself and your validity of being in that space. They sort
Lee Griffith:of that, you know, why would anybody want to listen to what
Lee Griffith:I've got to say, kind of thing, there was definitely some
Lee Griffith:unlearning there. And when, when I posed the question to myself
Lee Griffith:and reflected on it, a really big part of it, for me, has been
Lee Griffith:around my sort of people pleasing tendencies, and
Lee Griffith:actually having to unlearn my desires to want to keep
Lee Griffith:everybody happy and be liked by everyone, as I've progressed
Lee Griffith:through my leadership career, because actually, it's not my
Lee Griffith:job to necessarily be liked, as a leader, it's my job to lead.
Lee Griffith:And sometimes I have to take decisions that other people are
Lee Griffith:not going to be happy with. And I've got to unlearn my own
Lee Griffith:personal desires around wanting everybody to think I'm a nice
Lee Griffith:person. So. So yeah, there's definitely been stuff that I've
Lee Griffith:had to unlearn along the way, as well. So thank you for sharing.
Lee Griffith:I know sometimes we don't always get quite so direct with the
Lee Griffith:personal questions, but I thought it would be helpful for
Lee Griffith:listeners to hear a bit about our own experiences, to maybe
Lee Griffith:help frame some of their own reflections around what they
Lee Griffith:might want to consider learning
Lee Griffith:it because it's a buzzword, perhaps still catching
Lee Griffith:on in certain places. And people might think, well, unlearning,
Lee Griffith:does that mean I've done something wrong? And yeah, it's
Lee Griffith:not it's we're not coming at this from a from a point of
Lee Griffith:doing anything wrong. It's about the evolution, isn't it? Yeah.
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: And I think that's a lovely segue into what
Lee Griffith:I wanted to touch on next, which is actually how do we know that
Lee Griffith:we might need to unlearn something partly because maybe
Lee Griffith:we are like, this is a buzzword that we've not really heard or
Lee Griffith:talked about before for ourselves, but also because
Lee Griffith:there might be that like, well, slight resistance to it, because
Lee Griffith:you're assuming it's about I've done something badly, or I've
Lee Griffith:done something wrong. So how do you think as leaders, we kind of
Lee Griffith:get that sense that we need to start unlearning certain things?
Lee Griffith:I think that, for me, a lot of stuff always goes
Lee Griffith:back to what's the outcome that you're seeking? And the
Lee Griffith:question, I've said this on other episodes, and similar
Lee Griffith:question, which is, what do I need to do differently to make
Lee Griffith:it happen, and in those insights will be the things you will need
Lee Griffith:to change. And it might be thinking it might be behaviors,
Lee Griffith:it might be actions, and that might involve some level of
Lee Griffith:unlearning. And so I think in recognizing that you need to
Lee Griffith:change in some way to make something happen will bring a
Lee Griffith:level of insight and focus on the things that you might want
Lee Griffith:to tackle in terms of unlearning. But it is a work in
Lee Griffith:progress. And like any habit change, it will be gradual. And
Lee Griffith:you might not realize that you haven't even done unlearning.
Lee Griffith:Until a new habit is formed. You know, there might be things that
Lee Griffith:you're doing now, that actually you you are subconsciously
Lee Griffith:unlearning old ways and practices. But you just haven't
Lee Griffith:couched it as that and then you'll suddenly realize, oh,
Lee Griffith:yeah, actually, my whole mindset has shifted around this. And
Lee Griffith:then finally, I think there's something around. There are
Lee Griffith:other signals that you can be alert to so and it is quite
Lee Griffith:similar to what we were talking about in the in the risk
Lee Griffith:conversation and the disruptive leadership conversation. So
Lee Griffith:being alerted to maybe assumptions that we're making
Lee Griffith:and questioning why do we think like that, why do we act like
Lee Griffith:that? Right? Viewing the mistakes that we might have
Lee Griffith:made. So I know we've said it's not about doing something wrong.
Lee Griffith:But sometimes it could be that I'm sorry, wrong, but just
Lee Griffith:perhaps not got the outcome that you had hoped for and learning
Lee Griffith:from that. And it might be from taking risks. And in doing so
Lee Griffith:you've got to do something different along the way. And it
Lee Griffith:could be seeking views and input from other people that aren't
Lee Griffith:the normal people who are in your circle of influence, or
Lee Griffith:your support network, who can perhaps the highlight to you
Lee Griffith:where you might need to focus on on learning. And we'd see that
Lee Griffith:particularly in diversity, and equity issues, and challenging
Lee Griffith:your own biases around particular things, you need to
Lee Griffith:go into different spaces to understand what you might need
Lee Griffith:to unlearn in terms of what you think, yeah.
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: Well, I couldn't have put it better
Lee Griffith:myself lead, because the things that I'd had written down in my
Lee Griffith:notes were around me, that's good. were written down in my
Lee Griffith:notes around that insight, feedback. And fundamentally, are
Lee Griffith:we achieving what we set out to achieve. So if you've set out
Lee Griffith:with an intention to achieve something, and you're not
Lee Griffith:achieving it, there might be something different that you
Lee Griffith:have to do and some of that might be about unlearning a
Lee Griffith:behavior or a certain way of thinking, in order to move you
Lee Griffith:to that space to achieve it. So absolutely. And, and sometimes I
Lee Griffith:think there's even a bit of your own gut feeling instinct in
Lee Griffith:there that actually, this this way of operating as a leader,
Lee Griffith:for some reason just doesn't sit as comfortably with me now and
Lee Griffith:it's causing a level of discomfort, which means I might
Lee Griffith:need to have a rethink about my approach in that space.
Lee Griffith:And I you know, we've we've talked about this in
Lee Griffith:previous episodes, but the unknown, I've referenced it
Lee Griffith:earlier in this episode, but I can really clearly see my kind
Lee Griffith:of past career that moment in time where what I thought was
Lee Griffith:true in terms of the leader, I've shown it to be just stopped
Lee Griffith:sitting right with me. And I had to take that moment to go right,
Lee Griffith:how am I going to show up authentically? What do I need to
Lee Griffith:do differently? And how do I start to challenge my thinking,
Lee Griffith:my reactions, how do I challenge reactions of other people as I
Lee Griffith:go through that process, and all of that was it was an unlearning
Lee Griffith:and unraveling, it's like you know, when you if you do knit in
Lee Griffith:your frog in your frog in the jumper, because it's never gonna
Lee Griffith:fit or whatever.
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: Some knitting terminology that I've just
Lee Griffith:learnt there because I am not a knitter, but I'm like, wow, I
Lee Griffith:maybe want to be Froggen. Who knew that was a thing in
Lee Griffith:knitting?
Unknown:So, yeah, so now we've got a vision of what Froggen
Unknown:might actually be. Anyhow, not
Lee Griffith:like the other word that animals do is not.
Unknown:Right, Moving swiftly on.
Unknown:Carrie-Ann Wade: We have gotten you can tell we're on end of
Unknown:term happy vibes here.
Unknown:We like woohoo. Last episode. It's party time. I'm
Unknown:Chad two sips of a beer. Look what's happened such I said,
Lee Griffith:I said in one of the earlier episodes that
Lee Griffith:lightweight or used, I've turned into a lightweight Yeah,
Lee Griffith:absolutely insane. Because
Unknown:because of the
Unknown:Carrie-Ann Wade: sound effect of the ice cubes, I'm keeping it
Unknown:all under control, but only had the one big slap at the start
Unknown:gonna be
Lee Griffith:my unraveling. And Dan be off again. Yeah,
Unknown:you're frog in episode. So we have focused a bit
Unknown:Carrie-Ann Wade: on the individual and quite personal
Unknown:sort of unlearning. And because this is the end of series
Unknown:episode, and we start the series, most times with a kind
Unknown:of general, few thoughts about the state of leadership today, I
Unknown:thought it might be an opportunity to bring it back to
Unknown:that wider kind of leadership piece by asking you, Lee, for
Unknown:your thoughts about what you might think leaders need to
Unknown:unlearn for 2024. And I know I'm, well I know, I'm
Unknown:potentially creating one of the biggest li soapbox moments ever.
Unknown:But I'm gonna go there. I'm gonna go there because we've
Unknown:we've got views and opinions and we're happy to share them.
Unknown:That's why we do the podcast. So in terms of that broader
Unknown:leadership on learning for 2024 What are your thoughts Lee,
Lee Griffith:I really had to try and contain myself. Before I
Lee Griffith:could focus on and say, I've got a few few ideas. I'm going to
Lee Griffith:try not to get on my soapbox, okay, because it's not going to
Lee Griffith:serve my well being
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: great. Being boundaried and thinking about
Lee Griffith:what you need as a leader in this tea. So I'm loving that
Lee Griffith:good role modeling. And
Lee Griffith:so I think for me, saying things to win popularity
Lee Griffith:contests, and even that unlearning around And I need to
Lee Griffith:stay polite, and I need to try and people, please, we I think
Lee Griffith:we need leaders to be standing up and acting with integrity.
Lee Griffith:All the more now. And so for me, I think that's that's a real
Lee Griffith:thing around unlearning, what what does it mean to be a
Lee Griffith:popular leader? And does that mean I have to do things that
Lee Griffith:don't align with values, etc, etc. I think there's something
Lee Griffith:for me about unlearning the concept of time. And this is a
Lee Griffith:big thing for me this year, like how we view time, manage time,
Lee Griffith:and I'm seeing more and more impatience in people who want
Lee Griffith:everything now. And moving on to the next thing really quickly.
Lee Griffith:And I questioned like, what for? Like, why, why is why are we
Lee Griffith:creating this urgency about stuff, when it's gonna sit in
Lee Griffith:your inbox for a week before you get to it, and all you're doing
Lee Griffith:is creating stress for your teams. And so I think we need to
Lee Griffith:unlearn this, this concept of how we manage ourselves and our
Lee Griffith:people, and it links with that self leadership piece. And I
Lee Griffith:also think it links with unlearning what it means to be
Lee Griffith:in control, and feeling comfortable with letting go of
Lee Griffith:control. And stepping into letting people be adult stop
Lee Griffith:lists. Just stop treating people like we're the we're the parent
Lee Griffith:and they're the child. And as leaders, we know best we don't.
Lee Griffith:Boy, we don't. And we can see that with some of the people
Lee Griffith:that's rising to the top and organizations, they do not know
Lee Griffith:best. I'm getting on my soapbox, this
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: is what the listeners come here for Lee Come
Lee Griffith:on.
Lee Griffith:And then I think the other area, I mean, I'm
Lee Griffith:really reining myself in here because I could I could
Lee Griffith:literally just keep going and going and going. But I think
Lee Griffith:there's something for me about unlearning what is normal in the
Lee Griffith:workplace and in leadership, because I think normal has been
Lee Griffith:thrown up in the air over the last couple of years. And yet,
Lee Griffith:all I'm hearing is organizations and leaders who are trying to go
Lee Griffith:back to a time that I don't think necessarily was the
Lee Griffith:greatest. And we know that with the you know, how people think
Lee Griffith:and feel about the workplace. We know that with issues of
Lee Griffith:equality and diversity, we know that we have gender imbalance,
Lee Griffith:we know that with, you know, so many indicators, why are we
Lee Griffith:harping back to go back to this place that, you know, the grass
Lee Griffith:was not greener, then like, let's get some reality. We need
Lee Griffith:to unlearn what we think normal is.
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: I don't know where I go from here. There's so
Lee Griffith:much in there, Lee, there's so much in there. And, and again,
Lee Griffith:lots of similarities to things that came into my head when
Lee Griffith:thinking about what leaders need to unlearn. And this, this
Lee Griffith:parent child thing, and sort of the trust stuff, and then going
Lee Griffith:back to what it was like before was definitely high on my
Lee Griffith:agenda. Because I think we are really at a point in time,
Lee Griffith:where, yeah, we've got potential just to be taken so many steps
Lee Griffith:backwards, and not actually learning anything that you know,
Lee Griffith:I'm talking about unlearning. But we're not actually learning
Lee Griffith:from, you know, what could make an organization feel like a
Lee Griffith:great place to work a great place to get a service or a
Lee Griffith:product from because we seem to have started to become obsessed
Lee Griffith:with, we want to go back to what it was like before COVID. And
Lee Griffith:I'm just like, but But why do we need to do that? Because we've
Lee Griffith:proved people can work and operate in a different way. So
Lee Griffith:what like, what's the purpose in going back? And I think some of
Lee Griffith:the argument around that is about that balance between what
Lee Griffith:employees need and one and what the organization is here to
Lee Griffith:deliver. So I think we need to unlearn that desire to want to
Lee Griffith:pair and to tell and dictate and actually learn how to have open
Lee Griffith:and transparent conversations about how you can compromise and
Lee Griffith:get the best possible outcomes for as many people as you can.
Lee Griffith:It's definitely something for me
Lee Griffith:there and you think you know, politics they
Lee Griffith:want to go but in America there is a real potential that we're
Lee Griffith:going to have like the most awful person going back into the
Lee Griffith:White House that's a real and present danger. That's a film as
Lee Griffith:well. Isn't it? Feeling present age I don't know. Now
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: the nice reference if anybody from the
Lee Griffith:last episode still got their bingo card out.
Lee Griffith:You know, that's like, come on. Why reality check
Lee Griffith:just just the other day. You Yorkshire cricket reinstated a
Lee Griffith:chairman. Well, we've had to step down because even though
Lee Griffith:we're racist, like come on just because they can get some
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: money. So this absolutely leads me on to
Lee Griffith:something I think we need to unlearn. While some Not we, I
Lee Griffith:think we probably know this, but let some leaders need to unlearn
Lee Griffith:about what reputation management actually means, because I still
Lee Griffith:think and it has come back up to the surface with all of the
Lee Griffith:stuff around the post office situation and Fiji, etc, that
Lee Griffith:actually, in this day and age, reputation does not mean, make
Lee Griffith:sure the brand of our organization at any cost to
Lee Griffith:anybody is, is protected, because actually, what we've
Lee Griffith:seen in those old school examples of what happened many
Lee Griffith:years ago, is the reputation of the brand has not been protected
Lee Griffith:at all, and understanding what makes up your brand, which is
Lee Griffith:the way you behave the way that you role model. You know, the
Lee Griffith:standards that you set for people, that's actually your
Lee Griffith:reputation feels like something we really need to just take
Lee Griffith:stock of and just check in with people to go look, we don't want
Lee Griffith:this old school, like reputation management vibe, as a leader, we
Lee Griffith:want you to just basically be doing the right thing. And your
Lee Griffith:good reputation will therefore follow. And on that point, I
Lee Griffith:just would say there's something for me about, can we also, I
Lee Griffith:don't even know if it's possible to unlearn this, because I don't
Lee Griffith:know how to say the sentence. But can we also unlearn this
Lee Griffith:kind of, I'm just gonna bury my head in the sand and not deal
Lee Griffith:with anything until actually it becomes too much of a prominent
Lee Griffith:issue. And I have to deal with it. So again, the post office
Lee Griffith:one maybe even cricket one would be good examples of that as in
Lee Griffith:like, you know, with this has been going on for a while. Yeah,
Lee Griffith:it's Yeah, can we get away with it? We can, we've got away with
Lee Griffith:it for 20 years, but now there's been ITV drama about it, we're
Lee Griffith:going to take some action, or how many other things have been
Lee Griffith:rumbling on for such a long time with total inaction?
Unknown:You know,
Unknown:Carrie-Ann Wade: is that what it's gonna take, like the media
Unknown:actually managing people to take leadership decisions, because
Unknown:they put something into the spotlight is not the way I think
Unknown:people should be leading. And
Lee Griffith:this links back to my first point around, you know,
Lee Griffith:popularity contests and stop trying to do things that you
Lee Griffith:think will win, you do a popularity contest, that, you
Lee Griffith:know, that is something that's got to be unlearned. So it's
Lee Griffith:kind of like a full circle. It
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: is it is a full circle. And we stopped the
Lee Griffith:circle there, because I feel like we could go on forever with
Lee Griffith:that. And it would take up and another thing and take up the
Lee Griffith:whole episode. But I did want to just throw that in there.
Lee Griffith:Because we usually start a series with a sort of laid out
Lee Griffith:of what's happened in between. And I feel like we could end
Lee Griffith:this series with like, what do we need to unlearn so that we
Lee Griffith:can all be better leaders for 2024? Because we're still early
Lee Griffith:ish, in the year. So we've got opportunity to make change and
Lee Griffith:do things differently. So thank you for indulging me with that
Lee Griffith:question. Lee and I yeah, I think you did really well, in
Lee Griffith:not getting to full soapbox made for that one. So I ring
Lee Griffith:was tell me that I'm too stressed to have a lie
Lee Griffith:down. So you're done. Yeah,
Unknown:that's, yeah.
Lee Griffith:I've got one of these wearable technology,
Lee Griffith:things that I won't mention the brand, but it will tell me if
Lee Griffith:I'm kind of my stress levels will arise.
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: And we need to keep them at a nice even level
Lee Griffith:so that you can be the best leader you can be without having
Lee Griffith:to manage the impacts of that stress. Lee, so thank you. And I
Lee Griffith:hope I didn't get you too stressed. I hope your wearables
Lee Griffith:not I'm about to implode. So I will I'm conscious of time, I'm
Lee Griffith:conscious that we've got well, I've got a gym that needs to
Lee Griffith:drink him of ice cubes mountain. And so I'm going to I am going
Lee Griffith:to try to wrap us up in terms of this conversation. And we are
Lee Griffith:all about the action here. So I wanted to know what advice and
Lee Griffith:what action do you think that a leader listening to this could
Lee Griffith:take around unlearning?
Lee Griffith:I think it's about recognizing that it's a work in
Lee Griffith:progress. Absolutely starts with your self awareness and an
Lee Griffith:openness to change reframe challenge, whatever it is that
Lee Griffith:you swore for, you knew. And I think that's that's your
Lee Griffith:premise. That's the mindset stuff you need to do. What it is
Lee Griffith:you choose to unlearn and when you choose to do it is a whole
Lee Griffith:other kind of question like that. Let's, let's get the self
Lee Griffith:awareness piece. So at first,
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: I love that and I think for me, part of that
Lee Griffith:self awareness is just asking yourself the question, Am I
Lee Griffith:achieving what I set out to achieve and using that as a
Lee Griffith:measure have maybe then where you might want to focus some of
Lee Griffith:your time and energy. And if I was going to give a plug to
Lee Griffith:another episode in this series, if you haven't listened to it
Lee Griffith:already, I think going back to the episode around self
Lee Griffith:leadership might also help get you into the right headspace.
Lee Griffith:Because part of that was around that self. There was there was
Lee Griffith:lots of selves in the self leadership piece. But part of
Lee Griffith:that was around that awareness and insight. So in terms of your
Lee Griffith:own development, I would suggest that might also be another good
Lee Griffith:lesson for you if you haven't heard that episode already. So
Unknown:that's the end. That's the end fakes Well, of this
Unknown:series, I'm
Unknown:Carrie-Ann Wade: not saying that's the end, full stop. So
Unknown:this is very polite view is back to your regal manner, you did
Unknown:raise your hand in a very regal way to get your
Unknown:beautiful dress friendly.
Lee Griffith:What's What's your highlight of the series?
Unknown:Oh, my highlight of the series.
Unknown:Carrie-Ann Wade: But apart from all the laughs, which obviously
Unknown:is which, which I love, because we are talking about really
Unknown:serious topics, yeah, when we're talking about leadership, and we
Unknown:are committed to wanting to support other people to make
Unknown:some sort of change, no matter how small to challenge some of
Unknown:that leadership BS. But what I do love, and what I've loved is
Unknown:that we have managed to have some laughs along the way, which
Unknown:I hope demonstrate some level of authenticity and what our
Unknown:relationship is like with each other. So I'll thank you for the
Unknown:laughs along the way. I'm not, it's not because I've just said
Unknown:it. But actually, for me, personally, the self leadership
Unknown:episode has really been one that I have reflected on a lot since
Unknown:we recorded it, and thought about a lot in terms of actions
Unknown:that I want to take over the coming months to help me with my
Unknown:development, but also getting some balance and really thinking
Unknown:about my next steps in terms of how I want to show up as a
Unknown:leader. And a lot of that has been about the self care piece,
Unknown:because I have spent some time neglecting the things that mean,
Unknown:I'm possibly not bringing my best self always into the
Unknown:leadership space. And it's easy to think because they're things
Unknown:to do with home and health and getting a balance somewhere else
Unknown:that actually you shouldn't neglect it to be totally focused
Unknown:on the work and the business stuff. So for me, that probably
Unknown:has been my highlight for a totally selfish reason. Because
Unknown:it's helped me to reflect and rethink around, you know, my own
Unknown:approach to things. So good question right back at you.
Unknown:Well,
Lee Griffith:I throw the question at you thoroughly
Lee Griffith:unprepared. And then realized, as you were talking that you
Lee Griffith:would do Yeah,
Unknown:I would, of course, I would. I can barely remember
Lee Griffith:what I was doing yesterday, far less what we've
Lee Griffith:covered in this series. And but I actually agree with you, I
Lee Griffith:think 2020 For the focus on self. leadership's a really
Lee Griffith:important point I think is we've come out of not even come out of
Lee Griffith:we are in really challenging times, still, in many ways. And
Lee Griffith:I think the pandemic gave an opportunity for people to think
Lee Griffith:about what they wanted in life and careers and work and
Lee Griffith:everything. And then we've started to slip back into what
Lee Griffith:is normal. And I think this year is the opportunity to really
Lee Griffith:start to try and harmonize the, what I thought and hoped then
Lee Griffith:and let's not lose track of that in the noise that's been created
Lee Griffith:around us with with it all. And personally, again, just that
Lee Griffith:focus on I can't show up and serve anyone to my best if I am
Lee Griffith:not showing up and serving myself first. And and that isn't
Lee Griffith:a selfish thing to think or feel or do.
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: While cheers to that lay there could not
Lee Griffith:possibly have been a better ending to the series. So I hope
Lee Griffith:if that's the only thing that listeners takeaway, please do
Lee Griffith:take that away and consider that as you make progress in your
Lee Griffith:leadership, journeys, careers, whatever. I want to thank
Lee Griffith:everybody who's listened to this series of how to take the lead.
Lee Griffith:It's been a pleasure as always having these conversations and
Lee Griffith:challenging some of my own thinking along the way. So the
Lee Griffith:biggest Thank you has to go to you Lee for continuing with our
Lee Griffith:how to take the lead collaboration. So thank you
Lee Griffith:also, I like not to extend this conversation
Lee Griffith:because I feel like you know, we've got
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: you did the good ending, and then we're
Lee Griffith:like, pulling away from it. Boo, get off
Lee Griffith:the whole self leadership piece. One really
Lee Griffith:important step that we've taken this year with the podcast is to
Lee Griffith:get external support. It's been an opportunity for us to free up
Lee Griffith:and change how we use our time when it comes to the podcasts
Lee Griffith:that we can focus on supporting people in a different way. So
Lee Griffith:yeah, that's a good leadership, proactive action. So thank you
Lee Griffith:to to our editor and people who've supported
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: Oh, absolutely, that is definitely an important
Lee Griffith:thank you because it has made the world of difference to how
Lee Griffith:we are spending our time and self leading. So huge thank you.
Lee Griffith:So now we can do the chairs, give ourselves a pat on the
Lee Griffith:back. And most importantly, say thank you to the listeners
Lee Griffith:who've stuck with us and also to those who might be new. And I've
Lee Griffith:only just found us we hope to bring more great content your
Lee Griffith:way over the rest of the year in whatever shape or form that
Lee Griffith:might take. So, thank you everyone. I hope you enjoyed the
Lee Griffith:series, and we'll see you next time.
Lee Griffith:Thanks for listening. Don't forget to hit
Lee Griffith:follow to make sure you get the next episode. And if today's
Lee Griffith:discussion resonated, please leave a review on Apple
Lee Griffith:podcasts.
Lee Griffith:Carrie-Ann Wade: We also have our substack community where you
Lee Griffith:can get behind the scenes info, Ask Us Anything session and
Lee Griffith:build your network with like minded leaders. Visit how to
Lee Griffith:take the lead.substack.com To find out more.
Lee Griffith:And if you want to work with us to challenge and
Lee Griffith:change leadership in your organisation. Get in touch by
Lee Griffith:dropping us an email how to take the lead@gmail.com or DM us on
Lee Griffith:the socials. Until next week. Get out there and take the lead.