S02E08 No leader should lead alone, with Sandy Hall

Rethink Culture

"No leader should lead alone. … they need a peer group, they need people they can share with, they need to be continually learning and developing, and they need … a support network. It's very easy for a leader to get to a point in their career where they know themselves well, they can be self-aware, they can develop the skills and be a passionate and vital leader inside an organisation. But unless they've got a safe space to unpackage things and grow and develop and learn how to handle tricky situations, they can very easy forget how the world perceives them. And that can be a really difficult place for a leader to get to."

S02E08 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Sandy Hall, a resilience specialist and the owner of re/cognition, a leadership development consultancy. Sandy managed IBM's Best Workplace Program in New Zealand for 18 months. She is also passionate about neuroscience and its applications to leadership.

Sandy shares her experiences growing up in a Pentecostal church and witnessing church culture, as well as her role as Head of People and Culture at Leading Edge, where she helped build the organization's leadership framework. She shares her insights into neuroscience and how It relates to leadership, as well as her wisdom teaching leaders to lead from a place of compassion, love and consistent support.

The podcast is created by Rethink Culture. Our goal is to help 1 million businesses create healthier, happier cultures, by turning culture into a KPI. Visit rethinkculture.co to see how you can create a healthier culture at your company.

Production, video, and audio editing by Evangelia Alexaki of Musicove Productions.

Listen to this episode to find out:

• Why leaders need safe spaces in the form of mentors, coaches, feedback mechanisms, and organizations like EO.
• How leaders embracing feedback, self-reflection, and safe spaces for growth boost employee engagement and performance.
• What are the 3 elements of good feedback.
• What distinguishes empathy from sympathy.
• The fundamentals of the neurochemistry of leadership.
• The Daily D.O.S.E. of four key neurochemicals and their workplace use.
• Why abandoning Western role models helps you find your authentic leadership style.
• How to balance performance with care.
• That leadership can be lonely, but you don't have to lead alone.

Further resources:

• Sandy Hall's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-hall-recognition/
• re/cognition Website: https://www.recognition.co.nz/
• Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, by Nassim Taleb: https://www.amazon.com/Antifragile-Things-That-Disorder-Incerto/dp/0812979680
• The Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company, by Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Game-Business-Expanded-Updated/dp/0385348339
• Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34466963-why-we-sleep