Life, Leadership and Change with Kara Hawkins

Rising to the Occasion Bonus Ep 2: Truth, Worldviews & Assumptions Shaping Complexity Leadership

Can there be multiple truths? Is truth only something only science can establish? Do postmodern and critical social justice worldviews represent more advanced stages of adult development? And when leaders struggle to stay clear under uncertainty, are they hitting a complexity ceiling, or is something else at play? In our first Q&A episode, Dr Aiden Thornton and I tackled the practical questions. Now, we go deeper to unpack some of the assumptions, ideas, and evidence that sit beneath complexity leadership practice. You will come away with: * A clearer understanding of what we mean when we talk about "truth" and why it matters for leadership in complex environments * New ways to think about the relationship between truth, evidence, science, and lived experience * Greater insight into the debate around postmodernism, critical social justice, and adult development * Practical perspectives on what may be happening when people struggle to communicate clearly under uncertainty * A deeper appreciation of how complexity leadership can help us navigate difficult questions without rushing to simple answers From philosophy and leadership to adult development and communication, this episode explores some of the deeper questions that shape how we understand complexity and make sense of the world around us. You can connect with Aiden here: https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton [https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton]

Rising to the Occasion: Q&A Part 1: Practical Questions

You asked, we answered! This is the first of two bonus Q&A episodes following our four-part complexity leadership mini-series. Here, Dr. Aiden Thornton responds to your practical questions about leading in a complex world, addressing: * The five issues Aiden has his eye on as the most complex challenges facing leaders today, from the future of AI and work to the role of truth * A practical three-step framework for developing complexity leadership skills, and why daily practice often matters most * How to start untangling complexity when everything feels complex at once, including what to look for and where to begin * Why collective leadership is not automatically the best answer to complexity, and what the evidence actually suggests * How to navigate conversations about the culture wars without shutting them down or causing unnecessary offence Whether you are new to the series or have been following along from the beginning, this episode brings the concepts to life with concrete, actionable insights you can start applying today. This is Bonus Episode 1 of 2. Next up: your conceptual questions answered. You can connect with Aiden here: https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton [https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton]

Rising to the Occasion: Part 4: Truth: What it is and why it matters for leading in a complex world

We talk about truth constantly, be it directly or indirectly. We invoke it in arguments, base decisions on it, and build entire worldviews around it. But how often do we stop to ask what truth actually is, why it matters, and how we can reliably identify it? In Part 4 of our complexity leadership mini-series, Dr. Aiden Thornton and I dig into exactly that. Working through four core questions, we unpack what truth actually means, why it matters for how we lead and live, how to identify or at least approximate it, and why the question of who gets to decide what is true might be based on a flawed premise entirely. We cover: - The crucial difference between truth, belief and meaning, and why conflating them can cause more harm than we realise - Why the truth of our beliefs is what allows us to interact with both our internal and external world - How to match the right method to the right claim when trying to identify or approximate truth - Why "who gets to decide what's true" is actually the wrong question entirely - Why a mature understanding of truth may be a necessary condition for the survival of our species in the 21st century Episode 4 of 4. Thank you for joining us for the Rising to the Occasion mini-series! Stay tuned for our bonus Q&A episode, we would love to hear your questions. Submit your questions here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/rQdcvQadga [https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/rQdcvQadga] You can connect with Aiden here: https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton [https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton]

Rising to the Occasion: Part 3: Culture Wars and Colliding Worldviews

Something has shifted in society. Most of us can feel it, but few of us have the language to explain it. In Episode 3 of my mini-series with complexity leadership scholar Dr. Aiden Thornton, we explore the topic of the culture wars, why our conversations across difference so often go nowhere, and what we can do about it as individuals and leaders. You will come away with: - Why people with different worldviews are not just disagreeing, but operating from entirely different realities - Some of the major worldviews shaping today's culture wars and how to recognise them - Why acknowledging diverse perspectives and pursuing true ones are not the same thing - Practical tools for having more constructive conversations across deep disagreement If you have ever felt frustrated, confused or exhausted by the state of public discourse, this episode will give you a clearer picture of why things feel the way they do, and a more grounded place to stand within it. Episode 3 of 4. Next up: truth, why it matters, and what it has to do with leading in a complex world. You can connect with Aiden here: https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton [https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton] BONUS Ask Aiden Anything Q&A session: Submit your questions here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/rQdcvQadga [https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/rQdcvQadga]

Rising to the Occasion: Part 2: Leadership Skills for the Modern Era with Dr Aiden M. A. Thornton

In Episode 1 we established that complexity is increasing. Now we go one step further to ask: are we as humans actually built to handle this level of complexity? And what skills do leaders need to navigate it moving forward? In Episode 2 of this mini-series, Dr. Aiden M. A. Thornton shares eye-opening research on the gap between what leadership roles demand and what most leaders are cognitively equipped to handle. Then we go beyond the problem to explore the emerging leadership skills needed to thrive amid increasing complexity in today's hyper-connected, unpredictable world. We cover: - What 700 leaders revealed about the relationship between cognitive capacity and role complexity - The key skills leaders need to navigate complexity effectively - What regulating your own nervous system has to do with navigating organisational complexity Whether you lead a team, drive change, or simply want to show up more effectively in an increasingly complex world, this episode will shift how you think about what leadership actually requires of us. This was Episode 2 of 4. Next up: leading through colliding worldviews and the culture wars. You can connect with Aiden here: https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton [https://au.linkedin.com/in/aidenmathornton] Link to Aiden's research on the complexity gap here: https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/facing-the-complexity-gap-developing-leaders-reasoning-skills-to-/ [https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/facing-the-complexity-gap-developing-leaders-reasoning-skills-to-/] BONUS Ask Aiden Anything Q&A session: Submit your questions here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/rQdcvQadga [https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/rQdcvQadga]