The Power of Positive Deviance

Appreciative Listening

Some of the best leaders I’ve ever met aren’t the ones who speak most — they’re the ones who listen best. In this episode, I explore appreciative listening — the act of listening to lift, not just to respond. Drawing on the work of David Cooperrider, Carl Rogers, and Barbara Fredrickson, I share how curiosity, empathy, and gratitude can transform the way leaders build trust, engagement, and culture. Show References Cooperrider, D. L., & Srivastva, S. (1987). Appreciative inquiry in organizational life. Research in Organizational Change and Development, 1, 129–169. Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218 Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21(2), 95–103. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0045357 Zenger, J., & Folkman, J. (2016). What great listeners actually do. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/07/what-great-listeners-actually-do [https://hbr.org/2016/07/what-great-listeners-actually-do]

Asking better questions

Leadership isn’t about having all the answers — it’s about asking better questions. In this episode, I explore how coaching-based leadership transforms conversations, drawing on the work of David Rock, Michael Bungay Stanier, and Edgar Schein. Discover how curiosity, silence, and agency help shift your team from dependency to ownership — one thoughtful question at a time. Show References Bungay Stanier, M. (2016). The coaching habit: Say less, ask more, and change the way you lead forever. Box of Crayons Press. Rock, D. (2006). Quiet leadership: Six steps to transforming performance at work. HarperCollins. Schein, E. H. (2013). Humble inquiry: The gentle art of asking instead of telling. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Leading with Emotional Granularity

Calm isn’t the absence of emotion, it’s the understanding of it. In this episode, I explore emotional granularity, the skill of naming emotions precisely so we can navigate them intelligently. Drawing on the work of Lisa Feldman Barrett, Marc Brackett, and Amy Edmondson, I share simple ways leaders can model emotional language, strengthen trust, and build more emotionally intelligent teams. Show References Barrett, L. F. (2017). How emotions are made: The secret life of the brain. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Brackett, M. (2019). Permission to feel: Unlocking the power of emotions to help our kids, ourselves, and our society thrive. Celadon Books. Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999

The micro-habits of leadership

Big change rarely starts big. In this episode, I explore how micro-habits. These are the tiny, repeated behaviours of leadership. They shape culture far more than any strategy document ever could. Drawing on the work of BJ Fogg, James Clear, and Charles Duhigg, I share how small, intentional actions create lasting shifts in trust, collaboration, and wellbeing across teams. Show References Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: An easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. Avery. Duhigg, C. (2012). The power of habit: Why we do what we do in life and business. Random House. Fogg, B. J. (2019). Tiny habits: The small changes that change everything. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

How safe relationships multiply results

Trust isn’t soft. It’s structural. In this episode, I explore how safe relationships create what I call the trust dividend, the compounding return that comes when people feel safe enough to speak up, share ideas, and grow. Drawing on the work of Amy Edmondson, Paul Zak, and Brené Brown, I share small leadership behaviours that turn trust from a feeling into a strategy. Show References Brown, B. (2018). Dare to lead: Brave work. Tough conversations. Whole hearts. Random House. Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999 Zak, P. J. (2017). Trust factor: The science of creating high-performance companies. AMACOM.