Episodi

  • Human Conversation with Jenny Garrett

    Human Conversation with Jenny Garrett
    Oct 5 2026
    Get To Know Our Guest:Jenny GarrettJenny Garrett OBE began life in social housing in North West London, with an early commitment that where you start should never limit where you arrive. Two decades on, she is the founder and CEO of Jenny Garrett Global, the award-winning leadership consultancy she started in 2006 and still leads. Her belief is simple: potential is everywhere, but opportunity is not, and the work of leadership is to close that gap. It is a promise borne out by results, with 35%+ of participants promoted during her programmes and 98% recommending them.Jenny’s work spans three connected pillars: Inclusive, Entrepreneurial and AI-Ready Leadership. She is the author of the bestselling “Rocking Your Role” and “Equality vs Equity,” and, with her daughter Leah-Sunshine Garrett, co-author of AI for Equity (Emerald Publishing) and co-host of the podcast of the same name. She holds an OBE for services to entrepreneurship and women in business, and is a Companion of the Institute of Leadership and Management, its highest honour. HIGHLIGHTS & TAKEAWAYS:DR. KG: Jenny, you're a very well known and beloved figure, but for the sake of the audiences who are listening to you for the first time, can you share a little bit about yourself and your journey in life so far?JENNY: My journey has always been ultimately about empowering people. As a result, I've not just created my business providing leadership development, but also created other opportunities such as a social enterprise called Rocking Your Teens that has taken three and a half thousand young people through our doors over the last 13 years. And also something called the Diverse Executive Coach Directory, where we have about 60 coaches who we promote so that people can know that there are choices out there to have coaches all over the world.DR. KG: Jenny, you started in marketing, then it's coaching, then leadership training, leadership programs, writing, work with teenagers, assembling a large diverse group of coaches specifically to address the lack of diversity that might be available to people. So many different and impressive accomplishments, work that is impactful and is needed in the world. But what is a red thread that ties all of it together for you?JENNY: I think it's two things. I think it's about fairness. I really care about fairness. And I really want everyone to have the same opportunity for success. So I think fairness is part of it. But also empowerment. It's not just making sure everyone has the same opportunity, but making sure everyone knows inside that they might be different, but equally as good as everyone else. I really want people to understand that your difference is powerful. We don't have to be the same as everyone else. And actually that difference is your uniqueness is what makes you really special. And it's finding the spaces in which you can really flourish. I think there's a saying, if you ask a fish to ride a bicycle, it will always be unsuccessful, you know? And it's about finding those spaces where actually, you know, put the fish in water, it's amazing. And finding those spaces for us all to flourish.DR. KG: Fairness, equity, inclusion, these values that shine through so powerfully in what you said just now. What are those values rooted in? Where does that primal cry come from that you want to bring this to the world?JENNY: I come from a line of very strong women. My grandmother, absolutely, my grandmother came to the UK and started a life for all of us with my grandfather, but she was definitely the strong matriarch. And then my mum, who was the first in our family to get a degree actually, you know, in this line, she studied in her thirties to become a school teacher. And that very much empowered my brother and I and showed us what was possible. I feel like these women have had to fight hard for what they've been able to achieve and they've done it. But I guess I would love it to be easier for others. They've had to really recognize their own potential when other people didn't see it. And I want to be me and my company. I want to be that for others. I want to hold a mirror up to them and say, look, this is what I see and this is what is possible for you.JENNY: I think my grandmother, she had such a big heart. I think she absolutely showed me what's possible, even with very little. And then my mum sort of breaking boundaries and breaking barriers too. I would also say I have a daughter who's nearly 25. And there's definitely something about becoming a parent that made me want to step up. I suddenly saw myself as a role model. I knew that when she was looking at me she was seeing what was possible and that meant that I need to step out of my comfort zone so that she could too. So it's the women in my life that definitely create that line through that desire to make a difference.DR. KG: Accomplished people who fight hard and do amazing, miraculous things that challenge the notion of what is possible ...
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    43 min
  • Human Conversation with Dr. Vance Cooper

    Human Conversation with Dr. Vance Cooper
    Sep 8 2026
    Get To Know Our Guest:Dr. Vance CooperDr. Vance Cooper is a leadership development consultant and mental health advocate with 10 years of experience in acute inpatient mental health. With a Ph.D. in Corporate Leadership, he helps people prioritize mental and emotional well-being by equipping them with tools to unlock unrealized leadership potential, without compromising authenticity. His workshops and keynotes blend compassion with clarity, challenging audiences to lead themselves with the same care they extend to others. HIGHLIGHTS & TAKEAWAYS:DR. KG: From your work in the healthcare space, specifically around mental well-being and mental health and how that builds so beautifully into your current work, which is helping individuals find their purpose, find their values, and specifically helping younger people do this, whether it's in terms of their career preparation and planning or simply just finding their place in the world: Is there a red thread that ties all of it together for you? What's the driving force behind all that you do?DR. VANCE: My mission is ultimately to help extraordinary people unlock unrealized leadership potential without compromising authenticity. So from my view, everybody is an extraordinary being. We all have unique talents, we all have a purpose, and we all have a reason that we put on this earth, and we all have a special gift. And so my goal is always to help people recognize their unique talents and gifts and how they are able to walk in their leadership gift.DR. VANCE: My goal is to help everyone recognize that they are a leader in their unique space and in their unique talent and the younger I can breathe or speak that message into a person, I think the better off they will be in the long run.DR. KG: When did a young Dr. Vance Cooper working in the healthcare say, hey, you know what? That specifically is what my calling is. I'm gonna get working on that.DR. VANCE: I was looking to study leadership, but I don't know if I really necessarily looked at myself as a leader, at least from the perspective that I have currently. And so while I was studying the theories, I simultaneously was going through this self-discovery process where I really was, I really had to do a deep self-assessment and just kind of recognizing my own unique gifts and my own unique talents and just recognizing that studying leadership doesn't make necessarily make you a leader.DR. VANCE: I've always had a connection where I wanted to give back. I want to give back to people who are coming after me and being able to help pave the way and help them recognize that the things that I'm accomplishing are very real for them as well.DR. VANCE: I want young people especially to recognize that they should never stop dreaming and that there's all different types of paths that they can take whether they decide to go to trade school, whether they decide to go to higher education, whether they just decide to go directly into the workforce, whether they decide to start working and then maybe later on in life as they get older, they decide that they want to go back to school. There's multiple different paths that people can take to be able to reach their goal. But the important thing is for you to never stop dreaming and to really focus on what you want.DR. VANCE: One of the things that I sincerely want to do is help young people recognize that they should be in order for them to reach their maximum fulfillment and for them to reach their, like their maximum potential, they should be going after what they want.DR. KG: From my own practice, it is sometimes the intergenerational trauma, it is the cultural heritage, it is the historical context. There's so many reasons why at the earliest, I believe it's as young as eight or even six when children already begin to absorb the flag posts, the milestones that, “hey, this is what is possible, this is what is not. Here's what's expected of you.” And that subliminal messaging really goes deeply towards shaping our expectations of ourselves, of life, of the world, the lens with which we see the world and experience it.DR. KG: Can you tell me a little bit from the perspective of your work, what the terms ethics and integrity mean to you?DR. VANCE: When I think about ethics and integrity, I think about character. I think about trust. For me, I think that character is one of the most important aspects of leadership because if people aren't able to trust you, it's going to be very hard for people to follow you.DR. VANCE: Good character is definitely a part of being acting in an ethical manner with integrity. One of the things about it is that when you are somebody who has people following you, once it's been determined that the people cannot trust you, trust is something that, it's almost like it's your currency. Once people feel like you've misled them or you've given them a reason to break that trust, it's very hard to get that trust or to earn that trust back from the ...
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    1 ora e 1 min
  • Human Conversation with Bob Sheard

    Human Conversation with Bob Sheard
    Jul 2 2026
    Get To Know Our Guest:Bob SheardBob Sheard is a leading brand strategist and practitioner, and the author of The Brand New Future: How Brands Can Save the World (LID Publishing), a book shortlisted for the Business Book Awards that sets out a practical roadmap for building successful brands that contribute to a more just and regenerative world. As the Co-Founder of the brand design agency FreshBritain, Bob has designed more than 200 global brands across his career, working with names such as Nike, Levi's, Dr. Martens, Arc'teryx, and New Balance. His approach is defined by going deep to find a brand's truth and the results speak for themselves: FreshBritain helped reposition Dr. Martens around "rebellious self-expression," guiding the brand from €90 million in turnover, amid a double-digit decline, to a €3.5 billion flotation in eleven years.Today, Bob is widely recognized as one of the most influential voices on what brands are for and what they owe the world.HIGHLIGHTS & TAKEAWAYS:KG: You've had such an interesting career. A brand strategist, C suite advisor, founder, sustainability advocate, author, educator, mentor, just to name a few. Is there a red thread that connects all of this for you? What was the driving force behind all that you do?BOB: The red thread is opportunism, just seeing where I think I can add value and going there. Others would say it's a heavy dose of ADHD, continuously moving on to the next thing. I'd say sort of it's really the product of a restless mind, ambition. It's part restless mind.BOB: For someone who used to work on a market stall in Bradford, it's an exciting prospect to see where that kind of thinking and that the way my brain works and see where that will take me. so that and it has taken me into education, into boardrooms, into publishers and yeah, just that's the red thread really.KG: At some point you must have made a conscious decision that, well, I'm going to do this. I'm going to pursue the curiosity of my mind. When did that happen?BOB: I went to a school, comprehensive school in Halifax, West Yorkshire, which has since been closed down and I was studying for my A levels. I did my A levels and I did four and I did them in economics art, general studies and history and I got three Es, so just about scrape to pass and then one A. And that A along with another guy at the school was the first A our school had ever got at A level. And they were beaming that the school had managed to get this A. And so at that point I realised maybe there's a brain inside there somehow that can, once I know where the goalposts are, I can figure out a way.BOB: Retook my A levels, so I got sufficient N grades to get to the London College of Fashion. And it was a very interesting conversation to go onto the building site to tell the guys I'd got entry into the London College of Fashion, because I kept that secret. So was at that point you kind of realize, I've got the ability to find a way. So then I realized, I didn't quite know, but it's a continuous journey, isn't it? It's just trying to figure out that sometimes your thinking thoughts are the people don't have and they add value.KG: I've always wondered, you're a branding expert, and I always wonder what that does to a child's mind to be categorized or branded, if you'll permit, that they are a certain way, that they should follow a certain path. And for that child to break those shackles and then decide to be creative and pursue and make up a path as they go along?BOB: You've got these three brothers who went to this local primary school, couldn't speak a word of Indian English, didn't have a great time in the industrial North, but managed to find a way to create the most amazing careers and what really struck me was I went to Chicago and the three brothers were there and all their kids were there but for the first time. I said, the really interesting powerful thing is the harvest of your mother's and father's sacrifice in being first generation. I just think that's such a powerful argument for immigration that actually there is a dynamic dynamo type power in a second generation immigrant to not want their parents life to be a sacrifice in vain and therefore they go a bit further, a bit faster to make their lives worthy of the sacrifice of their parents. And so I just don't think anyone makes the case, the economic case for that enough.KG: You're a futurist and you talk about how countries have brands, and those brands can change a people, a cultural ethos of the future itself of the entire planet. When I think about this vision, it comes across to me as very humanist, very universal, a kind and compassionate one. In that context, I was curious about the theme of this podcast being ethics and integrity, what do these terms mean to you?BOB: I think with ethics, that's kind of our moral compass. That's guiding principles and protocols of our life. And integrity is how we deploy our behavior to meet that compass. So that's our ...
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    57 min
  • Human Conversation with Martin Koek

    Human Conversation with Martin Koek
    Jun 2 2026
    Get To Know Our Guest:Martin KoekMartin Koek studied law at the university of Leiden. In 1991 he obtained his master’s degree in tax law. In the same year he started his career as tax advisor with Arthur Andersen. Within Arthur Andersen and later Deloitte he climbed the ranks and in 2002 he became responsible for the corporate income tax compliance practices in the Netherlands. In 2013 Martin relocated to Deloitte in Hyderabad (India) where he managed the compliance practices for Deloitte Netherlands and Deloitte United Kingdom. In 2017 he returned to Deloitte in The Netherlands taking up his role in the Netherlands compliance practice.After his career as tax advisor in 2022, Martin decided to take a break from professional life and focus more on his private life and his hobbies reading and travelling. In 2025 he started his coaching education that he finished in 2026. Currently he is starting up his coaching practice, mainly focusing on career coaching. HIGHLIGHTS & TAKEAWAYS:KG: You've had such an incredible international career as a corporate leader, advisor, mentor, just to name a few. Is there a red thread that ties all of this together for you? I wanted to know what's the driving force behind all that you do?MARTIN: One thing is that I like to solve puzzles and find my way or other people's way out of difficult situations. And I like to help people and perhaps not in the altruistic way, but at least in a professional way.MARTIN: In the beginning of my career, it was about helping clients manage their tax burden. Later on, it became also mentoring of younger colleagues. It became the development of the organization as a whole. And then it's rather difficult to find the right threat but it always focused around helping people solving problems or helping organizations solving problems.KG: Knowing that you have a compliance ethics taxation background yourself, what are the terms ethics and integrity mean to you?MARTIN: I think ethics and integrity are the greatest assets that a leader can have. And the difficulty is how to apply those things in the real everyday life of a leader.MARTIN: As a starting leader, where I realized at one time that I was focusing way too much on reliability and responsibility. And I realized that in my vacation, where I received lots of telephone calls from team members who were trying to solve problems but didn't think that they have the authority themselves to solve the problem. So they always came back to me. I sat down with a consultant to make a SWOT analysis and from that SWOT analysis an action plan had to follow. Okay this is the direction that we are taking and the necessary steps that we had to take the practical steps to make that change. We came up with the solution that we should involve the entire team.MARTIN: The action plan that the team made was the same as the plan I made with the consultant. But the action steps that we had to take were much more complete than I had made together with the consultant. So what I learned from that exercise is that by being transparent and honest about the future of the team. The team was actually thinking about solutions and action steps to take together with me. But it made the team less reliable from me. And it also created a much more open atmosphere where everybody could share their ideas, could share their doubts, their concerns. And we solved everything together.KG: What was it do you think that helped the team make that change when you recommended it?MARTIN: Involving the team and knowing that their views and their recommendations are also appreciated and that I by myself also do not know anything creates an atmosphere that we really we're really going together to make the change to make everything happen.KG: In Asia, where I know some of the talent you worked with was, it is very hierarchical. So did you face any resistance or hurdles from others in the environment? who are used to hierarchy and couldn't understand why you're going against the grain and trying to do something different.MARTIN: I learned quite soon that although the society and also lot of corporations in Asia are hierarchical, hierarchy is very important in those countries and those organizations, people hate it. When I came in and started asking input from the team and involving them in the day to day basis, other than just doing their regular job, but also give them an insight in why we were doing things and that we also needed to make changes. They were all quite happy to give me their input.MARTIN: I've learned that integrity from a leader leads also to integrity from the team. and the same for ethics. If you are an ethical leader, you also get ethical team members. And there are always exceptions, but the broader line is that it is a vice versa thing. Ethical leaders lead to ethical teams. Integrity leads to integrity.KG: Is there a need that you feel comfortable sharing so we can learn from what lessons you took away from it? I'm assuming ...
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    53 min
  • Human Conversation with Susan Caesar

    Human Conversation with Susan Caesar
    May 4 2026
    Get To Know Our Guest:Susan CaesarSusan Caesar is a strategist, storyteller, and systems leader working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, human development, and the living world.She serves as the Director of Artificial Intelligence at the International Coaching Federation (ICF), where she leads the responsible integration of AI across a global community of more than 60,000 coaches. Susan guides ICF’s AI strategy for 2026 and beyond, ensuring that emerging technologies strengthen human capability, elevate professional standards, and uphold the dignity, agency, and wellbeing of people worldwide.Susan is also the Founder of humain.org, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advancing life-centered leadership and innovation. Her work at Humain.org champions two core commitments: women leading with life and innovation that regenerates the natural world. Through applied research, thought leadership, and cross sector partnerships spanning technology and conservation, she is helping to redefine progress in service of both humanity and the planet.She hosts the humainorg podcast, a storytelling platform featuring global voices who are reimagining how technology, nature, and society can flourish together. As a writer and speaker, Susan explores ethical innovation, regenerative futures, and the cultural transformations needed to usher in a truly life centered era.In addition, Susan is the co-founder of the Lead With Purpose movement, created with Donna Potts McKenzie, which delivers leadership programs for community colleges (including Harper College) and future-of-work pathways for organizations navigating rapid transformation.Across her work in strategy, storytelling, and systems change, Susan’s purpose is clear: to help people, organizations, and technologies lead with wisdom, so that human potential, innovation, and the living planet can thrive together. HIGHLIGHTS & TAKEAWAYS:KG: You've had such an interesting career, customer experience, digital transformation, AI, as a corporate executive, advisor, thought leader, podcaster, to name just a few. Is there a red thread that ties all of it together for you? I want to know what's the driving force behind all that you do?SUSAN: If I look back when I was a child, I felt that everybody should be having the same opportunities. For me that as a child, I was going, why I want to have equity, equality. So that was a driving force. I think the driving force for me has been around that is people centric, something about treating people equally and with respect and also emotion.SUSAN: Emotion is at the root of action. How we feel affects what we believe and what we then do. I went from being a creative into being operational. I ran customer and employee operations and I was using technology in a way that gave people better experiences to create the environment and the interactions that created positive emotions because if you've got happy customers and happy staff, then you've got a more profitable business. I learned that life and business is all about relationships. And I'm committed to making business and society more humane.SUSAN: I still don't feel that we have equity or equal opportunities for people. That's why I advocate for DEIB. I'm really passionate about having diversity in the room because actually it's better for decision-making. The more diverse people and ideas that you have and voices, the stronger the solutions. Actually there's a good reason why I care about that.KG: What makes you believe so strongly that concepts like equity, emotional intelligence, human-centered design, why do you believe they're so important and to be at the core of all these transformational things that are happening around us?SUSAN: My career has been around that intersection between people and whatever the emerging technology is and using that in a way, because I've worked in global organizations. It’s been about how you leverage that intersection of human connection and technology to do the right thing by customers, employees at scale. And when I think about ethics and integrity in that space, it is all about honoring our shared humanity. When we are thinking about making changes in organizations or deploying these technologies, it should be there to serve the people. It should be there to add more value to what the purpose of that organization is and what the customers or the citizens that they're serving, how they get more of what they're expecting from that organization.SUSAN: I think part of the red thread for me is about ethics and integrity helps us deploy things or make decisions that are good for humanity. I think also acting with empathy, honesty and respect should be happening in every relationship. In every moment I used to talk about when in organizations like every decision, every transaction should be supporting and reinforcing the brand values of that organization. And in the wider context, it should be supporting and reinforcing empathy, honesty and ...
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    40 min
  • Human Conversation with Jazz Rasool

    Human Conversation with Jazz Rasool
    Apr 1 2026
    Get To Know Our Guest:Jazz RasoolJazz Rasool is a British-based scientist, executive coach, and researcher recognized for his pioneering work in Industry 5.0, AI coaching, and human–machine collaboration. He is the founder of the AI Coaching Alliance, a global initiative advancing ethical, humanity-first approaches to artificial intelligence in coaching, and the author of Coaching 5.0, a groundbreaking work integrating AI, the metaverse, and biometrics into coaching practice.With more than two decades of coaching experience, Jazz has blended science, technology, and human development to create innovative tools such as the Atmascope Resonance Engine, designed to help individuals discover their life purpose. His collaborations include work with NASA on space training technologies and contributions to future-focused programs on AI ethics, 3D/VR learning, and immersive education.A TEDx speaker, RSA Fellow, and EMCC Senior Practitioner, Jazz serves as an advisor to techUK, the Association for Coaching, the EMCC, and the Association for Business Psychologists. He was recognized as a Top AI Influencer in 2025 for his thought leadership in Coaching 5.0, which continues to shape the future of coaching and human-centric innovation worldwide.HIGHLIGHTS & TAKEAWAYS:KG: You've had such an interesting career as a researcher, innovator, advisor, speaker, coach, mentor in such diverse fields as industry 5.0, innovation, technology, coaching, to name just a few. Is there a red thread that ties all of it together? What is the driving force behind all that you do?JAZZ: I feel it's a curiosity and a sense of wonder and a desire to, first of all, bring things alive within myself and bring myself to life. And lastly, it's about paying all those things forward to other people, helping other people get curious, cultivate a sense of wonder, work on things that bring them to life. And again, lead them to pay it forward.JAZZ: The reason I'm a polymath and I've been involved in all of those things is because I always had a sense of wonder about things. I never lost my sense of wonder. And wonder and curiosity work very closely with each other.JAZZ: When your curiosity reaches a certain threshold, you start to experience a sense of wonder about things. And it's the same in reverse. If you have a sense of wonder that reaches a certain threshold, you will get curious about things. And it drives you not down a fixed path.KG: You were an astrophysicist working with such esteemed organizations as NASA. What drew you to the things that speak so deeply to me and are such a call of time today? Ethics and psychology and working with human minds. It's a fascinating journey for a scientist to be walking this path well before it was identified as the crisis of the time. Tell me the journey to that?JAZZ: I suppose I've always been drawn to life in all of its different forms, here on Earth, certainly, in the ecosystems that exist out there, in the environment, in jungles and deserts, in the Arctic, for example. And after a while, you take that idea of going beyond your imagination and you start to be interested in life beyond this world.JAZZ: My journey into astronomy and then into astrophysics into space was actually triggered by me being bullied in school because as a kid, I must have been about 11 or 12 years old. And I went to get as far away as I could from the bullies. In my innocent mind, I thought the furthest place I can get is in outer space.JAZZ: I decided to fight back against the bullies because I thought I'm that thing which I'm trying to reach for, I can't reach it if I let these people get to me and I'm crushed here before I get a chance to even fly. So I did put a stop to those things and then the following year my grades went up, I moved up into the highest classes, I got academic awards and you know it sparked something really interesting in me. It made me start to have a sense of this potential in me that I'd never seen.JAZZ: I began to wonder what, if you could put a ruler or some kind of measure against someone and say, right now you have only manifested 20 % of your potential. There's another 80 % to go. If someone told you that, then people would either bend at the knee and just feel crushed. Or they go, wow, there's another four times more potential in me. And one of the first things I did many years ago was I brought together the different models of psychology from other various cultures and integrate them into a single model to help understand human development and potential in the mind. And I encoded the models into an AI platform. And this was in 2008. And one of the first things I wanted to do was identify based on people's skills and their alignment, where are they on that measure?JAZZ: If people could see not just how much potential they haven't realized yet, but they could see specifically where they not realizing their potential and where they might even be going against themselves and not being true to ...
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    2 ore e 11 min
  • Human Conversation with Dr. Isabel de Bruin Cardoso

    Human Conversation with Dr. Isabel de Bruin Cardoso
    Mar 3 2026
    Get To Know Our Guest:Dr. Isabel de Bruin CardosoDr. Isabel de Bruin Cardso is a leading scholar and practitioner in nonprofit ethics, recognized for her pioneering work on the ethical challenges unique to the nonprofit sector. She is the founder of the Gradel Institute of Charity’s Nonprofit Ethics Lab, an initiative born from her doctoral research at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. Her research introduced the concept of the “NGO halo effect”, demonstrating how nonprofits’ missions, moral identities, and people are often idealized in ways that obscure unethical behavior. This groundbreaking work has positioned her as a thought leader in shaping nonprofit ethics as a distinct field of study and practice.Before embarking on her PhD, Isabel accumulated over 15 years of professional experience across a wide range of organizations, including NGOs, religious congregations, philanthropic foundations, the United Nations, and the World Bank. Through this work, she observed that moral missions and strategies such as codes of conduct, safeguarding training, and whistleblowing systems often failed to prevent unethical practices. These insights motivated her to pursue doctoral research and ultimately establish the Nonprofit Ethics Lab, which bridges research and practice to develop approaches to ethics that are fit for purpose in the nonprofit sector.Currently, Isabel serves as a lecturer and coach at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, where she teaches organizational ethics and nonprofit management. She is also a visiting lecturer at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, extending her influence to international academic audiences. Alongside her teaching, she consults with NGOs worldwide, helping organizations navigate ethical dilemmas and strengthen their ethical cultures. Isabel also contributes to nonprofit governance as a board member for several NGOs.Her academic contributions include publications in scholarly journals, practitioner outlets, and newspapers, reflecting her commitment to engaging diverse audiences. She is presently co-editing a book on the paradox of nonprofit discrimination, further advancing discourse on the complexities of ethics in the sector. Isabel holds a PhD in Management from Erasmus University, an MA in Human Rights from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a BA in International Affairs from University College Utrecht, Utrecht University. HIGHLIGHTS & TAKEAWAYS:KG: You've had such an interesting career, research, education, consulting across the world, to name just a few. Is there a red thread that ties all of it together for you? What's the driving force behind all that you do?DR. ISABEL: I think a lot of where I am now was based on always a drive to be involved with human rights, not necessarily only from a legal rights perspective, but more human rights as a principle as well. But the different stages and phases of my life have also been shaped a lot by circumstance, by people, and by opportunity.KG: What are the terms ethics and integrity mean to you?DR. ISABEL: How I look at ethics versus integrity, I think that ethics is like the framework. That's really kind of like the North Star, the moral compass of what we stand for. As individuals, these can be our values or also as an organization. So ethics would be what is incorporated into a code of conduct or let's say safeguarding policy.DR. ISABEL: Integrity is the implementation thereof. So it's really practicing what you preach. So without ethics, you can still have integrity, but you're not necessarily having that North Star guiding you. And without integrity, you can have ethics, but then you're not implementing your ethics.DR. ISABEL: Ethics really kind of as an overarching guiding principle, if you will, and integrity, the implementation of it.KG: What can you share with me about how you make that make personal sense to you? Is there a personal story, for example, when you yourself felt tested on these two issues of ethics or integrity?DR. ISABEL: So I think ethics, especially with respect to dilemmas, is thinking through how will a decision impact on the people or the stakeholders around you. Ethical dilemmas and making decisions around them are tough. It's never win-win. So being very conscious of the so-called moral remainder or the moral impact of our decisions.DR. ISABEL: I think with respect to how I approached ethical dilemmas to the extent that I have the luxury of time is to think about it, to take the time to think about it. Try and get as much information, perspectives as I can in order to make as informed a possible decision as much as possible. And also being very conscious to kind of reflect on what the outcome of that decision is.DR. ISABEL: Several times in some of the organizations that I worked for. But then the dilemma is what do you say? And how do you say it? And to whom do you say it? And yes, I suppose we ...
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    54 min
  • Human Conversation with Leah JM Dean

    Human Conversation with Leah JM Dean
    Feb 2 2026
    Guest: Leah JM DeanShe is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Conduit International Ltd a professional and personal development solutions company dedicated to helping organizations, leaders and women work smarter, live well, and foster meaningful connections. With over two decades of experience, Leah has shaped leading HR strategies and served as a trusted coach and advisor to thousands of leaders, employees, and women across the globe. Leah has also led teams and has experience in Strategy Development, Mergers & Acquisitions, Boards & Governance, Professional Speaking, Facilitation, Executive Search, Corporate Communications, Facilities, Administration, and Corporate Social Responsibility. As the CEO of Conduit International LTD, Leah and her team have worked across diverse industries, including insurance, reinsurance, education, non-profit, faith-based, financial services, food and beverage, and business consulting. Leah holds an MBA from St. John’s University and is a certified strengths coach. She is also the author of two books Be Different & Assemble the Tribe, which was named Bermuda’s most popular book of the year in 2021. A self-proclaimed recovering workaholic, Leah is passionate about helping women and organizations to find strategies to optimize their work, invest in their wellbeing and make a lasting impact on the lives of those they touch. When she is not working, Leah enjoys reading, writing, walking in nature, and spending quality time with family and friends. She lives in Bermuda with her husband Terrance and two children. HIGHLIGHTS & TAKEAWAYS:KG: You've done so many different things. You've had an impactful career in corporate leadership, speaking, training, coaching, writing, mentoring all over the world. Is there a red thread that ties all of it together for you? I was curious about the driving force behind all that you do.LEAH: I had to say that there was a thread, I think the thread that weaves, that has woven its way through everything for me, it really comes back to my mind.LEAH: I guess if I had to sum it all up, my why in this season and my why for my work and my business is about helping organizations and leaders and women to work smart, to live well and connect with people.LEAH: I'm a strengths coach, so I believe we all have strengths and talents that we can develop into strengths and we should look to unleash that unlock it, the live well piece it's I think we're whole people and so there's the part of us that shows up at work. There's a bus that are leaders there's a gift that we have to give to the organization. But so many leaders do that at the sacrifice of themselves and so how can we live well? And then the connect people has just been my work for the last seven years or so, how do we build community? We need community to live our healthiest, happiest lives. And so all the work that I'm doing every day kind of plays.KG: What a beautiful thought. It makes space for varying focus areas and varying needs in different stages of life, but also enables people to identify core values that drive a person forward.LEAH: My experience is that your purpose, or purpose by definition, is the reason you exist. You are literally your purpose when you walk into the room and how that purpose is delivered or resonates or shows up in different seasons will change.LEAH: When you leave yourself open to the possibility of change, like the world just opens up in a much bigger way than if we put ourselves in these boxes.KG: What is your idea of ethics and leadership? What do those stumps mean to you?LEAH: Ethics are the principles of conduct that govern an individual or group. They're the principles that drive us as individuals or groups of people. Integrity is really about adherence to a code of values.LEAH: Values is like the anchor. It's the thing that, they're the things that keep you grounded in what matters. And then ethics is like the chain connected to the anchor. They connect to your anchor, your daily decisions, they give structure and tension. And then integrity is like the steadiness of the vessel. It shows if your anchor and your chain are keeping you from drifting when the current shifts.LEAH: Values are what you believe is important. Ethics create the rule to honor those beliefs. And then integrity is how you live them out when they're watching.KG: Do you have a personal story of a time when you had to navigate a different difficult ethical dilemma? But how would the outcome of that incident might have been?LEAH: Values, there's deep fundamental beliefs. They're both actual and aspirational. I've learned is that as we grow and as we develop, if we accept that we each have the capacity for change, then it's also possible that our beliefs are going to change, which means the chain and the tension is also going to change over time as well.LEAH: When we're navigating these issues, I think it's really important that we leave some room to grow, that we leave ...
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    38 min