431 What It Takes to Lead When the Rules Keep Changing: Strategy, Identity, and the Real Work of Transformation with Louisa Loran
In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli sits down with Louisa Loran, a seasoned executive advisor whose career spans legacy brands, global industrial giants, and one of the world’s most influential technology companies. Louisa brings a rare perspective shaped by leadership roles at Diageo, Maersk, and Google—giving her a front-row seat to how strategy, operating models, and leadership expectations shift across industries and eras.
The conversation centers on a hard truth many leadership teams avoid: strategy does not fail because leaders lack intelligence or effort—it fails because organizations try to adapt to a changing world without changing how they operate. Louisa challenges the assumption that transformation is about better plans or new tools. Instead, she reframes it as a question of movement, clarity, and leadership conviction in the absence of certainty.
Drawing from her book, Leadership Anatomy in Motion, Louisa explores how leaders can recognize patterns rather than chase trends, why digitizing the past rarely creates future value, and how AI often exposes deeper strategic blind spots instead of fixing them. She also addresses the uncomfortable leadership work of identity—when leaders must ask whether they are still the right person to lead the next phase of the organization.
Throughout the discussion, Mahan and Louisa examine collective intelligence, operating model shifts, succession readiness, and the real risks of mistaking activity for progress. This is not a conversation about leadership theory. It is a grounded, experience-based dialogue about what it actually takes to lead when the rules keep changing—and when the cost of waiting is higher than the cost of acting.
For CEOs, board members, and senior executives navigating uncertainty, this episode offers a candid look at the decisions, questions, and trade-offs that define effective leadership today.
Actionable Takeaways
- You’ll learn why Louisa believes she can tell in a single conversation whether a transformation will succeed—and what she listens for.
- Hear how operating model clarity matters more than strategy decks when organizations face disruption.
- Discover why many AI investments fail before they start, even when the technology works.
- Learn how pattern recognition differs from reacting to headlines—and why this distinction matters for long-term relevance.
- Hear why leadership identity, not just capability, often becomes the hidden constraint in transformation.
- Explore how collective intelligence can accelerate execution—or quietly stall it—depending on leadership direction.
- Understand what it means to lead without certainty, and why waiting for clarity can be the most expensive decision.
- Learn why digitizing existing processes can create the illusion of progress while value quietly shifts elsewhere.
Connect with Louisa Loran
Leadership Anatomy in Motion: Empowering You to Lead Through Technology and People
Connect with Mahan Tavakoli: