Culture & Human Behavior Episodes

What if creativity isn’t a gift possessed by a few—but a skill every leader already has? In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli sits down with Tessa Forshaw and Rich Braden, co-authors of Innovation-ish: How Anyone Can Create Breakthrough Solutions to Real Problems in the Real World. Drawing from their work at Stanford and Harvard, they share how innovation is less about genius and more about discipline, collaboration, and the willingness to see differently. Forshaw and Braden...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Dr. Bernard Harris, a leader whose extraordinary career trajectory—from physician to NASA astronaut to CEO and venture capitalist—offers rare insights into the inner work of leadership. Dr. Harris is the first African American to walk in space, and the author of Embracing Infinite Possibilities: Letting Go of Fear to Find Your Highest Potential. His unique vantage point, shaped by science, space exploration, and C-suite leaders...

In this insightful episode of the Partnering Leadership podcast, Mahan Tavakoli engages in a deep and inspiring conversation with Simon T. Bailey, a renowned speaker, leadership expert, and author of Resilience@Work: How to Coach Yourself Into a Thriving Future. Simon is best known for his work on personal and professional brilliance, with a focus on resilience—key themes that he passionately explores in his latest book. Throughout the discussion, Simon shares profound lessons from his experienc...

In this Partnering Leadership conversation, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Eduardo Briceño, author of The Performance Paradox: Turning the Power of Mindset into Action. In the discussion, Eduardo dives into the transformative power of a growth mindset and how we can apply it to unlock our potential. He shares how a crippling physical injury early in his career led him to Carol Dweck's pioneering work on a growth mindset. This proved life-changing for Eduardo, setting him on a path to teaching indivi...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Jim Detert, John L. Colley Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business and author of Choosing Courage: The Everyday Guide to Being Brave at Work. In this conversation, Jim Detert shares how we can become more courageous by developing our courage capabilities. Jim Detert also shares how leaders can nurture a psychologically safe organizational culture, enabling and encouraging m...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Laura Hamill, organizational psychologist, startup co-founder, and author of The Power of Culture. Laura shares how her early experiences and leadership journey at Microsoft shaped her passion for understanding the hidden forces that drive organizational behavior and business outcomes. Laura emphasizes that culture is not a branding exercise or an HR initiative — it is a core leadership responsibility and a strategic lever for...

What if the greatest risk to your organization isn't economic uncertainty, market volatility, or disruptive technology—but the decisions being made in your own boardroom? In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Didier Cossin, IMD professor and global expert in board governance, whose book High Performance Boards has become a must-read for senior leaders looking to elevate board effectiveness. Drawing from decades of research, real-world consulting, and cross-disci...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Greg Bennick, keynote speaker, humanitarian, and author of Reclaim the Moment: Seven Strategies to Build a Better Now. Greg shares how his upbringing in a small Connecticut town with nontraditional parents helped shape his views on purpose, disruption, and transformation. Through vivid personal stories—including a near-death experience involving a truck crashing into a bookstore—Greg explores the chaos of modern life, the influ...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Mark Schaefer, a renowned bestselling author of popular marketing books. The conversation focuses on Mark Schaefer's latest book, Belonging to the Brand: Why Community is the Last Great Marketing Strategy. During the discussion, Mark Schaefer shares valuable insights on personal branding, courageous leadership, and the power of humility. Emphasizing the significance of community in marketing, he explores how organizations can ...

In this compelling episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli engages in a deep and insightful conversation with Barbara Kellerman, a renowned expert in leadership, Harvard Kennedy School Professor, and a prolific author. Kellerman's latest book, Leadership from Bad to Worse: What Happens When Bad Festers, serves as the focal point of this discussion. With decades of research and a unique perspective on the dynamics of leadership, Kellerman challenges conventional wisdom and sheds light on...

Culture is often cited as a competitive advantage, yet many leaders fail to shape it with intention. In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli sits down with Chris Dyer, a globally recognized company culture expert and the author of The Power of Company Culture. With years of hands-on experience advising leaders on how to build high-performance organizations, Chris shares why most leaders think they have a great culture—until cracks begin to show. Many executives believe culture ...

John Livesay, The Pitch Whisperer and author of best-selling books, including Better Selling Through Storytelling and The Sale is In the Tale, joins Mahan Tavakoli on the Partnering Leadership podcast to share his insights on storytelling for leaders. In the conversation, John Livesay shares practical techniques to craft compelling stories that motivate teams, win business, and drive change. Additionally, John provides memorable examples and easy-to-apply storytelling frameworks, including the 3...

In this insightful episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli welcomes James Lawrence, a seasoned entrepreneur, leadership expert, and the driving force behind Happy Companies. With a dynamic career that includes founding multiple successful businesses, James has developed a passion for blending behavioral science, leadership, and innovative technology to create stronger, more aligned organizations. As the co-creator of Happy Companies, an AI-powered coaching platform, James shares his exp...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli engages in a powerful conversation with Lior Arussy, renowned author, speaker, and expert in organizational transformation and customer experience. Lior is the author of the thought-provoking book Dare to Author: Take Charge of the Narrative of Your Life. In this episode, he brings his compelling insights to life, challenging leaders to rethink how they approach storytelling, organizational change, and leadership in an era of rapid disrupt...

In this insightful episode of Partnering Leadership, host Mahan Tavakoli welcomes back world-renowned futurist, best-selling author, and innovation expert Daniel Burrus. Known for his groundbreaking book The Anticipatory Organization, Daniel has spent decades helping leaders navigate transformative change by teaching them to anticipate disruptions and turn them into opportunities. As the author of numerous reports on hard trends and future technologies, including his latest on the hard trends sh...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Renee Cummings, Data Science Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia. In the conversation, Professor Renee Cummings, a criminologist and AI ethicist discusses the importance of bringing responsible, ethical thinking to deploying AI technology. She stresses the need for due process, recognizing the various forms of bias, ethical use and transparency in deployment, and good governance and oversight. Renee Cummings als...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli is joined by Douglas Squirrel, co-author of *Agile Conversations*, a transformative book that dives deep into the art of having productive conversations in organizations. Douglas Squirrel, a seasoned technology leader and coach, shares his journey from struggling to communicate effectively with non-technical leaders to discovering frameworks that have radically changed how teams collaborate and make decisions. His passion for helping organ...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, explore the intersection of leadership development and cutting-edge AI as Mahan Tavakoli’s 4-Step Framework to unleash a team’s full potential comes to life in an unexpected way. Instead of a traditional discussion, Mahan uses Google’s Notebook LM to transform his framework into a dynamic conversation between two AI avatars. This engaging dialogue captures key leadership principles, demonstrating how AI can turn complex ideas into accessible, compelling ...

Hal Elrod, the international bestselling author of The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life, which has been translated into 37 languages and has sold over 2.5 million copies, brings his unique perspectives on establishing daily practices that foster personal growth and leadership excellence based on his recently updated and expanded edition of The Miracle Morning. Drawing on personal experiences overcoming adversity, including life-threatening events, Hal...

In this insightful episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Anu Gupta, a lawyer, social scientist, and author of the groundbreaking book, Breaking Bias: Where Stereotypes and Prejudices Come From and the Science-Backed Method to Unravel Them. Anu shares his deeply personal journey from growing up in India to navigating bias and discrimination as an immigrant in the U.S., revealing how these experiences shaped his understanding of bias and motivated him to write his book. His ...

In this insightful episode of the Partnering Leadership podcast, Mahan Tavakoli engages in a deep and inspiring conversation with Simon T. Bailey, a renowned speaker, leadership expert, and author of Resilience@Work: How to Coach Yourself Into a Thriving Future. Simon is best known for his work on personal and professional brilliance, with a focus on resilience—key themes that he passionately explores in his latest book. Throughout the discussion, Simon shares profound lessons from his experienc...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Park Howell, host of Business of Story Podcast, author of Brand Bewitchery, and co-author of The Narrative Gym for Business. Park Howell teaches one of the most powerful tools in storytelling: the And, But, and Therefore (ABT), going through the science behind it and how you can start crafting great stories and communicate more powerfully through the use of this framework. He also shares examples of ABT in history and pop cultu...

Get ready to climb the mountain of vulnerability in leadership. In this engaging discussion with Jacob Morgan, author of Leading with Vulnerability: Unlock Your Greatest Superpower to Transform Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization, you’ll learn why vulnerability plus leadership can transform organizations. In the conversation, Jacob Morgan shares his personal journey of grappling with vulnerability, from a childhood with a “tough guy” father to panic attacks while writing this transformati...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli hosts Andrea Sampson, an expert in strategic storytelling and the co-founder of Talk Boutique. Andrea Sampson talks about the fascinating intersection of brain science and storytelling, emphasizing why humans are hardwired to respond to stories. As an experienced speaker's coach for TEDx Toronto and a thought leader in her own right, Andrea shares her journey from the advertising world to helping change-makers communicate their ideas effec...