Episodes

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Marlene Chism. Marlene Chism is the leading authority on stopping workplace drama and the author of four books, including her most recent book, From Conflict to Courage: How to Stop Avoiding and Start Leading. In the conversation, Marlene Chism shares what leaders get wrong about conflict, the negative consequences of avoiding conflict, and how to most effectively address conflict by changing our narrative. Some Highlights: -...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Rahsaan Bernard. Rahsaan Bernard serves as the President of Building Bridges Across the River (BBAR). This nonprofit organization built and now manages the 16.5 acres of Townhall Health Education Arts Recreation Campus known as THEARC in Washington, DC. BBAR is also building the first elevated park in Washington, the 11 Street Bridge Park Project. In the conversation, Rahsaan Bernard shared the impact of his upbringing in Jamai...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Richard Hua, Global Head of EPIC Leadership and Chief EQ Evangelist at Amazon Web Services. In the conversation, Richard Hua shared his origin story, why he became interested in the power of emotional intelligence, the importance of emotional intelligence to individual and organizational success, and how we can all develop our emotional intelligence EQ. Finally, Richard Hua shared leadership practices for leading with greater e...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Rebecca Linder, founder, and CEO of Linder Global Events. Rebecca Linder shares her leadership journey and the joys and challenges of entrepreneurship. Rebecca Linder also shares her thoughts on the impact of the pandemic on the events industry and how technology is reshaping gatherings. Finally, Rebecca shares why expectations for all kinds of meetings have changed and how leaders can rethink gatherings for greater engagement ...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Brad Federman, Leadership and Culture Expert, Speaker, Coach, and Author of Cultivating Culture: 101 Ways to Foster Engagement in 15 Minutes or Less. Brad Federman shares how leaders can cultivate a company culture that will help them succeed in creating a two-way dialogue and improving teamwork. Brad Federman also highlighted the eight key focus areas that will amplify values at work to achieve a healthy and productive organiz...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli first acknowledges the 200th episode of the podcast. Mahan then shares his thoughts on the three practices that can help us stay aligned with our purpose: feeling and expressing genuine gratitude, focusing on the gain and not just the gap, and living life in crescendo. Some highlights: - Celebrating 200 episodes of Partnering Leadership, a journey of learning and growth for purpose-driven leaders with a growth mindset - The importance o...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Cynthia Covey Haller, a teacher, speaker, an active participant in her community and co-author Live Life in Crescendo: Your Most Important Work is Always Ahead of You. Cynthia Covey Haller shares what it means to live life with a crescendo and how to face challenges and opportunities in the middle to later stages of life. Cynthia Covey Haller also tells inspiring stories on how we can enrich the lives of people around us, the c...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Steve Polo, the Managing Partner at OPX, a design consultancy with a mission to help good companies work better. In addition to his leadership journey, Steve Polo shares his unique perspective on how to lead with authenticity and think about the future of the workplace enabling greater human connection and collaboration. In the episode, Steve Polo also talks about leading OPX through the pandemic and leaders' role in employee e...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Gustavo Razzetti, CEO and Founder of Fearless Culture, creator of the Culture Design Canvas, and author of Remote Not Distant: Design a Company Culture That Will Help You Thrive in a Hybrid Workplace. In the conversation, Gustavo Razzetti talked about the critical barriers to designing a great organizational culture and shared tools and approaches to intentionally design a great organizational culture. Gustavo Razzetti also sha...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Dr. Monica Goldson, Chief Executive Officer of Prince George's County Public Schools. In the conversation, Dr. Monica Goldson shared the source of her love for education and why she decided not to pursue accounting and become an educator. Monica Goldson also shared the many challenges in leading the school system during the pandemic and the role the school system had to play in supporting families throughout the pandemic. Final...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Dr. Maja Zelihic, Dean at the Forbes School of Business and Technology at the University of Arizona Global Campus. Dr. Maja Zelihic is coauthor along with Dr. Diane Hamilton of The Power of Perception: Eliminating Boundaries to Create Successful Global Leaders. In this conversation, Dr. Maja Zelihic talks about the power of perception, its influence on the working environment, and perception's role in leadership. Maja Zelihic a...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Jason Levin, Founder of Ready, Set, Launch and author of Relationships to Infinity: The Art and Science of Keeping in Touch. In the conversation, Jason Levin talks about the power of building authentic relationships and the importance of deep connections in the workplace. Jason also shares the importance of strengthening weak ties, reconnecting with dormant ties, and how to do it well. Jason also talks about social media's impa...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Sophie Wade, founder of Flexcel Network, work futurist, speaker, and author of Empathy Works: The Key to Competitive Advantage in the New Era of Work. In the episode, Sophie Wade talks about why empathy is a crucial corporate value and how it enables workforce transformation. Sophie Wade also shared examples of leading with Empathy and Empathy's role in human collaboration. Finally, Sophie Wade talked about how leaders can gaug...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli shares thoughts on the importance of reducing our blind spots and letting others connect with our humanity. Then, Mahan briefly explains the Johari Window and how understanding it can help us better understand how to reduce blind spots and why showing more genuine vulnerability in leadership is crucial. Finally, Mahan shares specific actions we can take to reduce our blind spots and let others better connect with us as leaders. Some highl...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Richard Carthon, CEO of Crypto Current and host of the Crypto Current podcast. Richard Carthon talks about blockchain technology, Web3, DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations), DeFi (Decentralised Finance), NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), and cryptocurrency. Richard shares the basics of the technology behind each and their impact on the future of organizations. Finally, Richard Carthon discusses how leaders can use blockchain...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Tony Pierce. Tony Pierce is Akin Gump's Washington DC office partner in charge. He has more than three decades of experience in trial and litigation. In addition to his leadership at Akin Gump and impactful work on behalf of his clients, Tony Pierce has played a crucial leadership role in advancing business and philanthropic initiatives in the Greater Washington DC DMV region. Tony Pierce has served as past chair of the Greater...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Azeem Azhar - writer, technology analyst, and creator of the acclaimed Exponential View newsletter. Azeem Azhar is a senior advisor to PwC and is an investor in early-stage startups in AI, renewable energy, female health tech, self-driving cars, and marketplaces. In the conversation, Azeem Azhar shared perspectives from his book The Exponential Age: How Accelerating Technology is Transforming Business, Politics, and Society. A...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Diane Hoskins. Diane Hoskins serves as co-CEO and chair of the board of directors for Gensler. As an MIT-trained architect and an MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA, Diane's career has touched architecture, design, real estate, and business. She has broad responsibility for running the company, which spans over 6,000+ employees across the globe. Diane Hoskins shared how her upbringing impacted her professional and leadership...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with John Kotter, professor emeritus at Harvard Business School, co-founder of a management consulting firm Kotter International and a pioneer in organizational change. John Kotter is the author of 22 books on change, including his most recent book, Change: How Organizations Achieve Hard-to-Imagine Results in Uncertain and Volatile times. John Kotter talks about the struggles leaders and teams face when it comes to change and how to...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Nicole Lynn Lewis, founder and chief executive officer of Generation Hope. This non-profit organization provides holistic assistance to young families. Nicole Lynn Lewis shares her story as a young parent attending college, the challenges she faced, and how it served as the inspiration behind her founding of Generation Hope. Some highlights: - Nicole Lynn Lewis' childhood growing up in communities that didn't have much divers...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Ken Blanchard and Randy Conley. Ken is the founder of the Ken Blanchard Companies and has co-authored more than 65 books on leadership, including all-time classics such as The One Minute Manager and Who Moved My Cheese, each with over 20 million copies sold. In this conversation, Ken Blanchard is joined by Randy Conley, Vice President of global professional services for the Ken Blanchard Companies. The discussion focuses on the...

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 Gary Bolles, chair for the Future of Work for Singularity University, co-founder of eParachute.com, and author of The Next Rules of Work. Gary Bolles shares how his father’s career advice book What Color Is Your Parachute impacted his early life and how he has gone through continual reinvention while guiding leaders through ongoing disruption. Gary Bolles also shares insights from his book The Next Rules of Work. Some highligh...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli shares thoughts on how to lead with more confident humility. Mahan also goes through five mindsets and practices of leading with confidence and humility. Finally, Mahan Tavakoli shares why we need to celebrate confident humility in leadership and the necessity of this approach to leadership through greater uncertainty. Some highlights: -Why confidence and humility are not on opposite ends of the spectrum -The Dunning Kruger effect and i...