Episodes

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...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Robert Dilenschneider, founder of The Dilenschneider Group and strategic advisor to Fortune 500 companies. Robert Dilenschneider talks about the most effective way to use public relations to benefit organizations. Robert also shared the importance of engaging the community and how to use the power of words to more clearly communicate the organization’s message. Finally, Robert Dilenschneider addressed the specific skill sets th...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Tara Thiagarajan, Founder, and Chief Scientist at Sapien Labs. Tara Thiagarajan shares studies and insights on mental well-being, its key indicators, and how it influences people and communities. Tara Thiagarajan also highlighted the biggest factors contributing to mental well-being and its impact on economic outcomes. Finally, Tara Thiagarajan talked about Sapien Lab’s latest studies on the current state of the world’s psychol...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Susan McPherson, Founder, and CEO of McPherson Strategies, Serial Connector, Communications Expert, and Author of The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships. Susan McPherson shares the power of building authentic relationships and fostering meaningful connections. Susan also talks about the three phases of proactively connecting with people and how to go beyond our bubb...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Lisa Gable, Former US Ambassador, UN delegate, CEO, and author of Turnaround: How to Change Course When Things Are Going South. In the conversation, Lisa Gable shares how leaders can get their teams and organizations back on track based on her experience as an executive responsible for turnarounds of various organizations. Lisa Gable also shared how turnaround principles can help teams stay aligned with organizational strategy ...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli talked with Dr. Timothy Clark, the founder and CEO of LeaderFactor and author of Four Stages of Psychological Safety. Dr. Clark has broken down the different stages to ensure psychological safety in teams. Dr. Timothy Clark shares how teams can build on the understanding of each stages in order to boost psychological safety in the workplace. Some highlights: -Dr. Timothy Clark on why leaders cannot be neutral -The skills that leaders ne...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Susan Lacz, principal, and chief executive officer of Ridgewells Catering, shared her leadership journey with Mahan Tavakoli. Susan Lacz spoke about how she has managed the obstacles in her life and has built a successful business that needs to continue changing and adapting through disruption. Susan Lacz also shared why she is so committed to giving back to the community through Ridgwell Catering's support and giving her time and energy to many institut...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Susie Wise, founder and former director of the K12 Lab Network at the Stanford d.school. Dr. Susie Wise is a co-creator of Liberatory Design and author of Design for Belonging. Susie Wise shares the crucial role leaders play in creating feelings of inclusion within their organizations. She also shared practices for reducing chances of othering and increasing a sense of belonging in teams and organizations. Finally, Dr. Susie Wi...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks about the impact of selfie culture on leadership. Mahan shares thoughts on selfie leadership, servant leadership, and partnering leaders' fundamental mindset and behaviors. From storytelling to the pictures on social media, how we think about leadership impacts attitudes and behaviors. Some highlights: -What contributes to selfie leadership -Servant leadership's role in countering selfie leadership -The impact of selfie leaders on ...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Kapil Kane, Director of Innovation at Intel China and co-founder of GrowthX- an award-winning corporate innovation accelerator. Kapil Kane shares lessons from his experience at the intersection of technology and innovation working for Apple and Intel. Kapil Kane also shared lessons learned and how teams and organizations of all sizes can encourage innovation and intrapreneurship. Some highlights: -Kapil Kane's start in design...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Leidy Klotz, a professor at the University of Virginia appointed in the Schools of Engineering, Architecture, and Business and author of the book Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less. Leidy Klotz shares some of the reasons why we typically look to add rather than consider subtraction when looking to solve problems and improve systems. Leidy Klotz also discusses how subtraction can benefit leaders of organizations and managers...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Ron Adner, professor, keynote speaker, advisor, and author of Winning the Right Game: How to Disrupt, Defend, and Deliver in a Changing World and The Wide Lens: What Successful Innovators See That Others Miss. Ron Adner talks about his research on why companies fail and what they can do to advance in an era of ecosystem-based disruption. Professor Ron Adner also shares mindsets and frameworks necessary for leaders to develop ne...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi, astrophysicist, STEM educator, multi-patented inventor, keynote speaker, and author of A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars. In the conversation, Hakeem Oluseyi shares his journey of overcoming adversities and becoming a leading astrophysicist of this generation. Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi also talked about his ability to explain astrophysics in a way that engages audiences and the value ...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Stephen M.R. Covey. Stephen M.R. Covey is the New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of The Speed Of Trust, former CEO of Covey Leadership Center, and author of Trust And Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others. Stephen shares why many leaders are still operating with a command and control mindset and the need to develop the mindset and capabilities of becoming trusting and inspiring lead...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Chuck Robb, Virginia's 64th governor from 1982 to 1986 and U.S. senator from 1989–to 2001. Governor Chuck Robb is also the author of In the Arena: A Memoir of Love War and Politics. In the conversation, Governor Chuck Robb shares his story of joining the Marines, being assigned to the White House, serving in Vietnam, and marrying President Lyndon Baines Johnson's daughter, Linda Bird Johnson. Chuck Robb also talked about his le...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Ralf Specht, author of Building Corporate Soul: Powering Culture & Success with the Soul System. After two decades with McCann Erickson, Ralf Specht became a founding partner of Spark44, an innovative, industry-first joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover. Under his leadership as CEO, Spark44 grew to a 1,200 people business in 18 countries. In the conversation, Ralf Specht shares how organizations can create an environment where ...