Shows
The Evolving Leader‘Why We Believe’ with Alister McGrathIn this episode of The Evolving Leader, Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are joined by renowned philosopher and theologian Alister McGrath to explore one of the most timeless and urgent questions: Why do we believe? Drawing on insights from his new book, Why We Believe: Finding Meaning in Uncertain Times, McGrath reflects on the nature of belief, the human need for meaning, and how our convictions shape who we are and how we lead.The conversation takes us from McGrath’s early journey through science and Marxism to his later embrace of faith, to the cultural forces sh...2025-06-1851 min
The Evolving Leader‘Why Character Matters’ with Dr Edward BrooksWhat if leadership isn’t just about performance, but about character? In this episode of The Evolving Leader, we’re joined by Dr. Ed Brooks, Executive Director of the Oxford Character Project and co-editor of the new book The Arts of Leading. With hosts Jean Gomes and Emma Sinclair, Ed explores how cultivating human character, hope, courage, humility, and clarity, can provide the deep stability today’s leaders urgently need.We discuss the difference between optimism and hope, why virtues like kindness and creativity are underrated in leadership, and how the arts and humanit...2025-06-0455 min
The Evolving Leader‘Certainty: How Great Bosses Change Minds’ with Mike MearsIn this compelling episode of The Evolving Leader, we sit down with Mike Mears, former CIA leadership head and author of "Certainty: How Great Bosses Can Change Minds and Drive Innovation." Mike shares powerful insights from his extraordinary career – from his days as a combat platoon leader and nuclear missile commander to his transformative work at GE and the CIA. Discover how his relentless curiosity led him to question conventional leadership practices, the pivotal moments that reshaped his approach, and the lessons he's learned about inspiring teams in a world driven by uncertainty. How can leaders inspire and...2025-05-2158 min
The Evolving Leader‘Ego Flip’ with James WoodcockIt's no secret that the world is changing rapidly (perhaps faster than many of us appreciate) and this demands a new kind of leadership. But is your ego holding back your ability to evolve and lead effectively?In this episode, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are in conversation with business philosopher, consultant and author of ‘Ego Flip: How to Reset Your Leadership Life’, James Woodcock. The conversation goes beyond theory, exploring practical ways to understand your own perspective and offers simple, actionable ideas like the ‘one breath rule’ and ‘noticing thinking’. If you're interested in understand...2025-05-0751 min
The Evolving LeaderBONUS: Working in AI with Damian LoweIn this bonus episode of The Evolving Leader, host Jean Gomes speaks with Damian Lowe, a senior software engineer at Symphony AI. They discuss how many of us have moved beyond the initial reactions to services like ChatGPT towards a current phase focused on experimenting, learning, and building. Damian shares that for programmers, AI tools like large language models (LLMs) are already providing a tangible 10-20% productivity gain for tasks like code suggestions and reviews, noting that both the technology and human adaptation are still maturing. However he adds that while...2025-05-0241 min
The Evolving LeaderThe Next Breakthrough in Self Awareness with Caroline WilliamsThis week on The Evolving Leader is a double celebration – after more than 4 years and 190 episodes, we are thrilled to release our first in-person episode where co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender (usually sat thousands of miles apart) were together with guest, the renowned science writer Caroline Williams. Long term listeners will remember that we spoke to Caroline way back in season 2, and we are so pleased that Caroline agreed to come back and talk to us again, this time about her work around the science of interoception and her new book Inner Sense....2025-04-231h 17
The Evolving Leader‘Normalising Human Leadership’ with Nicky LoweIn this episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender talk to Nicky Lowe. Nicky started her career working for a Silicon Valley tech company during the lead up to Y2K, where the financial rewards were great but for many their own wellbeing was secondary. After having her first child Nicky experienced burnout on her return to work, as she says ‘underestimating the psychosocial factors that impact women - especially mothers in the workplace’. Nicky became extremely curious as to what had happened and as a result reimagined her approach to her caree...2025-04-0953 min
The Evolving Leader‘Fake News and Why We Fall For It’ with Sander van der LindenDuring this episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender discuss the pervasive issue of misinformation and its implications for society with Professor Sander van der Linden. Sander is Professor of Social Psychology in Society in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge and Director of the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab and has also held posts at Princeton and Yale University. His research interests centre around the psychology of human judgment and decision-making and in particular he is interested in the social influence and persuasion process and how people are influenced by (mis...2025-03-261h 03
The Evolving LeaderThe Enneagram in Real Life with Stephanie Barron HallIn this bonus episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, host Scott Allender talks to Enneagram Practitioner, Leadership Consultant, and Author Stephanie Barron Hall. During the episode, Stephanie explains what the Enneagram is, how people new to the Enneagram might approach it and how it can be applied to teams in the workplace. Stephanie is the author of 'Enneagram In Real Life - Find Your Type and Take Steps Toward Growth'Further reading from Stephanie Barron Hall:Get your copy of Enneagram in Real Life https://www.ninetypes.co/e...2025-03-2150 min
The Evolving LeaderPermission to Feel with Dr. Marc BrackettDuring this episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are in conversation with Dr Marc Brackett. As the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, Marc is professor in the Child Study Center at Yale, and author of the best-selling book 'Permission to Feel'. Marc’s next book ‘Dealing With Feeling – Use Your Emotions to Create the Life You Want’ is due for release in September 2025.An award-winning researcher for 25 years, Marc has published 175 scholarly articles on the role of Emotional Intelligence in learning, decision making, creativity, relationships, physical and mental h...2025-03-1259 min
The Evolving LeaderThe New CEO with Ty WigginsIn this episode of The Evolving Leader, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Emma Sinclair talk to CEO and Executive Transition advisor Ty Wiggins. He advises leading companies on leadership transitions and executive onboarding to ensure the accelerated paths to effectiveness and is one of only a handful of people globally with a PhD in senior leadership transitions. Ty is the author of ‘The New CEO – Lessons From CEOs on How to Start Well and Perform Quickly’ (Wiley, 2024).Other reading from Jean Gomes and Scott Allender:Leading In A Non-Linear World (J Gomes, 2023)The Enneagram of Emo...2025-02-2656 min
The Evolving LeaderThe Atomic Human with Neil LawrenceDuring this episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender talk to Professor Neil Lawrence. Neil is one of the world’s most influential thinkers on the future of machine intelligence and the implications of what it means to be human. He’s the DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge and a Visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield. In his book ‘The Atomic Human’, he explores the differences between AI and human intelligence. For three years (2016 – 2019) Neil was also Director of Machine Learning at Amazon.Other reading from Jean...2025-02-121h 03
The Evolving LeaderRethinking Driving Productivity in Emerging Markets with Anant NyshadhamDuring this episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are in conversation with Anant Nyshadham who’s work includes studying the effectiveness of firms in developing countries with the intention of accelerating economic development. Anant is an associate Professor in the Business Economics and Public Policy area of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is also an affiliate of BREAD, which is a nonprofit dedicated to research and scholarship in development economics. And he is a research affiliate of...2025-01-2957 min
The Evolving Leader‘Building X-Teams' with Deborah AnconaIn this episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender talk to Professor Deborah Ancona about the importance of X-teams. These are a brand of team that emphasizes external outreach to stakeholders, extensive ties, expandable tiers, and flexible membership. The resulting X-teams are not only are able to adapt in ways that traditional teams are not, but they actually improve an organization’s ability to produce creative ideas and execute them increasing entrepreneurial and innovative capacity.During the conversation Deborah highlights the shift from traditional team structures to distributed leadership, where leadership is di...2025-01-1558 min
The Evolving LeaderREPLAY: How Emotions Are Made with Dr Lisa Feldman BarrettBack in 2020, we released a two-part conversation (S1 Ep15 and 16) with neuroscientist Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett. We’re long-time admirers of Lisa’s work and were thrilled that she agreed to join co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender to discuss her work on The Evolving Leader podcast. It’s also clear that Lisa Feldman Barrett’s work is a big hit with our listeners as four years after release these two episodes continue to sit at the top of our listener chart, so here we’ve decided to pull them together into a special extended episode.Lisa Feldman Ba...2024-12-181h 21
The Evolving LeaderExponential Growth with Salim IsmailThis week on The Evolving Leader podcast, hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender spend an hour with Salim Ismail. In 2011, Salim Ismail co-wrote ‘Exponential Organizations’, a book that has since been widely read by CEOs who are looking for a new way to navigate uncertainty and embrace disruptive technologies and business models. In 2023 Salim and his co-authors updated the book and during this conversation he talks to Jean and Scott about ‘Exponential Organizations ExO 2.0’.Salim is also the founder and chairman of OpenExO which helps companies implement the ExO playbook. He is a serial entrepreneur, the Founding Executiv...2024-12-1155 min
The Evolving LeaderThe New Science of Everyday Wonder with Dacher KeltnerDuring this episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are in conversation with Dr Dacher Kelter. Dacher is a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and the director of the Greater Good Science Center. His pioneering research focuses on the cultural and evolutionary origins of compassion, awe, love, beauty, power, social class and social inequality. He has over 200 scientific publications and has written several books, the latest of which is Awe - The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How it Can Transform Your Life. In this book, Dr. Keltner investigates the...2024-11-2650 min
The Evolving LeaderBeing Human in the Age of AI with Susie AlegreIn this episode, we’re delighted to welcome Susie Alegre back to The Evolving Leader. Susie is a leading human rights barrister at the internationally renowned Garden Court Chambers. She has been a legal pioneer in digital human rights, in particular the impact of artificial intelligence on the human rights of freedom of thought and opinion and she is also Senior Research Fellow at the University of Roehampton.Artificial intelligence is starting to shape every aspect of our daily lives, from how we think to who we love, and in her latest book ‘Human Rights, Robot Wrongs, Bein...2024-11-1355 min
The Evolving LeaderConnecting with our Future Selves with Hal HershfieldHave you ever wanted to travel through time and see what your life will be like in the future? While we want the best possible future for ourselves, we often fail to make decisions that would make that a reality. So why are so many of us so disconnected from our future selves?This week on The Evolving Leader, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender talk to psychologist Professor Hal Hershfield. Hal is Professor of Marketing, Behavioural Decision Making, and Psychology at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and is committed to the work of helping people ma...2024-10-3051 min
The Evolving LeaderThe Excitable Soul with James GloverAre you feeling stuck? Finding your purpose changes everything.During this new episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, co-host Jean Gomes talks to self-confessed purpose nerd James Glover. James is the founder of The Excitable Soul, an organisation through which he and his team address the challenge that is helping people find their purpose. James is a World Champion athlete and a former Olympic performance coach, and after leaving elite sport he has worked all over the world with large organisations including Google, Microsoft and Sky helping them invest in their people and nurture a happier, stronger...2024-10-1657 min
The Evolving LeaderHarness the Power of Open Innovation with Steve RaderSteve Rader is a leader in the thinking behind open innovation, open talent, and the future of work. In this episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, Steve joins Evolving Leader cohosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender to share how leaders can learn from his important work and use their learnings to solve complex problems. Steve tells us that open innovation and open talent are key strategies for organisations to stay competitive in a rapidly changing world.References from this episode:"Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI" by Ethan Mollick (April 2024)RapidMiner (https://altair...2024-10-0259 min
The Evolving LeaderReignite Your Inner Drive with Sharath JeevanWhat happens when everything changes, when your core assumptions about your life and work seem no longer to hold true? A key responsibility of the leader is to be honest with themselves and others about anticipating, accepting and preparing for new realities while acknowledging that human beings often resist reality in ingenious and self deceiving ways.In this episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender talk to Sharath Jeevan O.B.E. about his work helping leaders confront inflection moments where the external environment poses a significant threat or opportunity to an...2024-09-1848 min
The Evolving LeaderThe Laws of Connection with David RobsonIn this episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender welcome back former guest science writer David Robson. David is an award-winning science writer specialising in the extremes of the human brain, body and behaviour. He has worked as editor of New Scientist and BBC Future, and his writing has been published in The Guardian, the Observer, the Washington Post and Atlantic and in 2022 was a finalist for the Best British Science Journalist of the year award. He has written three books including The Intelligence Trap (2019), The Expectation Effect (2022) for which he won a British...2024-09-1155 min
The Evolving LeaderLeading With Radical Candor with Kim ScottIn this episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are in conversation with Kim Scott. Kim is the author of the best selling ‘Radical Candor, How To Get What You Want by Saying What You Mean’ (2017), ‘Just Work: How to Confront Bias, Prejudice and Bullying to Build a Culture of Inclusivity’ (2021) and the more recently published ‘Radical Respect, How to Work Together Better’ (2024). Kim was a CEO coach at Dropbox, Qualtrix and Twitter and she hosts the Radical Candor and Radical Respect podcast.Referenced during this episode:Radical Candor, How To Get W...2024-09-041h 09
The Evolving LeaderLeaders Who Fiction with Melanie Bell (BONUS)Are you a leader who loves to read fiction but rarely finds time to do so?In this bonus episode, guest host Sara Deschamps talks to Melanie Bell about the intersection between reading fiction and heightened creativity, how fiction can help broaden your openness to and awareness of different points of views, and how impactful creating a community over shared literary experiences has been for the leaders who come together every month.Enjoy this short bonus episode of The Evolving Leader podcast.Leaders Who FictionOther reading from Jean Gomes...2024-08-2121 min
The Evolving LeaderSUMMER SHORTS: Steve Ingham (BONUS)This short comes from a conversation that co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender had with Steve Ingham back in October 2021 (S3 Ep7).LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION:Steve Ingham - Pioneering Performance ScientistTalking to Jean and Scott this week is Steve Ingham, one of the world’s most successful performance scientists. Steve has worked with over one thousand elite athletes, and over 200 of those (including Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent) have gone on to achieve World or Olympic medal success.Social:In...2024-08-0805 min
The Evolving LeaderSUMMER SHORTS: Sally Bolton (BONUS)This short comes from a conversation that co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender had with Sally Bolton back in March 2021 (S2 Ep6).LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION:Heritage and Innovation at Wimbledon with CEO Sally BoltonIn this episode of the Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender talk to Wimbledon CEO, Sally Bolton. Sally shares some of the leadership challenges that she has faced during her first 12 months as CEO of one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events, a year in which she had to take the de...2024-08-0603 min
The Evolving LeaderSUMMER SHORTS: Cath Bishop (BONUS)This short comes from a conversation that co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender had with Cath Bishop back in March 2021 (S2 Ep9).LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION:Rethinking Winning with Cath BishopDuring this episode, co-hosts Scott Allender and Jean Gomes talk to Cath Bishop, former world champion and Olympic silver medal winning rower, and conflict diplomat who worked in some of the world’s most challenging regions including Bosnia and Iraq. In October 2020, Cath's first book "The Long Win: The Search for a Better Way to Succeed" was published and listed by...2024-08-0404 min
The Evolving LeaderSUMMER SHORTS: Sir John Kay (BONUS)This short comes from a conversation that co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender had with Sir John Kay back in June 2021 (S2 Ep19).LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION:Distinguishing Risk and Uncertainty with John KayIn this episode of the Evolving Leader, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender talk to John Kay, one of the world’s leading economists, whose life’s work is focused on the relationship between economics and businesses. Together with Mervyn King, former Governor of the Bank of England, he wrote Radical Uncertainty about the impoverished appro...2024-07-3003 min
The Evolving LeaderBecoming a Culture Leader with Jessica KriegelIn this week’s episode of The Evolving Leader, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are in conversation with Dr Jessica Kriegel. Jessica is Chief Scientist of Workplace Culture at Culture Partners where she leads groundbreaking research, strategy and innovation alongside institutions like Stanford University. Jessica is one of the few women in her space uncovering the uncharted territories of culture and leadership. As a single parent, she is also a fierce advocate for women in the workplace and designing a job that works for you—not a job you work for.Jessica’s groundbreaking research is detail...2024-07-1749 min
The Evolving LeaderEmotional Ignorance with Dean BurnettIn this episode of The Evolving Leader, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are in conversation with neuroscientist, lecturer, author, blogger, podcaster, pundit, science communicator and comedian Dr Dean Burnett. Previously employed as a psychiatry tutor and lecturer at the Cardiff University Centre for Medical Education, Dean is currently an honorary research associate at Cardiff Psychology School, as well as a Visiting Industry Fellow at Birmingham City University.Dean is currently a full-time author, previously known for his satirical science column ‘Brain Flapping‘ at the Guardian, which ran from 2012 to 2018 he went on to write his first (the...2024-07-101h 06
The Evolving LeaderChange From the Inside Out with Scott ShuteIn this episode of The Evolving Leader, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender are in conversation with Scott Shute. Scott specialises in combining the practicalities of leading in the modern business world with the wisdom of ancient traditions to help individuals and companies be leaders in conscious business. His goal is for businesses to thrive financially while providing their customers long-term value and leaving employees feeling inspired and whole. When done consciously, work can be a part of the collective healing that needs to take place in the world.Scott has been studying and practicing mindfulness and...2024-07-0352 min