Shows
The Lateral Dialogues14. The Collaboration Tension: Leading between Autonomy and InterdependencyWhat does it take to collaborating in today's organizational complexity? There are two major shifts, which are the two sides of the same coin: 1. our interdependencies are heightened more than ever, and 2. we are expected to operate with autonomy, to be self-steering.
This mean that to be an effective leader today you need to actively manage your ability to operate autonomously AND to thrive through the interdependencies with other leaders. Easier said than done!
In this podcast episode Warden Hoffman and Petros Oratis explore the tension that most leaders and teams experience in this paradigm:2025-02-2744 min
The Lateral Dialogues8. Technology & humans: Who’s in the lead? Exploring tech-human dynamics in organizations & everyday life (with Dr Nick Waggett)Throughout human history we have been developing and deploying technological solutions in the service of organizational and human needs. But after technology gets introduced, we may quickly find ourselves operating in the service of the needs of technology more than our own. Our tendency to idealize its possibilities and benefits, may quickly make us give up authority to technology to lead us, and lose our capacity to think as every situation requires us to. We adjust our lifestyles or work processes to serve the tech interface, sometimes forgetting that it should serve us. Why do we do that? And how...2024-06-1450 min
The Lateral Dialogues7. Is Change Management a job? Challenging the limitations of mainstream thinking on organizational change (with Minola Jac)Change management has been very present in management practices with lots of well-known methodologies, primarily originating from project management environments. But do they always yield the desired benefits?
What about the non-linear aspects of organizational change? Whether that’s an adjustment to a new environment, letting go of well-known and liked ways of working or facing loss and uncertainty. How clear is the desired end-state, when we lead change and when does the change work stop?
In this episode, we discuss questions around, the position of change management in large organizations and the role of se...2024-04-2544 min
The Lateral Dialogues6. Navigating polarization: Our opinion blocks in everyday life & how to coach highly polarized teams (with Martin Ringer)The intensity of polarization in everyday life or in organizations can make us feel toxic, even though we want to take a stand for our values, interests and beliefs. In this episode, our guest Martin Ringer, helps us understand and explore this topic:
How does polarization form?
Why do we need to belong to opinion blocks and when does it turn toxic?
How do we experience it in everyday life and society?
How can we coach polarized teams in collaboration breakdown?
Why seeking common ground too early can prove...2024-03-2750 min
PITY PARTY OVERLeadership: Lateral Dialogues - Featuring Dr. Petros OratisDr. Petros Oratis, a leadership and organization development consultant, team facilitator, and executive coach, believes modern organizational success hinges on embracing lateral leadership and fostering collaboration across hierarchical boundaries. Lateral leadership refers to a leadership style that emphasizes collaboration, teamwork, and the ability to lead without relying on a formal position of authority. Dr. Oratis advocates for leaders to address these interdependencies by creating spaces for dialogue and understanding, particularly in environments where power dynamics and competition may exist. Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Podbean, or...2024-02-2832 min
The Lateral Dialogues5. How can we face the climate? Exploring our emotional response to meaningful engagement with climate action (with Dr Rebecca Nestor)Some consider the climate crisis, the most urgent issue for the earth’s future and ourselves on it. Yet, why is it so hard to engage with it, systemically and as individuals? Why is it so hard to inspire action for those working on the climate crisis? What does it take to work in sustainability within large corporations? And how do each of us, Earth’s inhabitants, get emotionally impacted by the climate crisis? Why does this topic evoke polarization in society and politically, between activists and deniers?
In this Lateral Dialogue, we are exploring all these quest...2024-02-1250 min
The Lateral Dialogues4. Can we really talk about the war? Discussing geopolitical and social conflict in organizations and our social lives (with Bijan Khajehpour & Regine Scholz from IDI)How can we engage in social dialogue on geopolitical or social conflict, such as the war in Gaza or Ukraine? How can we have a meaningful dialogue beyond polarization or political correctness? Why are we psychologically mobilized to fight, even when we are not directly linked to these conflicts and why are we impacted in our ability to think, talk, and act? We are joined by Bijan Khajehpour & Regine Scholz from the International Dialogue Initiative. They explain Vamik Volkan's theory of large group identity and collective trauma to understand how we are mobilized psychologically during a crisis or war...2024-01-0358 min
The Lateral Dialogues3. Are we all impostors? Understanding self-doubt and -criticism in organizations (with Dr Veronica Azua)Dr Veronica Azua got motivated to research self-doubt, after noticing a very common paradox in senior leaders: despite having led successful lives and careers, they would still experience heightened self-doubt and self-criticism. In this Lateral Dialogue, Veronica shares some of the key moments, when we are prone to experience such feelings. How being surrounded by high-achievers or part of "elite" organizations intensifies feelings of self-doubt which may not reflect realistic expectations of our role or results. We explore how organizations or particular contexts eliminate the space to feel doubtful or to tolerate not-knowing, and therefore as individuals, we stay...2023-10-0544 min
The Lateral Dialogues2. Obsessed with ranking: Inside the hidden hierarchy of teams (with Dr Petros Oratis).Why do we create hierarchies in groups, even when we intend to be flat? Why are we so preoccupied with ranking, and yet we operate with absolute equality? This episode explores how we are unconsciously impacted by hierarchy, how to recognize the dynamics of hidden hierarchy, and what its unintended effects on teams and leadership are.
The Lateral Dialogues are hosted by Warden Hoffman and Petros Oratis, managing partners at The Lateral Space http://www.thelateralspace.com/
2023-08-1745 min
The Lateral Dialogues1. Illuminating the hidden aspects of organizational culture (with Dr Karen Gray)1. Illuminating the hidden aspects of organizational culture: How can we uncover its unconscious aspects? What happens when we expose uncomfortable truths of how we function? Why often culture doesn’t shift even when we explicitly cascade how we should behave differently?
Dr. Karen Gray joins Warden Hoffman and Petros Oratis in this Lateral Dialogue to explore these questions.
2023-07-0641 min