Lancefield on the Line

• David Lancefield: Reflecting on 100 episodes of Lancefield on the Line

  So here we are, 100 episodes of Lancefield on the Line.To celebrate I am taking the opportunity to reflect on my journey as a podcast host, sharing insights gained from interviewing a diverse range of brilliant guests. I discuss what I have learned it takes to be a good podcast guest and host, as well as key areas we have covered in strategy, leadership and self-development.For the first time I also have questions fired back at me by some of my esteemed guests over the 100 episodes, where I offer further reflections on leadership and personal growth.Thank you to everyone involved in the last 100 episodes, the guests, the audience, my friends, supporters.I do hope you enjoy this episode. “The art of conversation is alive and kicking.” – DavidYou'll hear about:·      The Lancefield on the Line stats·      What it takes to be a great podcast guest·      What it takes to be a great podcast host·      4 big themes from 100 episodes·      Amy Gallo: Difficult conversations leaders are avoiding·      Josie Thomson: Leadership blind spots·      Tony Martignetti: Surprises in the evolution of the podcast·      Dina Denham Smith: What being a father of disabled child has taught me·      Dan Pontefract: The most challenging podcast interview·      Steven Rogelberg: The guest I'd most like to interview·      Scott D. Anthony: The connections between topics.·      Scott D. Anthony: What my guests miss·      Scott D. Anthony: My power question·      Michael Bungay Stanier: My hardest strategy and leadership lesson·      Paolo Gallo: Three takeaways from 100 episodes·      Melody Wilding: How my leadership philosophy has changed over 100 episodes ·      Costas Markides: Why CEOs don't do what they know they should do·      The most surprising, moving, intimidating episodes·      The bloopers and mistakesAbout David Lancefield:David is the founder of Strategy Shift. He’s worked with more than 50 CEOs and hundreds of others C-Suite executives to design bold strategies, supercharge their leadership, and transform their culture in 20 countries. He’s a contributor to Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Review, and Strategy+Business, and a guest lecturer at the London Business School. He is a former senior partner in Strategy&, PwC.Resources:• Strategy Shift: https://strategyshift.co.uk/• Profile: https://strategyshift.co.uk/founder/• Newsletter: https://davidlancefield.com/newsletter/• Courses: https://strategyshift.co.uk/courses/• Writing: https://davidlancefield.com/writing/• YouTube: http://bit.ly/3cFGk1kFor more details about me:●      Services (https://rb.gy/ahlcuy) to CEOs, entrepreneurs and professionals.●      About me (https://rb.gy/dvmg9n) - my background, experience and philosophy.●      Follow me and engage with me on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/2Z2PexP)●      Follow me and engage with me on Twitter (https://bit.ly/36XavNI)

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• Melody Wilding: Managing your boss skilfully

  Does your boss value everything you do?They should see it, get it, and tell us they appreciate it. But they don’t.Managing upwards could be the solution you need. It will help you perform at your best, and importantly, progress your career.My guest in this episode Melody Wilding, author of Managing Up, shares her research and experience on how to do this skilfully. She emphasises the need for employees to align with their bosses, understand different management styles, and communicate effectively.Melody gives insights into how you can convey information deftly, and navigate difficult conversations, such as how to get that raise that you’re after.This episode is packed full of tips about situations you'll find yourself in every day. So get ready to take notes.“Managing up is not about sucking up” – MelodyYou'll hear about:Why managing upwards is essential for career progressionHow understanding your boss's priorities can enhance your work alignment.Building a support network is crucial for effective upward management.The best ways to handle compensation discussions.About Melody:Melody Wilding is the bestselling author of Trust Yourself: Stop Overthinking and Channel Your Emotions for Success at Work and Managing Up: How to Get What You Need from the People in Charge (March 2025).As an award-winning executive coach, for more than a decade she’s helped top performers at the world’s most successful companies — including Google, JP Morgan, and Verizon — to find their professional power position, the sweet spot where confidence and influence meet. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and dozens of other respected publications. She’s a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Fast Company, and MSNBC.Resources:Book 'Managing Up' - https://managingup.com Scripts to say no at work - https://melodywilding.com/sayno My resources:Take my new Becoming a Strategic Leader course (https://bit.ly/3KJYDTj)Sign up to my Every Day is a Strategy Day newsletter (http://bit.ly/36WRpri) for modern mindsets and practices to help you get ahead.Subscribe to my YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/3cFGk1k) where you can watch the conversation.For more details about me:●      Services (https://rb.gy/ahlcuy) to CEOs, entrepreneurs and professionals.●      About me (https://rb.gy/dvmg9n) - my background, experience and philosophy.●      Examples of my writing https://rb.gy/jlbdds)●      Follow me and engage with me on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/2Z2PexP)●      Follow me and engage with me on Twitter (https://bit.ly/36XavNI)

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  41:37
• Laura Gassner Otting: Breaking through discomfort

  Success can be exhilarating, exhausting, even emotional.But even if you have it, you get a niggling feeling you could achieve more.In this episode I am joined by Laura Gassner Otting, author of Wonderhell. We talk about the complexities of success, fulfilment, and personal growth.Laura shares the importance of recognising the emotional challenges that accompany success, and how to navigate them effectively. She discusses the significance of aligning personal goals with values, and the importance of recognising this as a practice for all areas of life not just your work.Whether you’re riding high, full of self-doubt or wanting to get back to your A-game, there is a lot to learn from Laura.“Fix the goal, don’t fix you” - LauraYou'll hear about:How to use your emotions as catalysts for growthWhy you need to align goals with personal valuesFulfilment and the roles balance and success play to achieve itReinvention as a lifelong process not just in your workAbout Laura Gassner:Laura’s secret superpower is seeing your greatness and reflecting it back on you, so that you can get “unstuck” — and achieve extraordinary results. A regular contributor to Good Morning America, the TODAY Show, Harvard Business Review, and Oprah Daily, Laura is the Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of three books, Wonderhell, Limitless, and Mission-Driven. Laura’s 30-year resume is defined by her entrepreneurial edge. She served as a Presidential Appointee in Bill Clinton’s White House, helping shape AmeriCorps; left a leadership role at respected national search firm to expand a tech start-up; and founded, ran, and sold her own global search firm, partnering with the full gamut of mission driven corporate and nonprofit executives.Laura is turned on by the audacity of The Big Idea and that larger-than-life goal you just can’t seem to shake. She’s an instigator, motivator, and provocateur, and she’s never met a revolution she didn’t like. Just ask her enduringly patient husband, two almost-grown sons, and two troublesome pups with whom she lives outside of Boston, MA.Resources:• Profile: https://lauragassnerotting.com/meet-laura/• 'Limitless Leader' report: https://lauragassnerotting.com/resources/#report• ‘Hello Tuesday’ Newsletter: https://lauragassnerotting.com/resources/#newsletter• ‘Wonderhell’ and ‘Limitless’ Books: https://lauragassnerotting.com/resources/#booksMy resources:Take my new Becoming a Strategic Leader course (https://bit.ly/3KJYDTj)Sign up to my Every Day is a Strategy Day newsletter (http://bit.ly/36WRpri) for modern mindsets and practices to help you get ahead.Subscribe to my YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/3cFGk1k) where you can watch the conversation.For more details about me:●      Services (https://rb.gy/ahlcuy) to CEOs, entrepreneurs and professionals.●      About me (https://rb.gy/dvmg9n) - my background, experience and philosophy.●      Examples of my writing https://rb.gy/jlbdds)●      Follow me and engage with me on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/2Z2PexP)●      Follow me and engage with me on Twitter (https://bit.ly/36XavNI)

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  46:52
• Alex MH Smith: How to take complexity out of strategy

  Strategy is a word that invokes many emotions.There are those that fear it, those excited by it, and those apathetic to it.To help me on my quest to develop millions of strategic people I am joined by Alex MH Smith, author of No Bullsh*t Strategy.Alex talks with clarity on what strategy should mean to companies and how to approach it. He shares the ways in which people get strategy wrong, and the emotional weight the term has.Alex believes humility is the key to strategic thinking and growth. He also gives insights into what your strategy should include and the significance of good faith disagreement in strategic discussions.Alex’s brutally honest, refreshingly clear insights will change the way you think about strategy forever. “The higher your level of gaze, the more strategic you are” – AlexYou'll hear about:Why most businesses don’t actually have a strategyThe two fundamental problems every company faces—and how to fix themWhy extreme humility is the secret weapon of great strategistsThe biggest mistake leaders make when trying to "be strategic"How to communicate strategy so that everyone in your company actually gets itAbout Alex Smith:Alex is an author and speaker who believes that strategy is the most important skill in business. Unfortunately, it’s also the most misunderstood skill in business - meaning the vast majority of leaders don’t have this power at their fingertips. His work is focused on changing that - by making strategy simple, digestible, and fun so everyone can use it. Whether it’s through his social media following, his best selling book No Bullshit Strategy, or his DIY strategy program The Strategy Shortcut System, everything Alex does is about helping you make the key choices that are going to 50x your results - with no additional effort.Resources:• Hidden Path newsletter: www.basicarts.org/newsletter• Strategy Shortcut System: www.strategyshortcutsystem.com• No Bullsh*t Strategy: www.basicarts.org/bookMy resources:Take my new Becoming a Strategic Leader course (https://bit.ly/3KJYDTj)Sign up to my Every Day is a Strategy Day newsletter (http://bit.ly/36WRpri) for modern mindsets and practices to help you get ahead.Subscribe to my YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/3cFGk1k) where you can watch the conversation.For more details about me:●      Services (https://rb.gy/ahlcuy) to CEOs, entrepreneurs and professionals.●      About me (https://rb.gy/dvmg9n) - my background, experience and philosophy.●      Examples of my writing https://rb.gy/jlbdds)●      Follow me and engage with me on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/2Z2PexP)●      Follow me and engage with me on Twitter (https://bit.ly/36XavNI)

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  47:22
• Richard Cytowic: Getting off our screens

  Be honest, how much time do you spend looking at screens?It’s probably more than you’d care to admit. The bigger question is, what is all that screen time doing to your brain?In this episode I am joined by Richard Cytowic, author of Your Stone Age Brain in the Screen Age. We discuss the impact of screen addiction on the brain and body.Astonishingly, Richard explains that our brains have not evolved since the Stone Age. They also have fixed energy bandwidths that make multitasking inefficient, which leads to overwhelm and a dulled ability to communicate.Richard emphasises the importance of self-awareness for overcoming our addiction to screens, and the power of silence to help our brains to regulate themselves.If you are looking to boost productivity in your workplace this discussion is not to be missed.“Self-awareness is key to managing screen time” – RichardYou'll hear about:·      What's going on in our brains?·      How does energy relate to neuroplasticity?·      What does the screen do to the brain?·      The lack of screen regulations·      How to start a healthier relationship with screens·      The power of silence·      Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable·      The role and power of dream diaries·      Richard's advice for CEOs·      What does Richard's best day look like?·      The impact Richard wants to have on the world About Richard Cytowic:Richard E. Cytowic, a pioneering researcher in synesthesia, is Professor of Neurology at George Washington University. He is the author of Synesthesia, The Man Who Tasted Shapes, The Neurological Side of Neuropsychology, and, with David M. Eagleman, the Montaigne Medal–winner Wednesday Is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia, all published by the MIT Press. Resources:• Profile: https://cytowic.net/• Book ‘Your stone age brain in the screen age’ https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262049009/your-stone-age-brain-in-the-screen-age/• TED talk: What percentage of your brain do you use? https://www.ted.com/talks/richard_e_cytowic_what_percentage_of_your_brain_do_you_use My resources:Take my new Becoming a Strategic Leader course (https://bit.ly/3KJYDTj)Sign up to my Every Day is a Strategy Day newsletter (http://bit.ly/36WRpri) for modern mindsets and practices to help you get ahead.Subscribe to my YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/3cFGk1k) where you can watch the conversation.For more details about me: ●      Services (https://rb.gy/ahlcuy) to CEOs, entrepreneurs and professionals.●      About me (https://rb.gy/dvmg9n) - my background, experience and philosophy.●      Examples of my writing https://rb.gy/jlbdds)●      Follow me and engage with me on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/2Z2PexP)●      Follow me and engage with me on Twitter (https://bit.ly/36XavNI)

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  38:34

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