Stepping into the curiosity gap, with Paul McGregor

January 10, 2025
humans at work
Stepping into the curiosity gap, with Paul McGregor
1:01:10
 

“So, we need leaders who are jazz band leaders, where you agree on the key and get the drummer to set the tempo. And then actually it's up to the whole group to kind of be alive and paying attention to each other and having real honest conversations about what's going on. It's those tiny little glances between people when you're playing in a band that, of these little signals that you have to pay attention to. And so, the jazz band leader's job is very different. It's one of hinting and nudging and getting alongside people rather than being out the front demanding that they do things in a certain way.”

This episode of the humans at work podcast features conversation with Paul McGregor, facilitator and speaker. We explore various themes including leadership, facilitation, and community engagement, including the importance of cultural context. Paul shares his journey of writing a book focused on the power of curiosity and questions in leadership, while also emphasizing the significance of listening and engagement in effective communication. And we touch on the challenges of job seeking in today's environment, and the need for organizations to rethink their recruitment processes.

Paul and I talk about:

  • The importance of culturally appropriate introductions in New Zealand.
  • Listening as a critical skill for effective leadership.
  • The role of facilitation in navigating complex group dynamics.
  • How curiosity drives better engagement and understanding.
  • The ways job seeking has changed, and the need for recruitment processes to be more human-centred.
  • How relationships should come ahead of process – in leadership, recruitment, procurement.
  • The social contract between employees and organizations.
  • How the process of writing a book can enhance personal confidence and knowledge.
  • The importance of questions, and how they can elicit unexpected insights and deeper conversations.

a visual recording of the podcast conversation

follow the graphical journey map of my conversation with Paul
Hand-drawn style infographic about Directing the Future featuring Enver Samuel

Resources and Links:

 

To learn more about Paul: 

Follow Paul on LinkedIn

Visit Paul at www.paulmcgregor.co.nz

Take the listening quiz by Oscar Trimboli that Paul mentions here

Talking Hummingbird in yellow
Hand-drawn hummingbird tinkering with laptop coloured in pink

connect with Jules:

Follow Jules on LinkedIn

Need an engaging, thought-provoking, inspirational speaker or facilitator? Talk to Jules about her availability via Calendly

To get Jules’ help with your organisational or leadership challenge, visit www.jerica.org or go ahead and book a time with Jules via Calendly

 

keep connected with humans at work:

To listen to more podcasts and read Jules’ blogs visit humansatwork.org

To improve your ethical leadership, sign up to our free self-paced digital Matching Values to Action course

want a copy of the podcast transcript?

Download your copy and have a read.

download
transcript

read the blog  

for Jules' reflections

read the blog
Sketch of laptop in green colour