Stepping into the curiosity gap, with Paul McGregor
“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.
Resources and Links:
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