Cocktail Leadership

We all have to make a decision on whether we want to be a leader and how we choose to lead.

In this episode, Kevin Withane speaks with Dr Catherine Rymsha, author of The Leadership Decision.  Catherine and Kevin chat about: 

• Leaders defining what leadership means to them;
• The effect of the pandemic on leadership approach; and
• Finding the balance between being there for your people but also holding them accountable.

Dr Catherine Rymsha is a lecturer at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, where she teaches courses on leadership. Catherine spent over ten years in marketing/communications leadership roles and now leads learning and development for a software company.

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You can find out more about Catherine on the Cocktail Leadership blog here.  

You can engage with Cocktail Leadership on the website, where you will also find links to our social media:

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Produced by Simpler Media

Leaders must have inclusion as part of their arsenal today.  We can create an inclusive culture. The key thing about culture is that we want the culture to change because we want behaviors to change. So if you want to shift in behavior, we need a shift in thinking. 

In this episode, Kevin Withane speaks with Frances Frei and Anne Morriss, coauthors in life and work, whose most recent book, UNLEASHED: The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You, is the most definitive guide to leadership today. On the episode, they talk about: 

• Inclusion being an essential part of leadership;
• The need for a foundation of trust; and
• The qualities of 27-year-olds.

Frances Frei is a professor at Harvard Business School. She recently served as Uber’s first SVP of leadership and strategy. Her TED talk about building trust has logged over 4 million views. She was described in a recent Los Angeles Times article as “the go-to woman for companies like Uber and WeWork looking to improve their image.” She has made headlines in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, FT, USA Today, Washington Post, CNN, NPR, CNBC, The New Yorker, Fortune, Variety, ESPN, New York Magazine, Vox, and Business Insider.

Anne Morriss is the Executive Founder of The Leadership Consortium, a first-of-its-kind accelerator for building diverse executive teams. She has appeared on “CBS This Morning.”

They are also coauthors of the bestselling book Uncommon Service.

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You can find out more about Anne and Frances on the Cocktail Leadership blog here.  

You can engage with Cocktail Leadership on the website, where you will also find links to our social media:

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Produced by Simpler Media

This is a great era for opportunity and for businesses that can demonstrate ethical leadership.

In this episode, Kevin Withane speaks with Alison Taylor, leader and thought leader in the ethics and compliance and ESG space, about: 

• The generational views on diversity and inclusion;
• The rise of employee activism; and
• The need to review the skills of Boards.

Alison Taylor is Executive Director of Ethical Systems, a research collaboration housed at NYU Stern School of Business. She is also a Senior Advisor at BSR and an Adjunct Professor at NYU Stern School of Business, where she teaches professional responsibility and leadership. Alison has a long track record of consulting for large multinational companies on strategy, sustainability, political and social risk, culture and behavior, human rights, ethics and compliance, stakeholder engagement, ESG, and anti-corruption. She is a 2019-21 member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Transparency and Anti-Corruption, and a member of Compliance Week's advisory board.

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You can find out more about Alison on the Cocktail Leadership blog here, and you can find her on Linkedin here.  You can find out more about the Ethical Systems here.

You can engage with Cocktail Leadership on the website, where you will also find links to our social media:

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Produced by Simpler Media

Purpose, like people, can evolve.  What was on the radar 12 years ago is not necessarily what should be on it today. 

In this episode, Kevin Withane speaks with Matt Meyer, a leader, strategist, and advocate for sustainable business, about: 

• Diversity and inclusion in the law;
• The importance of purpose; and
• The difference between profits and value.

Matt is CEO and Chairman of Taylor Vinters and also the host of the popular Zebra Talk series of conversations with leaders about the soft infrastructure of successful organisations. In 2019 he was identified by the Financial Times as one of Europe's most innovative lawyers and has been recognised by MPF for strategic leadership in professional services. Prior to embarking on his leadership career, Matt was an international technology lawyer and has worked with entrepreneurial and Fortune 500 companies alike. Matt is a Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society and a qualified pilot.

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You can find out more about Matt on the Cocktail Leadership blog here, and you can find him on Linkedin here.  You can find out more about the Zebra Project and the Zebra Talk here.

You can engage with Cocktail Leadership on the website, where you will also find links to our social media:

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Produced by Simpler Media

Human potential is the brightest spot on the horizon for the future of work. 

In this episode, Kevin Withane speaks with bestselling author Diana Wu David about :

• Why she wrote a book about future-proofing your career;
• Leadership lessons learned from Henry Kissenger; and
• Whether or not stakeholder capitalism is a fad.

Diana Wu David is the Founder of Future Proof Lab and the author of Future Proof: Reinventing Work in an Age of Acceleration.  You can get your copy from Amazon. 

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You can find out more about Diana on the Cocktail Leadership blog here, and you can find her on Linkedin here.

You can engage with Cocktail Leadership on the website, where you will also find links to our social media:

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Produced by Simpler Media

Freedom to be happy for all employees.  That is the mission of my guest on this episode.  Happiness in the workplace is not just a fluffy idea.  Happiness has a direct impact on the engagement of employees.

In this episode, Kevin Withane speaks with recently minted first-time author, Matthew Phelan about :

• Why his early leadership heroes were John Barnes, Gary Lineker, and Paul Gascoigne (soccer players for those in America)
• Leadership lessons learned from being an entrepreneur in his 20s; and
• Why employee happiness is an indicator of things to come for businesses.

Matt is Co-CEO and Head of Global Happiness at the Happiness Index.  Matt is also the author of Freedom To Be Happy: The Business Case for Happiness.  You can get your copy from Amazon. 

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You can find out more about Matt on the Cocktail Leadership blog here, and you can find him on Linkedin here.

You can engage with Cocktail Leadership on the website, where you will also find links to our social media:

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Produced by Simpler Media

Human connection. That is what this episode’s guest loves.  He has spent two decades of research taking him from the Pentagon to Fortune 50 boardrooms to the rainforest of Papua New Guinea.  All this in a quest to understand the neuroscience of human connection, human happiness, and effective teamwork. He is now deploying neuroscience technologies to solve real problems faced by real people.

In this episode, Kevin Withane speaks with Dr. Paul Zak (aka Dr. Love) about:

• Whether work should be an experience
• The lesson learnt from spending time with a tribe in Papua New Guinea; and
• Being a good leader sometimes involves listening to the employee gripes.

Paul is the author of Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies.  You can get your copy from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and all other good book stores. 

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You can find out more about Paul on the Cocktail Leadership blog here, and you can find him on Linkedin here.

You can engage with Cocktail Leadership on the website, where you will also find links to our social media on:

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Produced by Simpler Media

You run out of ramen money while earning your doctorate degree at Oxford University so return home ready to take up a research job.  Instead, you end up working in a steel factory and in less than 3 years become the Plant Manager and VP of Operations.  This is the place to put theory into practice.

In this episode, Kevin Withane speaks with Dr. Timothy Clark about:

• Psychological safety and what it means
• Why psychological safety is important today
• How Tim became a leader
• What leadership actually is
• How leaders can adapt to lead with integrity

Tim is the author of The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Innovation and Inclusion.  You can get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble and other good book stores. 

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You can find out more about Tim on the Cocktail Leadership blog here and you can find him on Linkedin here.

You can engage with Cocktail Leadership on the website where you will also find links to our social media or

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Produced by Simpler Media

Why put away a CIA turned KGB double agent and then move into tech and end up writing a book on integrity?

In this episode, Kevin Withane speaks with Rob Chesnut about:

• Rob’s first memories of intentional integrity
• Why he didn’t go into politics
• Why the internet has inspired him over his career
• Why there is a shift towards purpose-driven business
• How leaders can adapt to lead with integrity

Rob is the author of Intentional Integrity: How Smart Companies Can Lead An Ethical Revolution.  You can get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble and other good book stores. 

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You can find out more about Rob on the Cocktail Leadership blog here and you can find him on Linkedin here.

You can engage with Cocktail Leadership on the website where you will also find links to our social media or

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Produced by Simpler Media

How does a boy from Canton, Ohio, go to Asia to lead teams delivering revenues of US$1mn, while ensuring that his people know he has their back and that each day they leave work knowing it was about more than the bottom line? 

In this first episode, Kevin Withane, talks with Brian Kaiser about:

• Growing up in Canton, Ohio
• How Peyton Manning influenced his leadership style
• Why he moved to Asia
• How he delivers more than the bottom line
• Failure
• Trust
• 3 tips for future and young leaders

Although not in the interview:  Brian shared that when he drinks, his choice is for a drink is Bud Light – not quite a cocktail – or so you thought…..the cocktail for this episode is: the Dilly Dilly Drink.  You can find the recipe on the blog and photos on Instagram.

You can find out more about Brian on the Cocktail Leadership blog here and you can find him on Linkedin here.

You can engage with Cocktail Leadership on the website where you will also find links to our social media or

Follow Cocktail Leadership on Twitter

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Produced by Simpler Media