The biggest barrier to growth is often not a lack of talent, effort or ideas. It is the complexity that quietly accumulates inside organisations, consuming time, energy and attention. Lisa Bodell believes that when leaders focus on removing unnecessary work, rather than adding more, they create the space for better thinking, stronger performance and more meaningful results.

Lisa is a futurist, keynote speaker, and founder of FutureThink. Her work has helped organisations including Google, Pfizer, Citigroup and the U.S. Navy simplify how they operate.

Lisa explains why subtraction is a powerful leadership skill, how unnecessary rules and processes damage culture, and why simplicity creates a competitive advantage. She also explores the opportunities and risks of AI, the importance of protecting thinking time, and what leaders must do to build organisations where high performers thrive.

Takeaways

• Simplicity creates focus, helping leaders prioritise what matters most daily.
• Complexity grows when organisations continually add without ever subtracting.
• The best leaders think like sculptors, removing unnecessary work deliberately.
• Subtraction should be viewed as focus, not loss or failure.
• AI creates value when it frees humans for better thinking.
• Fear prevents people challenging outdated rules, processes and assumptions regularly.
• High-performing cultures require accountability, clarity and meaningful work expectations.
• Leaders should protect thinking time instead of executing calendars endlessly.

Follow Lisa Bodell
https://lisabodell.com/
https://www.futurethink.com/

Lisa’s books
Why Simple Wins: Escape the Complexity Trap and Get to Work That Matters https://amzn.to/4doNYuM
Kill the Company: End the Status Quo, Start an Innovation Revolution https://amzn.to/498E9Ql

Books recommended
The Social Animal: A Story of How Success Happens by David Brooks https://amzn.to/4vuVoEm Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners
Newsletter – each week I share interesting insights, articles and ideas you can use. Join other leaders and subscribe to The Evolution Partners newsletter https://evolutionpartners.com.au/subscribe/

Books – Learn more about our books https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/
Made to Thrive: The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO
Onboarded: How to bring new hires to the points where they are more effective faster. A business case for leaders on why you should commit to an effective onboarded process.
Onboarded for Managers: Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster.
Bigger isn’t Better, Better is Better: Avoiding the pressure of endless growth to build a better business (and better life)

Follow me:
on https://au.linkedin.com/in/bradleygiles
on https://twitter.com/Evolution_Perth

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Honesty is not a value to put on the wall. It is a behaviour, a skill and a choice leaders must practise every day. Dom Thurbon is an entrepreneur, researcher, writer and speaker who has spent nearly 20 years helping leaders and organisations change behaviour through disruption. He has built and sold two global businesses, worked as a partner at EY, co-founded Alchemy Labs and written several publications.

Dom explains why truth is so difficult inside organisations, how silence becomes a form of dishonesty, and why leaders must go first. He reveals how cultures gradually drift away from honest conversations, often without anyone intending it. The result is frustration, disengagement and problems that grow larger because nobody feels safe enough to speak up.

Dom says that honesty is not simply a value to aspire to but a skill that must be learned and practised. He challenges leaders to stop seeing themselves as passengers in culture and instead recognise their role in creating it, one conversation, one decision and one behaviour at a time.

Takeaways

• Truth is not a value; it is a skill leaders practice.
• Silence often causes more damage than outright dishonesty ever does.
• People frequently choose acceptance and belonging over difficult honest conversations.
• Every interaction teaches others what behaviour is acceptable and rewarded.
• Small problems become major failures when truth is repeatedly ignored.
• Leaders create honest cultures by demonstrating vulnerability and going first.
• No news rarely means good news; it often signals fear.
• Honest organisations are built through behaviours, not values statements alone.

Follow Dominic Thurbon
https://domthurbon.com/

Dominic’s book
To Be Honest: How making truth happen builds better businesses, lives and societies https://amzn.com/1923186434

Books recommended
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Pat Lencioni https://amzn.to/43Sruho
Determined: Life Without Free Will by Robert Sapolsky https://amzn.to/440O87a

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners

Newsletter – each week I share interesting insights, articles and ideas you can use. Join other leaders and subscribe to The Evolution Partners newsletter https://evolutionpartners.com.au/subscribe/

Books – Learn more about our books https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/
Made to Thrive: The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO
Onboarded: How to bring new hires to the points where they are more effective faster. A business case for leaders on why you should commit to an effective onboarded process.
Onboarded for Managers: Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster.
Bigger isn’t Better, Better is Better: Avoiding the pressure of endless growth to build a better business (and better life)

Follow me:
on https://au.linkedin.com/in/bradleygiles
on https://twitter.com/Evolution_Perth

Enjoying the show? Leave a review

Support the show: https://www.facebook.com/evolutionpartnersperth

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senior leaders do not get ownership from their leaders simply by setting expectations. According to leadership coach and author Kylie Paatsch, ownership grows when people feel known, trusted, supported and clear about what matters.

Kylie is a leadership coach and speaker who has spent more than 30 years leading at every level and more than 20 years coaching and facilitating senior leaders from mid-level through to C-suite.

Kylie explains why leading leaders requires a shift from doing to enabling, why transactional meetings flatten energy, and how unclear expectations are often mistaken for people problems. She shares her Know, Show, Grow model for building trust, loyalty, responsibility and initiative in leadership teams.

Takeaways

• Leading leaders requires influence, not simply managing people and tasks.
• Transactional meetings destroy connection, energy, ownership and meaningful team engagement.
• Clear expectations prevent confusion disguised as resistance, disengagement or poor performance.
• People want leaders who make them feel heard and understood.
• Ownership grows when leaders enable thinking instead of fixing everything.
• Trust strengthens when leaders consistently match their actions with words.
• Leaders often know performance metrics better than they know people.
• High challenge backed by high support unlocks stronger leadership performance.

Follow Kylie Paatsch
https://kyliepaatsch.com.au/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyliepaatsch/
https://www.instagram.com/kyliepaatschleadership/

Kylie’s book
The Connect Effect: How to Build Loyalty, Ownership and Engagement with Your Leaders https://amzn.com/1998528847

Books recommended
Dare to Lead by Brene Brown https://amzn.com/1785042149

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners

Newsletter – each week I share interesting insights, articles and ideas you can use. Join other leaders and subscribe to The Evolution Partners newsletter https://evolutionpartners.com.au/subscribe/

Books – Learn more about our books https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/
Made to Thrive: The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO
Onboarded: How to bring new hires to the points where they are more effective faster. A business case for leaders on why you should commit to an effective onboarded process.
Onboarded for Managers: Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster.
Bigger isn’t Better, Better is Better: Avoiding the pressure of endless growth to build a better business (and better life)

Follow me:
on https://au.linkedin.com/in/bradleygiles
on https://twitter.com/Evolution_Perth

Enjoying the show? Leave a review

Support the show: https://www.facebook.com/evolutionpartnersperth

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.