In this compelling episode, Dr. Torben Norby shares his expertise on contextual leadership, drawing from over two decades of experience spanning military service, retail management, and international business transformation. Torben breaks down contextual leadership into three core disciplines: understanding your context by identifying crucial performance factors, matching your leadership style through the balance of opening/closing and directing/sharing approaches, and actively shaping organisational structures and culture to promote performance. He reveals how military concepts like "leading through intent" have evolved into civilian applications, and shares a powerful real-world case study of helping a European organisation adapt during the Ukraine conflict by decoupling interdependencies and building contingent responses.

Throughout the conversation, Torben addresses the challenge every leader faces: how to remain authentic while adapting to different contexts, whether leading a production team versus a marketing department, or managing across cultures from Denmark to China. He emphasises that successful contextual leadership requires building common ground around shared values and principles, then leveraging diversity rather than being fragmented by it. The episode concludes with Torben's warning about the most common implementation mistake: failing to involve people in organisational alignment, reminding us that "you can't tell an organisation to align - you can only do that by mobilisation and enrollment."

If you are looking for a Blueprint to help you and your business manage uncertainty, deal with failure and navigate change then reach out to Julian at: julian@julianrobertsconsulting.com

You can buy my book "Weathering the Storm: A Guide to Building Resilient Teams" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DFTYN2Y2

I had an extraordinary conversation with two remarkable women who conquered the world's highest marathon while battling their own personal challenges. Sally Orange MBE, a former British Army major turned mental health campaigner, completed the grueling 12-hour Everest Base Camp Marathon dressed as a breast costume just weeks after her cancer diagnosis, using her signature approach of sparking vital conversations through humour and vulnerability.

Felicity Ashley, a transatlantic rower and cancer survivor, marked her three-year cancer anniversary by tackling the same brutal challenge, drawing on the deep inner confidence she's developed through overcoming adversity. Together, they share how they navigated altitude sickness, unexpected climbs, and physical exhaustion while supporting each other and fellow runners from 32 different nationalities.

This powerful episode reveals how both women transformed their approach to challenges - Sally by accepting her diagnosis "on her own terms" and Felicity by reframing adversity from "why me?" to "why not me?" Their stories demonstrate the profound impact of community support, the importance of building a "cookie jar" of past achievements to draw strength from, and how authentic vulnerability can create life-changing conversations. From Sally's fruit costumes that have inspired four women to get checked for breast cancer, to Felicity's unshakeable belief that she can overcome anything, this conversation offers practical insights on resilience, gratitude, and finding purpose in life's toughest moments. Whether you're facing your own challenges or supporting others through theirs, their combined wisdom on mental preparation, community building, and maintaining hope will leave you feeling empowered to tackle whatever lies ahead.

If you are looking for a Blueprint to help you and your business manage uncertainty, deal with failure and navigate change then reach out to Julian at: julian@julianrobertsconsulting.com

You can buy my book "Weathering the Storm: A Guide to Building Resilient Teams" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DFTYN2Y2

In this powerful episode, Dr. Laura Gallaher takes us inside one of NASA's darkest moments and reveals how it became a catalyst for revolutionary change in organisational culture. Following the 2003 Columbia space shuttle disaster that claimed seven astronauts' lives, NASA's investigation uncovered a shocking truth: the agency's culture was as much to blame as the technical failure itself. What makes this even more striking is that NASA had been rated the #1 place to work in the federal government just months before the tragedy, challenging everything we think we know about workplace culture.

Dr. Gallaher, who spent nearly eight years leading NASA's culture transformation, shares how invisible forces like the "save the programme" mentality and lack of psychological safety prevented engineers from speaking up about critical safety concerns. She provides actionable insights on creating psychological safety, the power of leader vulnerability, and why optimising human dynamics is the ultimate competitive advantage. Her key message: culture change isn't a one-time fix—it's an ongoing commitment that can literally be the difference between success and catastrophic failure.

If you are looking for a Blueprint to help you and your business manage uncertainty, deal with failure and navigate change then reach out to Julian at: julian@julianrobertsconsulting.com

You can buy my book "Weathering the Storm: A Guide to Building Resilient Teams" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DFTYN2Y2

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