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Innovating Leadership: Co-Creating Our Future

Innovating Leadership: Co-Creating Our Future

Written by: Innovative Leadership Institute
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 The pace of change in the world is increasing exponentially. As COVID proved, leadership must evolve. And that gets to the heart of our mission: to bring you the latest thoughts on leadership so you can innovate, learn, and evolve...growing your team, your business, and yourself! Every week, host Maureen Metcalf interviews world leaders, global business and NPO executives, thought leaders, and researchers in a wide range of industries. It’s a breadth of perspectives unavailable anywhere else. Become an innovative leader in your own right! Download the latest episode each Tuesday night on your favorite podcast platform, or watch on YouTube at https://bit.ly/InnoYouTube .Copyright 2025 by the Innovative Leadership Institute. All rights reserved. Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • S4 Ep23: Leveraging Technology to Deepen Human Performance

    S4 Ep23: Leveraging Technology to Deepen Human Performance
    Jan 20 2026
    Guest: Brian Ferguson, CEO & Founder of Arena Labs Technology is accelerating faster than most leaders can adapt. But speed isn’t the real challenge. In this episode, Brian Ferguson joins host Maureen Metcalf to explore why human performance matters more, not less, in an era of exponential change. Drawing on examples from high-stakes environments such as medicine and defense, their conversation examines technology’s true role as an amplifier of human systems. They unpack: Why humility, learning, and disciplined execution remain the foundation of high performance,How expertise is eroding as change outpaces learning, andWhat senior leaders must do to lead effectively when tools evolve faster than organizations. This episode offers a grounded leadership reality check for those navigating complexity, technology fatigue, and the pressure to “keep up”—without losing judgment, clarity, or purpose. Other episodes you'll enjoy: The End of Control: The Leadership Trends of 2026 with Christopher WashingtonLeading When We’ve Stopped Thinking: AI’s Red Flag with Srini KoushikMore Than Experience, More Than Degrees: Leaders Need More Values with George Limbert For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We’re onTikTok, Threads, and Twitter, too! RESOURCES: Arena Labs’ website is https://arenalabs.co/. You’ll find more about Brian and the company’s human potential work there. The groundbreaking books Brian mentioned are Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast & Slow (paperback at https://amzn.to/3ZnEKIy or audiobook at https://amzn.to/4sQJ0xG) and Ray Kurzweil’s The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (paperback at https://amzn.to/4r4Muet or audiobook at https://amzn.to/4qXFdNq). Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ. Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. ----------------------- OUR PODCAST TEAM: Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan Sponsorship Sales Manager: Kristine Gross (Kgross@innovativeleadership.com) Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay. CONNECT WITH US: YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! ----------------------- About Our Guest: Brian Ferguson has spent his career working in high-performance organizations, learning from leaders and decision-makers in national security, the military, and technology. He used those experiences to build Arena Labs, a company pioneering the field of High Performance Medicine®️. Arena Labs uses state-of-the-art training and technology solutions to bring the science of peak performance, creative mastery, and elite teams to modern healthcare and surgical teams. Before founding Arena Labs, Brian served in the military as a Navy SEAL and as a civilian in national security working on matters of global security policy. He received an MSc from the London School of Economics.
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    38 mins
  • S12 Ep1: More than Experience, More than Degrees: Leaders Need More Values

    S12 Ep1: More than Experience, More than Degrees: Leaders Need More Values
    Jan 13 2026
    Guest: George Limbert, former President, Red Roof Inns In this time defined by AI disruption, post-COVID workforce tension, and growing leadership fatigue, trust has become the most critical (and most fragile) asset leaders hold. In this episode, George Limbert, new president of Innovative Executive Solutions, joins host Maureen Metcalf to explore why modern leadership is no longer about control, certainty, or rigid playbooks. It’s about judgment, humility, and doing the right thing, even when it’s hard. Drawing on his experience as a CEO, attorney, and advisor across industries, George unpacks: Why many leadership challenges today are actually trust failuresHow judicial temperament helps leaders make better decisions under pressureThe difference between what’s legally safe and what’s ethically rightWhy return-to-office and AI debates often reveal management gaps, not employee problemsHow leaders can find their “North Star” amid career transitions and uncertainty. This conversation is for experienced leaders who aren’t looking for shortcuts, but for coherence, integrity, and leadership that holds up over time. Binge-listen to George’s other episodes: Leading with Character: A Real-Life Red Roof ReportRed Roof: Revisioning the FutureExpecting the Unexpected: VUCA in Action at Red Roof For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We’re onTikTok, Threads, and Twitter, too! RESOURCES: Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ. Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. ----------------------- OUR PODCAST TEAM: Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan Sponsorship Sales Manager: Kristine Gross (Kgross@innovativeleadership.com) Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay. CONNECT WITH US: YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! ----------------------- About Our Guest: George B. Limbert is a visionary executive and transformational leader with a proven track record of driving organizational growth and operational excellence. As President of ILI’s Innovative Executive Solutions, George partners directly with boards and executive teams to accelerate strategic transformation, deliver measurable performance, and implement world-class leadership frameworks. George’s executive leadership is distinguished by his tenure as President and CEO of Red Roof Franchising, where he led a dramatic financial turnaround, tripling EBITDA in just 12 months during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He has built scalable infrastructure and operational processes for multi-million-dollar organizations, consistently delivering results in complex, challenging environments.
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    30 mins
  • S2 Ep42: Greater than Fact: The Power of Leading with Stories

    S2 Ep42: Greater than Fact: The Power of Leading with Stories
    Jan 6 2026
    Guest: Paul Smith, former Procter & Gamble VP What if the most effective leaders didn’t need to explain more, push harder, or manage excuses? In this episode, host Maureen Metcalf is joined by leadership storytelling expert Paul Smith for a thought-provoking conversation about how leaders can most effectively influence behavior…and why logic alone so often fail at this. Drawing on neuroscience, leadership research, and real-world examples, Paul explains why people don’t change simply because they understand more, and how stories fill that need by helping leaders create accountability without blame, pressure, or defensiveness. You’ll learn: Why accountability works best when it’s chosen, not enforced;How emotion—not logic—drives decisions and follow-through;Why stories replace lecturing as a leadership tool;How leaders can reduce defensiveness while raising standards; andWhat the real test of leadership is when you’re not in the room. This is not an episode about storytelling as a communication technique. It’s about storytelling as a behavior-change lever…and a more human, sustainable way to lead. If you’re a seasoned leader who’s tired of explaining and ready to create real ownership, this episode offers a powerful reframe. Other episodes you'll enjoy: - Tales from the Top: How Leaders Use Stories with Tanvi Gautam - Using Storytelling to Elevate Leadership with Chris Nolan - How Great Leaders Are Made: Insights from “The Economist” with Andrew Palmer For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. RESOURCES: To learn more about Paul and access his free resources for leading (and for parenting) using story, check his website at https://leadwithastory.com/. Paul’s books include: Lead with a Story (paperback at https://amzn.to/4quEDq4, audiobook at https://amzn.to/4quEDq4)Sell with a Story (paperback at https://amzn.to/4q5MWJc, audiobook at https://amzn.to/4qFG4SN) andParenting with a Story (paperback at https://amzn.to/3N2HBE1, audiobook at https://amzn.to/4q3JdM9). Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ. Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. ----------------------- OUR PODCAST TEAM: Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan Booking Producer: Jenna Reik Sponsorship Sales: Kristine Gross (kgross@worldtreeproductions.com) Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay. CONNECT WITH US: YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 TikTok: @innovativeleadership Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com Loved this episode? Subscribe and leave us a review and rating! ----------------------- About Our Guest: Paul Smith is one of the world’s leading experts in business storytelling. He’s one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 100 Leadership Speakers of 2018, a storytelling coach, and bestselling author of several books on the art and science of storytelling. As part of his research on the effectiveness of storytelling, Paul has personally interviewed over 300 CEOs and executives in 25 countries, and documented over 3,000 individual business stories. That has allowed him to reverse-engineer what works in storytelling and what doesn’t. He’s a former executive at The Procter & Gamble Company and a consultant with Accenture prior to that. A 20-year veteran of P&G, Paul worked most recently as vice president of consumer and communications research for the company’s $6 billion global paper business where he led a research team across four continents. He also held leadership positions in corporate finance, and at manufacturing plants and sales offices working closely with major global retailers like Walmart, Costco, Asda, and Sam’s Club. Paul holds bachelor’s degrees in both astrophysics and economics and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
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    38 mins
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