The Power of Balance

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Latest Episodes:

Wherefore Art Thou - Volume 2 (the organization) Jan 13, 2025

In the second in the series "Wherefore Art Thou", Stephen Barden argues that if human beings need to have a balance of meaning and value with their world, then organizations certainly do.

Your constructive comments are always welcomed

For more information about Stephen Barden and his work please visit:
www. stephenbarden.org
or
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenbarden/

Wherefore Art Thou - Volume 1 Nov 28, 2024

Stephen Barden suggests that before we ask ourselves why? - to give us purpose - we could be asking "wherefore?" What is that place where we and our world value one another at the deepest level? And how is that question practical - let alone invaluable- in today's world?

Your constructive comments are always welcomed

For more information about Stephen Barden and his work please visit:
www. stephenbarden.org
or
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenbarden/

There's no going back to normal Sep 15, 2024

Stephen Barden follows up on the previous episode's theme of refleting

Your constructive comments are always welcomed

For more information about Stephen Barden and his work please visit:
www. stephenbarden.org
or
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenbarden/

Living at work Sep 02, 2024

Despite the fact that flexible and hybrid working has been widely welcomed, there is disturbing evidence that it is leaving many people exhausted and overwhelmed. Equally worrying is that it may be leading to poor management practices and a fragmenting of organizational culture - far more rapidly than we suspected. In this episode, Stephen Barden examines the data so far and advocates that leaders need to completely re-think the way they run their companies and institutions.

Your constructive comments are always welcomed

For more information about Stephen Barden and his work please visit:
www. stephenbarden.org
or
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenbarden/

Who Moved My World? Aug 12, 2024

Stephen Barden's central theme in this series on power is that those who believe they have a balanced, manageable relationship with their world are the most effective and healthy members of our society.
In this episode he asks the question: why do more and more people feel that they are unheard and that they have little impact in their world? That they have little power in their worlds?
Stephen argues that those who feel ineffectual in their own environment will ultimately "move worlds". Historically that meant emigrating or finding sanctuary in sects or communities of like mind. Now, however, we have a new escape route: one that is, literally, close at hand. And, that he argues leaves a dangerous vacuum in society.

Your constructive comments are always welcomed

For more information about Stephen Barden and his work please visit:
www. stephenbarden.org
or
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenbarden/

The Great Divide May 05, 2023

As a species we are probably the most aggressive, destructive and divisive that have ever walked this earth. We have destroyed countless other species, including human species. We have enslaved - and enslave. We discriminate against anything and anyone who is different from what we consider to be "our norm".
In our daily lives, we inevitably catch ourselves being almost intuitively divisive - whether by competing, envying, resenting, despising, mistrusting or excluding. Even the majority of our relationships are transactional - trading benefits rather than sharing fellowship.
Are we simply incorrigibly driven to achieve dominion - power - over our world? Or is there something else? In this episode, Stephen Barden proposes that it is fear that fragments us from one another. And that fear arises from an illusion that each of us clings to, as tightly as if it were life itself.

Your constructive comments are always welcomed

For more information about Stephen Barden and his work please visit:
www. stephenbarden.org
or
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenbarden/

Lessons from a working-class, female leader: why diversity isn't enough Jun 28, 2021

In this episode, I sat down with financial sector leader Jenny Knott to discuss how deceptive the drive to diversity can be.
How can we ensure that diversity really means inclusivity and does not end up being the status quo in another guise? We also talked about her own challenges in being recognised - not just as a woman but as a working class woman: born, educated and developed outside the clubs and norms of the corporate elite.

Your constructive comments are always welcomed

For more information about Stephen Barden and his work please visit:
www. stephenbarden.org
or
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenbarden/

A conversation with Manfred Kets De Vries, Professor of leadership development and organizational change at INSEAD, Apr 26, 2021

I recently sat down with the author of the“CEO Whisperer” and Insead distinguished professor Manfred F.R Kets De Vries whose fascinating work focuses on leaders, leadership and the dynamics of individual and organisational change.

As we both spend much of our time dealing with leadership, top teams and corporate leaders, we had a lot to discuss.

Your constructive comments are always welcomed

For more information about Stephen Barden and his work please visit:
www. stephenbarden.org
or
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenbarden/

David Lane Interviews Stephen Barden About Leadership Apr 26, 2021

David Lane of the Professional Development Foundation interviews Stephen Barden about the research for his new book How Successful Leaders Do Business with Their World: The Navigational Stance.

Your constructive comments are always welcomed

For more information about Stephen Barden and his work please visit:
www. stephenbarden.org
or
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenbarden/

The myths and nonsense of leadership traits Jan 11, 2021

Leadership coaches inundate us with advice on "What great leaders do" or "The 6 characteristics of a good leader" or "The 14 leadership Traits" or, pick a number, "The 5 habits of great leaders."
Even if they are all entirely true, what use are they? Do aspiring leaders, simply have to mimic these sacred qualities. Are we asking them to be good actors or impersonators? Is that why there is so much talk about "leadership style" - because it's about performing rather than doing the job?
In excerpts from his controversial book, "How Successful Leaders do Business with their World", https://www.stephenbarden.org/books/ , Stephen Barden argues that leadership is never about acting - or adopting a so called leadership style. It is a hard job that requires deep learning and an apprenticeship in managing ourselves in our world. And very successful leaders start that learning a long time before they get to the top.

Your constructive comments are always welcomed

For more information about Stephen Barden and his work please visit:
www. stephenbarden.org
or
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenbarden/

Battles, Balance and the Fastest Kid in Florida Nov 19, 2020

In episode 2 of the series, Stephen Barden talks to Lieutenant General (Ret) Ben Hodges, Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Centre for European Policy Analysis, to find out whether the US army, which - like all armies is built for conflict - has any room for balanced, partnering leaders. Or is it possible that, all the while, its ability to largely stand back from partisan politics and its stability as an institution has been down to it jealously guarding its...Power of Balance?

Your constructive comments are always welcomed

For more information about Stephen Barden and his work please visit:
www. stephenbarden.org
or
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenbarden/

Let's talk about power Sep 12, 2020

Coach mentor and author Stephen Barden introduces this podcast series,
"The Power of Balance". In this first episode he argues that the childhood assumption we form about the power balance we hold with our worlds, affects every aspect of our lives. Understanding this, begins to open a door on why we do the things we do.
"Having insight into why our leaders behave as they do is only half the issue; understanding why we elect them is probably much more important.
Understanding why our bosses tell us to do things at work which we’d never even consider doing in our families and communities is one thing; understanding why we actually go ahead and do them is another."

Your constructive comments are always welcomed

For more information about Stephen Barden and his work please visit:
www. stephenbarden.org
or
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenbarden/

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