The Connected Leadership Podcast

Is admitting a mistake a sign of weakness or a leadership superpower? In this episode of Connected Leadership Bytes, Andy Lopata reaches into the archive to share a fascinating conversation with James Cleverly MP.Cleverly explores the "artificiality" of politics—a world where a simple "I’ll check those figures and get back to you" can be framed as a lack of credibility, and any change of course...

What is the single most important factor that separates the highest-performing teams from the rest? When Google launched "Project Aristotle" to answer this exact question, they assumed the answer would be a mix of education, experience, and demographics. They were wrong.The number one element of a successful team, according to Google's massive study, is psychological safety.In this episode from...

Welcome back to The Connected Leadership Bytes. In today’s archive episode, Andy is joined by Ben Brabyn, a former Captain in the Royal Marines, former CEO of the renowned London tech company Level39, and a pioneer who helped build one of the world's first crowdfunding platforms.Drawing from his unique career journey—spanning military service, investment banking at JP Morgan, and tech...

The higher you climb, the lonelier it gets. It’s a well-worn cliché, but what is the raw, human reality behind it? What happens when the pressure to be a "dealer in optimism" becomes an unbearable weight?In this episode from the archive, Andy Lopata revisits his conversation with former senior executive and leadership coach, Ray McGrath. Ray shares the deeply personal and powerful stories behind...

Are today's young adults really that different from previous generations? In this fascinating episode, Andy Lopata sits down with Alexis Redding, who shares the incredible story of a Harvard study where she unearthed a lost trove of college student interviews from the 1970s and tracked down the participants 50 years later to play back their tapes.Through this unique "time capsule" research—and by...

What does it take to swim across the world’s most dangerous stretches of water with no wetsuit? For record-breaking endurance swimmer AnnaWardley, the answer isn’t just physical grit—it’s the power of her invisibleteam.In this week's episode of Connected Leadership Bytes, Andy Lopata revisitshis episode with Anna Wardley, who went from being a novice swimmer in her 30s to conquering the English...

The battle over the office is raging. Leaders like Elon Musk and Alan Sugar are demanding a full return, calling remote workers lazy. But are they fighting a losing battle against the biggest shift in work in 100 years?In this episode from the archive, Andy Lopata revisits his conversation with author and thinker Julia Hobsbawm OBE about her game-changing concept: "The Nowhere Office." This isn't...

What happens when a joke bombs in the boardroom? In this episode from the archives on humour, Andy Lopata brings in the headliners: two of the world's funniest keynote speakers, Jeremy Nicholas from the UK and Tim Gard from the US.This isn't just about telling jokes; it's a masterclass in the strategic use of humour to enhance leadership. Discover why the most successful leaders aren't afraid to...

In this captivating episode, Andy Lopata sits down with the remarkable Marianne Abib-Pech. A dynamic leader, Marianne transitioned from a highly successful corporate finance career—culminating as CFO of Shell Aviation at just 34—to launching an M&A advisory practice for frontier markets in 2014. In 2022, she co-founded Transitions First, an international industrial venture fund dedicated to...

Are you feeling stuck? Have the last few years left you with itchy feet, questioning your career path and wondering what's next? You are not alone. Many professionals are currently re-evaluating their futures, but making a major career pivot is terrifying and fraught with risk.In this episode from the archive, Andy Lopata is joined by his regular guest Luca Signoretti to provide a practical...