Chain of Learning: Leadership Strategies for Transforming Culture, Developing People, and Getting Results

Enter for your chance to win a copy of "Thoughtload" by Liane Davey: http://chainoflearning.com/85
Giveaway ends October 9th at 11:45pm Pacific Time.

Your team isn't resisting change. They don't have room for it.

It's not just workload that's overwhelming us, it's what Liane Davey calls our "thoughtload": the invisible tax on our performance and presence.

Liane is an organizational psychologist who works with CEOs and executive teams leading organizational transformation. In her latest book she uncovers how complexity, decisions, and emotional weight are draining us, leaving us feeling like there's too much to do and no space left to think.

We bring home what's weighing on us at work, and what we're worried about comes to the next meeting with us. We end up half-present, consumed by what's going on inside, not what's in front of us.

Liane shares how to lighten the noise inside your head to focus your attention, work through what you're carrying emotionally, and get your energy back.

Urgency, constant change, and the pressure to deliver aren't going away. But thoughtload is something you can manage, before it turns into leadership burnout for you or your team.

You’ll Learn:
  • Why the person pushing back on your organizational change isn't a resistor, and what is actually going on inside their brain
  • Why we've become intolerant of iteration, and how to position a decision so that correcting course doesn't land as flip-flopping
  • How your team can be busy, productive, and still not moving toward the outcome
  • How a heavy thoughtload keeps you from having a hard conversation, and how avoiding productive conflict makes your load heavier
  • What it means to "metabolize your thoughtload", and why filling every walk and commute with input leaves no room to think
ABOUT MY GUEST:
Dr. Liane Davey is an organizational psychologist and New York Times bestselling author who advises executive teams on strategy, decision-making, and team dynamics. She is co-founder of the firm 3COze and the author of The Good Fight and Thoughtload. Her doctoral research on how team dynamics affect innovation has shaped three decades of her work with senior leaders.

IMPORTANT LINKS:
TIMESTAMPS FOR THIS EPISODE:

03:00 Why it’s not the workload—it’s the thoughtload
06:00 How thoughtload undermines team performance
08:00 Why overwhelm shifts leaders from reflection to reaction
11:00 Three ways to manage your thoughtload
12:00 Why being productive doesn’t mean you’re effective
16:45 The problem with having too many priorities
19:00 How leaders can lighten their team’s thoughtload
20:45 Why your brain needs space to process, not more input
23:00 What change leaders miss about resistance
24:30 Why labeling people “change resistors” gets it wrong
29:30 How avoiding conflict makes your thoughtload heavier
32:30 Why managing thoughtload means saying no to good things
36:15 When changing direction is learning—not flip-flopping
37:25 What deserves to be in your thoughtload?

What is Chain of Learning: Leadership Strategies for Transforming Culture, Developing People, and Getting Results?

Chain of Learning® is the leadership podcast for leaders and change practitioners who believe that people, not tools, are the foundation of lasting results.

If you're working to transform your organization's culture, develop leaders at every level, and build teams that are capable, confident, and empowered to solve problems and innovate, this podcast is for you.

Hosted by Katie Anderson, award-winning author of "Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn" and globally recognized expert in people-centered leadership, Chain of Learning explores how leaders break free from the Doer Trap™, and create the conditions in their organization for success and build a vibrant culture where impact is exponential.

Each biweekly episode offers practical insights, reflective questions, and real-world examples to help you:

- Develop leaders at scale, not just one at a time
- Build high-performing cultures of continuous learning, grounded in psychological safety, trust, and empowerment, that thrive and grow
- Lead culture transformation and change leadership with intention
- Strengthen coaching culture, problem-solving, and leadership development across your organization
- Move from managers who focus on outcomes to leaders who develop people, improve performance, and get results

Grounded in human-centered leadership and adult learning practices, and informed by principles of the Toyota Way, Lean thinking, and operational excellence, Chain of Learning features conversations with influential thinkers and leaders shaping the future of leadership at scale and organizational learning. Past guests include Carol Dweck, Michael Bungay Stanier, Rich Sheridan, Barry O'Reilly, Steve Spear, Jim Womack, Gene Kim, and Larry Culp.

Subscribe and follow Chain of Learning® to deepen your impact. Share this podcast with your colleagues, fellow change leaders, and friends so we can strengthen our Chain of Learning together.

Join the conversation: ChainOfLearning.com
Katie Anderson’s website: KBJAnderson.com
Connect with Katie: linkedin.com/in/kbjanderson
Read Katie's Shingo Publication Award-winning book: LearningToLeadLeadingToLearn.com
Download the KATALYST™ Change Leader Assessment: KBJAnderson.com/Katalyst

Popular Episode Topics Include: Leadership Development, Developing Leaders at Scale, The Doer Trap, Coaching Culture, Building a Culture of Learning, Culture Transformation, Change Leadership, Leading Change, Change Readiness, Change Adoption, Stakeholder Engagement, Organizational Change, Lean Leadership, Lean Thinking, Operational Excellence, Toyota Way, Toyota Leadership, People-Centered Leadership, Psychological Safety, Building Trust, Leadership Coaching, Break the Telling Habit, Leader as Coach, Continuous Improvement, Kaizen, Organizational Learning, Problem-Solving Culture, Developing People, High-Performing Teams, Learning Organization, Executive Leadership, Strategic Alignment, Leading Without Authority, Influence, Leading Through Influence, Leadership Identity, Gemba Leadership, A3 Thinking, PDCA, Growth Mindset, Leader Development, Japan Leadership Experience, Learning to Lead Leading to Learn, Leadership Podcast