Yet Another Leadership Podcast: Recent Episodes
Ranjit Prasad
We live in times where leadership, and the right kind of leadership, matters more than ever. In this podcast, I interview some of the leaders I've come across who display the kind of leadership traits I believe are needed today, and share their stories with you. I hope that this serves as inspiration to the next generation of leaders, who are currently either just getting starting out on their own careers, or in the early days of their leadership journey. Finally, if you happen to know a leader who has made a difference, please let me know and I'd love to interview them. Thanks for listening!
In this episode, I interview Rikke Ulslev Degn, Head of Development & Construction at NREP.
In this very personal talk, Rikke shares stories from her formative years, living in the US, dealing with loss, facing and overcoming challenges in life.
Nag Vaidyanathan is the EVP, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Duck Creek Technologies, based in USA.
Nageswaran (Nag) Vaidyanathan | LinkedIn
Nag is one of the most humble and honest leaders I've had the fortune of meeting. In this interview, we talk about Nag's humble beginnings, turning his introvert nature into a strength, leading across cultures, mentoring and much more.
Segments:
Effects of working from home on introverts - 2:15
Growing up in India - 4:00
Learnings from the first job - 6:55
First job abroad - 8:55
Always under construction - 11:07
Landing in the US - 13:05
Social tips for introverts - 15:30
Strength from the better half - 20:13
Reason for many Indian-origin CEOs - 24:30
First time leading - 29:05
HAPPY LEADER - 32:45
Ask for what you want to grow - 36:45
How do you structure & manage teams - 41:35
Hiring the right people - 48:00
Moving to Denmark - 51:00
Executive presence - 59:00
Managing between Lithuania, Denmark and India - 1:00:28
Adapting to leading again in the US - 1:03:20
Leading in a scale-up - 1:07:00
How to get people to respect you despite being humble & nice - 1:12:00
Using sounding boards for feedback - 1:17:00
Giving back to society - 1:19:00
Christian Jönsson works as Corporate Vice President, Digital Incubator & Innovation at Novo Nordisk.
Topics discussed:
- Don’t try to be smarter than the experts you’re leading
- Being a manager instead of a leader
- Asking stupid questions to challenge the status quo
- Start with full trust & empowering people
- Do your current job really well to open other doors
- Solving challenges irrespective of the domain
- Team rallying behind you during times of crisis
- Be yourself, be curious and respect the culture
- Company culture across geographies
- Making quick decisions
- Not taking a decision is also a decision
- Investing in relationships
- Leadership is having a genuine interest in people
- Authenticity in leadership
- Don’t try to be the wise guy
- Listen to and understand people, create trust
Segments:
- Current role in Novo Nordisk – 1:40
- First leadership role – 3:55
- When real interest in leadership happened – 4:35
- The “scary” parts of being a new leader – 5:50
- Being a manger instead of a leader –
- How to lead specialists/domain experts – 7:55
- Career journey & the turning points – 10:35
- Dealing with crisis situations – 15:14
- Experience working in India – 18:48
- Leading teams in India – 25:03
- A memorable challenge – 31:50
- Taking tough decisions – 34:45
- Lasting impact – 36:50
- Authenticity in leadership – 42:11
- Advice to new leaders – 44:00
In this introduction, I give an insight into the thoughts behind starting this podcast, and my hopes of how this will benefits the audience.
If you happen to know an exemplary leader whose story needs to be shared, please drop me a note. I'd love to interview them!