Resilient Leadership - Learning From Crisis

Shazre and Peter wrap up the series by asking Seth Schultz to reflect on some of the insights gathered from previous conversations. They ponder the challenges that climate change is posing to engineers and city planners, and the imperative to collaborate across sectors. Seth Schultz is the CEO of Resilience Rising and has spent nearly twenty years working closely and creatively with city leaders, the Clinton Foundation and major businesses to understand and adapt to the onrushing challenges associated with climate change. Music by Francois le Roux (The HA!Man), Johannesburg Edited and produced by Roman Svidran, Bratislava

Shazre and Peter talk with Verena Radulovic, who identifies some fundamental shifts in the way corporations should be, and are, integrating climate risk into their planning and strategies. Verena Radulovic spent 16 years as an environmental regulator with the US Environmental Protection Agency, pioneering the engagement with business around climate change. For the past three years she has been Vice President, Business Engagement at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) in Washington DC. Verena is also a passionate and accomplished photographer, who has often used her photography to tell inspiring stories of the environmental changes that are possible when affected people are placed at the centre. Music by Francois le Roux (The HA!Man), Johannesburg Edited and produced by Roman Svidran, Bratislava

Shazre and Peter speak to Jo da Silva DBE about pragmatic optimism and the need to focus on solutions, not problems. Jo da Silva is the Global Director of Sustainable Development at Arup, leading the firm's activities to address the climate, biodiversity and equity crises through creating safe, inclusive and resilient communities whilst safeguarding the planet. Jo earned global recognition as an engineer who has applied knowledge and design expertise to improve safety, promote inclusivity, and enhance resilience of communities, cities and infrastructure globally. She has also worked extensively in crisis and disaster contexts for non-governmental, UN agencies and multi-laterals. In 2007 she founded Arup International Development to enable Arup to direct technical excellence and creativity to improving human development outcomes in the global south. She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2021 in recognition of her contribution to international development. Music by Francois le Roux (The HA!Man), Johannesburg Edited and produced by Roman Svidran, Bratislava

This week Dr Debra Roberts issues a passionate call for knowledge brokers to help bring climate scientists closer to decision-makers in business and government. Professor Debra Roberts has spent the last three decades working at the science-policy-practice interface in the fields of biodiversity planning and management, climate change adaptation and mitigation and sustainable development and resilience at local and international levels. Her pioneering work has helped reduce vulnerability in human and natural communities, enhanced local level sustainability and resilience, created socio-economic development opportunities and driven institutional change. Professor Roberts currently heads the Sustainable and Resilient City Initiatives function in eThekwini Municipality (Durban, South Africa). In 2015 Prof. Roberts was a lead author of Chapter 8 (Urban Areas) of Working Group II's contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). She was elected as IPCC Co-Chair of Working Group II (Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability) for the sixth assessment cycle (2015-2023). She is an Honorary Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in the School of Life Sciences and has been an advisor to the Global Commission on Adaptation, United Cities and Local Governments and the United Nations Secretary General's 2019 Climate Summit. In 2019 she was included in a list of the World's 100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy. She currently holds the Professor Willem Schermerhorn Chair in Open Science from a Majority World Perspective at the Faculty of Geo-Information Science at the University of Twente. Music by Francois le Roux (The HA!Man), Johannesburg Edited and produced by Roman Svidran, Bratislava

In this week's episode, Shazre and Peter are joined by Rachel Skinner CBE to discuss the role of systems-thinking for overcoming imperfect information. Rachel Skinner is the Executive Director for Responsible Business and Government Relations at Engineering Consultancy, WSP UK. In 2020, Rachel became the youngest president in the Institution of Civil Engineering's 200-year history – and the second woman to ever hold the role. Rachel has authored, scripted and hosted publications and films on topics including “Shaping Zero”, “Making Better Places” on place-making and future mobility. In recognition of her services to infrastructure, Rachel was awarded a CBE in the 2022 New Year's Honours List. In 2016, she was named by The Telegraph as one of the UK's Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering. Music by Francois le Roux (The HA!Man), Johannesburg Edited and produced by Roman Svidran, Bratislava

This week, the podcast welcomes Lieutenant General (Retd) Richard Nugee CB CVO CBE, to explore what the private sector can learn from the armed forces about resilient leadership and empowerment. General Richard Nugee was commissioned into the British Army in 1986 and has completed operational tours of Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Cyprus and Afghanistan. As his final role in the Army, he wrote a Review of Defence's approach to Climate Change and Sustainability. He has since earned international recognition for bringing the implications of Climate Change and Sustainability to the Defence and National Security sectors. He is now the Non-Executive Director for Climate Change and Net Zero for the Ministry of Defence and is Patron, Chair or Trustee of a number of organisations, including advisory roles with a number of renewable energy and environmental sustainability start-ups. Music by Francois le Roux (The HA!Man), Johannesburg Edited and produced by Roman Svidran, Bratislava

Shazre and Peter talk to Martyn Link, Executive Director at Resilience First and former chief strategist at Wood Plc., about the importance of putting the human at the heart of decision making. Martyn Link specializes in leading organizations through uncertainty, disruption and change to deliver growth, innovation, and transformation. He is passionate about enabling businesses to be a force for good to help solve society's biggest challenges. Prior to joining Resilience First, Martyn spent 11 years at the global engineering giant Wood Plc, where he was responsible for corporate strategy, organisational design and leading the pivot towards the energy transition. Martyn lives in the Scottish Highlands. Music by Francois le Roux (The HA!Man), Johannesburg Edited and produced by Roman Svidran, Bratislava

Juliet Mian interviews project lead Peter Willis about the origins and purpose of the Shifting Climate Leadership project and what is already emerging from his conversations with climate leaders. Podcast editing by Roman Svidran.

We brought together Dr Juliet Mian, The Resilience Shift, and Dr Kristen MacAskill, University of Cambridge, to discuss their reflections, 2 years on from our Christchurch round-table and 10 years on from the devastating earthquakes. What is the learning from this event looking back, and for building more resilience to future events and uncertainties?

The Safety at Work session, held on 15 September 2020, was a moderated conversation around safety challenges in a post-Covid world, from small-scale practical issues to long-term consequences to our institutions and systems. The conversation drew on emerging findings from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s research as well as input from grant holders and experts around global perceptions on risk and safety at work, and how these might be affected by the Covid-19 crisis. The session reflected on how Covid-19 has disrupted existing practice around safety at work, how the sector has adapted, and what lessons the current disruption holds for our shared future. In the session participants were asked to examine how their work life has changed between January and September 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic; how they have managed to stay resilient – both personally and professionally – and prepare for a ‘new normal’ future.

In the Data session, conducted on 17 September 2020, participants were asked to examine how their work life has changed between January and September 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic; how they have managed to stay resilient – both personally and professionally – and prepare for a ‘new normal’ future. The session was a moderated conversation around data changes in a post-Covid world, from small-scale practical issues to long-term consequences to our institutions and systems. The conversation drew on emerging findings from the Foundation’s research as well as input from grant holders and experts around global perceptions on data, and how these might be affected by the Covid-19 crisis. The session reflected on how Covid-19 has disrupted existing practice around data access, management and use, how practices have adapted, and what lessons the current disruption holds for our shared future.

In the Education session, held on 16 September 2020, participants were asked to examine how their work life has changed between January and September 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic; how they have managed to stay resilient – both personally and professionally – and prepare for a ‘new normal’ future. The session was a moderated conversation around education changes in a post-Covid world, from small-scale practical issues to long-term consequences to our institutions and systems. The conversation drew on emerging findings from the Foundation’s research as well as input from grant holders and education experts. The session reflected on how Covid-19 has affected education, how the sector has adapted, and what lessons the current disruption holds for our shared future.

In the Infrastructure session, conducted on 15 September 2020, participants were asked to examine how their work life had changed between January and September 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic; how they have managed to stay resilient, both personally and professionally; and how they intended to prepare for a ‘new normal’ future. The session was a moderated conversation framed around infrastructure challenges in a post-Covid world, from small-scale practical issues to long-term institutional and systemic consequences. Participants reflected on how the Covid crisis has disrupted existing practice across critical infrastructure systems and related industries, how systems have adapted, and what lessons the current disruption holds for our shared future.

In the Public Understanding of Risk session, held on 24 September 2020, participants were asked to examine how their work life has changed between January and September 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic; how they have managed to stay resilient – both personally and professionally – and prepare for a ‘new normal’ future. The session was a lightly guided discussion of how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected public understanding of risk, with thematic emphasis on the areas of leadership and decision making, disaster risk governance, risk communications, and the relationship between the pandemic and the climate crisis as concerns the above issues. The conversation drew on emerging findings from the Foundation’s research as well as input from grant holders and experts around global perceptions on risk and how these might be affected by the Covid-19 crisis. The session reflected on how Covid-19 has disrupted existing practice around risk governance and communications, how the sector has adapted, and what lessons the current disruption holds for our shared future.

Seth and Peter close out the year and the Resilient Leadership project with Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, who led the delivery of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 and have been co-hosting the Outrage and Optimism podcast. They discuss how deep listening and leadership for resilience can play a role in addressing the climate crisis. Download the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project report here: https://www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership-report/ Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

The project team get together to summarise the process of distilling insights from weekly interviews, and discuss their personal takeaways and lessons from the sixteen week process. Download the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project report here: https://www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership-report/ Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

Peter speaks to Gareth Morgan, Director of Resilience of the City of Cape Town (CoCT) about a similar reflective learning exercise he has been leading within the CoCT management team since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

The Covid-19 crisis continues, but this phase of our project comes to an end with a final round of weekly insights. Seth and Peter discuss how city leaders continue to grapple with the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, and close out on an optimistic note with responses from our participants to the question, “What gifts has the crisis brought?” We’re taking the summer off to reflect and recharge and will be back in September with a special series of episodes closing out the Resilient Leadership project. See you then! Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019).

In our penultimate episode with weekly insights, the focus of Seth and Peter’s conversation is our participants’ reflections on showing up as a leader during a crisis, dilemmas around the right level of decentralised decision-making, and thoughts on how crisis recovery can truly catalyse a transformation. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019).

This week, Seth and Peter discuss our participants’ reflections on individual attributes that have sustained them through a long crisis, what does transformation really mean and who can help deliver it. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019).

Our participants’ reflections on personal and institutional blind spots and approaches to address them form the basis of Seth and Peter’s conversation this week. Also, we hear how our corporate participants are grappling with the mixed bag of business prospects presented by this crisis and get a sneak peek into the project team’s process of distilling weekly insights. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019).

Amid a seemingly endless pandemic, Seth and Peter discuss the implications on crisis management structures and plans in city government and private sector organisations, aspects of human nature that act as barriers to recovery from Covid-19, and some personal reflections from our participants on leadership lessons they’ve picked up along the way. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019).

Seth and Peter discuss updates – positive and negative – from the crises our participants are grappling with, and leadership traits that help with response, recovery and transformation after a crisis. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019).

Seth and Peter discuss our participants’ reflections on the impact of the anti-racism protests in the USA on their organisations and countries, a possible return to ‘business as usual’ with respect to Covid-19, and where to look for leadership in the future. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019).

Seth and Peter resume normal programming with a discussion on insights from Round 7 of interviews, including reflections on personal and organisational responses to a widening and deepening crisis, how the pandemic is revealing different mechanisms for building and losing trust, and conscious lessons for the future. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

We close out our five-part special series with Emerging Insights around recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. Seth and Peter discuss our participants’ reflections from the last eight weeks on the future of cities and businesses. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

In this penultimate episode of our five-part special series on ‘Emerging Insights’, Seth and Peter discuss our twelve participants’ reflections on changes to leadership and management styles as the Covid-19 crisis has deepened or widened. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

Seth and Peter discuss Emerging Insights distilled from eight weeks of interviews with our twelve participants, focusing on how they’ve led their teams while grappling with the emotional and mental impact of the crisis. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

In the second of our five-part special series of episodes on ‘Emerging Insights’, Seth and Peter discuss insights on leadership during the early phase of crisis response, distilled from interviews with our twelve participants in the first eight weeks of the project. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

We kick off a special five-part series of episodes on ‘Emerging Insights’ – reflections and lessons on leadership during the Covid-19 crisis, distilled from the last eight weeks of interviews with our twelve participants. Seth and Peter discuss insights that relate to the theme ‘Underlying Conditions’ – the strengths and weaknesses in in our social, institutional or infrastructure systems have been revealed during this pandemic. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

Peter speaks to Lauren Sorkin, Acting Executive Director of the Global Resilient Cities Network (GRCN) about their network of 98 Chief Resilience Officers and the work they are doing to build resilience in cities around the world. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

As an unusual summer begins in the northern hemisphere, Seth and Peter discuss Covid-19’s role in unearthing existing inequality, picking up early signals of a crisis, stories of collaboration, and letting go. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

Seth and Peter reflect on ‘pre-existing conditions’ and their role in shaping crisis response in cities and organisations. Other topics include how crisis response is shaped – positively and negatively – by the experience during past crises, and bracing for the storm(s). Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

This week, Seth and Peter discuss how our participants are managing some of the harsh realities associated with this crisis, both personally and professionally. Other topics include approaches for communication, emergin challenges around re-opening, dilemmas around grasping the opportunity for re-invention, and Peter’s ‘yoga mat’. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

Seth and Peter discuss how city governments and corporations are adapting to uncertainty and the speed of change during this crisis, the difficulties involved in making ‘one size doesn’t fit all’ work, and some emerging lessons for future preparedness. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

Seth and Peter reflect on insights from the first two rounds of interviews, including how trust influences decision-making in city government and corporations, and how the crisis is revealing different facets of leadership during emergencies. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)

Peter and Seth discuss what inspired the 'Resilient Leadership: Learning from Crisis' project, their reflections on what to expect over the next few weeks, and how this project could add value to our understanding of resilience - both during the Covid-19 crisis as well as long-term. Find out more about the ‘Resilient Leadership’ project here: www.resilienceshift.org/resilient-leadership Learn more about the Learning from Day Zero project referenced in this episode here: www.resilienceshift.org/day-zero Podcast editing by Roman Svidran. Music by Robin Fuzile and Jesse Reiner from the album ‘Unyuko’ (2019)