I recorded this episode just over 2 week ago. Before the world changed. It’s a conversation with Madeleine Grynsztejn - the Pritzker Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

Over the last few days, I’ve thought a lot about whether to publish this episode because so much of what we talked about seems at first glance to be from a different reality.

But I think, it’s an important interview for a couple of critical reasons.

Madeleine talks about the role of art and the role of museums in both reflecting and shaping society. About the importance of constantly looking for the things that we don’t know, for breaking our own assumptions of what happens next.

Suddenly, that feels like the most important question for us to start raising as leaders.

Cecile Richards is the co-founder of Supermajority, which describes itself as a new home for women's activism that is fighting for gender equality. Before that, she spent 12 years as the President of Planned Parenthood, a that provides to 2.5 million women annually.

Public service and activism are part of Cecile’s DNA.

Her mother — Ann Richards — shattered conventional wisdom when, as a woman and a Democrat, she was elected Governor of Texas in 1990.

In the seventh grade, Cecile was taken to the principal’s office for wearing an armband in protest of the Vietnam War.

In the eighth grade, she brought food to the strikers on a picket line in her hometown of Austin.

Her first job after college, was as a union organizer in New Orleans, helping hotel workers trying to get by on minimum wage.

Cecile has been called “the most badass feminist EVER” and “The heroine of the resistance”.

Anne Devereux-Mills is the founder of Parlay House, which describes itself as a modern salon for women. Their mission is to provide a safe and supportive environment in which women can have authentic conversations and build meaningful relationships.

Anne has been the CEO of multiple companies. She’s also a wife, a mother and a four-time cancer survivor.

This episode is called, The ‘How Do I Spend My Time’ Leader.

Carter Murray is the global CEO of FCB. He is 6’7” and shows up larger than that. In his own words, he lives on the front foot, charging forward.

But the truth is more complex.

When he took the job 7 years ago, the agency was named DraftFCB and was seen by most observers as a turnaround. Others wondered if the world needed FCB anymore.

But some people had a different view. The people that still worked there.

This episode is called “The Listening Leader”.

Sarah Moffat is the Global Chief Creative Officer of Turner Duckworth - a design company that was formed in London in 1992 by David Turner and Bruce Duckworth.

Bruce and David are still around, but they don’t run the business any more. In late 2018 they handed over the reins to two long-term employees - Joanne Chan who became CEO and to Sarah.

New title, new responsibilities, new expectations. How do you make that transition successfully?

This episode is called “The ‘Do You, Boo’ Leader”.

Brad Hiranaga is a disruptor and a change agent. Working inside one of the world’s most storied and established companies, he is bringing about systemic change to the way General Mills shows up in the world.

Unlocking creative and innovative thinking at scale requires not just an ability to take risks but a willingness to search for them.

Marc Maltz describes himself as an organizational clinician, and he’s brilliant at getting the CEOs of tech companies and their senior teams to work together more effectively. 

Marc has become a good friend and I have huge respect for his work and how he does it and I thought it would be invaluable to hear his thinking on some of the issues I see every day in my own work.

Whether you’re writing code or ads, whether you’re building platforms or teams, the need to unlock creative and innovative thinking sits at the heart of the world’s most valuable businesses. 

And what makes that heart beat is trust.

This podcast has listeners in 84 countries. Most of those are pretty open, democratic societies where freedom of thought and movement are both expectations and rights.

Born and raised in Russia, Leonid Sudakov had neither in his formative years. His father was not allowed a passport until he was 50. Leonid didn’t meet a foreigner until he was 16, when he moved to Moscow carrying with him a bag of potatoes and his wits. 

From these beginnings he has become an exceptionally creative and thoughtful leader, unlocking innovative and creative thinking at every stop, including 3 years as the global CMO for Mars Petcare, a $20 billion global business.

We are all heavily influenced by our upbringing. Whether we use those experiences as catalysts or obstacles depends on how we see them.