In this futurist episode, Louise Mowbray, Owner and Managing Director of Mowbray by Design, shares how she specializes in The Future of Work and Leadership, working with executives, entrepreneurs, and C-suite teams at the intersection of leadership, futures, tech, transformation, and purpose-driven business.
You will discover:
– What blue zones are, and why should we be paying attention to the habits of those who live in them
– How to become a more future-focused leader (and why you need to)
– How genetics and epigenetics shape your leadership in profound ways
Episode Transcript
Scott Ritzheimer
Hello, hello and welcome. Welcome once again to the secrets of the high demand coach podcast. And I am here with Louise Mowbray. She’s the founder of Mowbray by design and the future focused conscious leadership consultancy established in London 2005 she’s an executive coach and keynote speaker, and she specializes in the future of work and the future of leadership. Earlier career chapters included working for listed organizations in the investment banking technology and executive search sectors. Co founding and executive search firm in London and MD Mina for the British luxury lifestyle company based in Dubai. She’s author of relevant, future focused leadership, a fantastic book that I was telling her before we started took a couple twists and turns that I was not expecting and loved in a leadership book. We’ll explore a couple of those, and we’ll let you get a copy of the book for the rest. But all that to say. Louise, thank you so much for being here. Super excited to have you on the show start off, just to kind of get us all on the same page here. What is future focused leadership in particular?
Louise Mowbray
Yeah, thank you, Scott. And it’s, it’s a delight to be here with you. It’s a good question. It’s not a new flavor of leadership. Rather, it’s a set of lenses that I believe that every leader at every level needs in order to be able to assess what’s going on in the world and evaluate it and make better decisions today for the future. Of course, you know the future is today. We are sitting in the future that we will create in this moment. So, yeah, that’s essentially what it’s all about.
Scott Ritzheimer
I love that. I’m a huge fan of you. Decision making filters is often what I call it, lens to do the same thing. What are some of those key lenses that we should be using to really assess the world around us as we’re leading our teams into the future?
Louise Mowbray
I think the first for me, Scott, so I’ve written about five key lenses in my book, and the reason why I talk about lenses and not mental models is that essentially mental models, we can get stuck a little in psychology, but just to bring it back to to understanding how we assess life coming at us, and of course, it’s through a very subjective series of lenses. It’s through our experiences where we’ve grown up and our home environment and our schooling and our jobs and the people that we respect and our good times and bad bad that, you know, the highs and lows and everything in between. We can almost think of it as a series of lenses that we filter the world through. And of course, you know, sometimes those lenses are no longer needed. They may not be serving us any longer, and sometimes we need to add to those lenses. And I those five lenses that I really focused on, which is in part four of my book, most of them are rooted in academia, and we’re starting to see them democratized for ordinary people like you and me, because the context that we’re all working in is both complex and uncertain. It presents a completely different environment, the one that we might have grown up in, in business context anyway. And I think that this next era of work and of leadership of life will certainly be quite different. And when I always think of eras, probably very wrongly as even if I just think of it as the next decade, what we can assume we will be dealing with it might be very different to those that we’ve experienced before. So the first the foundation is conscious leadership and team coherence. And I have an ICF coaching qualification, and I chose the root of conscious leadership, simply because it’s the foundation of all other things. So it’s not a flavor of leadership. You know, often we go through various different flavors that pop, you know, in different years, suddenly we need to be courageous leaders or empathetic leaders. And you know, all of these different flavors that seem to match the times. Underneath all of that, at the foundation of that is our self awareness, our consciousness, our ability to be in the moment, so conscious leadership and team coherence, and then, of course, the systems thinking, because the world is interconnected, there isn’t a thing that’s going on in the world that doesn’t have a knock on impact. Whether we’re thinking of systems as our own bodies, or we’re thinking of it as vast as the universe, but certainly our businesses in their ecosystems, everything’s interconnected, and we need to actually understand that and build that lens for ourselves. And then, of course, there’s complexity. You know what is complex? What is complicated? How do we differentiate between the two? Because they need very different treatments. And how do we, you know, find our way through that? How do we sense, make and way find? And then, of course, futures and strategic foresight. How do we think in multiple futures? Because old school, linear strategy, as we know, I mean, we’ve all experienced extraordinary change over the last four, five years, doesn’t really cut it. So how do we plan for and think in multiple futures and work with foresight rather than traditional planning. And then, of course, there is agile thinking and innovative behaviors. How do we prepare our cultural environments to to actually not only allow for, but create the environment and the conditions, the affordances, the constraints that actually foster innovative behaviors, safe to fail, environments so that we can build our organizations in a much more innovative way.
Scott Ritzheimer
You mentioned that first lens, the consciousness, Team cohesiveness, that idea of self awareness. And in the book, you spent some time talking about epigenetics, and I have seen that word used quite often as, like, fancy genetics, right? It’s just like, I’m going to throw this word out there, but that’s not what it is. So give us a just a quick what is genetics versus epigenetics and and then why in a book on leadership did you make the choice to dive into this kind of area, if you will? Land of epigenetics.
Louise Mowbray
Yeah, for me, leadership is a whole person, you know. And at the end of the day, if we’re not taking care of ourselves, you know, holistically, the chances of being able to show up in the moment and make the kind of decisions, and we talked a little bit about decision making that are not only effective, but that we can do with much more ease. It’s very slim, unless we’re taking care of our whole cells. So it’s one of many topics that I delve into. And the reason why I think epigenetics is so interesting is we can think of genetics as the blueprint. You know, we are born with a set of genetics, and there’s very little that will change that, except perhaps if you have a whole bunch of money to spend investigating, perhaps some exploratory stuff with CRISPR. But epi genetics. EPI is Greek, the meaning on top of or above those are the conditions that we have some control over that we can literally dictate, let’s say dictate lightly, but we can influence whether our genes are switched on or off, or how they behave under different circumstances. So epigenetics becomes really important when we consider that. You know, how we’re able to cope with stress, how we’re able to cope with uncertainty, how we’re able to function is all down to how we actually manage that epigenetic side of our our existence. Because, as I say, we can’t talk leadership without talking about the whole being, then we’re just talking about actions and cognitive understanding of something, but it’s not actually the behavior of the individual involved at the time. And I think we’re really missing an opportunity. You know, we’ve all got this amazing capacity to do extraordinary things, but unless we’re taking care of our bodies and our minds and our souls, the chances of that firing on all cylinders and being able to operate at an optimal level are pretty slim, and I would the other thing that kind of switched me on to all of this is I had an amazing client in New York for a number of years where I coached their executive team who were very much focused on epigenetics. So this bridge between the science of genetics and how that manifests and what we can do about managing that.
Scott Ritzheimer
And what I think is, while epigenetics can sound sort of music, what am I doing? Am I like, taking a pill and then, like, standing on my head or, like, touching my nose? Like, it’s not that kind of a thing? What are some of the simple steps that we can do to be as, I don’t know if you could call it this, but epigenetically healthy and whole as possible?
Louise Mowbray
Yeah, I think the title that I actually covered this, and there’s a title, it’s titled something like, you know, our grandparents were right. So some really basic, simple things, eat, well, sleep, well, play, well, live, well, love, well, the basic, simple things in life, and this has been well documented. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Blue Zones. There was a wonderful Netflix documentary. It’s been well researched and written up about where there are certain communities in the world that have the most Centurion so people who live over the age of 100 and you know, through that research, they’ve discovered all of these different pockets around the world of people who essentially do all of those things. In other words, they don’t retire and just stop they keep working whether. To their gardens or with their neighbors, or, you know, perhaps contributing to something on a community level. They’re very, very connected from a human perspective. So this community, this connection, they eat very well. So no, I mean, pretty much limit processed foods. In fact, they don’t even need to limit it, because their communities Farm and Garden and, you know, get involved in making sure that what they’re eating is, you know, good quality, healthy food, which I think if we live in a big city environment, and we talk ordering takeouts every day, the chances of achieving are very slim. And all of that affects our our, you know, cognitive ability, our emotional stability, and if we think, you know when we why all of this matters, is that if we look around us, so in this brilliant research that’s come out over the last couple of years, where any group of people sitting in a business environment, and you just have to look around you and know that 38% of those people involved in that group sitting there with you, and it could be you, too, are self reporting burnout symptoms. And I mean, it’s quite extraordinary, and about 50% are reporting mental health issues. So the interesting thing about burnout symptoms is they’re not the fault of the individual. I mean, the World Health Organization classified burnout in 2019 I think I remember writing a blog post about it as a condition arising out of a toxic workplace. So it’s an it’s an environmental issue, it’s the workplace issue. So, you know, after we blame people and we say they just can’t cope under high stress environments, etc, but really, we need to look at the system that they’re involved in working in. So once again, we’re coming back to, how can I take care of myself in my whole self, you know? And I know that a lot of people talk about, and it’s all about being fit, and it’s all about pushing weights and, you know, running far, or, you know, cycling a lot. You know, choose your flavor, whatever gets you going, fantastic, but just getting out and walking every day, being in nature, you know, taking the time to do things like cook a meal and be fully present while you’re doing it. All of these things help with our mental health. They help with our emotional equilibrium. And, you know, being able to actually lead a team lead a business doesn’t work particularly well if all of that’s out of kilter. So we have to start with self. We have to start with taking care of ourselves. And it’s not just the external health of our you know, what we look like and how fit we are, but it’s all of ourselves. And I’m sort of reluctant to use this sort of cheesy whole self thing, but holistic, let’s think of it more in holistic terms. And I guess that’s where epigenetics is the umbrella for all of that. It’s all of our systems that we’re involved in. You know, our connection with others, our community. It’s our ability to regulate our emotions. It’s, you know, eating, well, sleeping, well, loving, well, you know, enjoying the finer things in life. Because it’s not just about getting up, executing the day, coming back, sleeping, you know, eating, sleeping and on repeat, that’s when Bernard starts to happen. And if that’s the environment that we’re working in, then I think that, you know, my suggestion is we need to take a good look at where we’ve placed our time and energy and whether it actually serves us, you know, today and in the longer term.
Scott Ritzheimer
It’s so true, and it’s so remarkable how it’s simple, simple things, you know, walking, it’s not running a marathon, but if walking was a pill, it’d be one of the biggest breakthrough drugs, you know, in the history of pharmaceuticals, sleeping, right? The just really simple things that if we can start to align ourselves in those places, I find that they make work much more enjoyable, and I think that’s a big part of what allows folks in these blue zones to work to such an extended period of time, you know, in ways that add meaning and value to them. And that’s the rightful role of work in our lives, is to be a place where it adds meaning and value to us. There’s just so much about that that I love, I love, that you brought that into a leadership book and bridge those two worlds. Just fascinating. So, Louise, I’ve got a question for you here I ask all my guests, and I’m very interested to see what you have to say. What would you say is the biggest secret that you wish wasn’t a secret at all? What’s that one thing you wish everybody watching or listening today knew?
Louise Mowbray
Such a good question. Scott I don’t think there are any secrets. I think we just choose to ignore the things that perhaps are more difficult to do or they seem more difficult than applying ourselves to some new fad or new app, you know, what have you. I would say the greatest value is a knowing yourself well and when you are. Able to do that when, and for me, that’s a lifelong journey, you know. So we, you know, we never really end that journey of getting to know ourselves better. But what it does do is it gives us the space between our vast inner world and what’s going on out there, which can be incredibly disruptive. I mean, just look at what’s happened this year and last year and the year before, right? And there’s nothing to suggest it’s ever not going to happen every year. And you know, some may argue, well, we’re much more aware of stuff because of social media, maybe, but that’s the world that we’re in and that you know that transparency will continue, or lack of transparency. So I would say the most important thing you could possibly do for yourself is to know yourself really well and to continue on that journey with joy. It’s tricky, sometimes really tricky, and develop that, that space between that vast inner world, that place of ease and what’s going on out there, because it will allow you to assess what’s going on and make better decisions, which ultimately will serve you and your team and your organization and your career and your family and everything else. So much better if you focus on that.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yes, love, love that Louise, there’s, there’s so much more you cover in your book. There’s so much more you you help your clients with online. Tell us, how can we get a copy of your book? Relevant, future, focused leadership, and where can we find more out about you and the work that you do?
Louise Mowbray
Thanks, Scott, yeah. Relevant is available on Amazon and all good online book resellers, retailers, I should say, and my website, mowbraybydesign.com, you should find anything that you need there. And I’m also on LinkedIn. So I’m a great believer that all good things start with the conversation. And if there’s something you’d like, you know your your listeners would like to talk to me about, then reach out and let’s have that compensation.
Scott Ritzheimer
Love that. Excellent well. Louise, thanks so much for being on the show. Just a privilege having you here. Brilliant book, brilliant conversation. I loved it. Thank you again. And for those of you watching and listening, you know your time and attention mean the world to us. I hope you got as much out of this conversation as I know I did, and I cannot wait to see you next time. Take care.
Contact Louise Mowbray
Louise Mowbray is the Founder of Mowbray by Design, the Future-Focused Conscious Leadership Consultancy established in London in 2005. She is an executive coach and keynote speaker, and she specializes in the future of work and the future of leadership. Earlier career chapters include working for listed organizations in the investment banking, technology, and executive search sectors, co-founding an executive search firm in London, and MD MENA for a British luxury lifestyle company based in Dubai. She is the author of ‘Relevant: Future-Focused Leadership.
Want to learn more about Louise Mowbray’s work at Mowbray by Design? Check out her website at https://mowbraybydesign.com/ or get a copy of her book Relevant: Future-Focused Leadership at https://amzn.to/48bobDk.
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