In this episode I sit down with author, entrepreneur and thought-leader Margaret Heffernan to explore two of her seminal ideas: the hidden dangers of conforming to systems that blind us to obvious truths (from her book Willful Blindness) and the vital importance of embracing uncertainty, especially through the lens of writers, artists and creatives (from her latest work Embracing Uncertainty).

We talk about how organisations and individuals get stuck in the comfort of predictability, why innovation is not merely incremental improvement, what creative people can teach business leaders about sensing the future and navigating chaos, and the critical role of agency, curiosity and courage even when outcomes are uncertain.

It’s a conversation designed for senior leaders, coaches, team-effectiveness practitioners and anyone who wants to see beyond the status quo.

00:00 Introduction & technical note
02:15 Who is Margaret Heffernan: career, context and influences
08:45 Exploring Willful Blindness: what it means, in business and culture
17:20 Why systems and institutions encourage willful blindness
23:30 The trigger for the next book: from Uncharted to Embracing Uncertainty
29:08 Join to second recording – framing the shift to artists, music, creativity
31:00 What does “embracing uncertainty” really mean in today’s world
38:40 COVID, anticipation and why the future unsettled so many organisations
45:50 Creatives, artists and the ability to sense the future ahead of others
52:12 Divergent thinking vs incremental improvement: defining “innovation”
56:22 Leadership and agency when certainty is not possible
01:03:15 How context, character and culture interact in enabling creative agency
01:10:00 Practical take-aways for senior leaders and coaches
01:15:30 Closing thoughts: system change, individual mindsets, human skills

To find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below.
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