Best Rob McPhillips Podcasts (2025)

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Leadership Lessons From Marcus Aurelius 42:39

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3M ago42:39

42:39

In this episode, join Rob and Sarah as they delve into the life, philosophy, and leadership of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. They explore his humble beginnings, his profound stoic teachings, and how his writings still resonate today. They discuss the essential qualities of stoic leadership, the impact of historical context, and the importance of a…

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Stories We Tell: The Power of Narrative 1:09:19

3M ago1:09:19

1:09:19

£2 trillion was wiped from the world's stock markets last week. Economist's estimate that the cost of Donald Trump's tariffs will be $1 trillion. If you ever believe you alone can't make a difference, consider the impact of Mr Trump. One man creating worldwide havoc financially and diplomatically. Millions of Americans think he's just what America …

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Friction Points In Teams 30:30

3M ago30:30

30:30

"Once more and I'm going to deck him". Do you love or hate open plan offices? I tried working at a co-working space at my local Uni. It was quiet when I got in, but once the Uni staff got in, they would be gossiping through the day. I really struggled to be able to concentrate in that environment. When we go to work, we don't choose who we work wit…

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From Theories to Practice: Psychometrics in Leadership 39:25

4M ago39:25

39:25

Is it fair? Toddlers in pre-school cry that it's unfair.. Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing much the same. Your team will too. There's a deep human need for things to feel fair. Yet, there is no sign that life and the universe intend life to be fair. Every species is different. And every person is different. Your team will judge you for your fai…

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LEADERSHIP Strategies to WIN the Game of Life 42:03

4M ago42:03

42:03

Who do you listen to? Your Mentor, Guide or Inspiration is the limit to your potential. The depth of wisdom behind their words is the limitation in how profound their impact is. We often live in a world of superficial knowledge. A world where tactics and fads dominate. But alongside the ephemeral lies some eternal wisdom. The Art of War is one of t…

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What Makes a DIVERSE Team Work Together 44:12

4M ago44:12

44:12

What if your team's differences were it's greatest strength? There's a belief held by many that the 9/11 Twin Towers wasn't seen because of a lack of diversity in the CIA. The CIA argued that it needed the best people to protect the country. So they recruited people who looked and thought like themselves. Until the 9/11 tragedy highlighted a proble…

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How Much Adaptation Tax Are You Paying? 40:22

4M ago40:22

40:22

There's been a lot of talk recently about quiet quitting and burnout. Tony Walmsley talks about something he's made me think a lot about... the cost of adapting. For starters we work in a world that is stressful for our biology. When we then have to change our natural personality to fit a culture or our colleagues it stresses us. These adaptations …

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Setting The Culture Of Your Team 1:15:37

4M ago1:15:37

1:15:37

What is the key task of a leader? Ask 100 people and you’ll get 100 answers. When you abstract at the most universal truth of leadership. The key is to connect people to the reality of their situation. We are a world of 8 billion people. Each with our own interpretation of the world. What it means. And what is good or bad. A Leader creates a frame …

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How Fragile Are Your Plans, Your Team And Your Career? 39:20

5M ago39:20

39:20

What's the opposite of fragile? Most people would say something robust. But Nassim Nicholas Taleb says that's a mistake. He argues that the opposite is something antifragile. Something which gains from disorder. In an increasingly volatile world, he says we shouldn't try to protect the fragile. But instead to be more resilient through anti-fragilit…

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The Dance Between Leaders, Managers And Followers 1:00:37

5M ago1:00:37

1:00:37

Is a referee a leader or manager? Often today we use the term referee or leader interchangeably. This dilutes the difference those roles have. Which poses the question... is a sports referee a leader or a manager? Establishing the differences, allows us to define the responsibilies of each. In today's podcast, Clark Ray, Tony Walmsley and I discuss…

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The Importance of Self Awareness and Team Awareness 41:39

5M ago41:39

41:39

Who do you serve? How do you serve them? Why? And what are the boundaries of that service? The answers to these questions go a long way to clarifying our work. They help define the contexts of our relationships in coming together. They ensure we fulfil our purpose. And they help us frame the decisions we make. This starts with understanding who we …

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The Surprising Ways We Fool Ourselves 42:49

5M ago42:49

42:49

How good are you at making decisions? How confident are you in your answer? The more aware you are of the way your mind works, the less sure you will be of your answer. Our decisions are fraught with biases and distortions. Thinking Fast and Slow is one of the most respected books on decision making. Daniel Kahneman's work won him a Nobel Prize for…

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How Identity And Psychology Impact Our Leadership Style 53:19

6M ago53:19

53:19

Clark, Tony and I discussed our ideas of leadership. We talked about how our own sense of identity and our psychology impacts our thinking and behaviour as a leader using examples from history and personal experiences. Links: Clark Ray’s Linkedin Profile: / 10thman Clark’s Website: https://www.clarkray.com Tony Walmsley’s Linkedin Profile: / tony-w…

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Managing Conflict To Raise Performance 40:10

7M ago40:10

40:10

Want to really know someone? Get into a fight with them. Especially one that hits all their hot buttons. You’ll soon see the worst of them. Conflict does funny things to people. It is one of the few times we drop our carefully crafted social masks. It’s one of the reasons couples think their partner has changed. Because they just didn’t get to see …

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The Path of Mastery: Discussing Robert Greene's Book 59:06

7M ago59:06

59:06

What did you want to be when you were a child? Before the world filled you with doubts. Before you learned to subjugate yourself to it's rules. What did you love to be? I loved @Michael's quote from Gustave Flaubert in this context 'Genius... is childhood rediscovered' One of the most influential schools of psychological thought is that of Behaviou…

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Navigating Authenticity and Truth As A Leader 53:23

7M ago53:23

53:23

In this episode, Clark Ray, Tony Walmsley and I talked about the power of authentic leadership. How do we know what's authentic? We discussed psychological safety, the pitfalls of social media's lack of authenticity, and the importance of staying true to oneself. The conversation also tackles the role of universal truths, conflict resolution, and t…

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What Is Leadership Beyond Theory? 59:00

8M ago59:00

59:00

What is Leadership beyond the theories? This episode explores the core principles of effective leadership, emphasizing humility and the importance of values. Through the lens of experiences in sports and business, the discussion covers situational leadership, the impact of values like honesty and integrity, and the power dynamics in relationships. …

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The Secret to Finding Purpose in Your Work (Through VALUES) 48:21

8M ago48:21

48:21

Do you feel your work brings you purpose? In all my work with individuals, I've seen three core needs. The first two dominate our early career. To belong and feel part of a tribe. To gain status and value within that tribe. We seek out the field we want to be in. And how we can fulfil our ambitions in that field. But often many then feel a sense th…

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Fail Safe: Insights from Black Box Thinking By Matthew Syed 1:02:24

8M ago1:02:24

1:02:24

In this episode, we talk about the implications of Blackbox Thinking (by Matthew Syed) for organisations. We talk about how differing companies such as Kodak, Google, and Amazon either learned or ignored the lessons from failure. The conversation explored concepts such as antifragility, psychological safety, and growth mindset. By integrating ideas…

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How a "CAN-DO" ATTITUDE Made Harit Successful 44:00

9M ago44:00

44:00

In this episode, dive into Harit Bhasin's journey of becoming a successful Tech Leader. Learn the importance of embracing conflict and building trust, as well as the value of a 'can-do' attitude, continuous self-learning, and personal branding. Discover how integrating diverse knowledge and fostering a growth mindset can lead to professional succes…

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How to Actually Create Change in Your Organization (and Stop the Resistance) 41:10

9M ago41:10

41:10

How do we lead conversations that engage people and create change? All change starts with a leader who can engage their team. True leaders open conversations that engage their teams. Leaders through their example create the organisational culture. They create the context and set the frame that work is done within. In today's podcast episode I spoke…

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The First Question Every Leader Must Answer 35:38

9M ago35:38

35:38

What's the first question for every leader to answer? This is the question Romana Prochazkova answered in today's podcast. She explained the answer that is key for every leader. Especially those early in their journeys. Watch to understand what makes the foundation of your leadership style. Until you have that foundation, you cannot be authentic. I…

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The Five Pillars Of Peak Performance 36:18

9M ago36:18

36:18

How do we get to peak performance? In an ever more demanding world there are more and more demands on our time and energy. How do we ensure that we meet the demands of our work, home and family and yet maintain our health and wellbeing. Everything we do rests on foundational pillars. Performance too rests on certain foundations. Performance too res…

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What's The Value You Bring? 1:23:12

10M ago1:23:12

1:23:12

Why should someone choose you? For the job. The project. Or the contract. We live in a world of overwhelming choice and yet each of us is trying to stand out and be valued. The social media world has created the personal brand which can seem contrived. At it's worst it's creating a false image to sell. But at it's best it's about clarifying what yo…

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Rebel Ideas By Matthew Syed Book Club Discussion 44:28

10M ago44:28

44:28

Why do groups of the smartest people make dumb decisions? The Bay of Pigs invasion. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. Blair and Bush's war on Iraq. Every day in smaller ways groups make terrible decisions because of groupthink. Yet the increasing complexity of the world shows that collective intelligence is key. Overwhelmingly, science, busines…

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Beliefs, Change and Empathy 59:23

10M ago59:23

59:23

Whenever we introduce change we meet resistance. Every change involves loss of some sort for someone. That person is likely to be the person who most resists the change. How well we address their concerns determines the smoothness of change. We can push past resistance, but when we don't address these concerns we suffer. Either we get silent confli…

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Does It Make The Boat Go Faster? 55:38

11M ago55:38

55:38

Why do we do this? Whenever we join together, there's a sacrifice. We give up time, resources or autonomy. So why would we join? Humans have always joined together because some goals we can only achieve in numbers. Once that was to succeed in the hunt or to stay safe. Now it is to achieve increasingly complex goals. Or even to have a stable wage. W…

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Ego, Stress and Leadership 1:09:47

11M ago1:09:47

1:09:47

How do I get people to do what I want? Change is notoriously difficult. So is leadership. But why? Because often the change we seek to make isn't for the greater good. It's for what I want. For my personal agenda. And that's why we can't get people on board with it. Leadership isn't about how good you are. It's about how good you can make others. I…

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Making Sense of The UK Riots: The Danger of Division 44:38

11M ago44:38

44:38

Everyone wants to feel good about themself. Our inner narrative is driven by this imperative. No-one wants to hate. We hate when we're empty. We need to find a scapegoat that explains why we're not doing as well as we wish we were. In the UK this week there have been shocking scenes of anti-immigration riots. On the surface it looks like racism. Ac…

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Outliers: Identifying The Ingredients For Success 59:06

11M ago59:06

59:06

Why are some people so much better than everyone else in a given field? What makes a Usain Bolt or Steve Jobs so successful? Is it nature or nurture? Outliers by Malcom Gladwell seeks to answer these question. An Outlier is an anomoly. Most people think of the average as the mean. But most science (at least social science) tracks the mid point. Oth…

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Which Force Is Winning In Your Team? 12:43

12M ago12:43

12:43

The world is changed by those who can inspire and unite. Whether it's Martin Luther King giving a dream for the civil rights movement. Nelson Mandela uniting South Africans as a new nation. Or a team unifying around a shared goal. We achieve by working together as one. While this is magical when it works, it more often than not doesn't work. It doe…

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Is Change Art or Science? 1:12:03

12M ago1:12:03

1:12:03

Business wants to be scientific. Managers want to see data, facts and evidence to base decisions on. The last thing anyone wants to do is to put the company at risk. No-one wants to be blamed for being reckless. So we buy based on logic. But when we sell logic to people they resist. We buy proven tech and initiatives, but employees don't use it. Be…

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The Power of Ideas 1:23:13

1y ago1:23:13

1:23:13

Every life has value and lessons. Hollywood and the mainstream media look for the blockbusters. But often the insights and lessons we need come from people like us. People living everyday lives who have seen something that we haven't. A book has a life's experiences encoded into a few hours read. Those few hours can let us vicariously experience a …

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The Danger of Groupthink 34:33

1y ago34:33

34:33

When we gather together, there's pressure to agree. Groups create norms. And belonging often means we have to conform. Challenging those norms threatens the group. And so it can put our belonging at risk. As a result there is a dynamic to agree. To choose people like us. To conform to the pack for safety and harmony. But we become blinded to danger…

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Being Ready To Take Your Shot 54:20

1y ago54:20

54:20

If you had one shot... One opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted... Would you capture it or let it slip? We never know when an opportunity will fall to us. And often they fall when we're not prepared. We kick ourselves for not having the presence to say what we later think of. That moment slips because we weren't ready. Mastery means trai…

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Developing Presence and Power At Work 43:43

1y ago43:43

43:43

Where does power come from? Does our authority come from our position? Or from our presence? Our belief will affect how we show up. People who see their power as their position will seek to build their status. People who see their presence as power, will seek to engage to develop their influence. We aren't always in control of, if and when, we get …

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Smashing Middle Eastern Stereotypes With Corina Goetz 42:48

1y ago42:48

42:48

250 years ago the founding fathers drew up the U.S constitution. They had been able to learn lessons from older nations and avoid some of their mistakes. This disparate union of states grew to become the world superpower. Today, there is a new and ambitious union that is looking to launch itself as a global player. As a region it is having to unify…

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Books That Change Lives 30:08

1y ago30:08

30:08

Do you like to read? I've always loved to read. It's the possibility of finding new ideas. Ideas are the building blocks I play with. When I read books I want new ideas. Ideas that change my thinking. Ideas reimagined. Or ideas refuted. I love to read, but now it's something I don't always find the time to do. When I realised some of my friends rea…

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The Unified Team Philosophy 15:00

1y ago15:00

15:00

Most leadership is remedial. For me, a Leader has three key roles... 1. To articulate the vision of what the collective is going to achieve. 2. Agreeing the strategic direction that everyone's going to follow. 3. Carrying the group along and ensuring the values of the beliefs of what it means to be part of the group are upheld. The problem is that …

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Supporting Men Through Change 1:01:43

1y ago1:01:43

1:01:43

If you failed at your job more than 50% of the time would you still have a job? Imagine a Surgeon who failed half the time. Or a pilot. Or a production line. Now look at the divorce statistics. More than half of our most commited relationships, marriages, end in divorce. Ok divorce isn't necessarily failure. But we bond together to have something t…

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Embracing The Dark Side Of You 52:31

1y ago52:31

52:31

What does it take to lead? To lead others we have to be able to tap into something in them. We have to have the empathy and sensitivity to see how what we do impacts them. We have to have the self awareness to adapt and adjust what we do, based on the feedback we get. Our ability to lead others comes from our awareness of who we are. There are lots…

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Inspire People To Aim Higher 1:07:24

1y ago1:07:24

1:07:24

How do we inspire others to achieve great things? Saurabh Debnath was on course to achieve his lifelong goal of representing India at cricket. That is to be one of 11 in a country with a 1.4bn population. That is a 1 in 127 million chance. Yet Saurabh was on course to hit it. By 18 he'd played for three years in the Ranji trophy as a fast bowler. H…

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Building Strong Emotional Foundations 1:37:22

1y ago1:37:22

1:37:22

Do you remember the story of the three little pigs? They each built a house. But only one built one that was strong enough to withstand the big, bad wolf. That saved the day. When you build a house, you dig down to lay strong foundations. These are what give a house its strength. And so when gale force winds and even hurricanes come, the house can …

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The Problem With Men 1:12:36

1y ago1:12:36

1:12:36

The problem with men is... As a relationship coach I heard the problems of trying to date and relate to men. Sit in a coffee shop or a bar and you'll often hear women talking about men and their shortcomings. The media tells us about toxic masculinity. What's clear is men are struggling. With relationships. Depression. And suicide. The world has ch…

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Bringing All of You To Your Role 59:30

1y ago59:30

59:30

How do you answer what do you do? It's a question that many of us hate because we often don't have a concise answer. It might involve a label that limits us. And it doesn't cover the range of how we do, what we do and makes us special. At best, it's limiting and at worst it's confusing. Today is a special episode of The Unified Team Podcast. It's a…

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How Do We Emotionally Connect Everyone To The Mission? 1:18:38

1y ago1:18:38

1:18:38

I have a dream... With those four words Martin Luther King focused a movement on a dream they could all commit to. Campaigners could unite around the idea of all being equal. It was the core premise they all agreed and identified with. Whether our team is a sports team, social movement or corporate team we need a vision. It is the vision that frame…

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Engage, Empower and Educate Your Team 47:43

1y ago47:43

47:43

Engage, empower and educate! That's Chris Cotter's strategy for getting teams to work together. Chris visited Japan as a Graduate and never returned. Working as a language teacher he ended up running a language school. Then he moved to a tech startup building a language learning app. This was where he developed his thinking about developing teams. …

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Supporting Your Team Through Change 35:52

1y ago35:52

35:52

How can you support your team through change? Change is the norm now. Organisations are almost permanently making some change or another. It's an upheaval while still trying to keep business as normal. How can you get your team through the process? I asked two Change Management Experts for their tips. Listen in to today's Unified Team Podcast to se…

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Owning Your Journey with Annika Mohlin 39:14

1y ago39:14

39:14

All of us have been sold a lie! Be a good boy or girl and do well at school. Put your head down at work. And then you'll get your reward and be happy. It isn't what happens. It's why we have mid-life crises. It's why people are turning their back on corporate life to brunch out for themselves. The default model doesn't work out. It was a lie to mak…

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Managing The Tension Between Safety And Performance 1:08:04

1y ago1:08:04

1:08:04

Life exists in tension. Everything we do, is done along a spectrum of tension. Conflicting goals create tension. Leadership is about managing those tensions. Managers want to create a psychologically safe environment. Yet, there is a natural tension with the fear of failure and not performing. When you give a speech, prepare a bid or create somethi…