The Transformational Leadership Skills & Capabilities Playbook
Your Field Guide To Conscious Leadership, Purpose-Led Leadership, Relational Leadership, Creative Leadership, Influential Leadership, Inspirational Leadership, Systemic Leadership
The Disruption Of The Multi-Trillion Dollar Real Estate Market The built environment industry, which in the US accounts for at least 10% of GDP, with cities providing 90% of all economic activity, has long been insulated from the disruption that…
Customer-centricity should not be a fad or catchphrase, or even something done by a few in marketing or sales. Customer-centricity is—and should be understood as— the fundamental reason for an “organisation” to exist. Explore 20 concrete ways to become radically customer-centric…
Many of the ingredients we need for regenerative businesses and brands already exist. Discover the innovative frameworks, technologies, and tools that you can use to design and evolve a regenerative business model.
Innovation leadership within large organizations is notoriously hard. In this article, benefit from the hard-won lessons we have learned over the last 25 years as we have pioneered breakthrough innovation corporations. Leverage these 33 principles, hacks, and strategies that are proven to break through organizational immune systems and their tendency to kill innovation to empower, enable, and elevate innovation teams to unlock big, bold, and beautiful ideas that forge the future of your industry.
Innovation to drive topline growth through value creation has never been more important given relentless change, endless commodification, saturated markets, and the lacklustre gains of yet more cost reduction programs. Yet hard-wired immune systems in large corporations and orgs tend to kill innovation (and kill off innovation leaders) before it can take hold. Understand the 5 common ways that execs and innovation leaders fail to reap the amazing rewards of breakthrough innovation investements—and why they are then ripe to be disrupted by more agile, and often out-of-indsutry, competitors.
There is massively rising complexity, accelerated disruption, and increasing uncertainty in today’s environment. Leaders need to build their “adaptive capacity” to cope with this VUCA++ environment so they can have the inner resources, metaskills, and leadership capabilities to metabolize change outside the organization into value creating products and services for customers, employees, and shareholders.
All my work, over the last 25 odd, years has centered on helping well-established organizations and public institutions to forge the future of their industry in purposeful, innovative, and regenerative ways. This means anticipating, and creatively and effectively responding to,…
Conventional wellbeing experts put a lot of weight behind the idea of ‘achieving perfect balance’ physically and mentally. But on closer inspection this seems to be a fundamentally flawed – and, in fact, profoundly dangerous – interpretation of the scientific,…
Wittgenstein wrote that “philosophy is the struggle against the bewitchment of our intellect by mean of language.” By ‘language’ I take it he means all our ideas about what life should and shouldn’t be like; the beliefs we hold about…
Go beyond hype. Learn how to develop ambitious, bold, and empathetic leaders who stretch performance, build trust, and shift culture through mindset, not just motivation.
Regenerative leadership moves beyond resilience to restore energy, rethink systems, and build sustainable performance. Learn how renewal is reshaping the future of leadership development.
Not all leadership development is equal. Learn the four tiers of leadership development and how to align training with the complexity and transformation of your business needs.
Understand the Way of Transformation: the archetypal blueprint and pathway for achieving lasting, positive change in yourself and the systems you participate in
Understand the Way of Transformation: the archetypal blueprint and pathway for achieving lasting, positive change in yourself and the systems you participate in
Understand the Way of Transformation: the archetypal blueprint and pathway for achieving lasting, positive change in yourself and the systems you participate in
Understand the Way of Transformation: the archetypal blueprint and pathway for achieving lasting, positive change in yourself and the systems you participate in
Understand the Way of Transformation: the archetypal blueprint and pathway for achieving lasting, positive change in yourself and the systems you participate in
Understand the Way of Transformation: the archetypal blueprint and pathway for achieving lasting, positive change in yourself and the systems you participate in
Understand the Way of Transformation: the archetypal blueprint and pathway for achieving lasting, positive change in yourself and the systems you participate in
Five critical ideas that every transformational leader, adaptive leader, or creative leader must know about—and ideally pay some attention to—to be a future-fitting and even future-forging leader of positive and lasting impact, value, and change. Fourth in the series, compassion and kindness at the core of company cultures.
How to be conscious leaders and personal leaders that show up as fully flexible, fluid, and free—ready to engage with, own, and transform all and any challenges we face in our organization and our crisis-hit world
How to become a creative leader and innovation leader who can solve new and complex challenges with transformational solutions
Stop investing in leadership training that checks boxes. Learn how aligning leadership goals with transformational development drives change, innovation, and ROI.
Five critical ideas that every transformational leader, adaptive leader, or creative leader must know about—and ideally pay some attention to—to be a future-fitting and even future-forging leader of positive and lasting impact, value, and change. The final leadership trend is Dignity, not just Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion.
What is the right mindset to cope with a crisis? Here we make a crucial and potentially life-changing distinction between wilful and forced ‘positive thinking’ that can deny vital insight for survival and adaptation; and a profoundly wise and transformative view that we call ‘optimistic equanimity’.
Leaders have never had to deal with so much change, at such speed and with so much complexity and intensity. The result is constant overwhelm, with leaders struggling to do Business As Usual let alone spearhead external innovations and internal…
Experiential leadership development is gaining in popularity as it promises deeper engagement, transformational outcomes and accelerated mastery at transformational leadership. But experiential programs can overwhelm, confuse, and waste precious time, energy, money, and the reputations of L&D/OD/HR professionals. Discover how to approach experiential leadership development to deilver on the promises and avoid the many risks.
Understand five critical skills for leaders to unlock if they want to embrace regenerative leadership and build the strength and skills to lead an organization to become a regenerative business or brand. Understand more about what regenerative leadership requires and some simple start points to build the capacity within to lead regeneratively.
Leadership workshops spark ideas, but lasting change requires structure, neuroscience, and culture support. Learn how to turn breakthroughs into lasting leadership transformation with follow-through.
Leadership transformation doesn’t happen in your head; it happens in your nervous system. Learn how embodied leadership development builds presence, resilience, and behavioral change.
There are four large generations in the workplace simultaneously, with different values, strengths, and needs. This makes it challenging for every employer to find a coherent culture and employee offer to make their Future of Work work. On this journey, much…
The latest neuroscience has shown that people are not born resilient. We can all learn the skills and mindsets of resilience by choice. Here are 7 ways how.
When designed and delivered thoughtfully, high-potential talent programs for emerging leaders offer a double win: future-ready, customer-centric leaders and a future-proofed business. Discover how to craft emerging leader programs that drive outsized business impact.
Emerging leaders and high-potential talent programs can deliver an outsized ROI, from improved adaptability to strong succession planning, from the retention of critical knowledge to the cultivation of a culture of growth.
In this video Switch On CEO and co-founder Nick Jankel introduces Bio-Transformation Theory® and shares how it can help you to adapt in times of crisis. If you prefer to read content rather than watch, a transcript of the video…
This article explains why so many organizations are failing to achieve ROI from their AI investments. Most companies try to force advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence into outdated business, operating, and people models, resulting in wasted money, workslop, and strategic confusion. The piece outlines the leadership failures, mindset traps, and systemic forces that undermine AI deployments and shows why transformational leadership, deep strategic thinking, and redesigned operating models are essential.
With the twin crises of climate and inequality unfolding in front of our eyes, the transformation of our economic and political systems is the hardest but most urgent and necessary challenge on Earth. Discover crucial insights on how to lead and land systemic change.
High-potential talent can transform the future of a business, if they are accelerated to become emerging leaders. But how do you choose which talent do you select for such programs?
Whether shaping future managers, mentoring a team, or raising tomorrow’s trailblazers, knowing how to teach leadership is one of the most powerful yet difficult skills in business today. Here are 7 principles you can use to succeed.
Iridescent Centrism: Insight Over Ideology For A Transformational Politics & Regenerative Capitalism
What was initially the first part of this essay was about a specific issue in progressive politics: an ideological color-blindness to the reality of antisemitism on the Left, with those on the radical side of left-wing politics blaming everyone; and…
Key Trends In The Future Of Work The way we work is undergoing a profound sea change, comparable in magnitude to the shift from farming to factories. This shift is transforming lives, livelihoods, nations, and the planet itself. For example:…
Perhaps the most compelling and crucial question at the heart of our present-day anxieties about the rise of Artificial Intelligence is this: will machines ever be creative, compassionate, and wise and so transcend our capabilities as leaders (whether leaders of…
Five critical ideas that every transformational leader, adaptive leader, or creative leader must know about—and ideally pay some attention to—to be a future-fitting and even future-forging leader of positive and lasting impact, value, and change. First up, Artificial Intelligence and AI-enabled business models, from Chat-GPT to DeepMind.
After the initial shock and stress of the pandemic, it is time for us leaders to start engaging fully with the post-pandemic world—for there are tougher and hitherto unprecedented challenges on the near horizon. They cannot be ignored. The planet, and her people, cannot wait.
In the Baghavad Gita, one of the Hindu religions greatest literary and spiritual works, the hero Arjuna is told by a wise prince Sri Krishna (a representation of the supreme being) that “when a person is devoted to something with…
How leaders and change makers—anywhere in the system—can create the conditions for future-forging insights and ideas to break through future-failing assumptions and habits
Eric Fromm, the renowned psychoanalyst, wrote: ‘We must approach the unconscious… with a profound sense of humour.’ Why? Because we all, when we have the humility to admit it, have dark thoughts. Many of us have done dark deeds because…
Introducing the possibility of a regenerative “turn” in society and business that can bring about a sustainable, just, and flourishing future for our organization—and all life on our planet.
Five critical ideas that every transformational leader, adaptive leader, or creative leader must know about—and ideally pay some attention to—to be a future-fitting and even future-forging leader of positive and lasting impact, value, and change. The second leadership trend is Nature Positivity and Nature-Based Solutions and Innovations.
International keynote speaker on innovation and leadership, Nick Jankel, shares his book Switch On with the team at Google HQ in their prestigious Talks@Google program.
Before investing in leadership transformation, assess your organization’s actual readiness. Learn the hard questions to ask and why breakthrough requires more than ambition; it demands commitment.
Just over a decade ago, I was flying high. I was 29 years old. I ran what I believed was one of the most exciting companies in existence – a blend of ad agency, design studio, anthropology department and strategy…
How to be purposeful leaders and ethical leaders that act with integrity and make sense of the world, and make decisions about what to do next, grounded in a powerful and meaningful purpose.
Why regenerative leadership and regenerative business might be the next stage of both human and societal development—but that to make it to that stage, we need a paradigm shift in our consciousness as leaders.
Bamboo is a symbol of longevity because of its durability, strength, flexibility, and resilience. It survives in the harshest conditions, still standing tall and staying green year-round. When the storm comes, bamboo bends with the wind. When the storm ceases, it resumes its upright…
Why so many smart leaders get stuck trying to solve Technical Problems that fit existing best-practice, assumptions, and expertise—and why all genuine transformation in business and systems requires leaders to give up being smart and right so they can identify, define, and innovate around Transformational Challenges
Much of the investment in leadership development fails to deliver tangible business impact, let alone an outsized ROI. Discover 15 ways to revolutionize and rethink leadership development so that it forges future-fit leaders that can ensure their organization survives and thrives in the VUCA reality through the design and delivery of customized, creative, transformative, and experiential leadership development journeys.
In the last forty years, 1/3 of arable land on Earth has become infertile due to erosion or pollution at a time where increasing temperatures is causing global food shortages. Deaths attributed to pollution are triple those from AIDS, malaria,…
After the initial shock and stress of the pandemic, it is time for us leaders to start engaging fully with the post-pandemic world—for there are tougher and hitherto unprecedented challenges on the near horizon. They cannot be ignored. The planet, and her people, cannot wait.
It’s tempting during periods of economic tightening to cancel investments in leadership training, pause existing leadership development programs, and postpone executive events and management meet-ups. Empirical research evidence suggests this reduced adapative capacity and discretionary effrots just when you need leaders to innovate, adapt, and transform their way out of disruption, uncertainty, and complexity.
Across industries, leaders are investing billions in artificial intelligence tools, automation technologies, and new digital operating models. Yet most of these investments are failing to deliver on their potential, in part because organizations consistently treat transformation like a technical upgrade rather than…
With politics locked in ever-decreasing circles, Nick Jankel suggests that whether we are capitalist or Maoist, if our worldview emanates from a philosophy of separation not connection, we can never lead change. The time has come to break through the stalemate and unlock a politics that is enflamed by shared heart not stale ideology.
This article introduces the LEADERSHIP-AI Synthesis, a practical model for how human leaders and artificial intelligence can co create transformational outcomes. It explains why AI is exceptional at complicated work such as analysis and optimization but fails at complex realities including ethics, emotion, sensemaking, and relational intelligence. The blog outlines the human leadership capabilities that AI cannot replace: creativity, contextual judgment, narrative intelligence, embodied presence, and ethical discernment. It positions AI focused leadership development as essential for guiding, challenging, and guardrailing AI so that technology amplifies humanity rather than eroding it.
With insights into adult development and deep transformational “inner work” we can consciously transform middle-age from a time of relentless pressure and disappointment into the most generative and regenerative period of our careers
How to use a cutting-edge, brain-based approach for reframing your New Year’s Resolutions and personal leadership goals to unlock accelerated (and appropriate) leadership development—by tapping into your innate curiosity, creativity, and potential for growth.
Before you read this poem, you may want to read my article on midlife crisis, adult developmental thinking, and transformation. The free folk are worried, suffering, and pained Despair strikes bells of the four corners to ring Each boy…
Our masculine strength, power, and rationality must be in service of feminine softness, presence, and relationship—not the other way around—to thrive in life, love, and leadership
In my 20s I ran a top-flight strategy and innovation consultancy. My business partner and I, with our fast-growing team, worked with C-Suite executives from over one hundred Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies to help them grapple with the…
Five critical ideas that every transformational leader, adaptive leader, or creative leader must know about—and ideally pay some attention to—to be a future-fitting and even future-forging leader of positive and lasting impact, value, and change.
Being a leader today is less about making demands and more about evolving fast enough to keep up with chaos, without losing your soul. In “Now Lead with Change” by Nick Jankel, a leader of leaders book, a powerful roadmap is…
Develop the mindset you need to survive and thrive in the ruthlessly changing, relentlessly complex, and radically uncertain world.
Most corporate innovation programs fails to deliver the outsized returns—in the form of value-creation, growth, staff engagement, and consumer/customer loyalty—that breakthrough innovation unlocks. By understanding the common killers, blockers, and obstacles to successful innovation in large organizations, corporations, and Fortune 500s, you can reduce the risks and costs, minimize wasted effort and goodwill, ensure your employees do not disengage, and delight your customers before they depart.
Is your business ready to stop tweaking and start transforming? Discover the key signs of readiness for transformational leadership development and what it takes to spark lasting change.
Explore how transformational vs. transactional leadership development impacts behavior and mindset, and why deep change requires more than surface-level training or quick fixes.
Lies never stay hidden for very long and it actually seems that the universe is designed this way for a reason. Gandhi, who called his autobiography ‘My Experiments with Truth’, believed firmly that Truth is actually God (or whatever word…
How to become a collaborative leader and team leader who can motivate team members to deliver—and guide diverse groups of cross-functional people to collaborate on innovation and execution
How to become a systemic leader and regenerative leader who can lead lasting change across enterprises and systems to deliver a sustainable future
What if one decision right now could unlock the leader you were meant to be? You don’t need a promotion, a budget, or an MBA to develop powerful leadership skills. You need curiosity, commitment, and the right course (preferably free)…
Just as a people leader must create a safe environment for their people to shine, each team member must ensure their leader or line manager is safe… not from being fired but from having fires erupt that they then need to fight.
Not being able to predict with any certainty important elements of our short-term future is the new normal. And it’s is playing havoc with business (as usual)! Are we already in a global recession? Will we be by Q2 or…
10 design lenses for building regenerative technologies within regenerative business models that can repair our fragmented world—and why we need ‘embodied wisdom’ and wise leadership to wield them properly
In challenging times, we need a kind of leadership that can disrupt the status quo with as little pain and as much elegance as possible. I believe the times we live and work in demand that we focus our entire…
Why cultivating embodied wisdom is so crucial for our own happiness and well-being—as well as the great unlock for leading our teams toward high-perfomance and our organizations toward sustainable success and a regenerative future.
It’s easy to talk about regenerative business, agriculture, or leadership. It’s less simple to define what lies at the heart of regenerative thinking. In this article, Nick Jankel attempts to define the essence of thinking regeneratively.
A deep dive into the evidence base for investing in leadership development and leadership training to optimize finanical perfomance, employee engagement and retention, and innovation successes.
In our relentlessly, ruthlessly changing world, we need leadership styles that can lead us away from overwhelm, stress and damage. We need a leadership style that, instead, generates a more regenerative and thriving state. We need to do this with as little resistance and as much speed as possible.
15 principles and design lenses that we can all harness to lead, evolve, and cultivate regenerative brands, businesses, projects, and communities that can transform our crisis-hit world.
These two leaders of countries at war—who share variants of the same Slavic first name Volod or Vlad—embody very different styles of leadership. One is trying to become “ruler of the world”, the other “ruler of peace”—two meanings of their first name. Using this lens, I explore why every leader must prioritize the development of their rational intelligence to lead and land genuine transformation.
This article explores why AI is rapidly outperforming leaders who rely on analysis, expertise, or being the “smartest person in the room.” It reveals how advanced machine intelligence is accelerating past human technical abilities, making many traditional leadership skill sets obsolete. The blog outlines the emerging human capabilities leaders now need—creativity, contextual judgment, empathy, presence, narrative intelligence, and embodied wisdom—and introduces the Leadership–AI Synthesis taught inside Switch On Leadership’s AI-Focused Leadership Development Programs. It positions deep leadership transformation, not technical mastery, as the path for staying relevant, trusted, and impactful in the age of AI.
Emerging leaders, when supported with innovation processes and leadership tools and coaching with high-potential talent programs, can drive breakthrough innovation results more effectively than those at the top. Find out why, and how.
Much of the investment in leadership development fails to deliver tangible business impact. At the same time, it is failing the very leaders it is trying to serve, support, and upgrade. This is down to how we approach leadership development and the long shadows of industrial-age education and assumptions about learning. Discover some of the major mistakes that lead to leadership development failure and how to avoid them.
True leadership growth starts with psychological safety. Learn how fostering trust, feedback, and vulnerability builds stronger leaders and transforms workplace culture from the inside out.
Five critical ideas that every transformational leader, adaptive leader, or creative leader must know about—and ideally pay some attention to—to be a future-fitting and even future-forging leader of positive and lasting impact, value, and change. The third is Wise Leadership & Wisdom In the Workplace.