Lead-Wise

Counter-programming Against Your Inner Critic

June 26, 2026 / Tojo Eapen / 0 Comments

Many of us tend to be tough on ourselves, probably more than on others. This approach seems to intensify in corporate environments because of constant judgment scenarios. I noticed an interesting Ted talk, that brought out a personal experience journey, along with the related improvements in a light manner. In today’s world, the message seems very relevant to many people, with valuable food for reflection and application. Practicing the “loving-kindness” meditation statement seems valuable to experiment with and apply practically.

Here are some selected valuable notes from the talk.

* “If I wanted to be less of a jerk to other people, I needed to start by being less of a jerk to myself…”
* “All the ways in which I was torturing myself showed up in my relationships with other people. And as those relationships suffered, so did I.”
* Meditation statement while focusing on others – “May you be happy, may you be safe, may you be healthy, may you live with ease.”
* Start consciously counterprogramming against your inner critic.
* Research shows that the process of replacing your sadistic inner tyrant with a supportive inner coach, who has high standards but is not a jerk about it, makes you more likely to reach your goals.

Psychological Safety in Organizational AI Transformations

June 17, 2026 / Tojo Eapen / 0 Comments

A recent IMD business school article highlights the importance of psychological safety in organizational AI transformation, based on related experiences, from Kameshwari Rao, Global Chief People Officer at international digital consulting firm Publicis Sapient. This also provides useful notes for leaders who are thinking about or working through AI related transformations.

These are selected notes from the article.

* Organizations need a psychologically safe environment for their employees to innovate and experiment.
* Unless employees feel psychologically safe, it is unrealistic to expect them to engage with, let alone embrace, the technology. Inevitably, user hesitation will impede organizational efforts to explore AI.
* Important to remember that “People’s identities are at stake”.
* Human intelligence has been evolving for hundreds of thousands of years, developing characteristics such as empathy, resilience, and judgment to adapt to a changing environment. The role of leaders is to remind people that they possess those irreplaceable human qualities.
* Requires businesses to commit to increased communication and support that considers each employee’s personal reaction to the technology and allows them to adapt at their own pace.

* Publicis Sapient focused on three simultaneous strands of AI change:
1. the shift to a mindset of curiosity rather than anxiety about AI,
2. building confidence, and
3. integrating AI tools into everyday jobs.

* “We wanted to begin the conversation by getting everybody to have a bit of fun with AI. It was about building familiarity.”
* The town hall was followed with a dedicated campaign, AI Habits, where the goal was to pique curiosity, with initiatives based on psychological research into habit formation.
* At the same time, Publicis Sapient prioritized experimentation, getting people to think about the skills and training they might need to make the most of AI. One useful approach here was gamification.
* Note that companies should not see these three AI initiatives as one-and-done exercises: “At any given point, you will have people at different stages in all three areas – everyone’s change cycle is different.”
* Leaders have framed AI as an ongoing learning journey.
* Listening, sharing – a range of listening tools that Publicis Sapient uses to understand whether employees are feeling confident in the workplace. Leaders, starting with the CEO, also serve as role models, share their own anxieties.
* No single initiative will create psychological safety around AI. Rather, it will take a spread of different, ongoing measures.

Source: Publicis Sapient on AI: A three-step guide to psychological safety; IMD; June 8, 2026

Notes on Organisational Political Dynamics and the Concept of Dominant Coalition

June 3, 2026 / Tojo Eapen / 0 Comments

I noticed some interesting, practical notes regarding ‘organisational political dynamics’, from the new book, The Age of HR. Since this was relatable from past experiences and valuable to reflect on, I thought of sharing. Have you been able to observe dominant coalitions in your organisations?

These notes are from Chapter 59 – To Be or Not to Be Part of the Dominant Coalition as the CHRO: Understanding the Political Dynamics of Your Organisation and How to Deal with Them, written by Dirk Buyens, Koen Dewettinck, and Silke Van Gansbeke

—
* It is helpful to recognise that politics and political behaviour are an inherent part of organisational life.
* In Darwinian terms, ‘survival of the fittest’ in this context often means those who are able to adapt best to the political environment are often the winners.
* In executive committees, we once again observe striking differences in who truly has influence and who does not.

* The dominant coalition can be defined as the group of individuals who, relative to their peers, exert a disproportionate level of influence over organisational decisions. Every company contains employees who, over time, gravitate towards the centre of decision-making in the organisation.
* In practice, dominant coalitions are rarely secretive. Most employees are aware of who belongs to them, and very often it is functionally driven.

* For a CHRO, it is crucial to understand what we refer to as the paradox of the right strategy. The ‘right’ strategy is typically one chosen that delivers quick wins soon. Even if an alternative strategy might have produced superior long-term outcomes, this can never be proven. Challenging the dominant coalition on this basis is therefore futile and politically suicidal.

* The fundamental question CHROs must ask is: “How important is it for me to be part of the dominant coalition, and what price am I willing to pay?”
* Being part of the dominant coalition as a CHRO ensures that HR processes and policies are taken seriously when key decisions are made. The downside is that HR may be perceived as less neutral, undermining the role of the credible activist.
* Remaining outside the dominant coalition enhances perceived neutrality but risks HR initiatives being dismissed as mere exercises that aren’t taken seriously when it truly matters.
* Ultimately, successfully sensing and navigating dominant coalitions requires strong political skills from the CHRO.
* There must be a balance between the degree to which an organisation tolerates political behaviour and one’s own personal tolerance for it.
* Some CHROs are dismissed for being too naïve; others for being overly political. In all cases, dominant coalitions – and how CHROs engage with them – profoundly shape their careers. Purposeful self-management is therefore indispensable.
* Until CHROs navigate the political nature of organisations, they will continue to be limited in their impact.
—

Understanding Country Culture Link to General Behaviours and Approaches

May 25, 2026 / Tojo Eapen / 1 Comment

Understanding the different dimensions of country cultures could often help clarify behaviours, ways of working, approaches and interactions better. That of course would not answer everything. There are always personality elements, professionalism/maturity levels, individual styles and sub cultures at play, in interactions.

A couple of recent related news items got me thinking about this topic. A journalist from Norway asked a question, which a diplomat from India answered, and both parties did not seem engaged or happy with their style or approaches in interactions. These sort of frustrations in interactions can be seen in the global workplace often. I think that at least a good portion of the frustration stems from the difference in their cultural contexts.

I gathered the following, selected notes from the The Culture Factor Group, Culture Dimensions Country Comparison tool – which compares India and Norway. Having lived and worked in Scandinavia for many years, I can see why it would be easy to misunderstand or ‘not get’ someone on the either side. The Culture Dimensions structure inputs originated from the late Prof. Geert Hofstede’s research. He was one of the most well-known experts in comparative intercultural research. These cross cultural inputs are updated through research notes periodically by the Culture Factor group.

According to inputs from the tool, major culture dimension differences exist between India and Norway in three out of the six dimensions – Power Distance, Individualism and Motivation towards Achievement and Success. Selected notes on these dimensions are included below. Hope this will help in thinking about the topic more deeper.

Notes On Workforce Analytics for Strategy Execution

May 22, 2026 / Tojo Eapen / 0 Comments

This is a continuation of valuable notes from the free book, The Age of HR.

This post covers Chapter 14, Workforce Analytics for Strategy Execution: Ten Years Later (2015–2025) by workforce analytics guru, Mark Huselid. He co-authored the well known Harvard Business Review article, titled “A Players” or “A Positions?: The Strategic Logic of Workforce Management”.
There’s lots of valuable guidance and wisdom here, especially for those who have followed the topic of workforce analytics by Prof. Huselid over the years.

Image generated with Chatgpt

* 3 linked moves for leaders (HR & Line managers) who want to improve strategy execution through the workforce:
(1) identify the strategic work necessary to execute strategy;
(2) build differentiated workforce systems that enable that work;
(3) design measurement systems that connect workforce investments to business outcomes and reinforce accountability.
* ..the last decade has clarified a critical distinction: adopting analytics tools is comparatively easy; building an enterprise capability that reliably improves decisions is not.

* Not all jobs are equally strategic. “A” positions matter for strategy execution and exhibit high variability in individual performance, offering the greatest upside from improvement.
* Great firms manage their workforce like a portfolio, investing disproportionately in the highest return strategic work.

* This portfolio logic requires explicit tradeoffs.
* The practical test: Can senior leaders name the five to ten roles that matter most for executing the current strategy, and explain why those roles warrant disproportionate investment?

* Data abundance creates a false sense of progress.
* Enforce a simple rule-no measurement without a prior decision context.
If a metric does not help a specific decision-maker choose between competing alternatives, it should not be produced, regardless of how easy it is to generate.

* Correlation is abundant, causation is rare, and the difference determines whether workforce investments deliver returns or waste resources. Organizations that lack a causal model cannot learn from experience because they cannot distinguish signal from noise.

* In global settings, the strategic importance of jobs may differ by region.
“A positions” should not be treated as a single universal list; rather, the organization needs a consistent logic for identifying them, applied with contextual specificity.
* Identify strategic roles based on their contribution to strategy execution and performance variance, not tradition or hierarchy.

* Strategic jobs that matter today may not be the same five years from now.

* What works in one cultural context may not work in another.

* Advanced analytics raises concerns about privacy, fairness, and transparency. Embed responsible data management, informed consent, and bias checks into every step, treating ethics as integral to trust and long-term viability.

3 Enterprise Roles of the Transformational CHRO

May 20, 2026 / Tojo Eapen / 0 Comments

Noticed these valuable notes on Transformational CHROs from the new book, The Age of HR, by Anthony Nyberg, Rebecca Kehoe, Dave Ulrich and Patrick Wright (editors).

These selected notes below are from Chapter 13, Beyond HR: The CHRO as a Catalyst for Enterprise Transformation, written by Melissa Anderson, Eva Rykrsmith, and Lynn A. McFarland.

The 3 Enterprise Roles of the Transformational CHRO

1. Integrator of Vision and Strategy
CHRO interprets signals from across the organization and the marketplace, translating noise into insight, and insight into action. This sensemaking function – converting ambiguity into coordinated action, requires strategic acuity, diagnostic rigor, and an ability to connect patterns that others miss. CHRO sees where energy is building, where resistance is forming, and where leaders may be misreading the moment.
The Integrator grounds the operating system in reality, dismantling outdated accountability models and replacing them with adaptive structures, decision rights, and leadership practices that fit the company’s strategic ambition. By intentionally shaping culture as a designed condition, the CHRO ensures that employee experience reflects strategic intent, providing a shared environment where employees understand purpose, feel protected, and are empowered to perform.

2. Orchestrator of Execution
CHRO ensures that transformation is coherent across functions, geographies, and business units. They align leadership expectations, capability plans, operating models, and cultural interventions into a unified architecture. The Orchestrator meets leaders and teams where they are, using personal credibility and insight to influence adoption, guide alignment, and adapt interventions to context, ensuring that employees experience coherence, clarity, and support.
In practice, orchestration translates coherence into coordinated action. When culture is reinforced through predictable patterns of collaboration, accountability, and leadership behavior, employee experience becomes a visible outcome of alignment. The aligned, mutually reinforcing practices cultivate employee attitudes and discretionary behaviors essential for transformation.

3. Accelerator of Momentum
The CHRO reduces friction and speeds up the organization’s path to outcomes. Acceleration involves more than urgency; it includes clearing structural bottlenecks, developing leadership capacity, prioritizing critical skills, strengthening collaboration, and embedding cultural mechanisms that reinforce desired behaviors.
In practice, the Accelerator ensures new capabilities and ways of working. CHRO shepherds this shift with equal measures of empathy and conviction, helping leaders internalize new expectations and align their teams. The HR team is activated to redesign operating models to reflect strategic intent, modernize workforce structures, develop readiness for future demands, and embed cultural mechanisms to reinforce momentum sustaining behaviors. Culture is reinforced as people experience tangible changes in work.

Powerful Notes /Reflection on Leadership

May 15, 2026 / Tojo Eapen / 0 Comments

For unexplainable reasons, an article I had read around couple of decades back came to mind suddenly.

“Leader presumes follower. Follower presumes choice. One who is coerced to the purposes, objectives, or preferences of another is not a follower in any true sense of the word, but an object of manipulation. Nor is the relationship materially altered if both parties voluntarily accept the dominance of one by the other. A true leader cannot be bound to lead. A true follower cannot be bound to follow. The moment they are bound they are no longer leader or follower. If the behavior of either is compelled, whether by force, economic necessity, or contractual arrangement, the relationship is altered to one of superior/subordinate, manager/employee, master/servant, or owner/slave. All such relationships are materially different from leader/follower.

Induced behavior is the essence of leader/follower. Compelled behavior is the essence of all the other relational concepts. Where behavior is compelled, there you will find tyranny, however benign. Where behavior is induced, there you will find leadership, however powerful. Leadership does not necessarily imply constructive, ethical, open conduct. It is entirely possible to induce destructive, malign, devious behavior, and to do so by corrupt means. Therefore, a clear, constructive purpose and compelling ethical principles evoked from and shared by all participants should be the essence of every relationship in every institution.

A vital question is how to insure that those who lead are constructive, ethical, open, and honest. The answer is to follow those who behave in that manner. It comes down to both individual and collective sense of where and how people choose to be led. In a very real sense, followers lead by choosing where to be led. Where an organizational community will be led is inseparable from the shared values and beliefs of its members.

True leaders are those who epitomize the general sense of the community – who symbolize, legitimize and strengthen behavior in accordance with the sense of the community – who enable its shared purpose, values and beliefs to emerge and be transmitted. A true leader’s behavior is induced by the behavior of every individual choosing where to be led.”

Source: Hock, Dee “The Art of Chaordic Leadership” Leader to Leader. 15 (Winter 2000): 20-26.

Progress of Women In Corporate Roles

May 9, 2026 / Tojo Eapen / 0 Comments

Data shared in this week’s Business Standard paper, based on the “Women and Men In India 2025 Report” indicates that there is a lot of continued work needed in this area. The data indicates basic incremental progress.

Some key notes:
* Even as women are making inroads into corporate leadership roles, gains remain limited. The change is gradual. Pay gaps continue to persist.
* Women representation in corporate boards inched up from 25.8% in 2017 to 29.1% in 2025 (similar incremental rises across other management roles). However, their share in senior management remains sharply skewed at just over 17%.
* Women’s labour force participation has risen from 23.4% in 2018 to 40% in 2025 but remains far below men at nearly 80%.

Source: Business Standard, May 7, 2026, Datanomics, Women See Limited Gains in Top Jobs, Shikha Chaturvedi.

Human Qualities Most Likely to Matter In Work With AI

April 28, 2026 / Tojo Eapen / 0 Comments

Image generated with Chatgpt

There are lots of discussions and debates nowadays regarding the evolution of work with growing AI impact.

Noticed a very interesting article, “Is AI Smarter Than People? It’s complicated”, in the Wall Street Journal (source below). It also highlights inputs from a related experiment, and the human qualities most likely to matter in the evolving world of work.

These are selected notes from the article.
———-
* My research suggests that we’ve been asking the wrong question and drawing the wrong conclusions.
* In an experiment relating to prediction market accuracy, the hybrid teams (human-AI) reached insightful conclusions that neither a human nor a machine could have produced on its own.

* It’s not that these people were more intelligent than others in the study. They demonstrated two important qualities: perspective-taking and intellectual humility.
–Perspective taking – ability to genuinely inhabit another point of view.
–Intellectual humility – ability to recognize the edge of your own knowledge and sit with that discomfort rather than trying to rush to fill it.
* Perspective-taking requires requires genuine curiosity about minds other than your own. Intellectual humility requires a kind of emotional courage: the willingness to feel uncertain, even a little foolish, in the presence of something or someone that seems very sure of itself.

* These are not the soft skills we typically celebrate.
* What my experiment suggests is that the human qualities mostly likely to matter are the uncomfortable ones: the capacity to be wrong in public and stay curious; to sit with a question…to read a confident, fluent response from an AI and ask yourself, “What’s missing?”…to disagree with something that sounds authoritative and to trust your instinct enough to follow it.
* We don’t build these capacities by avoiding discomfort. We build them, by choosing it, repeatedly, in small ways.
* Most AI chatbots today default to easy answers which is hurting our ability to think critically.
*…the divergence I worry about – the quieter process of people gradually outsourcing the judgment…
* What can any of us actually do about it? Start with the reframe: The goal of working with AI isn’t to get the answer faster. It’s to find what you are missing…use AI as a savant collaborator to explore uncertainty.
* Perspective-taking, intellectual humility and curiosity are traits that can be cultivated.
———-

Source: Is AI Smarter Than People? It’s complicated; Vivienne Ming (neuroscientist, cognitive scientist and author of “Robot-Proof…”); April 25-26, 2026

Finding Meaning After Loss

April 24, 2026 / Tojo Eapen / 0 Comments

Many people face loss and experience grief in different ways. They move through related feelings and often feel lost. A loss can come in different ways.

Awareness of this topic and how to work through it can help a lot, even to being present for someone going through a loss.
We have heard about the five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

This is a video, discussion with grief expert, David Kessler that gives valuable awareness and context on the topic. David was a co-author with Elizabeth Kubler Ross (famous for her work on five stages of grief) on the book, On Grief And Grieving. He highlights a sixth stage that is very important – finding meaning.

According to David, there are seven factors that guide the concept of meaning. This is helpful to understand (from the video).

Lead-Wise

Counter-programming Against Your Inner Critic

Psychological Safety in Organizational AI Transformations

Notes on Organisational Political Dynamics and the Concept of Dominant Coalition

Understanding Country Culture Link to General Behaviours and Approaches

Notes On Workforce Analytics for Strategy Execution

3 Enterprise Roles of the Transformational CHRO

Powerful Notes /Reflection on Leadership

Progress of Women In Corporate Roles

Human Qualities Most Likely to Matter In Work With AI

Finding Meaning After Loss

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