Welcome to our episode of ‘Reach Minds: Thoughts for Your Life’s Journey’ podcast.

In today’s show, we explore how vulnerability can be a doorway into connecting with our human fragility. This concept is often overlooked in ourselves and when working with leaders in organisations. How do we, as practitioners, acknowledge or discuss human fragility when we see it in our clients or leaders, particularly as part of the change and transitional process where uncertainty and anxiety could be present.

Today, I am joined by Steve Hearsum, a consultant supervisor and coach, and the author of No Silver Bullet: Bursting the Bubble of the Organisational Quick Fix, which examines how leaders and organisations unconsciously collude with the purveyors of quick-fix, silver bullet solutions for complex challenges. Steve is a board member at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations and was formerly the Co-Chair of the Organization Development Network Europe.

In this podcast, we pose the following questions on Fragility:

• How would you define fragility in layperson’s terms?

• When do you think fragility is evoked, and what do you see as the relationship between fragility and shame?

• You often talk about the ‘self as an instrument.’ Can you give an example where you acknowledged your own fragility and took action on it?

• What tips and insights can you share when confronted with our own fragility?

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

No Silver Bullet: Moving Beyond Quick Fix Solutions in Business and the Psychology of Change Management Paperback – 28 Mar. 2024

https://amzn.eu/d/cXf7GiJ

• www.edgeandstretch.com

• www.hearsum.com

• Steve Hearsum (17 Oct 2024, 17:24)

• https://thinkers50.com/radar-nominations

• Mans Search for Meaning – Victor Frankl

• The Self as an Instrument–A Cornerstone for the Future of OD

• By Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge

Tips:

1. Reflectivity

2. Getting comfortable with not knowing

3. Owing your own Fragility

4. Self inquiry

5. Courage and curiosity