Yet Another Leadership Podcast

In this episode, I interview Rikke Ulslev Degn, Head of Development & Construction at NREP.   In this very personal talk, Rikke shares stories from her formative years, living in the US, dealing with loss, facing and overcoming challenges in life.

Nag Vaidyanathan is the EVP, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Duck Creek Technologies, based in USA. Nageswaran (Nag) Vaidyanathan | LinkedIn Nag is one of the most humble and honest leaders I've had the fortune of meeting. In this interview, we talk about Nag's humble beginnings, turning his introvert nature into a strength, leading across cultures, mentoring and much more.  Segments: Effects of working from home on introverts - 2:15 Growing up in India - 4:00 Learnings from the first job - 6:55 First job abroad - 8:55 Always under construction - 11:07 Landing in the US - 13:05 Social tips for introverts - 15:30 Strength from the better half - 20:13 Reason for many Indian-origin CEOs - 24:30 First time leading - 29:05 HAPPY LEADER - 32:45 Ask for what you want to grow - 36:45 How do you structure & manage teams - 41:35 Hiring the right people - 48:00 Moving to Denmark - 51:00 Executive presence - 59:00 Managing between Lithuania, Denmark and India - 1:00:28 Adapting to leading again in the US - 1:03:20 Leading in a scale-up - 1:07:00 How to get people to respect you despite being humble & nice - 1:12:00 Using sounding boards for feedback - 1:17:00 Giving back to society - 1:19:00

Christian Jönsson works as Corporate Vice President, Digital Incubator & Innovation at Novo Nordisk. Topics discussed:  Don’t try to be smarter than the experts you’re leading Being a manager instead of a leader Asking stupid questions to challenge the status quo Start with full trust & empowering people Do your current job really well to open other doors Solving challenges irrespective of the domain Team rallying behind you during times of crisis Be yourself, be curious and respect the culture Company culture across geographies Making quick decisions Not taking a decision is also a decision Investing in relationships Leadership is having a genuine interest in people Authenticity in leadership Don’t try to be the wise guy Listen to and understand people, create trust Segments: Current role in Novo Nordisk – 1:40 First leadership role – 3:55 When real interest in leadership happened –  4:35 The “scary” parts of being a new leader –  5:50 Being a manger instead of a leader – How to lead specialists/domain experts –      7:55 Career journey & the turning points –      10:35 Dealing with crisis situations – 15:14 Experience working in India – 18:48 Leading teams in India – 25:03 A memorable challenge – 31:50 Taking tough decisions – 34:45 Lasting impact – 36:50 Authenticity in leadership – 42:11 Advice to new leaders – 44:00

In this introduction, I give an insight into the thoughts behind starting this podcast, and my hopes of how this will benefits the audience.  If you happen to know an exemplary leader whose story needs to be shared, please drop me a note. I'd love to interview them!