Positive Leadership

Hosted by Jean-Philippe Courtois

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138

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Jun 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Positive Leadership has the power to change the world. By focusing on trust, empathy, authenticity and deep collaboration, leaders can energize their teams to achieve success for individuals, their organizations, and society as a whole. Yet, it remains relatively unknown outside positive psychology and neuroscience circles. Join Jean-Philippe Courtois , former member of the Microsoft senior leadership team alongside Satya Nadella and co-founder of Live for Good , as he brings Positive Leadership to life for anyone in a leadership capacity—both personally and professionally. With help from his guests, Jean-Philippe explores how purpose-driven leaders can generate the positive energy needed to drive business success, individual fulfillment, and societal impact across a range of industries—from technology and social enterprise to sports and coffee. Most importantly, you’ll learn practical tips to apply in your own life—so you can start making a positive difference in the world.

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June 10, 2026Episode 101 hr 26 min

Stéphane Bancel: The 5% Bet That Built Moderna

In 2011, Stéphane Bancel walked away from the security of leading a 6,000-person diagnostics company to join a startup of about 50 people, built on an idea most scientists had dismissed: that messenger RNA could become medicine. Almost everyone told him not to do it. He gave the bet roughly a five percent chance. Nine years later, that same bet helped the world face a pandemic in 63 days.Stéphane Bancel is the Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. Under his leadership the company designed a COVID-19 vaccine on a computer within days of the genetic sequence being posted, delivered the first dose to a human just 63 days later, and scaled from zero manufacturing to a billion doses in twelve months. Today Moderna is building personalized cancer vaccines and using AI to reinvent how medicines are discovered and made.This conversation sits right at the heart of what I believe about leadership. That the chief executive is really the chief energy officer. That the boldest decisions are rarely about appetite for risk, they are about the asymmetry between what you could give the world and what you could actually lose. Stéphane lives both, and he is refreshingly honest about the storms, the doubts and the mistakes along the way.In our conversation, we explore: → The five percent bet: how he weighed an enormous upside against a manageable downside, and why his wife was the only one who said yes → What sailing without GPS taught him about staying calm when the storm hits, and why a storm always passes → The 63-day sprint, and the Sunday phone call that saved the manufacturing of a billion doses → Why he slowed a trial down so it would be a vaccine for the world, not a vaccine for white people → The future he sees: personalized cancer vaccines, the human body mapped in silico, and why he calls chemotherapy tomorrow’s barbaric history“I still believe that we have not invented yet our best drug.” Stéphane Bancel, CEO of ModernaIf you have ever faced a decision that everyone around you called too risky, this one is about how to think, and how to stay calm, when you choose to leap anyway.🎧 Related Episodes: Pascal Soriot on the purpose-led culture that transformed AstraZeneca, and the assume-good-intent principle Stéphane says he shares: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1798971/episodes/18782083Satya Nadella on mission, mindset, and why the CEO has to own the technology shift: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1798971/episodes/8966432Bertrand Piccard on exploration and staying comfortable in the unknown: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1798971/episodes/14487275New here? Subscribe to Positive Leadership & You for one edition a month, written for leaders who want to build companies and communities people thrive in. https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/positive-leadership-you-6970390170017669121/Want to go deeper? Listen to the Positive Leadership Podcast on your favourite platform. 130+ conversations with the leaders, founders and thinkers shaping a more human future of work.🎧 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/positive-leadership/id1574911588 🎤 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1EdnJcYgh9nXPTFJ5euOBf

May 27, 2026Episode 91 hr 23 min

Dr Donna Hicks: Every Conflict Hides a Dignity Wound

Donna Hicks spent three decades at the world's hardest conflict tables and found one hidden injury beneath them all: a violation of human dignity. From the Middle East to Northern Ireland, she watched negotiations stall not over policy, but over something no one in the room had named. This episode is the word that changed everything, and the model she built around it.Dr Donna Hicks, author of Leading with Dignity and Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University, spent her career as a third party in unofficial diplomacy across the Middle East, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Northern Ireland. She co-facilitated the BBC series Facing the Truth alongside Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and her earlier book, Dignity, reshaped how the world understands conflict, connection and leadership. This one runs close to home for me. As a young boy from a Pied-Noir family — French people of European origin who had left Algeria after its independence — newly arrived in Nice, I was once told by a schoolmate to “get out of here.” I came home devastated. My father’s answer, that I should be proud of where I came from and that I had something real to give, was dignity restored long before either of us had a word for it.In our conversation, we explore: → Why respect is earned but dignity is not, and how leaders who confuse the two quietly damage their teams → The ten elements of dignity, and the single one that 80% of employees say is violated most at work → What happened when the BBC sat victims and perpetrators face to face, and why healing did not require forgiveness → Why Donna now teaches dignity to eight-year-olds, and her advice to young leaders entering a harder world → Mandela consciousness: the three connections that rebuild dignity in any team, family or boardroom"I don't believe we need to find common ground. I believe we need to find higher ground." - Dr Donna Hicks, Harvard UniversityIf you have ever watched a meeting derail over something that was never really about the agenda, this conversation hands you the missing word, and a practical model for what to do next.🎧 Related Episodes: Amy Edmondson on psychological safety, the dignity element 80% of employees say is violated most at work: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1798971/episodes/15687150 Stephen M.R. Covey on trust as the foundation of culture, and what sits beneath even trust: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1798971/episodes/12252258 Barbara Fredrickson on Love 2.0, and why dignity is the fastest path to genuine connection: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1798971/episodes/9437036New here? Subscribe to Positive Leadership & You for one edition a month, written for leaders who want to build companies and communities people thrive in. https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/positive-leadership-you-6970390170017669121/Want to go deeper? Listen to the Positive Leadership Podcast on your favourite platform. 130+ conversations with the leaders, founders and thinkers shaping a more human future of work.🎧 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/positive-leadership/id1574911588 🎤 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1EdnJcYgh9nXPTFJ5euOBf

May 13, 2026Episode 81 hr 33 min

[FR] Du pôle Sud au pôle intérieur : Matthieu Tordeur, explorateur

À 27 ans, il a marché seul jusqu'au bout de la Terre. Ce qu'il a trouvé là-bas n'était pas un sommet.À 27 ans, Matthieu Tordeur devient le plus jeune explorateur au monde à rallier le pôle Sud à ski, en solitaire et sans ravitaillement. 1 150 kilomètres en 51 jours. Un traîneau de 115 kilos. Moins 50 degrés. Et la solitude la plus radicale qu'un être humain puisse choisir.Né à Rouen, formé chez les scouts et nourri aux aventures de Tintin, Matthieu fait ses études à King's College London et à Sciences Po Paris avant de transformer une thèse de fin d'études en tour du monde en 4L, à travers 90 pays, pour donner une voix aux invisibles de la microfinance. À 27 ans, il atteint le pôle Sud. Aujourd'hui, il consacre ses expéditions à la science : il vient de rentrer d'« Under Antarctica », 4 000 kilomètres en kite-ski en 80 jours avec la glaciologue Heïdi Sevestre, sous l'égide de l'UNESCO et de la Décennie d'Action pour les Sciences Cryosphériques.Sa conviction n'a jamais été d'accumuler des sommets. « Je ne suis pas un collectionneur de sommets », dit-il. Ce que Matthieu a découvert dans la solitude antarctique n'était pas un record, mais un pôle intérieur, la capacité de se rejoindre soi-même quand tout autour disparaît, et la conviction que toute traversée se sépare en deux niveaux : ce qu'on contrôle et ce qu'on doit lâcher.Quatre routines apprises à -50°C qui tiennent à 9 heures du matin, dans n'importe quelle traversée professionnelle ou personnelle :L'inconfort est temporaire. Les douleurs, les cloques, les courbatures, ça ne dure pas pour la vie.Remets ton rêve de pôle Sud à la surface. Quand tout est difficile, retourne dans l'état d'esprit où tu rêvais ce projet.Séquence la longue route en petits pas atteignables.Lâche prise sur l'incontrôlable. La météo, la neige molle, ce ne sont pas tes leviers. Ta respiration, ton geste, ton alimentation, eux, le sont.Cette conversation rejoint un fil que je porte depuis des années à travers Live for Good : comment aider chaque jeune à trouver sa propre boussole intérieure dans un monde qui les bombarde de distractions. Mes années chez Microsoft m'ont appris qu'aucune stratégie ne tient si elle n'est pas portée par des personnes qui savent pourquoi elles se lèvent le matin. Dans cette conversation, nous explorons :Pourquoi Matthieu est parti seul, pas par défaut, mais comme un cadeau qu'il s'offrait à lui-mêmeLa lettre de son père, à n'ouvrir qu'en cas d'abandon, qu'il a portée tout au long de l'expéditionLes quatre routines de leadership apprises au pôle Sud« Under Antarctica » avec Heïdi Sevestre : transformer l'aventure en science climatique sous l'égide de l'UNESCOPourquoi il refuse l'image du collectionneur de sommets, et ce qu'est pour lui le vrai sommet« L'inconfort, les douleurs, les cloques, les courbatures, c'est temporaire. Ça ne va pas durer pour la vie. » Matthieu Tordeur, explorateur polaire🎧 Épisodes liés :Bertrand Piccard, "Exploration and innovation toward sustainable future" Dr Nadia Medjad, "Neuroscience of effective leadership"John Elkington, "Sustainability, Systems Thinking & Regenerative Business" New here? Subscribe to Positive Leadership & You for one edition a month, written for leaders who want to build companies and communities people thrive in. https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/positive-leadership-you-6970390170017669121/Want to go deeper? Listen to the Positive Leadership Podcast on your favourite platform. 130+ conversations with the leaders, founders and thinkers shaping a more human future of work.🎧 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/positive-leadership/id1574911588 🎤 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1EdnJcYgh9nXPTFJ5euOBf

April 29, 2026Episode 71 hr 40 min

The Iceberg Strategy: Ine Van Wymersch, Drug Commissioner

A country drifting toward narco-state. The answer isn't a hammer. It's warm water. Belgium is one decision away from becoming a narco-state. Judges in hiding. Prosecutors under armed protection. An 11-year-old girl killed in a drug-related shooting in Antwerp. The country hosting Europe's second-largest port now seizes over 120 tons of cocaine a year. And the Belgian government handed the mission of stopping it to Ine Van Wymersch. Ine Van Wymersch became Belgium's youngest Public Prosecutor at 39, after years as a youth magistrate making the kind of decisions that change a child's life forever. In 2016, she was the calm voice of a traumatized nation following the Brussels attacks. In 2023, she was named Belgium's first ever National Drug Commissioner. She now operates under armed protection. And she refuses the obvious answer. Her view: more police will not save us. Belgium needs a "warm society." Her iceberg metaphor cuts the noise. Above the waterline: shootings, seizures, violence. Below: corruption, money laundering, addicted parents, kids growing up without a chance. Attack the iceberg directly and a new piece grows back overnight. Warm the water around it, with education, jobs, mental health, dignity, and the iceberg starts to melt. Her work sits very close to a question I have lived with for years through Live for Good : how do we stop losing young people before life has really started for them? My years at Microsoft taught me that no organization, however large, beats determined people working from a shared narrative. Ine has built exactly that narrative for Belgium, and it deserves to travel far beyond it. In our conversation, we explore: → Why repression alone cannot beat organized drug crime, and what "warming the water around the iceberg" really means → The three pillars of her strategy: disrupt logistics, follow the money, rebuild society → The story of Elvire, the illiterate woman approved for euthanasia who asked Ine to write her life → How terrorist networks and drug cartels recruit the same vulnerable youth, and why a closed job market is a national security issue → Why "a warm society" of education, mental health, and opportunity is the only sustainable defense against narco-states "If we warm up the water, we are creating an environment where organized crime is not surviving." Ine Van Wymersch, Belgium's National Drug Commissioner 🎧 Related Episodes: Élisabeth Moreno, "Realise the impossible" Muriel Pénicaud, "Lead like an orchestra conductor" (employment and skills as the foundation of a resilient society) Jacqueline Novogratz, "Building a better world together" (empathy, storytelling, and dignity for those society has excluded)#PositiveLeadership #IcebergStrategy #WarmSociety #NarcoState #YouthOpportunity New here? Subscribe to Positive Leadership & You for one edition a month, written for leaders who want to build companies and communities people thrive in. https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/positive-leadership-you-6970390170017669121/Want to go deeper? Listen to the Positive Leadership Podcast on your favourite platform. 130+ conversations with the leaders, founders and thinkers shaping a more human future of work.🎧 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/positive-leadership/id1574911588 🎤 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1EdnJcYgh9nXPTFJ5euOBf

April 15, 2026Episode 61 hr 28 min

Raj Sisodia: How Conscious Capitalism Brings Love into Business

Companies built on love outperform the S&P 500 by 14 to 1. Conscious capitalism, stakeholder leadership, healing organizations — Raj Sisodia proved it with data, then spent a year in the Himalayas and the Amazon proving it on himself.Raj Sisodia, Co-Founder of the Conscious Capitalism movement and author of sixteen books including Firms of Endearment and The Healing Organization, grew up across four countries and eight schools before the age of 18. He trained as an electrical engineer in India because that was what you did if you were good at math. He stumbled into a PhD at Columbia almost by accident — following seven friends to pick up a GMAT application and ending up the only one who made it to New York. From there, he built a body of research that fundamentally challenged Milton Friedman's doctrine that the only business of business is profit. Then, at 60, he turned that same rigour inward: pilgrimages to the high Himalayas, silent retreats with Peter Senge, and the painful reckoning with a father who once pointed a gun at him.This conversation runs close to what I have lived. When I watched Satya Nadella introduce "model, coach, care" at Microsoft — a framework Raj references directly — I saw firsthand what happens when a leader chooses purpose over power. And Raj's conviction that business must actively heal what it has broken echoes what drove me to create Live for Good: the belief that the organizations we build should leave people stronger, not depleted.In our conversation, we explore: → Why companies that spend 95% less on marketing than competitors have the highest customer loyalty — and what that reveals about extraction-based capitalism → The four pillars of Conscious Capitalism — higher purpose, stakeholder integration, conscious leadership, conscious culture — and the specific acronyms (HEALING, SPICY, SELFLESS) Raj uses to make them actionable → The Bob Chapman story: how one CEO refused to lay off a single employee during the 2008 crisis by asking "What would a family do?" — and emerged stronger than every competitor → His year of conscious awakening at 60 — pilgrimages, silent retreats, ayahuasca in the Amazon — and what four women forced him to confront about his own unhealed trauma → What conscious capitalism demands of AI: the marriage of humanity's most important idea with its most powerful technology — and why the market will ultimately correct for unconscious companies🔑 Key Themes: Conscious Capitalism, Stakeholder Leadership, Purpose-Driven Business, Healing Organizations, Personal Transformation, AI Ethics, Positive Leadership🎧 Related Episodes: Paul Polman (ex-CEO Unilever) — Becoming a Courageous Leader: how Polman proved companies can grow while addressing environmental and social challengesVincent Stanley (Director of Philosophy, Patagonia) — Leading with Purpose: why purpose-led constraints drive innovation and stakeholder alignment Dr. Martin Seligman (Founding Father of Positive Psychology) — Paving the Way to Positivity: the science of flourishing that underpins conscious leadershipJohn Elikngkton : Rethinking Capitalism: A Conversation with the Godfather of SustainabilityNew here? Subscribe to Positive Leadership & You for one edition a month, written for leaders who want to build companies and communities people thrive in. https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/positive-leadership-you-6970390170017669121/Want to go deeper? Listen to the Positive Leadership Podcast on your favourite platform. 130+ conversations with the leaders, founders and thinkers shaping a more human future of work.🎧 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/positive-leadership/id1574911588 🎤 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1EdnJcYgh9nXPTFJ5euOBf

April 1, 2026Episode 51 hr 22 min

Erased but Not Silenced: Leading the Global Climate Fight with Vanessa Nakate

What does it take to start a global movement when you feel like the world isn't listening?Today, my guest is Vanessa Nakate, the pioneering Ugandan climate justice activist, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and founder of the Rise Up Movement. Vanessa’s journey began in 2019 with a solitary strike outside the Ugandan parliament. Since then, she has become one of the most powerful and necessary voices in the global fight against climate change, demanding that the Global South—the communities most impacted by the crisis—are no longer ignored.Vanessa’s story is a profound lesson in Positive Leadership. In 2020, she was famously cropped out of an Associated Press photograph with her white peers at Davos. She didn’t retreat. Instead, she boldly stated, "You didn’t just erase a photo. You erased a continent," using that moment of erasure to spark a vital, worldwide conversation about race, media, and climate justice.In this episode, we explore what true, intersectional leadership looks like. Vanessa passionately argues that we cannot separate the climate crisis from poverty, inequality, and the empowerment of young women.In our conversation, we explore:→ How she found the courage to strike alone in Kampala, and how to take the first step when you have no followers→ The Davos incident: How to turn being erased into a platform for global empowerment→ Why climate justice IS social justice, and why educating girls is a critical climate solution→ Building the Vash Green Schools Project to bring solar power to over 75 schools in Uganda→ Why she chose to step back from the frontlines to pursue a Master of Public Policy at Oxford, and how she plans to bridge activism and policy"When you are working with people, when you know that you have community, then it's easier to sustain the activism work in whatever field that you're working in... find your community, and it will make activism much easier." — Vanessa NakateIf you want to understand what it really takes to lead a movement, build resilience, and fight for a future that includes everyone, this conversation will deeply inspire you.🔑 Key Themes: Climate Justice, Youth Activism, Purpose-Driven Leadership, Resilience, Intersectionality, Community, Global South.🎧 Related Episodes:Hannah Ritchie — Not the End of the World: A Data-Driven Approach to Climate ActionDr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka — Showing humanity to othersBoyan Slat — Leading an ocean cleanup🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, jpcourtois.comNew here? Subscribe to Positive Leadership & You for one edition a month, written for leaders who want to build companies and communities people thrive in. https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/positive-leadership-you-6970390170017669121/Want to go deeper? Listen to the Positive Leadership Podcast on your favourite platform. 130+ conversations with the leaders, founders and thinkers shaping a more human future of work.🎧 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/positive-leadership/id1574911588 🎤 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1EdnJcYgh9nXPTFJ5euOBf

March 18, 2026Episode 41 hr 18 min

Rebuilding Trust in Technology with Mozilla CTO Raffi Krikorian

What happens when one of Silicon Valley's most accomplished engineers decides the system he helped build is broken—and walks away to fix it? Today my guest is Raffi Krikorian, CTO of Mozilla and one of the most civic-minded technologists I know. We explore why the fight for open-source AI isn't just a technical debate; it is really a fight for who controls our relationship with knowledge itself. Raffi's career path is uniquely fascinating. He spent his early years scaling massive engineering teams at Twitter and launching Uber’s first self-driving fleet. But then he did something rare. He pivoted to public service, becoming the first-ever CTO of the Democratic National Committee to rebuild their cybersecurity from the ground up. He then went on to drive social-impact technology at Emerson Collective, applying his engineering mind to systemic issues like immigration and climate change. At Mozilla, he is now on the frontlines of the AI revolution. We talk about what it means to be "technically optimistic" right now—which also happens to be the name of his excellent podcast. For Raffi, optimism isn't about blind faith in algorithms. It’s about demanding that our tools are trustworthy, transparent, and built to serve humanity, rather than exploiting it. In our conversation, we explore: → The Twitter crash that taught him his job was not to be the architect, but to create the conditions for others to do their best work → Why he left Uber's self-driving program after discovering their models misclassified people based on skin color → How a week of Google Sheets transformed an asylum-seeker nonprofit more than any AI chatbot could → His conviction that we need seven billion AGIs—one for each of us—not seven controlled by massive corporations → Why patience, not speed, is the leadership skill that actually builds movements "We have outsourced dreaming to a few people who are building companies and we all need to dream again." — Raffi Krikorian, CTO, Mozilla If you have ever wondered whether the technology on your phone is truly working for you—or for someone else—this conversation will completely change how you think about what comes next. 🔑 Key Themes: Open-Source AI, Responsible Technology, Purpose-Driven Leadership, Digital Trust, Civic Tech, Cybersecurity, Technical Optimism. 🎧 Related Episodes: Kevin Scott — Empowering people with AI: Navrina Singh — Building Trust in AI: Leadership, Governance, and Human Values Rana el Kaliouby — Human-Centric AI (purpose meets profit in technology) 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, jpcourtois.com New here? Subscribe to Positive Leadership & You for one edition a month, written for leaders who want to build companies and communities people thrive in. https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/positive-leadership-you-6970390170017669121/Want to go deeper? Listen to the Positive Leadership Podcast on your favourite platform. 130+ conversations with the leaders, founders and thinkers shaping a more human future of work.🎧 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/positive-leadership/id1574911588 🎤 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1EdnJcYgh9nXPTFJ5euOBf

March 4, 2026Episode 31 hr 3 min

How a Purpose-Led Culture Transformed AstraZeneca with Pascal Soriot

What if the greatest turnaround in modern corporate history wasn’t driven by financial engineering or restructuring, but by an unshakeable belief in science and human talent? In this powerful episode of the Positive Leadership Podcast, I welcome Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca—a visionary leader who transformed a struggling pharmaceutical company into a defining global force in oncology, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory care. He is also someone I know personally: I had the privilege of serving on the AstraZeneca board between 2008 and 2016, and I was in the boardroom when we appointed him as CEO. What makes Pascal’s leadership so rare is his non-traditional ascent. He didn't start with an elite corporate playbook; his foundational lessons were grounded in learning the value of loyalty and protecting his people. By beginning his professional life as a practicing veterinarian, he developed a profound sense of empathy—traits that continue to drive his unwavering commitment to putting patients first today. But Pascal’s story isn’t your typical corporate trajectory. Raised in a humble background where he learned early lessons about loyalty, standing up for his team, and defending his territory, he began his professional life not in business, but as a veterinarian. It was this experience that profoundly shaped his empathy and his "patient-first" approach to leadership. In our conversation, we explore: 🔬 The Turnaround – How Pascal orchestrated AstraZeneca's massive transformation by instilling a clear, shared purpose and focusing relentlessly on patient outcomes. 🛡️ The Pfizer Takeover – How Pascal defended AstraZeneca against a massive hostile takeover bid from Pfizer by betting everything on the truth of long-term science. 🌍 COVID-19 & Global Access – The leadership lessons learned during the pandemic and the drive to ensure global, equitable access to the vaccine, particularly for countries in the Global South. 🤖 AI and the Future of Discovery – How AI is accelerating the race to cure cancer and redefine medicine. Pascal’s insight: “People come to work because they believe they can make a difference. First, a shared purpose. Second, clarity about each person’s contribution to that goal.” Whether navigating a corporate crisis, defending core values against short-term pressures, or building a culture of psychological safety and innovation, this conversation is a masterclass in resilient, purpose-driven leadership. Key Themes: Corporate turnarounds, healthcare innovation, purpose-driven leadership, AI in medicine, empathy, resilience, scientific truth, navigating crises. 🎧 Related Episodes You’ll Love: Indra Nooyi: Driving performance with purposeSir Ronald Cohen: Reinventing capitalism for impactGianpiero Petriglieri: Leadership, a matter of loveFabio Barbosa: Leading with Purpose: Profit, People, and the PlanetNew here? Subscribe to Positive Leadership & You for one edition a month, written for leaders who want to build companies and communities people thrive in. https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/positive-leadership-you-6970390170017669121/Want to go deeper? Listen to the Positive Leadership Podcast on your favourite platform. 130+ conversations with the leaders, founders and thinkers shaping a more human future of work.🎧 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/positive-leadership/id1574911588 🎤 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1EdnJcYgh9nXPTFJ5euOBf

February 18, 2026Episode 21 hr 28 min

Running From and Running Toward: Rewriting the Stories We Inherit with Nicholas Thompson

What if the stories you inherited about who you’re supposed to become—from your family, your industry, your own fears—are the very narratives holding you back? In this powerful episode of the Positive Leadership Podcast, I welcome Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, a visionary media executive who has led transformations at The New Yorker and WIRED, and an extraordinary marathoner who set an American record in the 50K at age 45. But Nick’s story isn’t just about professional success or athletic achievement. It’s about the conscious choice to rewrite the narrative we inherit. Nick grew up watching his brilliant father—a Rhodes Scholar and academic star—whose life eventually “cracked up” due to alcoholism and personal struggles. Around Nick’s 40th birthday, his father warned him: “All men’s lives fall apart at this age.” That was the script Nick had inherited. A story of inevitable decline. But Nick refused to live that story. In our conversation, we explore: 🏃 The Running Ground – How Nick used running as therapy to honor his father while writing a different ending (achieving a 2:29 marathon at 44) 📰 Truth in the Age of Misinformation – Leading The Atlantic through a crisis of trust, deepfakes, and algorithmic manipulation 🤖 AI as Editorial Tool vs. Existential Threat – Why he says AI is “the best tool we’ve ever had” but could also “completely obliterate us” 👨‍👦 Inherited Patterns – Recognizing generational trauma and consciously choosing a different path ⚖️ ️ The Church-State Separation – Why editorial independence matters more than ever 💪 Defying Aging – Getting faster with age and what it teaches about leadership limits Nick’s profound insight: “I run because of my father. Running connects me to my father; it reminds me of my father; and it gives me a way to avoid becoming my father.” That sentence captures everything: honoring where we come from while consciously choosing who we become. Whether you’re navigating generational patterns, leading through uncertainty, or simply asking yourself what story you want to live—this conversation will challenge and inspire you. Key Themes: Narrative identity, media leadership, AI ethics, generational healing, resilience, editorial integrity, running as therapy, conscious choice 🎧 Related Episodes You’ll Love: - Herminia Ibarra: Growing through personal disruption https://www.buzzsprout.com/1798971/episodes/10210926 Caroline Leaf: Managing your mind - https://www.buzzsprout.com/1798971/episodes/15018482 Angela Duckworth: The power of grit - https://www.buzzsprout.com/1798971/episodes/14677055 Peggy Johnson: Leading a human-centric future of AI - https://www.buzzsprout.com/1798971/episodes/18329548 New here? Subscribe to Positive Leadership & You for one edition a month, written for leaders who want to build companies and communities people thrive in. https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/positive-leadership-you-6970390170017669121/Want to go deeper? Listen to the Positive Leadership Podcast on your favourite platform. 130+ conversations with the leaders, founders and thinkers shaping a more human future of work.🎧 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/positive-leadership/id1574911588 🎤 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1EdnJcYgh9nXPTFJ5euOBf

February 4, 2026Episode 11 hr 33 min

[FR] Ne jamais rien lâcher avec Moussa Camara

Dans ce nouvel épisode du Positive Leadership Podcast, j'ai l'honneur d'accueillir Moussa Camara, un entrepreneur visionnaire et un bâtisseur de ponts infatigable qui redessine le visage de l'entrepreneuriat en France.Fondateur de l'association Les Déterminés, Moussa a consacré sa vie à une conviction simple mais puissante : le talent est partout, même si les opportunités ne le sont pas. Sa mission ? Libérer le potentiel des entrepreneurs issus des quartiers populaires et des zones rurales en les connectant aux réseaux du monde des affaires.Mais pour comprendre l'homme, il faut revenir au début de son parcours. Tout a commencé à Cergy-Pontoise, dans le quartier "Croix-Petit". Enfant d'une famille nombreuse originaire du Mali, c'est là qu'il a lancé sa toute première "entreprise" : un service de retour de caddies au supermarché local. Une école de l'humilité et du travail.Dans notre conversation, nous plongeons au cœur de son incroyable résilience. Nous discutons sans filtre de la manière dont il a transformé l'échec de sa première entreprise (logistique et télécoms) en un tremplin pour bâtir quelque chose de plus grand. C'est une véritable masterclass sur le "Grit" (la niaque) — cette combinaison de passion et de persévérance dont j'avais discuté avec Angela Duckworth.Enfin, nous regardons vers l'avenir. Ensemble, nous explorons comment construire des écosystèmes qui ressemblent enfin à notre société. Moussa partage sa vision ambitieuse avec le lancement de Time4, un fonds d'investissement créé en partenariat avec Daphni, HEC et Live for Good, conçu pour financer ces entrepreneurs trop souvent ignorés qui construisent pourtant l'économie de demain.Dans cet épisode, nous abordons :Les Racines : Son enfance à Cergy et les valeurs de travail ancrées par sa famille et son premier job de caddies.Les Tripes de l'Entrepreneur : Comment rebondir après la faillite et transformer la colère en énergie positive.Le Mouvement : La création des Déterminés pour faire le pont entre "la rue" et les conseils d'administration.L'ADN : Pourquoi "Ne jamais rien lâcher" est une compétence de survie vitale. Le Futur (Time4) : Notre ambition commune pour financer l'excellence, d'où qu'elle vienne.Moussa nous rappelle que le Leadership Positif ne consiste pas seulement à gravir les échelons, mais à construire l'ascenseur pour les autres.🎧 Si vous avez aimé cette conversation, découvrez aussi :Angela Duckworth (Sur le pouvoir du "Grit") : Lien Fred Swaniker (La prochaine génération de leaders africains) : LienPierre Dubuc (L'éducation pour tous avec OpenClassrooms) : LienNew here? Subscribe to Positive Leadership & You for one edition a month, written for leaders who want to build companies and communities people thrive in. https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/positive-leadership-you-6970390170017669121/Want to go deeper? Listen to the Positive Leadership Podcast on your favourite platform. 130+ conversations with the leaders, founders and thinkers shaping a more human future of work.🎧 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/positive-leadership/id1574911588 🎤 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1EdnJcYgh9nXPTFJ5euOBf