In this episode of Coaches on Zoom Drinking Coffee, CEO Alex Pascal discusses human development theory and the future of leadership with bestselling author Jeff Hull. During their conversation, Jeff shares his motivation for writing Flex: The Art and Science of Leadership in a Changing World as well as some of the key takeaways from his research process.

As a leadership expert, Jeff has informed opinions about the changes that organizations should make to thrive in the modern business world. Listen in to hear him explain why the old school idea of a dominating type A boss is falling out of favor and how this frees up space for more “beta style leaders.” He also talks about how this change could have a positive impact on diversity in leadership.

Jeff and Alex also explore the theme of neurodiversity, theorizing about how coaches can help companies move from a model of deficiency and deviation to one that validates and values a wider range of ways of seeing the world. Jeff explains his belief that organizations have to adopt a more inclusive mindset in order to successfully harness untapped talent. 

Through his work as Executive Director of the Harvard Institute of Coaching and as a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, Jeff has become an authority on self-development. In this episode, he shares some of his concerns about the field: namely, that it’s too individualistic and lacks balance. Check out the whole conversation to hear how he thinks coaches can help contextualize self-development and invest it with greater societal awareness.