We explore an unexpected but powerful source of leadership insight: the art of clowning. Together with our guest, Janolof Elander, we dive into how the presence, vulnerability, and connection practiced by clowns can help us become more human-centered and authentic leaders.

We invite you to step back and explore how being fully present — even in chaos or uncertainty — opens the door to trust, connection, and transformation.

🌟 The Main Principle of Clowning

“Don’t try to be funny.”

This might feel unintuitive, but clowning isn’t about jokes. It’s about presence, being real, tuned-in, and creating a connection in the moment. And that is a critical part of effective leadership too.

🖐️ Five Clowning Principles — and Their Link to Leadership

1. “Do one thing at a time.”

Focus on what's here now. This principle strengthens mindfulness and helps leaders stay grounded, attuned, and better equipped to respond to what’s actually happening — not what they planned or expected.

2. “All action in eye contact.”

True connection starts with presence. Eye contact signals sincerity and builds trust. Leaders who truly see their people create safer, more engaged spaces for dialogue and performance.

3. “Wait three seconds before each planned action.”

This pause adds space for reflection, alignment, and connection. It helps leaders avoid reactive behavior and instead respond with intention. It also signals calm, confidence, and gives others room to contribute.

4. “Look at sound (and movement) with your whole head.”

A metaphor for picking up subtle signals — sounds, gestures, shifts in energy. As leaders, this means being alert to the unsaid, the elephant in the room, or unexpected cues — and choosing to engage rather than ignore.

5. “If you make a mistake, repeat it three times.”

Mistakes are part of the show — and part of growth. Instead of covering up, owning mistakes and repeating them (metaphorically) brings playfulness and disarms fear, inviting learning and openness.

Reflection Questions

As always, we wrap up the conversation with a couple of self-reflection prompts:

• When could you try to apply one of these clowning principles in a real work situation — and how could you learn from it?
• When did you last step out of your comfort zone and show vulnerability in a challenging or uncertain situation? What did you learn from it?
• What is one thing you could do differently to build stronger connections with people at work?

About Janolof Elander

Connect with Janolof on LinkedIn.

About Second Crack
More information about us and our work is available on our website: secondcrackleadership.com. Contact us now to explore how we can support your leadership development in a company-wide initiative or with individual executive coaching: hello@secondcrackleadership.com.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:
Martin Aldergård
Gerrit Pelzer

Even the most seasoned leaders face moments when their work feels overwhelmingly difficult—when self-doubt creeps in, motivation fades, and the usual strategies to "push through" no longer seem to work. In this episode of Second Crack – The Leadership Podcast, we explore what to do when leading starts to feel truly hard.

Join us as we reflect on the emotional, mental, and physical toll that leadership challenges can take—especially in today's volatile and high-pressure corporate environments. We talk about how to recognize when it's time to take a break versus when persistence might carry you through. And we discuss why one-size-fits-all advice often falls short in these moments.

The conversation introduces the Healthy Mind Platter, a concept developed by Dr. Dan Siegel and Dr. David Rock. This simple but powerful framework outlines seven essential daily activities that support mental well-being: focus time, play time, connecting time, physical time, time in (for reflection), downtime, and sleep time. We share how leaders can use this model not only to sustain their energy and focus, but also to develop the clarity and resilience required to lead through tough times.

Beyond practical tools, this episode invites you to reflect more deeply on personal values, your "inner compass," and whether your current leadership path aligns with what truly matters to you. Sometimes the answer lies in small adjustments; other times, it may require bigger, more fundamental changes—for instance, changing jobs.

Reflection Questions for Leaders

• When you feel a lack of motivation or start doubting yourself, ask yourself: What is this telling me? What can I learn from it?
• And when a situation is feeling just too hard: Do I simply need a break and some rest—or is something fundamentally wrong? Are my daily actions still aligned with my inner compass? And do I even know clearly in which direction my compass is pointing?
  
  

About Second Crack
More information about us and our work is available on our website: secondcrackleadership.com. Contact us now to explore how we can support your leadership development in a company-wide initiative or with individual executive coaching: hello@secondcrackleadership.com.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:
Martin Aldergård
Gerrit Pelzer

Promoting the right people is one of the most critical decisions a leader can make—but all too often, internal promotions don’t work out as expected.

In this episode, we explore the most common mistakes in internal promotions—and, most importantly, how to avoid them. We discuss:

• The mistake of confusing past performance with future potential
• The lack of clarity and transparency about what’s truly needed for the next-level role—beyond the job description
• How the Performance-Potential Matrix can help you take a more structured a highly effective approach to succession planning
• Why waiting too long to address promotion mistakes can be costly—and how to course-correct effectively
• How leaders can make internal promotions a continuous, low-risk process instead of a high-stakes event

Reflection Questions

• As a leader, how important is talent development to me? Do I spend sufficient time, or does it always get the lowest priority and then I end up trying to fire fight in the very end because I need to make a quick decision?
• What have I done today in terms of talent development and succession planning? Were there opportunities where I could check on people, whether they demonstrated certain skills and competencies that would either qualify them for a different role, or have they shown certain behavior, which is a bit of an alarm bell saying this person might not be so suitable for a particular role? And if I do this regularly, can I see a bigger picture?

About Second Crack
More information about us and our work is available on our website: secondcrackleadership.com. Contact us now to explore how we can support your leadership development in a company-wide initiative or with individual executive coaching: hello@secondcrackleadership.com.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:
Martin Aldergård
Gerrit Pelzer

How we think as leaders profoundly shapes our ability to navigate complexity, make sense of challenges, and involve others. In this episode, we explore the "Thinking" dimension of the Inner Development Goals (IDG) and why developing our thinking skills is crucial for long-term success. We share insights on how leaders can expand their perspectives, avoid oversimplifications, and strengthen their ability to make sense of complex challenges.

1. Complexity Awareness

Leaders are often great at solving ‘technical’ challenges; however complex, adaptive, challenges require a different approach. We discuss why awareness of complexity is key.

2. Perspective Skills

Seeing a problem from multiple angles helps us avoid blind spots. We explore how leaders can actively seek contrasting perspectives, facilitate diverse conversations, gain deeper insights into issues, and enhance decision-making.

3. Long-Term Orientation and Visioning

The pressure for short-term results often overshadows long-term priorities. We highlight why future-focused thinking is essential and how leaders can balance immediate demands with a compelling long-term vision.

4. Sense-making

When faced with uncertainty, how do we structure the unknown? We discuss how leaders can guide teams through messy challenges, recognize emerging patterns, and align around a shared understanding.

5. Critical Thinking

Jumping to conclusions can be a costly mistake. We examine how leaders can challenge assumptions, test ideas, and refine their thinking before taking action.

Reflection Questions

• Where might my worldview, my perspective, be limiting me? How can I expand this perspective and be more open to different perspectives?
• Who has perspectives that would challenge me, and how can I invite them into a conversation?
• What are the stories I make up in my own mind about a certain problem? How can I explore my own mental model, understand my story and assumptions to identify blind spots?

Our Previous IDG Episodes

The Inner Development Goals - The Leadership Model for the Future

Why Successful Leaders Focus on "Being" before "Doing"

The Thinking Skills You Never Thought of

A Fresh Perspective on Improving Relationships at Work

Five Critical Skills to Boost Collaboration in Your Organisation

The Surprising Skills for Driving Change

About Second Crack
More information about us and our work is available on our website: secondcrackleadership.com. Contact us now to explore how we can support your leadership development in a company-wide initiative or with individual executive coaching: hello@secondcrackleadership.com.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:
Martin Aldergård
Gerrit Pelzer

We continue to explore how to make corporate transformation more successful by more intentional and meaningful involvement of employees.

In this episode, we’re joined by Ilkka Mäkitalo, founder of Howspace, to explore how leaders can create better involvement that taps into collective intelligence, leverages technology, and fosters deeper engagement.

Key Themes

1. Engage Thoughtfully and Intentionally

Involvement isn’t just about participation; it’s about designing thoughtful interactions. Ilkka emphasizes collaboration design, ensuring processes facilitate meaningful two-way dialogue rather than one-way communication. A well-structured dialogue fosters ownership and builds trust.

2. Focus on Team Involvement More than Individual Involvement

Involving entire teams rather than individuals can lead to deeper, more collaborative discussions. Regular team discussions integrated into existing schedules ensure that transformation efforts don’t feel like an added burden but a shared opportunity for input.

3. Scale-Up Involvement with Help of Technology

Technology and AI can let us scale up involvement, enabling thousands of voices to be heard without logistical barriers. Tools like Howspace facilitate quick, collective input and synthesize insights, making large-scale involvement practical and efficient.

4. The Courage to Lead with Humility

Ilkka highlights the importance of leaders embracing a “not knowing position.” Humble leadership—asking questions and being open to learning—can foster trust and unlock meaningful dialogue and collective wisdom.

5. Transparency and Context in Decision-Making

A transparent process helps employees understand how decisions are made, even if their suggestions aren’t directly implemented. Sharing the broader context aligns individual contributions with organizational priorities.

Reflection Questions

• Reflect on your other qualities as a leader. Why do other people admire you as a leader, besides your knowledge? How might this help you have the courage to let others know “you don’t know”?
• How can we foster humility and openness in our own practices to inspire and empower others?
• When you think about change strategies, even meeting practices in your organization, how are those orchestrated, and who actually owns those processes? Who is designing the collaboration? Is it by intention or is it “as we have always done it”?
• How might you as leader reframe the transformation process from a decision-making process to a learning process? How would it help me invite others, stay more open, and take a “not knowing” position?

About Ilkka Mäkitalo

Ilkka is the founder of Howspace and you can connect with him on LinkedIn here. You can find Howspace’s guide to transformation here.

About Second Crack
More information about us and our work is available on our website: secondcrackleadership.com

For questions, feedback, or suggestions, or to explore how we can help you develop your leadership, email us at hello@secondcrackleadership.com.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:
Martin Aldergård
Gerrit Pelzer

In today’s episode, we present a free audio version of Gerrit Pelzer's chapter Soft Skills Through the Lens of Hard Science: Insights into Why Leaders Need to Know About the Brain from the book Brains Inspiring Businesses.*

In this chapter, Gerrit highlights three essential insights every leader should know about the brain:

Each brain is unique—this influences motivation and the conditions under which people can be their best.
Emotions drive all our actions, including at work—yet they’re often overlooked in the corporate world.
Human relationships are fundamental—a critical yet undervalued factor in workplace success.

Each section includes reflection questions designed to help leaders deepen their self-awareness and enhance their leadership skills.

Time Stamps

0:11 Introduction
5:50 Excerpt from Goethe’s Faust (German original followed by English translation)
9:36 Background and the common mistake of trying to operate organisations like machines
24:55 Uniqueness: Why every brain and every person is different
35:05 Reflection Questions for Leaders: Values and Motivation
36:02 Emotions at Work: The underestimated role of emotional processes at work
44:31 Reflection Questions for Leaders: Emotions
46:02 The Power of Relationships: The foundation of health, well-being, and performance at work
1:00:35 Reflection Questions for Leaders: Relationships
1:01:40 Conclusion

A visualization of Paul Brown’s model of The Eight Basic Emotions is available here.

Want more?
If you’d like a PDF copy of Gerrit’s chapter, Soft Skills Through the Lens of Hard Science: Insights into Why Leaders Need to Know About the Brain, simply email him at mail@gerritpelzer.com

ABOUT SECOND CRACK
Learn more about us and our work at secondcrackleadership.com. For questions , comments or feedback, email us at hello@secondcrackleadership.com.

Follow us on LinkedIn
Martin Aldergård
Gerrit Pelzer

* Citation: Pelzer, G. (2024). Soft Skills through the Lens of Hard Science: Insights into Why Leaders Need to Know about the Brain. In: P. Brown and N. Das Goshal, eds., Brains Inspiring Businesses for Leaders. Edinburgh: Ideas for Leaders Publishing.

In this episode we explore a timely and vital question: What can women bring to leadership that men can't? Joining us are two accomplished women leaders from traditionally male-dominated industries: Dr. Melanie Maas-Brunner, a former BASF board member, and Evelyn Chau, a director in the global banking industry. Together we dive into the unique contributions women bring to leadership, the challenges, and what we can all learn from a more diverse approach to leadership.

KEY MESSAGES AND LESSONS

Authentic Leadership
Melanie and Evelyn stress the importance of authenticity in leadership, particularly for women. Rather than adopting traditionally male leadership styles, women can excel by embracing traits like empathy, collaboration, and open communication—qualities that enhance trust and innovation in teams.

Overcoming Gender Bias
The discussion tackles stereotypes, such as the perception of assertive women as "too aggressive" or the tendency for women to underestimate their abilities compared to men. Evelyn shares strategies to navigate biases, build confidence, and network effectively.

The Business Case for Diversity
Research shows diverse leadership teams outperform less diverse ones. Melanie and Evelyn argue that women bring critical skills to crisis management, including emotional intelligence and an ability to integrate diverse viewpoints. These strengths create a more resilient and innovative organizational culture.

ACTIONABLE TIPS

• Be vocal about your career goals and achievements while staying authentic.
• Build internal networks with mentors and allies.
• Clarify your personal priorities, including work-life balance, to ensure a sustainable leadership journey.
• Lean into empathy and collaboration while confidently claiming space at the table.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

• Are you creating opportunities for all voices to be heard on your team?
• How can you, regardless of gender, mentor and support diverse leadership in your organization?
• What steps can you take to ensure your leadership is authentic and values-driven?

ABOUT OUR GUESTS
Dr. Melanie Maas-Brunner: Former Chief Technology Officer at BASF, now a non-executive director focused on sustainability and innovation.
Evelyn Chau: Director of Corporate Banking at HSBC Sweden, with expertise in international finance and mentoring emerging leaders.

ABOUT SECOND CRACK
Learn more about us and our work at secondcrackleadership.com. For questions or feedback, email us at hello@secondcrackleadership.com.

Follow us on LinkedIn
Martin Aldergård
Gerrit Pelzer

We explore how to achieve success in corporate transformation.
The discussion starts with the fact that many organisations still seem to rely on traditional top-down approaches, despite evidence that this method leads to disengagement, resistance to change, and change fatigue.
We conclude that there is a need for organisations to rethink their approach to transformation by putting people at the heart of the process. This means inviting people to co-create at scale, tapping into the collective intelligence of the organisation. Important is also to address both the rational and emotional side of change. Technological advancements, like AI, offer new ways to scale involvement, but the human aspect of leadership remains crucial.

Key Themes

1. The Problem with Top-Down Change

• Research indicates that 75% of organisations still use top-down strategies, with management deciding and expecting employees to follow.
• This approach often results in change fatigue (50% of employees report feeling overwhelmed), disengagement, and resistance because employees are not sufficiently involved in the process.

2. The Importance of Involvement

• When employees can influence their own work and understand the rationale behind the changes, their engagement and resilience increase.
• Failing to tap into the collective intelligence of employees not only slows implementation but also misses valuable insights from those who know the work best.

3. Start with ‘Why’

• Organizations tend to focus on what needs to change, but a people-centered approach should start by exploring and understanding why the change is necessary.
• Employees need to understand both the outside-in perspective (bigger picture) and the inside-out perspective (personal motivation). This alignment creates a common language and helps employees see how the change benefits them and the organisation.

4. Scaling Change Involvement

• Involving more employees in change increases the chances of success. A study shows a tipping point. Minimum of 7% employee involvement is necessary for a positive return on transformation efforts.
• New digital platforms and AI, make it easier to involve employees at scale, overcoming delays and logistical challenges of traditional approaches.

5. Balancing Rational and Emotional Factors:

• Change isn’t just a rational process; it’s heavily influenced by emotions. Leaders need to acknowledge and address the hopes, fears, and potential resistance employees feel during times of transformation.
• Creating an open dialogue where people feel heard builds trust and reduces defensiveness.

Reflection Questions

• Purpose: Why does your organisation exist? How does it contribute to a larger purpose? How does that impact the way you approach change?
• Leadership Presence: How can you, as a leader, make time to personally engage with frontline employees to better understand their perspectives?
• Focus on People: Instead of focusing solely on what changes are needed, how can you help your people change and grow? How can you make change personal and meaningful for them?

About Second Crack
More information about us and our work is available on our website: secondcrackleadership.com

For questions, feedback, or suggestions, or to explore how we can help you develop your leadership, email us at hello@secondcrackleadership.com.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:
Martin Aldergård
Gerrit Pelzer