Written by Kate Billing, Founder & Creative Director, Blacksmith
A 3 minute read & 1 hour watch
Welcome to The Real Room!
The Real Room is a space I’ve created for conversations about the tricky business of putting being FULLY HUMAN at the centre of how we live, lead and work.
I’ll be having Real Room conversations with fabulous humans from all over New Zealand and the world. Expect conversations with a diverse group of people about all things human-related. My guests will range from people leaders to thought leaders, researchers to practitioners, corporate legends to creative entrepreneurs, artists to activists, and more. If they’re all about taking a more human-centred approach, I’ll be talking with them!
Conversation #3 on ‘Being Human’ with Mark LeBusque
Mark LeBusque is a fellow passionate developer of better humans from “across the ditch”. Based in Melbourne, Australia, he’s real and raw, and any time we spend in conversation is time I consider well-spent.
In this one-hour conversation, Mark and I talk about:
- the beauty and challenge of working out how to be FULLY HUMAN when we didn’t come with an instruction manual
- exploration and experimentation as pathways to becoming YOU
- the trickiness of overcoming the hard-wiring which encourages us to survive, to stay safe and avoid vulnerability and failure
- how what feels shitty and full of struggle is often where we grow the most
- moving from power-and-control to connection-and-inclusion in order to adapt to a post-COVID world
- opportunities for acceleration and non-linear progress in the current reality
- having the courage to leap into the void and make the ‘crux moves’ that will change the game in life and business
- suffering as a necessary part of growth, progress, and success
- surfacing the ugly, calling bullshit, and creating the space for both to happen; and
- the place of connection, trust and helpfulness in the world as it is.
Special mention to my friend Rebecca Sutherns who thoughtfully gave me my Stay Human hat (used to cover crazy lockdown hair in this video!) on her last visit down under from Canada. She’ll be a guest on a Real Room Conversation very soon.
Coming up soon on The Real Room – I chat with Professor Andrew Scott. Andrew is Professor of Economics at London Business School and renowned for his work on macroeconomic policy and longevity. Along with Lynda Gratton, he is the co-author of The 100 Year Life and, hot off the press, The New Long Life.
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Kate is the Founder & Creative Director of Blacksmith www.blacksmith.co.nz, a specialist leadership development practice focused on the development of human-centred leaders and fully human organisations.
For nearly 25 years Kate has worked in the people, culture and leadership space, building a reputation for sharp insights, compassionate challenge, warmth, and energy. Over that time she has worked within a range of industries and organisations, with leaders from the boardroom to the front line, all of whom have demonstrated their capacity for personal and collective evolution.
She believes it’s time for a new kind of leader: human-centred leaders who together will create the world we need for our shared future. Leaders who are examples of what’s possible when we commit to the highest levels of humanity and responsibility in the ways that we live, lead and do business.
Mark is known universally as the “Human Manager” and his proven techniques for elevating leaders and energizing employees make him an internationally sought-after speaker, facilitator, mentor and coach. His books BEING HUMAN: Why Robots Are Not the Answer to Business Success and The Little Book of HUMAN: Tales, Tools & Told You So’s have challenged the way managers and organisations view the value of the 100 year-old Management system, and have sparked a more Human approach across the globe.
Mark has developed and refined his “Human Manager” model over a 25-year career in sales, operations, and general management, delivering measurable improvements in employee engagement, team performance and business results. He has an innate ability to both speak and seek the truth, provoking humans to step into their own reality, and skillfully combines textbook theory with practicality and simplicity.
