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The Evolving Leader

Leading In The Storm with Emma Sky

September 13, 2023 Emma Sky Season 6 Episode 3

Chapters

Imagine we’re at a dinner party and I ask you what you do. What would you tell me?

Could you share with us a sense of the experiences that have defined your purpose, values or identity in your career and life to date?

What kind of things do you do in these roles? What does your day/week/month look like?

You’ve talked about the fact that it’s easy to think that there are technical fixes when it’s really all about politics. You’re not a politician so how did you manage that role?

You’ve worked in some incredibly volatile situations. Can you talk to us about what you’ve learnt about power in those situations, how to understand it and how to influence it?

In his book ‘The Tragic Mind’, Robert Kaplan reflects on the depression that he experienced (as a journalist) backing the Iraq war, and the notion that there is no perfect solution. How do you see your job in that kind of reality?

Do you have a sense of what might unfold in the coming decade?

So when you think about all of that, what do you think the most important set of skills that current and future leaders need to develop to steer us into a more stable and positive environment?

You use the phrase leadership crisis. What are you doing at Yale to address that?

What are the sort of topics that people want to talk about as part of The World Fellows Program? What’s the focus and has that shifted over the last few years?

What’s the hope and desire behind bringing a mix of leaders with different focuses together?

Can we turn to the growing polarisation. What’s your take on that? Is it our political systems that are failing us, or where else is it coming from in your analysis?

If you think about how you lead in this kind of environment, when you see politicians trying to take a moderate line, the media may tell the population that these people are bland. In your view, how can you lead out of this polarisation?

If leaders have an advisor next to them, what are the leaders requiring of those advisors? How does that dynamic play out in an everyday scenario?

Who is inspiring you as a leader today?

What’s next for you? What’s on the horizon in terms of things that you’re working on?

Info

The Evolving Leader

Leading In The Storm with Emma Sky

Sep 13, 2023 Season 6 Episode 3

Emma Sky

In this episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Emma Sinclair talk to Emma Sky. Emma is an expert on conflict, reconciliation and stability, and has worked mainly in the Middle East. She served in Iraq as the political advisor to US General Ray Odierno and General David Petraeus during the surge and is now Director of the International Leadership Center at Yale University, overseeing the Yale World Fellows program and other initiatives. Emma Sky is a Senior Fellow at Yale's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, where she lectures on Middle East politics and global affairs.

SUGGESTED READING FROM THIS EPISODE:
The Unravelling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq (Emma Sky, 2015)

In a Time of Monsters: Travelling in a Middle East in Revolt (Emma Sky, 2019)

The Enneagram of Emotional Intelligence: A Journey to Personal and Professional Success (Scott Allender, 2023)

Social:
Instagram @evolvingleader
LinkedIn The Evolving Leader Podcast
Twitter @Evolving_Leader
YouTube @evolvingleader

The Evolving Leader is researched, written and presented by Jean Gomes and Scott Allender with production by Phil Kerby. It is an Outside production.

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In this episode of The Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Emma Sinclair talk to Emma Sky. Emma is an expert on conflict, reconciliation and stability, and has worked mainly in the Middle East. She served in Iraq as the political advisor to US General Ray Odierno and General David Petraeus during the surge and is now Director of the International Leadership Center at Yale University, overseeing the Yale World Fellows program and other initiatives. Emma Sky is a Senior Fellow at Yale's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, where she lectures on Middle East politics and global affairs.

SUGGESTED READING FROM THIS EPISODE:
The Unravelling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq (Emma Sky, 2015)

In a Time of Monsters: Travelling in a Middle East in Revolt (Emma Sky, 2019)

The Enneagram of Emotional Intelligence: A Journey to Personal and Professional Success (Scott Allender, 2023)

Social:
Instagram @evolvingleader
LinkedIn The Evolving Leader Podcast
Twitter @Evolving_Leader
YouTube @evolvingleader

The Evolving Leader is researched, written and presented by Jean Gomes and Scott Allender with production by Phil Kerby. It is an Outside production.

Introduction

Imagine we’re at a dinner party and I ask you what you do. What would you tell me?

Could you share with us a sense of the experiences that have defined your purpose, values or identity in your career and life to date?

What kind of things do you do in these roles? What does your day/week/month look like?

You’ve talked about the fact that it’s easy to think that there are technical fixes when it’s really all about politics. You’re not a politician so how did you manage that role?

You’ve worked in some incredibly volatile situations. Can you talk to us about what you’ve learnt about power in those situations, how to understand it and how to influence it?

In his book ‘The Tragic Mind’, Robert Kaplan reflects on the depression that he experienced (as a journalist) backing the Iraq war, and the notion that there is no perfect solution. How do you see your job in that kind of reality?

Do you have a sense of what might unfold in the coming decade?

So when you think about all of that, what do you think the most important set of skills that current and future leaders need to develop to steer us into a more stable and positive environment?

You use the phrase leadership crisis. What are you doing at Yale to address that?

What are the sort of topics that people want to talk about as part of The World Fellows Program? What’s the focus and has that shifted over the last few years?

What’s the hope and desire behind bringing a mix of leaders with different focuses together?

Can we turn to the growing polarisation. What’s your take on that? Is it our political systems that are failing us, or where else is it coming from in your analysis?

If you think about how you lead in this kind of environment, when you see politicians trying to take a moderate line, the media may tell the population that these people are bland. In your view, how can you lead out of this polarisation?

If leaders have an advisor next to them, what are the leaders requiring of those advisors? How does that dynamic play out in an everyday scenario?

Who is inspiring you as a leader today?

What’s next for you? What’s on the horizon in terms of things that you’re working on?