Podcast

Alina Addison, Founder and Executive Coach at ADAPTAA, On: The Art of Leading With Audacity, Embracing Your Inner Nonconformist, and the Transformative Power of Attunement

Alina Addison is the Founder, Executive Coach, and Audacious Leadership Facilitator at ADAPTAA, a leadership development company. Alina is an accredited emotional intelligence coach and a chartered accountant with over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, including her role as Managing Director at Rothschild & Co. Originally from Romania, she moved to London with just $100 and built a successful career in investment banking. Alina’s coaching philosophy is shaped by her experience raising a son on the autism spectrum, providing her with a unique perspective on adaptability and communication. Her latest book, The Audacity Spectrum, focuses on leading with care, courage, and nonconformity.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[2:13] Alina Addison on redefining leadership with audacity
[4:29] The importance of courage in the coaching process
[7:05] How Alina’s background influenced her coaching style and leadership
[8:15] What is attunement, and why is it crucial in leadership?
[13:01] The challenge of balancing assertiveness in a professional way
[14:29] Alina’s tip for leaders: Acknowledge and embrace your superpowers
[18:24] Finding the courage to say “yes” and “no” in leadership roles
[22:18] How Alina dared to ask for a four-day workweek in a traditionally rigid field

In this episode…

Understanding how to tread the fine line between courage and recklessness can define a leader’s success. Great leaders aren’t simply distinguished by education or position but by their ability to harness boldness and wisdom. How can you thrive in high-pressure environments, pivot toward a higher purpose, and transform into an impactful leader?

Alina Addison delves into the nuances of what it means to lead with care and courage, highlighting how her son’s autism diagnosis influenced her perspective on leadership and life. Her journey from her roots in communist Romania to the corporate suites of London also serves as the backdrop for her approach, emphasizing attunement, nonconformity, and adaptability. She explores the eight A’s of “The Audacity Spectrum,” providing strategies for embracing your quirks and transforming them into strengths. Alina’s insights on emotional intelligence, adaptability, and the power of saying “no” challenge conventional wisdom and inspire a new breed of leadership — one that is deeply self-attuned yet boldly outward-facing.

In this episode of the Next Wave Leadership podcast, Dov Pollack interviews Alina Addison, Founder and Executive Coach at ADAPTAA, about leveraging the eight A’s of audacity in leadership. Alina shares insights on the impact of self-attunement in improving emotional intelligence, embracing your superpowers, cultivating courage for bold career decisions, and the value of adaptability.

Resources Mentioned in this episode

Quotable Moments:

“Audacity is more than courage; it’s that little extra.”
“When you attune your head with your heart and your gut, almost everything is possible.”
“We don’t learn in the comfort zone.”
“How you show up matters, and if your people can’t feel your presence, they can’t see you, and they won’t be able to hear you.”
“In order to be courageous, you have to feel fear.”

Action Steps:

Embrace your superpowers and identify when they become a shadow: By acknowledging both our strengths and how they can turn into weaknesses, we can prevent over-reliance and encourage balanced leadership.
Implement regular personal attunement practices, such as mindfulness or journaling: Attunement helps leaders align their intentions with their actions, creating a coherent and impactful leadership style.
Cultivate emotional intelligence by practicing active listening and empathetic engagement with team members: Emotional intelligence is key to understanding and motivating people, which can lead to a more harmonious and productive work environment.
Redefine your personal definition of audacity by focusing on care, courage, and nonconformity: This redefinition encourages leaders to take calculated risks and push the boundaries of traditional leadership, leading to innovation and growth.
Assess how often you say “yes” and “no” and strive for a balance that aligns with your leadership goals: Understanding your natural inclination allows for more mindful decision-making and prevents overcommitment or missed opportunities.

Sponsor for this episode…

Founded by Dov Pollack, Next Wave Leadership is an executive coaching firm focused on helping CEOs, executives, and emerging leaders to deepen their executive presence, differentiate their voice, and embrace the plot and promise of their story.

To know more about what we can do to help you grow as a leader, visit our website at NextWaveLeadership.com or send us an email at [email protected].

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