LEMON: a radically fresh take on leadership

We have a chat with Brett Johnson - an impactful leader, Silicon Valley consultant and author of LEMON leadership.

In this episode of Working better, together. we chat to Brett Johnson, who sees himself as a “corporate chiropractor” who helps companies “discover the real purpose of business and how this ties to the CEO/owner/leader’s personal passions.”

Originally from South Africa, Brett lived in San Francisco for more than 20 years working with Fortune 500 companies through startups. Check out his talk at Google. In 1996, he founded The Institute for Innovation, Integration & Impact, a Silicon Valley-based think tank and community of entrepreneurs who aim to change the face of business as we know it.

He has authored 10 books, one of which is LEMON leadership — a ground-breaking, fresh look at the different kinds of leadership roles you can find in any company and tips on how to hone each persona’s skills. You can hear him talk more about LEMON leadership in this episode.

Timestamp notes:

0.37 — Brett explains how LEMON leadership came about.

1.02 — More about Brett and his impressive career working with companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, CSC, Google, Apple and KPMG.

3.36 — What are the biggest challenges you see leaders facing?

5.19 — Brett shares a story of a leadership situation he had dealt with at CISCO.

6.50 — LEMON leadership dynamics are needed in each company for success. We need teams, not the cult of the individual.

8.20 — Oftentimes, other types of leaders are not duly recognised for the value they add, such as Organisers or Networkers.

8.50 — Discussion around what kinds of recognition/reward works for different leadership types.

13.39 — What Brett does every day & software tools he uses.

15.00 — Books that Brett’s been reading.

15.44 — Contact details.

If you have any feedback, comments, ideas or suggestions, please get in contact with us on twitter @giveahi5 or email us on podcasts@get5.io.

Get the podcast

Don't miss these episodes

Moments of genius: how to sell your company culture

Our first podcast featuring David Donde, CEO and Founder of Minimalist Chocolate and award-winning Truth Coffee.
Check it out

A time of amazing reinvention: remote work during COVID-19

Our first pandemic podcast featuring Carin-Isabel Knoop, Executive Director of the Global Research Group at Harvard Business School.
Check it out

Being a culture change insider

We chat to Siobhan McHale (EGM People, Culture & Change at Dulux Group & author of The Insider's Guide to Culture Change) on what it means to be a culture change insider.
Check it out