In Episode #123 of The Executive Commute, Jayson Krause is joined by Level 52 executive coach and facilitator Nimrat Dhariwal to explore belonging, what creates it inside organizations, and why the most important place to begin may be with yourself.

Nimrat traces her relationship with belonging from childhood in Kenya, through adolescence in England, and into her career in Canada. Experiences of being treated as an outsider shaped how she entered teams and workplaces, even when an organization was creating strong conditions for inclusion. She explains how internal mental models, imposter syndrome, and the need for external validation can keep people from feeling that they belong.

Jayson and Nimrat unpack the reciprocal nature of belonging, the role leaders play in making different perspectives safe to share, and how trust, standards, favourites, and informal networks can shape who feels included. They also explore the tension between proving yourself and believing you are inherently worthy, and why Nimrat now enters new spaces assuming she belongs rather than waiting for permission.

The conversation also turns to values alignment, knowing when it may be time to leave an organization, misplaced loyalty, self-care, reverse mentoring, sensing the culture you are in, and the daily practices leaders can use to regulate themselves under pressure.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of racism and racial slurs.

Episode timestamps:

00:00 Why belonging has shaped Nimrat's life

02:01 From software engineering to leading people

03:25 Why inclusion alone may not create belonging

05:45 Understanding imposter syndrome

07:39 Skill gaps, purpose, and feeling like an outsider

09:41 Can diversity and belonging coexist?

10:40 Favourites, informal networks, and whose voice gets heard

13:11 What belonging actually means

14:37 Why belonging has to be reciprocal

18:40 Do you need to prove yourself every day?

23:23 The shift from proving yourself to inherent belonging

26:04 Why self-belonging comes first

28:40 Growth without constantly fixing yourself

31:21 Belonging inside a merit-based organization

34:05 How to know when it is time to leave

36:05 Loyalty to an organization vs. loyalty to yourself

39:31 From external validation to choosing to belong

41:34 Helping younger professionals find their voice

43:32 Reverse mentoring across generations

44:51 The worst advice about belonging

46:03 Learning to sense a team's culture

47:24 How leaders can read and shape a system

49:49 The choice to believe you belong

51:25 The invisible force behind leadership

53:30 Building the practice of self-regulation

54:55 Final reflection: belong to yourself first

Prefer to watch? Find the full video episode of The Executive Commute on the Level 52 Inc. YouTube channel.

Learn more about Nimrat Dhariwal: https://www.level52.ca/about/

Subscribe to Level 52 Inc. on YouTube for full conversations, clips, and more leadership

The conversation explores the difference between influence and manipulation, why dark leaders are often drawn to power, how "kiss up, kick down" behaviour can hide for years, and why organizational culture plays such a critical role. Ted also discusses what he calls dark-activated behaviour: people who may begin acting destructively when the culture rewards or tolerates it.

In Episode #118 of The Executive Commute, Jayson Krause is joined by industrial-organizational psychologist Dr. Ted Vokes for a deep examination of evil, the dark tetrad, and what dark leadership can look like inside organizations.

Ted breaks down four dark personality traits: narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and sadism. He explains how these traits can show up in leaders who appear charming, capable, and impressive to those above them while exploiting, manipulating, intimidating, or destabilizing the people below them.

Jayson and Ted then move from recognition to response. They discuss how to protect yourself, set non-negotiable boundaries, contain damaging behaviour through clear expectations and behaviour management, and why organizations should act decisively when they have grounds to remove a toxic leader.

The episode closes with a more hopeful question: what protects leadership from becoming dark? Ted points to social and emotional intelligence, ego maturity, and the ability to be secure in your own power while making room for the power of others.

Episode timestamps:

00:00 Evil and dark traits in leadership

00:11 Ted's personal connection to dark leadership

03:47 Rethinking "hurt people hurt people"

08:24 Ted's background in industrial-organizational psychology

12:24 Understanding the dark tetrad

13:45 Narcissism

14:56 The dark, Goldilocks, and dazzling zones

19:15 Psychopathy

22:43 Psychopathy in executive roles

27:10 Why dark leadership can look delightful

28:15 Machiavellianism

29:43 Manipulation versus influence

31:47 Narcissistic theatre and self-serving causes

34:47 Machiavellianism in practice

37:54 Sadism

40:00 What workplace sadism can look like

44:23 How common dark traits may be

47:56 Culture as the antidote

49:00 Dark-activated behaviour

51:52 How culture can activate destructive behaviour

57:20 "What if I'm one of them?"

59:42 Working alongside a dark leader

1:03:00 Containment and behaviour management

1:06:39 Why not simply let them go?

1:08:04 The three outcomes of containment

1:11:00 Can people with dark traits change?

1:12:41 The worst advice for dealing with dark traits

1:16:52 Where the hope comes from

1:19:01 Boundaries are not negotiations

1:22:30 Where to learn more about Ted

1:23:37 The invisible force behind leadership success

1:27:27 Closing reflections

Prefer to watch? Find the full video episode of The Executive Commute on the Level 52 Inc. YouTube channel.

Follow Level 52 Inc. on YouTube for full conversations, clips, and more leadership content.

Follow Jayson Krause

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayson-krause/

In Episode #117 of The Executive Commute, Jayson Krause is joined by Level 52 coach and facilitator Chris Foy to explore the power of questions and why strong leadership often requires letting go of the need to have every answer.

Chris explains the shift many leaders must make after being promoted for their expertise: moving from the person who solves the problem to the leader who creates the conditions for other experts to think, decide, and grow. Questions can build agency, accountability, curiosity, and capability, but only when they come from genuine wonder rather than an attempt to steer someone toward a predetermined answer.

Jayson and Chris unpack the difference between high-impact questions and leading or "ninja" questions, why "what" often creates more exploration than "why," and when asking too many questions can actually undermine leadership. They also examine the role of clarity in crisis moments and situations where a leader simply needs to set direction.

Chris introduces the WATCH framework for stronger questions: Wonder, Accountability, Transformation, Challenge, and High Impact. The conversation also explores discovery listening, the danger of rescuing people or "stealing the lift," and the shift from problem solving to solution enabling.

Episode timestamps:

00:00 The power of questions

00:31 Chris Foy's path to leadership coaching

01:28 Why leaders need to ask more and answer less

03:16 Defining high-impact questions

03:50 Questions as a quest for understanding

04:48 Leading with wonder

07:00 Leading questions and micromanagement

08:44 From expert leader to leader of experts

10:03 The pressure to signal certainty

12:35 Good questions versus bad questions

14:19 Creating safety and agency

16:02 Helping people find their own answers

18:13 Rescuing people and stealing growth

20:33 What it means to "steal the lift"

23:46 Questions that activate growth

25:17 Why "what" can work better than "why"

26:10 Ninja questions and the need for clarity

27:42 Do more questions equal better leadership?

29:29 When too many questions hurt leadership

32:53 Great leaders do not have all the answers

35:09 Finding the right question before the answer

36:00 Leading outside your technical expertise

39:07 What makes a question hard?

40:43 Chris Foy's WATCH framework

42:00 The pause after a powerful question

43:35 Simple questions, significant impact

43:54 Challenge, discomfort, and ego

46:07 Smartest person or best question asker?

47:41 Problem solving versus solution enabling

48:41 Where leaders should start

50:01 Discovery listening

51:56 The worst advice about questions

53:05 Balancing questions with clear direction

54:05 Pushing the frontiers of your leadership

Follow Jayson Krause

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Voc2qOmcqGKfqy6CDiZOw

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayson-krause/