the WATSON standard
Redefining Leadership • Redefining Organizations
Editor’s note:
This is a podcast for leaders who want to change their organizations without losing sight of people, purpose, or principles along the way.
Ep 03 | Interesting, But Not Important
Prioritizing Emergent Problems
Not every "special project" deserves to exist. Carl and Megan break down how leaders can tell which emergent problems are actually worth solving, run real experiments instead of disguised validation exercises, and reward teams even when the right call is to stop.
About the Watson standard | Trailer
Explore the human and organizational side of change: how leaders develop, how organizations evolve, and how to stay grounded when the work gets complicated.
She helps people change. He helps systems change. Together, we’re helping to change work for the better.
The hosts
Megan Alexa Watson
Leadership development and talent management executive with deep experience helping senior leaders navigate and drive systemic change at multinational organizations.
“If you walk in one of these rooms or join one of these squads and it's clear that others aren't seeing 'Why are they here?' You owe it to yourself to actually share that, and to articulate that, so that there's space for your voice, but also so that the work can actually be influenced by you in a meaningful way.”
-Megan Alexa Watson
Carl B. Watson, Ph.D.
Founding principal of Madrona Strategy Works, where he advises leaders on enterprise strategy, organizational design, culture, and leadership-team effectiveness.
“Part of the problem in organizations is experiments are set up to only succeed, which means you limit dramatically the possible information that you can get out of an experiment. And that is actually tragic if the problem is really important.”
-Carl B. Watson, Ph.D.