Difficult Conversations Podcast

Lessons I Learned as an ICU Physician

Episode 118 | November 17, 2020

Human Centered Approach to Leadership

Holly O’Driscoll

Master Human Centered Innovation Strategist

Holly O'Driscoll

Welcome to Difficult Conversations – Lessons I Learned as an ICU Physician with Dr. Anthony Orsini. On today’s episode, my special guest is Holly O’Driscoll, an industry expert in the field of Design Thinking and human centered innovation. She is the former Global Design Thinking Leader at Proctor & Gamble and led more than 250 design thinking experiences, often at the request of C-suite executives. She has built a reputation as a master human centered innovation strategist, trainer, and facilitator. Her passions include problem solving, the organizational strategy, unleashing the diversity of people, leadership philosophy, and creating conditions that allow human creativity and curiosity to thrive. She is the founder and CEO of Ampersand Innovation, which is a Design Thinking and human centered innovation strategy consultancy. In addition, she is a globally sought after keynote speaker as well. As always, Dr. Orsini keeps his promise about two things, that you will feel inspired, and you will have learned valuable lessons to be a better and more compassionate communicator.

Holly shares her story . She defines what “design thinking” is and explains the human centered approach focusing on five principles that were made famous by the Stanford University d. School: Empathy, Definition, Ideation, Prototyping, and Testing. Dr. Orsini talks about his technique in teaching empathy and connecting to a patient. Holly tells us the results of a bad leader, how to fix a bad culture, and how to get people excited about their job. We also learn why Holly would choose to first hire someone with integrity and why she believes leadership is something you can teach. Holly tells us about using the Empathy Map which is focused on sketching out what people are thinking, feeling, saying, and doing on the inside and outside. Find out why Holly prefers deep conversations versus a survey? She shares a story on being vulnerable and how to connect with people.. Holly talks about the “sceptic” in the room. She tells us how important it is to learn the names of people and to connect on a human level. Dr. Orsini shares a funny story when he was in and working as a substitute teacher. We hear inspiring stories from Dr. Orsini about communicating and building relationships and how his “It’s All in the Delivery” training program does something called, “see something, say something” We end with Holly telling us the most difficult type of conversation that she’s had, and Dr. Orsini finishes by saying, “People trust people who are real people, not fake people. Be genuine, be real, build the trust, and be humble.” If you enjoyed this podcast, please hit the subscribe button to find out more about what we do and how we teach communication.

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