Guest: Dr. Barry Johnson
- 22 July 2025 (remixed and re-released); original recording 13 March 2018
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If you think you have to solve problems, think again. You might be better off leveraging tensions instead!
Dr. Barry Johnson, creator of the Polarity Map®, joins host Maureen Metcalf to explore how “both/and” thinking helps leaders navigate complexity, avoid false choices, and drive sustainable performance. From clarity and flexibility to structure and innovation, Barry shares how thriving organizations—and societies—balance competing values rather than pick sides. It’s called polarity thinking…and it works. Packed with stories from the U.S. Navy, Singapore Airlines, and South Africa, this conversation offers a powerful framework for leading in uncertain times.
Here’s what Barry and Maureen cover:
- Why choosing a side or over-focusing on one side of an issue can lead to conflict, instead of solving it – and, in extreme cases, break down your organization;
- How high-performing organizations depend on well-managed tension; and
- Spotting the false choices that will keep your team stuck.
Host Maureen Metcalf
Maureen Metcalf, Founder and CEO of the Innovative Leadership Institute, is a highly sought-after expert in anticipating and leveraging future business trends to transform organizations. She has captured 30 years of experience in an award-winning series of books used by public, private, and academic organizations to align company-wide strategy, systems, and culture using Innovative Leadership techniques.
Maureen shares her hard-won insights through public speaking, industry publications, interviews, and video presentations. She is a regular contributor to Forbes.com, host of the top international radio show, Innovating Leadership, Co-creating Our Future, and author of the award-winning Innovative Leadership book series. The series includes: Innovative Leadership Fieldbook; Innovative Leaders Guide to Transforming Organizations; Innovative Leadership Workbook for Global Leaders; and Innovative Leadership for Health Care, among others.
She is a Fellow of the International Leadership Association.
About Innovating Leadership: Co-Creating Our Future
The pace of change in the world is increasing exponentially. Leadership must evolve. And that gets to the heart of our mission: To bring you the latest thoughts on leadership so you can innovate, learn, and evolve…growing your team, your business, and yourself! This series features a new interview every week. Host Maureen Metcalf interviews world leaders, global business and NPO executives, thought leaders, and researchers in a wide range of industries. It’s a breadth of perspectives unavailable anywhere else. Become an innovative leader in your own right!
Innovating Leadership is proud to partner with the International Leadership Association on a yearly series of episodes on global leadership with special ILA speakers, members, and guests.
