Experimental Leader

Leadership happens beyond the boardroom. In this Skill Up episode, Melanie Parish and Dr. Mel Rutherford explore how thoughtful hosting, seating, etiquette, and conversation can help leaders create more inclusive and connected social and business gatherings.... Read More

In this episode of Traps and Tricks, co-hosts Melanie Parish and Mel Rutherford explore how leaders can turn employee departures into powerful cultural moments instead of quiet losses. They reveal how ignoring or resenting valued employees when they leave harms trust and morale, and they offer a simple reframe: honor contributions, mark endings with gratitude and care, and reinforce that people matter beyond their tenure.... Read More

  The show’s guests in this episode is Dr. Liane Davey. She is a bestselling author and executive advisor who has spent three decades helping people achieve amazing things together. Her work focuses on tackling the messiest people issues holding teams back, including fostering accountability, promoting healthy conflict, and managing overwhelm. Liane’s latest book, Thoughtload: Manage the Madness and Free Your Team to Do Great Work, addresses the mental and emotional overload crushing today’s teams. —   Listen to the podcast here  Digital Detox & Thoughtload with Liane Davey Hello and welcome to the Experimental Leader podcast. I’m Melanie...... Read More

Are you hiring the best person for the role—or simply the person who feels most familiar? In this episode of The Experimental Leader Podcast, Melanie Parish and Mel Rutherford explore how hiring bias can limit team performance and why diverse personalities create stronger organizations. Learn how tools like DISC can support better hiring decisions, when it's worth extending your search for the right candidate, and how curiosity can help you build a more effective team.... Read More

When everything is labeled as urgent, productivity suffers. In this episode of The Experimental Leader, Melanie Parish and Mel Rutherford explore how poor prioritization creates unnecessary stress, confusion, and rework. Discover practical strategies for balancing vision with execution, empowering your team, improving communication, and leading with greater clarity instead of constant urgency.... Read More

  The show’s guest in this episode is Georgia Thomas. She’s a former corporate lawyer, and she turned into a multi-business founder and CEO. And she has multiple business with her husband Gavin Thomas. And what she does is she helps founders build sustainable businesses that scale without depending entirely on them. So they’re able to stop being overwhelmed operators, which I mean maybe that’s the saying no part, and turning into visionary CEOs that are focused on growth, freedom, and intentional leadership. —   Listen to the podcast here  The Hidden Cost of Unclear Expectations with Georgia Thomas...... Read More

In this Traps and Tricks episode of the Experimental Leader Podcast, Mel Rutherford and Melanie Parish unpack two big leadership traps: treating criticism as something you just have to “weather,” and shutting down in the face of strong emotions. They explore how to see criticism as data, respond to emotions with empathy (not avoidance), and create healthier information flow between leaders, middle managers, and teams.... Read More

After eight years as an MCC educator and mentor coach, Melanie Parish reflects on embracing change, launching new coaching opportunities, hosting an immersive MCC Retreat Intensive, and hitting the road with Fern, the 1984 VW Vanagon, for a book tour celebrating The Glass Cliff. Discover why the next great leadership experiment often begins before the destination is clear.... Read More

    — In this Traps and Tricks episode of The Experimental Leader, Mel Rutherford and Melanie Parish explore how leaders fall into the traps of “just weathering criticism” and avoiding strong emotions, and share practical ways to treat criticism as data, listen with empathy, and create healthier, more honest teams.   Listen to the podcast here  Traps and Tricks: Criticism & Emotions Welcome to the Experimental Leader Podcast. I’m Mel Rutherford, McMaster University’s first transgender department chair, and the co-host of the Experimental Leader Podcast. Hi, I’m Melanie Parish. I’m a master certified coach, an author, and the co-host of the Experimental...... Read More

Sometimes the most unexpected setbacks become our greatest teachers. In Lucky Disasters, Dr. Mel Rutherford shares two memorable experiences that reveal powerful lessons about teamwork, resilience, curiosity, and why the people around you matter most when plans don't go as expected.... Read More