Doing the Opposite: Richard Medcalf – How to combine opportunity, inspiration and empathy into a positive lasting legacy

What would you get if you put a McKinsey Consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor, and Freddie Mercury into a blender? According to Richard Medcalf , founder of Xquadrant , you’d get him.

I chatted with this brilliant man in the latest episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, which you can watch in full below.

As a trusted advisor to exceptional CEOs, entrepreneurs, and leadership teams, Richard had plenty of wisdom to share about what qualities you need to be an effective and inspiring leader.

Keep reading to see my key takeaways from this energising conversation.

1. Be a tribal leader

Richard told me about a simple but powerful change that leaders can make to improve productivity and inclusivity within their teams, which he calls the ‘tribal leader effect’.

“A tribal leader is often the elder and will speak last,” he said. “And yet in most businesses, the boss is the one speaking first.”

“It’s as if you’re saying, ‘Here’s my meeting, here’s the topic, and this is my answer’, and no one else jumps in — there’s silence.”

By taking the lead in every meeting, you won’t get to see the full power of your tribe. Instead, try taking a backseat and letting some of the quieter members of your team shine.

2. Consider the feedback triangle

One of the hardest parts of life is feedback — both delivering it and receiving it. Richard shared a great way to reframe feedback so it is meaningful and actionable:

“I call it the feedback triangle,” he explained. “It’s like a funnel: as it gets wider towards the base of the triangle, you're getting more general. As it gets narrower, you're getting more specific.

“Imagine a line halfway through these triangles, so the top half of it is positive feedback and the bottom half is negative feedback. When you're being general, you can give really positive feedback like, ‘You're awesome’, or you can give really bad feedback like, ‘It's rubbish’, right? But as you start to make it more specific, the judgment falls out of it.?

“When you get to the ultimate specificity, it's just a fact, and it makes people less defensive. Or it even then becomes a question, like, ‘Did you notice that the engagement level seemed to drop in the second half of your presentation?’ It's just a fact. The judgment is now gone.”

Not only will people be less defensive when they hear such specific feedback, but they will be more motivated to make lasting changes off the back of it.

3. Find the fun and enjoy the journey

One of Richard’s biggest heroes is Freddie Mercury — you’ll see a picture of the star behind him if you watch the YouTube recording of the podcast — because he has taught him a key lesson: “Having fun is a superpower.”

Shaking off the seriousness built into many corporate roles isn’t always easy, but Richard believes it’s essential to live a more fulfilling life.

“Enjoying the journey is a muscle to build,” he said. “It doesn't always come overnight, but you have to learn how to do it.”

It was a pleasure to learn from Richard, a truly inspiring business disruptor. You can watch or listen to his full episode now.